Friends of Father Lawler

THE GREAT LIFE
Essays in Doctrine and Holiness in Honor of Father Ronald Lawler, OFM Cap.

Edited by Michael Aquilina and Kenneth Ogorek

Emmaus Road, 2005

212 pages, $14.95

To order: (800) 398-5470

emmausroad.org


If ever a historian sets out to write a definitive survey of the Catholic Church in the United States during the 20th century, he or she would do well to devote a section to Franciscan Father Ronald Lawler (1926-2003). This collection of 19 essays shows why.

Father Lawler, a Capuchin, is probably best known for co-authoring (along with now-Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl) the popular adult catechism titled The Teaching of Christ. Appearing in the midst of the upheaval after Vatican II, Teaching filled a gap for almost two decades before the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It provided an orthodox point of reference amidst much post-conciliar catechetical confusion.

But Father Lawler’s contributions to the Church in America did not end with The Teaching of Christ. He was a founder of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, a professional association that defended orthodoxy from the dissensions of some intellectuals. Father Lawler was also president of Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., and a graduate faculty member at St. John’s University in New York.

This festschrift, written by Father Lawler’s friends and students, ranges over a wide variety of topics, with a general focus on catechesis and education. Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput discusses the “Church as Mother and Teacher,” while Boston Archbishop Sean O’Malley examines “Passing on the Faith.” Scott Hahn urges priests to attend to their need for ongoing education, while Russell Shaw explores the neglected topic of catechetical training to help young people discern their vocations.

Robert George shreds the “personally opposed, but unwilling to force my beliefs on other citizens” pro-abortion political position, while Gerard Bradley discusses the morality and prudence of home-schooling as an educational option.

The book also includes an essay by Father Lawler himself, “Has Christ Only One Church?” in which he persuasively criticizes the position of some theologians who use Vatican II’s teaching that the Church of Christ “subsists” in the Catholic Church to try to drive a wedge between Christ and his Church.

Father Lawler had many achievements as an educator and catechist but, while never deprecating the intellectual vocation, he always brought the issue back to the heart of the matter: holiness and salvation of souls. That perspective permeates these essays.

J. Brian and Janet Benestad, for example, remind us that Catholic social thought is not a political platform but rather the way a Catholic looks at man in society. “The Church can hardly expect to transform society by issuing policy statements, or even encouragements to practice social doctrine, if large numbers of Catholics are no longer committed to understanding and practicing the faith as a whole,” they write. “The knowledge and practice of the faith as a whole is the indispensable condition for the reception and practice of Catholic social doctrine. There simply is no substitute for wisdom and virtue in the citizens of a nation.”

An interesting collection written in tribute to the work of an unsung champion of faith and fidelity, this book is recommended especially for those interested in catechetics.

John M. Grondelski writes from

Washington, D.C.