Fr. Ralph Pfau
(1904-1967) was the first U.S. Catholic priest to join Alcoholics Anonymous in
1943, on his 39th birthday. His “Golden Books” were published under the
auspices of the "Society of Matt Talbot Guild." He founded an
organization called the "Sons of Matt Talbot" for recovering
alcoholics who wanted to learn more about the Catholic faith.
Professor Emeritus Glenn F. Chesnut has just released his Father Ralph Pfau and the Golden Books: The Path to Recovery from Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (October 2015), which can be downloaded at http://www.hindsfoot.org/pfcath.pdf
Table of
Contents
1. Ralph Pfau
(“Father John Doe”) as Major Twelve-Step
Leader
2.
Early Life
3. The Myth
of Perfection, Natural Theology, and St. Augustine
4. Abraham
Low and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
5. Forgiveness and
Acceptance: Receiving God’s Sanction
6. Simple Sanctity and the
Little Way of St. Thérèse
7. Winning
Acceptance for A.A. within the Catholic
Hierarchy
8 Later
Life
9. Seeking Balance among
the Natural Instincts
10. The
Hierarchy of Spiritual Values
11. The
Higher Power as Truth Itself
12. Making a
Decision