Sir, – I am rather taken aback at Paul Griffin’s assertion (December 29th) that “the Catholic Church is a refuge for those who prefer others to do their thinking for them”. He claimed this was his humble opinion. Not much humility in so referring to the likes of the late Cardinal Henry Newman, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, etc.
Personally, I cannot accept teaching that makes no sense to me. Therefore, I most certainly do research it and I suspect that the majority of those who constantly criticise the teaching of the church have not done this. Most seem to take the interpretation of the teaching from the media and, unfortunately, we have far too few journalists with a good knowledge of it. Like reporting in general, a lot of them too easily accept stories on face value.
I do agree with Desmond Fisher (December 30th) that “Christ is inviting each of us to be co-Redeemers with Him and to change the world by our example in our family, our community, our workplace”. However, we do need to know His teaching and it would certainly help if it was proclaimed in truth. He was only too aware of our inclination to interpret it to suit ourselves. So His Church was established with Peter as leader and He did promise to be with it to the end of time. Flaws and all, it has endured for more than 2,000 years and I have no doubt that we can count on the Word of God till the end of time. – Yours, etc,