I received many comments (mostly negative) about my decision to change the name of The Catholic Truth to Following The Truth. Firstly, let me thank all of you for your comments. I really appreciate that many of you feel very strongly about this. It tells me that you care about my work of promoting the Catholic Faith and I am grateful for your support.
In an effort to quickly publish a short explanation for the change, I may have unintentionally misled some of you to believe that I was changing the name only to appease non-Catholics. While I do think that it will be one of the positive effects of the change, there is another reason for the action.
It has recently come to my attention that, according to the Code of Canon Law, any organization that uses the title ?Catholic? must first be officially approved by the Church. Specifically, ?Since they participate in the mission of the Church, all the Christian faithful have the right to promote or sustain apostolic action even by their own undertakings, according to their own state and condition. Nevertheless, no undertaking is to claim the name Catholic without the consent of competent ecclesiastical authority.? (CIC 216)
While everything I do is fully supportive of Church teaching and that?s one of the main messages of my work, I don?t legally have the right to speak for the Church. By taking the word ?Catholic? out of the title of my ministry, I am now in total compliance with the above paragraph of Canon Law. While I would love to use the word ?Catholic?, I would be a hypocrite if I did so. How could I preach total obedience to the Church and not obey her myself?
I would like to make it very clear that nothing about my work is going to change. I am totally dedicated to spreading the message of the one, true Church that was founded by Jesus Christ. My mission is to help people grow closer to Christ by learning more about His Church and that will not change. There are many fine Catholic organizations that do not use the word Catholic in their title. Mother Angelica?s Eternal Word Television Network, Marcus Grodi?s Coming Home Network, and Johnnette Benkovic?s Living His Life Abundantly are a few that immediately come to mind. On the other hand, many groups that use the name “Catholic” (I’m not about to mention any of them…I don’t want to give them publicity!) completely distort the teachings of the Church. Therefore, a name is just a name…the message is what counts!
The Catholic Church is the true Church that was founded by Our Lord, Jesus Christ. I have no plans to water down any Church teachings or ?sugar coat? my message. I will continue to preach the truth as taught by the Catholic Church. Please join me in ?Following The Truth? that will lead us and others directly to Our Lord!
In Christ,
Gary Zimak
