Father Mateo was the pen name of a Catholic priest who was also a professor at a prominent university. From 1987 until his death in 1996, he hosted the “Ask Father” forum on Catholic Information Network.

“In 1987, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Mother of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater), asked all Christians, ‘Why should we not all together look to Mary as our common Mother, who prays for the unity of God’s family?’ Stung somehow by the Pope’s friendly words and bothered by ‘a campaign to revive Marian devotion in the Church,’ CRI [the Christian Research Institute] goes on the attack. ‘The time has come for a Protestant response. Just as surely as a man cannot ‘take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned’ (Prov. 6:27), Catholics cannot renew their emphasis on Mary without injuring ecumenism.’” (from the Introduction)

This 101 page book is a detailed response to a two-part article from the Christian Research Institute, but also an excellent, engaging introduction to Marian apologetics and a beautiful confirmation of Church teaching – even using Protestant sources to help refute CRI and to back up his arguments! ( )

Have you been grilled for answers about why Catholics believe that Mary remained a virgin, or that she was immaculately conceived, or assumed into heaven? How about why she is called "Mother of God" or "Queen of Heaven"? Have you wanted to provide clear and full answers to questions like this but found yourself unable to do so? Are you tired of Fundamentalists and door-to-door missionaries telling you that Catholic teachings on Mary are "unbiblical"? This book is just what you need. Father Mateo explains the basis for these and other teachings on Mary. He points out the basis for them in Scripture and the writings of the early Church Fathers. Just as important, he points out the errors of logic and fact committed by anti-Catholics as they mount an attack on the Blessed Mother. A one-of-a-kind work, this book is both remarkably concise and remarkably powerful in its explanations of how to defend the truth of Catholic teaching whenever you are called upon to refute the attack on Mary.