It is a question that seems to arise time and again and year after year: How should Protestants relate to Roman Catholics? Are Catholics faithful brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are they misguided members of an alternative denomination? Are they followers of an entirely different faith that preaches an entirely different gospel? How should we relate to our Catholic friends and family members? And if given the opportunity to speak about what matters most, what should we tell them?
Leonardo De Chirico lives and ministers in a unique context: He is the pastor of a Protestant church in Rome that is just outside the walls of Vatican City. He has committed his life to both pastoring a church and becoming a scholar of Roman Catholicism. Suffice it to say, he understands Catholicism and has had many opportunities to engage and interact with its adherents. His new book, Tell Your Catholic Friend, is meant “to help people like you who are already involved in evangelism to Catholics or wish to be involved but don’t know how to do it or where to start. This book will help you in your attempt to witness to your Catholic friends. It won’t provide all the answers, but hopefully it will be a helpful tool to wrestle with the joys and challenges of being ambassadors of Christ to those Catholics who live around you.”
That ought to tell you what he believes as a result of his studies and his many opportunities to speak and engage with Catholics: That the Roman Catholic Church is a false church and that Roman Catholics need to hear the gospel. Thus, what to tell your Catholic friend is a matter of great urgency and eternal importance.
The book’s content falls into four parts, each of which is a good-sized chapter. In the first, he sketches out what he refers to as a “historical, theological, and spiritual map of Roman Catholicism” to explain what it is, where it comes from, and how it differs from biblical Christianity. To be able to present the gospel to Catholics, we must know who they are, what they believe, and why they are convinced that Catholicism represents the truth. This is the task he accomplishes in the first chapter by providing and explaining a substantial definition of Roman Catholicism. Crucially, he wants Protestants to understand that while Catholicism uses many of the same words we do, it often attaches very different meanings to them. “The words are the same but, not being defined by Scripture, their meaning is fraught with internal divergence. They are phonetically equal but theologically different from the Christian faith.”
Having laid this groundwork, De Chirico explains how and why there are different kinds of Roman Catholics and offers suggestions on engaging with each of them. “There is no single way of experiencing and manifesting the Roman Catholic faith. Each story is different because each person is unique.” Some people are folk Catholics, some charismatic, some traditional, and some secular. While each needs to hear the gospel, each has different beliefs and may respond differently to the good news. Each needs to understand the importance of resting their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and him alone. They also need to understand the importance of basing their faith on Scripture alone rather than a combination of Scripture and the tradition of the Church. “The main problem with Roman Catholicism,” he says, “is that its doctrines and practices are not based on the Bible alone, but on the Bible and the traditions of the church. Both the Bible and the traditions are then interpreted by the teaching office of the church. The Bible is not the final authority. The church, who embodies tradition and interprets the Bible, is.”
The third chapter explores the kinds of attitudes and frameworks that can facilitate good conversation with our Catholic friends. Here he refers to the work of authors like Chris Castaldo, Tim Keller, and Dan Strange to offer useful “connectors to people as we share the gospel.” He offers specific tips to reach people based on their current beliefs and frameworks. So, for example, we must not assume or rely on common language shared by Protestants and Catholics; we must help our friends wrestle with the exclusive nature of the gospel; we must be ready to show that the Christian faith needs to be accepted and practiced personally; and we must be prepared to help them see the importance of integrating personal witness with church life.
In the final chapter, he responds to a number of questions that tend to arise when Protestants consider their Catholic friends. For example, should Protestants pray with Catholics? Should Protestants co-labor with Catholics in areas like battling abortion or combating euthanasia? Should Protestants debate Catholics and, if so, how can they do so successfully? All this and more is answered briefly but well.
De Chirico’s book is meant to equip Protestants to speak truth to their Catholic friends, and I believe it does so effectively. It will give readers confidence in their knowledge of Catholic doctrine and practical instruction in how to speak truth in a way that faithfully represents Scripture. Tell Your Catholic Friend is a valuable resource that accomplishes its objectives well, and for that reason, I am glad to recommend it.
