The Long Island Catholic is one of many Catholics newspapers that carry Fr. John Dietzen's column of questions and answers. I find Fr. Dietzen's answers infuriating, and I don't seem to be the only one based on the letters to the editor the LIC has published. I have also found some other letters written in response to his column on the internet, here for example. In the Amazon reviews for his book of Q & A, a couple of reviewers, including Rich Leonardi of Ten Reasons, spell out why I can't stand his column. They say it better than I could:

"There is something rather weak and unsatisfactory about it. One cannot say that he is unorthodox exactly. Rather, there is something half-hearted in his presentation of the more controversial teachings of the Church. One gets the impression that he is uncomfortable answering certain questions." - S. M. Barr

"This book is 500 pages of unenthusiastic, incomplete, often erroneous explanations of the Catholic faith. For starters, Dietzen frequently begins sentences with 'Catholics believe' or 'the Church teaches', especially when he is presenting a truth of the faith deemed controversial. "
-Rich Leonardi

Every answer he gives that I have seen in the Long Island Catholic is so lukewarm, so weak, that it just makes me want to yell, say what you really believe!! This is the kind of thing that is not attractive to so many young people. I know that harsh and unbending people in the Church can also turn people away, but it is more likely the Fr. Dietzens that have done the most damage over the past 40 years.