Madam, - Voicing his disapproval of the sale of rosary beads in St Patrick's Cathedral, Wallace Thompson of the Evangelical Protestant Society (January 22nd) writes: "The Rosary and the beads associated with it have no place within Protestantism and ought not to be found, for sale or otherwise, in a Protestant church".
Such statements should not be dismissed as the mere ramblings of a misguided zealot, for sadly they reflect the depth of anti-Catholicism still prevalent within some branches of Protestantism.
This anti-Catholic bigotry, however, finds succour in the Act of Succession of 1701, which still prohibits any Catholic, or anyone married to a Catholic, from becoming British head of state. Such intolerance as Wallace Thompson displays has poisoned generations on this island and polluted the good name of Protestantism.
With such a fine Christian tradition that gave us Tone, Swift,
Berkeley, and Hyde, just how did we end up with the likes of
Wallace Thompson? - Yours, etc,
TOM COOPER,
Delaford Lawn,
Knocklyon,
Dublin 16.
Madam, - Wallace Thompson (January 22nd) banks rallying of "Bible-believing Protestants" round his rant against the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral selling rosary beads.
Does Mr Thompson not know what the Bible says? The Apostle Paul asks: "You who brag about the law [Scripture], do you dishonour God by breaking the law?" And he warns: "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else. . .because you who pass judgment do the same things."
A few years ago evangelical Protestants of Mr Thompson's ilk were cavorting in glee at the death of Cardinal Basil Hume - a man, I had thought, of true humility, kindness and spirituality. He didn't share their theology, and was therefore, supposedly, roasting away in hell while they danced like devils on his grave. I have never seen anything so sectarian, arrogant and utterly unChristian, so shaming to the Bible, a supplanting of the Lord God himself who alone knows the heart and alone is our judge.
It saddens me to have no choice but to refer Mr Wallace to a text he has heard all his life. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven.
"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:21-23).
Love, and only love, is the path to salvation. - Yours, etc,
MARK HUTCHESON,
Glenview,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.