Audio Catholic Teaching

Plenty of Catholics would love to understand the faith better but rarely find time to sit down with a book. Listening fills that gap. Audio Catholic Teaching is a library of talks on what the Church teaches, covering the Commandments, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, Mary, chastity, the Eucharist and marriage. It turns the car or a walk into a short class on the faith.

What's in the library

The publisher states that every speaker and talk is fully faithful to Church teaching, and the topics chosen bear that out. You can sample talks for free and then buy the full library for $8.99, a one-time purchase rather than a subscription. The app comes from As Written Productions, the same team behind the Fulton Sheen and saints audio libraries. It runs on iPhone and iPad.

Because the talks stream rather than download, the app itself is tiny at 13 MB. The trade-off is that you need a data or Wi-Fi connection to listen. If you commute through areas with poor coverage, plan around that.

Things to know

The app hasn't been updated since 2023. That doesn't change the content of the talks, but it is worth knowing for an app that depends on streaming. It has only three ratings so far, all at five stars. Trying the free samples first is the sensible way to see whether the speakers and format suit you.

It suits adults who learn best by listening, people preparing to enter the Church who want the basics explained, parents getting ready for their children's questions, and anyone who wants to fill drive time with something solid. Engaged couples may find the talks on marriage and chastity particularly useful.

The verdict: Audio Catholic Teaching is a faithful Catholic classroom in your pocket, and fair value at $8.99 for the full library. Sample it first, and make sure you have a connection when you want to listen.