MARGINAL CATHOLIC, THE
Challenge, Don't Crush

When an inactive Catholic seeks the sacraments there are many delicate and complex issues involved, each charged with emotional intensity. In a treatment characterized by pastoral wisdom, Monsignor Joseph Champlin addresses such issues as how to respond to parents who seldom attend Mass, but who request the baptism of a child, or an inactive couple that seeks a Church wedding. He summarizes official Church directives and provides practical, pastoral suggestions for resolving the concerns of all involved. “The goal,” he explains, “is to challenge peripheral Catholics who seek a baptism or marriage in the Church, but not to crush them.”

About the Author: The author of over 40 highly acclaimed and very practical pastoral works with some twenty million copies in print, Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin has been a parish priest in the Diocese of Syracuse for over 40 years and presently serves as rector of its Immaculate Conception Cathedral. Over the past 30 years he has traveled more than two million miles here and abroad lecturing on pastoral subjects and, in addition, he has jointly produced a video entitled The Heart of Stewardship: Sacrificial Giving which has won high accolades. His current books include: What It Means to Be Catholic, Why Go to Confession, and Meeting the Merciful Christ (St. Anthony Messenger Press); The Stations of the Cross with Pope John Paul II and Father Champlin on Contemporary Issues (Liguori); Together for Life, From the Heart, and Through Death to Life (Ave Maria Press) and The Mystery and the Meaning of the Mass (Crossroad).