THE Catholic faith was likened to a “lion in a cage” in a talk given in Brisbane recently by a United States theologian, author, speaker, and radio and TV host.
Patrick Madrid, guest speaker at the Assembly of Catholic Professionals (ACP) gathering on May 24, explained that “a lion doesn’t need to be defended once it is out of its cage”.
“The lion will defend itself,” he said. “It is the same with the Catholic faith.”
The father of 11 made the statement during a talk “Why Be Catholic? (When you could be anything else)”.
Mr Madrid’s presentation sat well beside earlier statements by new Archbishop of Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge.
After being introduced by ACP founder and archdiocesan resource development director Peter de Keratry, the Archbishop said he had been delighted to be invited to the luncheon.
He described the Assembly of Catholic Professionals as “an absolutely splendid initiative” and said the gathering was a reminder of “the importance of the lay vocation”.
“The greatest danger our Church faces is introversion and ‘churchiness’,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
“The challenge is how to engage with the power of the Gospel our particular culture in all sorts of areas such as politics, commerce, health care, education and sport.
“We have to become a more extrovert Church and engage society in new and creative ways.”
The latest ACP gathering at the Queensland Rugby Club in Brisbane’s CBD was sponsored by the Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC).
Mr Madrid told those gathered he would “share from his own heart” giving two reasons why he had remained a Catholic.
The first reason was his conviction the Catholic Church is the Church established by Christ.
He spoke of being led as a young man into a journey towards an adult understanding of the Catholic faith indirectly through a Baptist girlfriend, Christy.
“Her family’s attempts to ‘save’ me from Catholicism led me to research and discussion with my own parents,” Mr Madrid said.
“I came to be very grateful … If Christy’s father hadn’t challenged me I might not have come to understand my Catholic faith at a deeper and different level.”
Mr Madrid also found Blessed Cardinal John Newman’s conversion instructive.
“No matter how far back John Newman went, even to the early Christian Church, a connection to the Catholic Church of today could be found,” he said.
Mr Madrid said his second reason for remaining a Catholic was his belief the teachings of Catholic Church were true.
This conviction had grown stronger after public debates over the years with well-educated people of other faiths.
Mr Madrid delivered another talk “The Godless Delusion:
A Catholic Critique of Modern Atheism” that evening at the St Joseph’s College theatre at Spring Hill.
The ACP will stage a further three events this year including a Christmas reception on December 13.
ACP membership details and the registration form are available online at www.bne.catholic.net.au/acp or by contacting the office of Resource Development on (07) 3336 9406 or acp@bne.catholic.net.au
