This is not an exhaustive list, but rather some of the more common topics people might ask about. Here we have attempted to include the general topic, a concise preliminary answer, and reference points to Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), or Church Tradition via the fathers and doctors. Take time to read the references and become more knowledgeable about your faith.
"I don't know.”
Always an acceptable answer that is truthful and establishes rapport with another person. We can’t possibly cover or be an expert in everything a person might have a question about or objection to (actual objections are in fact rare).
Why Catholicism? Aren't all religions the same?
Why do you confess to a priest?
We’re simply doing what Jesus told us to do. Catholics don’t just confess their sins to a priest. The priest is an “alter Christus”; that is, he stands in for Christ. When a Catholic confesses his sins in the presence of a priest, it’s Christ he’s talking to through the priest and Christ who is offering forgiveness. See Matthew 16:18-19, Matthew 18:18, John 20:21-22 (the command & authority to bind & loose).
After Christ handed this authority to his new bishops, he does not forgive any sins. The ability to forgive sins is God’s alone, however and whomever he delegates to exercise that ability on his behalf is a divine choice. See also James 5:12 and the Didache 4:14, 14:1 (written around A.D. 70) which says, “Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure.”
Exodus 20:4 - God condemned the carving of statues for the sake of worshipping them as idols–a blasphemy the Catholic Church also condemns. In Exodus 25:18- 20, on the other hand, God commands Moses to carve statues for a religious purpose: two cherubim which would sit atop the Ark of the Covenant. Similar divine commands to carve statues and embroider images of various religious objects are found in Exodus 21:6-9, Numbers 21:6-9, 1 Kings 6:23-28, and 1 Kings 7:23- 39. The difference? The first is itself, the object of worship; the second is for an exalted purpose, a useful tool in the worship (which is reserved for God alone) of God.
Faith Alone/Scripture Alone
“No apology will be adequate, no explanation will be sufficient, no promise will be believable.”