This is one of the best little books for RCIA, CCD, and Adult Faith Formation that I have encountered.
On a personal note, I have three Jesuit degrees, am a Eucharistic Minister and Lector, and Advocate Procurator, and have been a Lay Presider.
In all of these areas, the author has been precise, accurate, and open. I place it in the same spectrum as Garry Wills Augustines, Noonan's Changing Church, and other modern masterpieces.
It is a must read for intelligent Catholic laypersons.
The subtitles for each of the six reasons are much more revealing than the cold ones given by Pable: (1) Why Do We Need a Church Anyway?; (2) The Church Has a Long Memory; (3) Ways We Meet Christ [Sacraments]; (4) The Search for Truth; (5) You Are Welcome, You Are Needed; and (6) We Are All in This Together.
Quite coincidentally, I am writing this on the day after the Grand Jury Report on Philadelphia's Cardinal Responses to horrific clergy sex abuses & Coverups has surfaced. But then I remember Puzo's book on Alexander VI, whom the Vatican honored with a stamp in CE 2000, "The Family", and remember that my Catholic Church is both sanctified and sinful. Pable helps me to resolve the Theodicy of Jesus' Church.

"What I [Pable & this reviewer] believe is needed most at this time [2005] is honest but genuine dialogue---between the Vatican and church scholars, between bishops and their priests and laity. We need a mutual sense of respect for each other, and we need to begin with the assumption that we are all searching for truth. . .we will [do so] in dialogue with the [C]hur wisdom and tradition." Whether this vision will encompass John Paul II, Ratzinger, and Levada's fearfull suppression of discussion remains an open question.



Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

At our Catholic parish, we used this book for our Adult Faith Formation book study. It was an excellent resource for this, generating good questions and discussions. The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that a bit more on Scripture could have been helpful, I felt that chapter was not as well developed as it could have been.

Overall, it is a brief review of basic Catholic teaching presented in a friendly and interesting manner and is useful in group discussions, Returning Catholic Ministry, possibly RCIA and other situations where adults can discuss their faith.