How Certain Can Anyone Be That Catholicism Is True?
Father Thomas Joseph White on faith and reason, the abuse crisis, Gen Z conversions, papal authority, and why Catholicism continues to attract believers in an age of skepticism
Father Thomas Joseph White is one of the most influential Catholic intellectuals in the world today. A Dominican priest, theologian, convert to Catholicism, and rector of the Angelicum in Rome, he stands at the center of the Church’s efforts to form a new generation of priests, scholars, and leaders.
In this conversation, White addresses some of the most difficult questions facing Christianity in the modern world. Why should anyone believe that the Catholic Church possesses the truth? How can Catholics speak confidently about God in an age that doubts the possibility of certainty itself? And what becomes of the Church’s claims after the scandals and failures that have shaken confidence in its moral authority?
The discussion ranges from philosophy and revelation to papal authority, freedom of conscience, and the search for truth. White argues that many of the deepest crises facing modern society stem from a growing skepticism about our ability to know reality at all. Against that backdrop, he presents Catholicism not as an escape from reason but as an invitation to pursue it more deeply.
We also discuss the recent reports of increasing interest in Christianity among younger generations. While acknowledging that the data remains mixed, White suggests that many young people are searching for something more substantial than the ideological, political, and technological narratives that have dominated recent decades.
In this conversation, we discuss:
Why Catholicism claims to offer a coherent vision of reality
The relationship between faith, reason, and certainty
Freedom of conscience and the search for truth
The role of the papacy and the authority of the Church
Whether the abuse crisis undermines the Church’s credibility
Why some young people are turning toward Christianity and Catholicism
The difference between intellectual difficulties and genuine doubt
How a convert to Catholicism became one of its leading theologians
This is a conversation about truth, authority, skepticism, and whether Christianity still offers a compelling account of reality in an age of uncertainty.