Karl Keating
Encyclopedia
Karl Keating a prominent Catholic apologist and author, is the founder and president of Catholic Answers
, a lay apostolate of Catholic apologetics and evangelization.
He received his undergraduate degree in Applied Math at UCSD in 1972 and went on to get a J.D. at the University of San Diego. He worked as an attorney practicing civil law in the early 1980s.
Leaving Mass one Sunday in 1979, he found anti-Catholic tracts on the windshields of the cars in the church parking lot. He wrote his own tract in reply and distributed copies of it at the Fundamentalist church responsible for the tract. That was the start of what has become the country’s largest lay-run apologetics and evangelization organization.
Keating's book Catholicism and Fundamentalism was based on a 1988 series that ran for 30 weeks in The Wanderer
. It is a perennial bestseller for its publisher, Ignatius Press.
In August 1986, the first Catholic Answers
Newsletter was published. In January 1990, Catholic Answers
published the monthly magazine This Rock. For nine years, Keating served as the editor.
In 1988, Keating changed careers and went into apologetics full time. He gives talks throughout the United States
, and also engages in public debates with Protestants.
He has been a columnist for The Wanderer, the National Catholic Register
and the Canadian Catholic Review. He has also acted as expert on EWTN's
Questions and Answers forum. His avocations include mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, "Jeeping", flying, and browsing Internet forums.
A 2004 complaint to the Internal Revenue Service
by the pro-choice
organization Catholics for a Free Choice
led to an IRS investigation of Catholic Answers that Keating described as costly and onerous. As a result, he formed a new organization with a separate 501(c)(4) tax status, called Catholic Answers Action, that continued publishing his Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics. This instructs readers not to vote for candidates who would vote for legalisation of any of five "non-negotiable" issues (abortion, euthanasia
, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning
, and gay marriage). Some diocesan lawyers in California and Wisconsin had earlier attempted to suppress this voting guide in 2004. No official endorsement of this guide has been offered by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or any official Church body.
Catholic Answers
Catholic Answers, based in El Cajon, California, is one of the largest lay-run apostolates of Catholic apologetics and evangelization in the United States. It publishes This Rock, a bimonthly magazine focusing on Catholic evangelism and apologetics...
, a lay apostolate of Catholic apologetics and evangelization.
He received his undergraduate degree in Applied Math at UCSD in 1972 and went on to get a J.D. at the University of San Diego. He worked as an attorney practicing civil law in the early 1980s.
Leaving Mass one Sunday in 1979, he found anti-Catholic tracts on the windshields of the cars in the church parking lot. He wrote his own tract in reply and distributed copies of it at the Fundamentalist church responsible for the tract. That was the start of what has become the country’s largest lay-run apologetics and evangelization organization.
Keating's book Catholicism and Fundamentalism was based on a 1988 series that ran for 30 weeks in The Wanderer
The Wanderer (newspaper)
The Wanderer is a lay Roman Catholic weekly newspaper published in St. Paul, Minnesota and distributed to a national market. It was founded by Joseph Matt on 7 October 1867...
. It is a perennial bestseller for its publisher, Ignatius Press.
In August 1986, the first Catholic Answers
Catholic Answers
Catholic Answers, based in El Cajon, California, is one of the largest lay-run apostolates of Catholic apologetics and evangelization in the United States. It publishes This Rock, a bimonthly magazine focusing on Catholic evangelism and apologetics...
Newsletter was published. In January 1990, Catholic Answers
Catholic Answers
Catholic Answers, based in El Cajon, California, is one of the largest lay-run apostolates of Catholic apologetics and evangelization in the United States. It publishes This Rock, a bimonthly magazine focusing on Catholic evangelism and apologetics...
published the monthly magazine This Rock. For nine years, Keating served as the editor.
In 1988, Keating changed careers and went into apologetics full time. He gives talks throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and also engages in public debates with Protestants.
He has been a columnist for The Wanderer, the National Catholic Register
National Catholic Register
Not to be confused with the National Catholic Reporter or the Catholic RegisterThe National Catholic Register is the oldest national Catholic newspaper in the United States. It was founded on 8 November 1927 by Msgr. Matthew J...
and the Canadian Catholic Review. He has also acted as expert on EWTN's
Eternal Word Television Network
The Eternal Word Television Network is an American cable television network which presents Catholic-themed programming. It was founded in 1980 by Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA...
Questions and Answers forum. His avocations include mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, "Jeeping", flying, and browsing Internet forums.
A 2004 complaint to the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
by the pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
organization Catholics for a Free Choice
Catholics for a Free Choice
Catholics for Choice , formerly Catholics for a Free Choice , is a Catholic pro-choice organization based in Washington, D.C. that was founded "to serve as a voice for Catholics who believe that the Catholic tradition supports a woman's moral and legal right to follow her conscience in matters of...
led to an IRS investigation of Catholic Answers that Keating described as costly and onerous. As a result, he formed a new organization with a separate 501(c)(4) tax status, called Catholic Answers Action, that continued publishing his Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics. This instructs readers not to vote for candidates who would vote for legalisation of any of five "non-negotiable" issues (abortion, euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning
Human cloning
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. It does not usually refer to monozygotic multiple births nor the reproduction of human cells or tissue. The ethics of cloning is an extremely controversial issue...
, and gay marriage). Some diocesan lawyers in California and Wisconsin had earlier attempted to suppress this voting guide in 2004. No official endorsement of this guide has been offered by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or any official Church body.
Books
- Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" (Ignatius Press, 1988)
- What Catholics Really Believe (Servant Publications, 1992)
- Nothing but the Truth: Essays in Apologetics (Catholic Answers, 2000)
- The Usual Suspects: Answering Anti-Catholic Fundamentalists (Ignatius Press, 2000)
- Controversies: High-Level Catholic Apologetics (Ignatius Press, 2001)