Madam, - Pope Benedict affirms a basic principle of Catholic theology by asserting that he believes, and Catholics ought to believe, that the Church of Christ "subsists" in the Catholic Church. The head of the Catholic Church is surely entitled to state what he believes to be orthodox doctrine for his followers, yet media commentators are aghast.
The Church of Ireland Primate of All-Ireland, Dr Alan Harper, launches a broadside against Catholicism by insisting that the Vatican should reflect "chiefly upon the shortcomings of the Roman Catholic Church" ( The Irish Times, July 23rd).
At no time did Pope Benedict (or any Vatican official) refer to any "shortcomings", perceived or otherwise, in non-Catholic Christian denominations. Yet the Church of Ireland Primate refers to the Catholic Church in this way with apparent impunity.
The Anglican Communion has been tearing itself apart for years over a range of issues, including the consecration of practising homosexual bishops and the consecration of women bishops. At no time did Catholic Church officials give in to the temptation to highlight the difficulties within Anglicanism or to offer comment on any future split within that communion.
The Church of Ireland Primate is, evidently, allowed to comment on the internal affairs of the Catholic Church. The head of the Catholic Church is, evidently, not allowed to tell his followers what he believes the Church's teaching to be. - Yours, etc,
MICHAEL KELLY,
South Circular Road,
Dublin 8.
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Madam, - Perhaps David Adams's antipathy to organised religion (Opinion July 20th) stems from his lack of knowledge of the subject. (It is interesting that, despite this antipathy, he still retains his membership of the Church of Ireland, albeit nominally.)
He must remember that Tony Blair's visit to Pope Benedict was at the request of Mr Blair and was most likely to discuss matters of morality - for what other reason would such a visit be arranged? Hardly to discuss trade matters or bilateral military alliances.
His suggestion that Protestantism and the Orthodox churches are "other Abrahamic faiths" is just lazy journalism on his part but at least it is consistent with the rest of his theological musings. Can he point out where the Pope claims entry to heaven is exclusive to Roman Catholics? At least he only implies that theologians argued over the number of angels that can fit on the head of a pin, because there are no academic works to support this claim.
I was disappointed that Mr Adams failed to offer us his interpretation of the basic message of Christianity rather than just sneer at his interpretation of what someone else "must" believe it to be. The Christian message took root precisely because the Ten Commandments were incomplete, so I would dismiss his claim that they are sufficient in themselves.
Perhaps Mr Adams's expertise lies in anthropology because he does make some very interesting points about human nature and human organisations. Had he stuck to this area he might possibly have added something useful to the current ecumenical debate. - Yours, etc,
DOMHNALL O'NEILL,
Ardmore Park,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
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Madam, - The complex theological document Responses to Some Questions regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Faith, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, does indeed contain matters which merit commentary, and which could make Roman Catholics like myself, and people of other faiths, feel uncomfortable.
It would help, however, if David Adams and other commentators were to bother to read the document before committing themselves to print about its contents. That way, they might avoid stirring up concerns among people of good will by attributing to the document that which it does not actually contain. - Yours, etc,
GERRY McARDLE,
Mountjoy Square,
Dublin 1.