Bringing
you the
"Good News" of Jesus
Christ and His Church While PROMOTING CATHOLIC
Apologetic Support groups loyal to the Holy Father and
Church's magisterium
Meet the people behind
AskACatholic.com! We are the current team
that answers most of your questions from
the AskACatholic.com / CPATS.ORG web site.
At times we have also gone to other well-known
Catholic Apologists and priests to ensure
you get the complete Catholic answer to
your question.
Important Note: Though
individual e-mails are below, we can do
better in giving you a comprehensive answer
to your question if
you ask all of us.
Mike Humphrey got publicly involved
in Catholic Apologetics when an
attempt was made by the Archdiocese
of Boston to bring Apologetics
to the parish level. I was invited
by Mike Del Vecchio to be part
of a Catholic Apologetics group
with Bob Kirby and Rick Opera
under the leadership of David
Thorpe, the Director of Evangelization
for the diocese at the time. Although
the effort didn't come to fruition,
I subsequently initiated a support
group of lay Catholic Apologists
in the Boston area loyal to the
Holy See around 1995. { in
line with canon law. (215, 216
and 225). } I believe it
was the first Catholic Apologetics
support group in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts and possibly
New England. Previous to my involvement
in Archdiocesan apologetics, I
had been listening to Scott
Hahn audio tapes as well as
tapes by other practicing Catholic
Apologists. I consider our little
group the
"Catholic
Answers" of Massachusetts.
To this day,
I'm very disappointed that very
few priests seem interested in
supporting Catholic Apologetics at
the parish level in Massachusetts.
I would encourage any bishop reading
my profile to reflect on
encouraging
a knowledge of Catholic Apologetics
in their seminaries and
working
with their priests to develop
Catholic apologetic programs
at the parish level.
I believe this
along with greater awareness of
the Early Church Fathers and parish
Eucharistic Adoration can make
many spiritually dead parishes,
alive. Nevertheless, the Cardinal
for my diocese, Cardinal
Sean O'Malley, has been very
supportive of our work in
several replies to my correspondences.
For this I am appreciative!
I am a cradle
Catholic who grew up in Sudbury,
Mass. My CCD, like many others,
was very poor. Most, if not all,
of my spiritual growth came from
Benedictine oblates and monks
at St.
Benedict Abbey in Still River,
Mass. I owe them a great deal
of thanks for the faith I developed
while knowing them. The brotherhood
I established with them along
with their love for the Church
and the Eucharist had an important
impact on my life. Being single
has given me the extra time to
keep up on issues in the Church
while studying and re-affirming
Catholic theology, doctrine and
teaching. I have a special love
for the Early Church Fathers and
Doctors of the Church. I've lived
in Natick, Massachusetts since
1990.
My educational
background consists of a B.S.
in Computer Science and Minor
in Mathematics from Framingham
State. I also have a Client/Server
Development Certificate from Clark
University.
Although I was
in the Internet field for a year
and a half: at Digital as a Web
Page Developer, and at Compaq
as a Webmaster, I've been unable
to find full-time employment in
my field for the past eight years.
Since then I've been doing freelance
web sites for small businesses
and non-profits. Because I've
determined that I can't make a
living developing web sites, over
the past few years I've been doing
contract work. Most of the work
involves web site content management
and e-mail marketing.
I'm currently
unemployed and actively looking
for full-time work in the Natick
or Metro West Boston area. [ resume ]
Despite my periods of unemployment,
I feel like I've been working
on a regular basis adding new
content and functionality to the
AskACatholic.com web site. I'm
always trying to come up with
new ideas for the site.
Eric
Ewanco, Catholic Apologist E-mail:{}
{ web
site }
Eric Ewanco has been studying
Catholic theology and apologetics
informally for over fifteen years.
A cradle Catholic, he had no interest
in religion until the death of
his mother at age thirteen.
This prompted a search for God
which culminated in a conversion
experience at seventeen followed
by a sojourn in the Evangelical
world. He returned to the faith
thanks to the witness of the Church
Fathers, who revealed to him that
yes, it's true, the early church
was Catholic.
Armed with information from Catholic
Answers and supported by patient
friends, he studied himself back
into the faith and embraced the
fullness of orthodox Catholicism.
His favorite saint and Father
is Ignatius of Antioch.
John DiMascio was brought up as
a nominal Catholic. Like many
other Catholics in the immediate
post Vatican II era, his religious
instruction was clouded by mixed
signals and revolved for the most
part around the external ritual
as opposed to the spiritual reality
of the sacraments.
During his troubled adolescence,
John turned to drugs and eventually
became both a addict and dealer.
In his late 20’s John was
approached by an Evangelical friend
who spoke to him about Christ
and introduced him to the Scriptures.
As a result John had a conversion
experience and was immediately
and miraculously delivered from
a life of addiction when he accepted
Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Following his conversion, John
began attending a Charismatic
Baptist Church and then went on
to bible school. He was licensed
as minister shortly thereafter.
During his ministry, he began
to work in the field of apologetics,
focusing on outreaches to cults
and aberrational groups. His study
in this field caused him to dig
further into the early Church.
He soon began to question the
pillars of Protestantism such
as Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide.
The more he studied scriptures
and the Church Fathers, the more
he became acutely aware that Jesus
Christ only founded one Church
and that was the Roman Catholic
Church.
In 1996 he left the “ordained” ministry
to return to the Church as lay
Catholic Apologist.
Bob
Kirby, Catholic Apologist {}
Robert Kirby
is a husband, father (of a teen
daughter, Lord give us strength…),
musician and apologist. Bob has
been playing music professionally
for over twenty years and has
led liturgical and worship music
since 1987. Since his first days
of directing music for The Truth
Will Set You Free ministry of
Fr. Real Bourque, Bob has performed
at two World Youth Day events
(Rome and Toronto), recorded and
produced dozens of albums of sacred
music, ranging from traditional
Gregorian chant to the contemporary
Christian genre and served in
youth ministry leadership. He
is currently the full time music
director for Holy Family Parish
in Rockland, MA.
Bob has studied
music at New England Conservatory
and Berklee College of Music,
where he received an award for
outstanding jazz musical performance
on saxophone. He also holds a
Masters in theology from Boston
College. His apologetics experience
includes several years of producing
and hosting a radio program called
the Catholic Forum on WROL, Boston.
Mary
Ann Parks, Catholic Apologist
{}
Mary Ann has
a B.A. in theology from the University
of Dallas (68), and an M.A.(02)
in theology from St Mary's University. She
has worked as a catechist, artist,
caricaturist, and pro-life activist,
and she currently directs the Project
Rachel ministry for the Archdiocese
of San Antonio. "As
for apologetics, I heard once
of a study that showed that the
people who keep their faith are
those who are forearmed with answers
to the objections that can be
raised against it. Apologetics
is a necessary work of reason
and charity, and we should always
be ready to give a reason for
the faith we hold."
Paul
Murano, Catholic Apologist {}
A truth-seeker since childhood,
Paul highly appreciates those
who ask questions. Asking why?
is what distinguishes us from
the other animals, and is a sign
of intelligence, he tells his
college students each semester.
And what could be more important
than questions about God, His
word, and His will?
Paul has taught theology and philosophy
at two colleges for the past eight
years and has taught adult education
in Catholic parishes for years
before that. He has a master's
degree in theology from Provience
College, a master's degree in
philosophy from Boston College,
and is a dissertation away from
a Ph.D. in systematic theology
from Duquesne University. As a
Catholic layman faithful to the
Magisterium, Paul teaches, plays
music, is involved in local TV
and radio, and writes a column
for a local newspaper on social
and moral issues.
Our
AskACatholic Grammarians
Ann in her "Grammar
Police" uniform
Well
done! Good and faithful
servant!
Ann
Jones, Grammarian and
proof reader, R.I.P.
April 17, 2009
The team at AskACatholic
was sadden when we received
the sad news that one
of main AskACatholic.com
Grammarians, passed away
due to liver failure
on April 17, 2009. For
two years, Ann had been
a great help in spelling
and grammar checking
postings before they
were made public. Her
volunteer help will be
sorely missed. Please
keep the Jones and Kliethermes
families in your prayers.
Ann was born and raised
in Richmond, Virginia...
where everybody celebrates
the fact that on December
4, 1619 the First Thanksgiving
held in the English Colonies
was held here in Virginia,
near the site of Berkeley
Plantation. She liked
everything English, especially
the language. As a matter
of fact, members of Ann's
family affectionately
have called her "The
Grammar Police" for
years. She was even given
a 'uniform' this past
Christmas... and to her
dismay, was compelled
to model it.
The nickname, "Grammar
Police", was inspired
by the comic strip, "Jump
Start" (creator,
Robby Armstrong), in
which the character, "Dot",
is a self-appointed grammarian.
In uniform.
Ann was raised in the
Episcopal Church (of
course!), and remained
Episcopalian... until
she discovered the truth
about its origin. Ann's
love for the beauty of
the English language,
as found in The Book
of Common Prayer, made
it hard for her to leave
the Episcopal Church
and become Catholic;
her love of and commitment
to Truth made it easy.
Maryellen
Jones, Grammarian and proof reader
{}
I am a lay Catholic Revert. Married
60 years: 6 children, 12 grandchildren,
3 great grandchildren, living
in Middle Tennessee not far from
three children who look after
us with loving care.
I have no special training in
being a Grammarian here. My editorial
skills are natural gifts, made
stronger by my school-teacher-Mother,
and my own love of the language.
I am happy to be able to
volunteer my time and efforts
here to this important work. It’s
a privilege and a pleasure to
be able to serve the Lord Jesus
in any way, no matter how small.
John
Shalack, Grammarian and proof reader
{}
John Shalack graduated from St
Rita of Cascia High School in
Chicago and majored in English
grammar at the University of Illinois.
After retiring from the USMC he
went to work as the Computer Service
Desk Manager at Darton College.
He is also Past Grand Knight and
current Financial Secretary of
the local Knights of Columbus
Council, as well as the Council
newsletter’s editor.
Rob
Coutinho, Grammarian and proof reader
{}
Rob (Robert Patrick) was born in
California but his family moved east
before he was two years old. He
grew up in southeastern Massachusetts
and was always a practicing Catholic. He
graduated with a B. S. in Chemistry
and a minor in Physics from Framingham
(MA) State College in 1985. He
was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army
from 1985 to 1988 when he was
(honorably) discharged due to knee
problems.
In 1988 (with two of his four
children already born) he moved
to Pennsylvania and worked for
McNeil Consumer Products (the
makers of Tylenol). After
five years he moved back
to Massachusetts and worked in
a biotech company (Hybrid on)
on a potential cure for AIDS. He
started to become sick around
this time but continued to
work. After working
in biotech, he worked for a generic
pharmaceutical company (Copley--now
owned by Teva Pharmaceuticals)
for a little over one year and
then had to go on disability for
CFIDS/FM (Chronic Fatigue Immune
Dysfunction Syndrome/Fibromyalgia).
He still lives in Westboro, MA,
where he, his wife, Mary-Jo, and
his four children have lived since
1994. He continues to hope
for a cure or "at least a
little more energy so I can try
to keep up with my kids". He
garnered his editorial skills
in high school, college and two
of his three pharmaceutical jobs
(professional courses taken for
writing). He asks for your prayers
for his illness and family.
Other
Grammarian and proof reader
that have assisted us include:
Nettie Taylor
Jean Santoro
Karin Bennett
SFO
Our
AskACatholic Priest-helpers
Due to the busy schedule of the
Holy Catholic priesthood,
our priest's e-mails will
only be given out on their
permission.
We
are currently looking
for a faithful priest
who is in good standing
with the Archdiocese
of Boston to assist us
in answering questions.
A knowledge of Canon
Law is strongly preferred.
Rev.
Fr. Fred (Catholic priest, Archdiocese
of Boston) { e-mail }
Well done!
Good and faithful servant!
Due to
personal issues and the
numerous tasks involved
in taking on a new parish
assignment, Fr.
Fred will not
be able to assist us
in answering questions
from the AskACatholic.com
web site.
I wish to personally
thank him for the extensive time
and patience he has put
into supporting this "first-of-its-kind"
web site since he volunteered
to assist us from
the very beginning,
when we were the Christifideles
Pizza and Theology Society,
or (CPATS). His input
has been very helpful
in answering questions
that can only be answered
by a priest.
His passion for the truth,
knowledge of Church history
and the orthodoxy in
his answers are a testament
of His love for Our Blessed
Lord and the Church Jesus
established on St. Peter
and His successors.
Please keep Fr. Fred
your daily prayers.
Mike Humphrey
AskACatholic.com Web
Administrator
Background:
Father Fred in his priestly ministry
attempts to draw others into the
Mystery of Christ and Christ's
Bride, the Church. His love for
the Scriptures is complimented
by his love for the Tradition
of the Catholic Church (in both
Her Eastern and Western spiritualities)
but especially for the Church
Fathers. He is in the tradition
of those who seek to continue
the Second Vatican Council's vision
by returning to the sources and
thus renewing the Church, the "program
of renewal" espoused by both
Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict
XVI.
As
for his personal preferences,
he has said, “I have
a weakness for Italian food."
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