A reader writes:

My 23 year old cousin, who was born and raised Catholic, recently decided to leave the Church. He still believes in Christ, but claims that he can no longer support or participate in a church with which he does not agree on several issues. Foremost among these issues are the war in Iraq and immigration.

I’ve reminded him about the foundational things about our faith – the sacraments, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Unfortunately, I believe that his politics are more important to him right now than the richness of the Catholic faith and the truths that it teaches. Lately, I believe he has been reading the Bible on his own and watching Joel Osteen on TV.

I’d appreciate it so much if you could enlist your readers to provide any additional advice I could pass on to my cousin. Are there any recommended book titles or solid parishes (he lives in Chicago )?