Father John J. Dietzen has written a book that would be a welcome addition to the shelves of any parish teacher or religion classroom. In plain, clear writing that is always kind, Father Dietzen’s new edition of Catholic Q & A gives . . . answers to the most common questions about Catholicism.” Father Dietzen has heard all the questions. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, IIIinois, in 1954 and has served as pastor of two large parishes in central Illinois. He was also director of the diocesan office of Family Life and editor of the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Post. He began writing a weekly question and answer column for that paper in the late 1960s, and in 1975 he began a syndicated column for Catholic News Service. For 30 years he has answered questions from readers nationwide. His brief clarifications and patient explanations have made him the most widely published syndicated columnist in the Catholic press. The chapters group questions and answers on the Bible, the church, the Mass, holy Communion, baptism and confirmation, marriage and family living, divorce, annulment and remarriage, right and wrong, penance and anointing of the sick, ecumenism, prayer and devotions, saints, death and burial, and a final grab-bag chapter answering two dozen questions on everything else: Does God exist? B.C. and A.D., Santa Claus, the Ku Klux Klan, chain letters, worry, extraterrestrial life, and suicide bombers. Father Dietzen answers it all, large and small: What did God do before creation? Why is Matthew the first Gospel? Did Jesus know he was God? What does excommunication mean today? What is canon law? Who can be godparents? Were there married popes? Is premarital sex wrong? How should parents respond to cohabitation? When is an embryo human? Is it possible to forgive? Does God punish us? Who can share Communion? What is Cursillo? Focolare? The Magnificat? Is Luther a saint? What about Catholic burial and suicide? Flags on caskets at a funeral? Apparitions of Mary? Why do we pray? What happens to our souls? Dip into Catholic Q & A for an answer. It’s likely your question will be there. It is also likely that you’ll find it hard to put down after just one page.—Maureen E. Daly, Catholic News Service