The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote: “There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Roman Catholic Church; there are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church.”
Both of us once thought that we belonged in the former group, only to discover that we were really in the latter. But once we saw the distinction, and where we really were, it slowly became apparent that we did not belong in either group. By then we were well on our way home. This book describes that journey. It is a narrative of how we discovered the Catholic Church to be God’s covenant family.
Our focus in this book is on how the Holy Spirit used Scripture to clear up our misconceptions; we have not attempted to deal with all the misconceptions that others may have. By God’s grace maybe someday we can write a book with that in mind.
This story could not have been written except for Terry Barber of Saint Joseph Communications, West Covina, California, who generously provided a notebook computer along with many different tapes of our talks for Kimberly to transcribe and edit into a readable form. Incidentally, she did all of her work upstairs, where three children and a toddler were roaming about, while Scott was tucked away in a quiet corner of the basement working to complete his doctoral dissertation, “Kinship by Covenant”. By his own admission, Scott’s authorial absenteeism accounts for whatever obtuseness remains.
G. K. Chesterton once said, “If something is really worth doing. . . it’s worth doing badly!” That explains our reason for—and consolation in—taking the risk to share our journey in print at this very busy time of our lives.
Scott and Kimberly Hahn
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
June 29, 1993