Eric Sammons, a former Evangelical, entered the Catholic Church in 1993 and has been involved in Catholic evangelization efforts for over two decades. He is the father of seven children and author of six books, including The Old Evangelization: How to Spread the Faith Like Jesus Did. His website "Swimming Upstream" can be found at ericsammons.com and he can be followed on Twitter @EricRSammons.
Author: ericsammons
Selection Bias and the Process of Picking Better Bishops
“He’ll be a bishop someday.” That was the prediction in the parish I attended fifteen years ago. Our pastor was a nice man – likable and affable. No one had anything negative to say about him. The best word I …
Dialogue or Disassociation: What to Do with Heretics and Public Sinners in the Church
The watchword of the day is “dialogue.” Invoked by Church leaders like an Eastern mystical mantra, dialogue is the solution to every problem. Pro-abortion politicians claiming to be good Catholics? We need dialogue. Priests promoting same-sex relationships? We need dialogue. …
Why I Signed the Filial Correction
By now most Catholics have heard of the “Filial Correction” issued by a group of 62 clergy and scholars and addressed to Pope Francis. In essence, the Filial Correction argues that by his words, deeds, and omissions, Pope Francis has …
The Old Evangelization: 5 Steps to Renew a Parish
Last week I wrote an article criticizing the Protestant character of some “New Evangelization” programs. I gave a few brief suggestions for true Catholic evangelization, and a number of people contacted me subsequently requesting more practical suggestions. In terms of …
The Protestantization of the New Evangelization
It’s no secret that the Catholic Church in the Western world has experienced a tremendous drop in practicing members over the past 50 years. More troubling—and not unrelated—is the fact that the desire to gain more members via evangelization has …
Jesus Doesn’t Water Down His Teachings
Editor’s Note: The following is adapted from the recently-published book The Old Evangelization by 1P5 author Eric Sammons, published by Catholic Answers Press. One day, back when I was a diocesan director of evangelization, I was meeting with a pastor and some …
Jim Gaffigan and Catholic Celebrity Canonizations
We all remember high school and its cliques: the jocks, the nerds, the stoners, etc…and of course the mass of kids who just hope to survive without any embarrassing moments on their permanent record. One thing was certain: you were …
9 Things We’ve Lost in the Liturgy (Besides Latin)
Recently I’ve been reading The Hobbit to two of my young children. Central to the story is lost treasure: Thorin and his fellow dwarves ask for Bilbo Baggins’ help in reclaiming their trove, which has been captured by the dragon …
Twenty Five Years Later, I Would Still Become Catholic
I recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of my conversion to Catholicism. When I think back to the time of my conversion, I remember that it was a season of much optimism in the Church. Everyone seemed to feel that we …
Who Watches the Watchmen? The Fatal Flaw of the Dallas Charter
It was 2003 and I was a young father sending my daughter to a Catholic elementary school. I wanted to be involved in the direction of the school, so I volunteered for the school board for a three-year term. Most …
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