Madam, - James P. Mackey ponders "what might have been achieved if the theology envisaged by Vatican II had been allowed to develop unimpeded" (Rite and Reason, April 17th). His article betrays the real answer: Catholic Christianity would have practically disappeared.
He, as a self-claimed proponent of that "new theology", clearly denies the central tenets of the Catholic faith such as the divinity of Christ, the unique nature of Christian revelation, original sin, hell, and the apostolic nature of the Church's teaching authority. All this he does on the basis of his own teaching authority - and a selective interpretation of the Second Vatican Council.
It is absurd to propose that Pope John XXIII wanted an updating of the doctrine and practice of the faith that would amount to a contradiction of that teaching.
Prof Mackey speaks about his "long retirement reverie". I would suggest that that reverie has removed him from contact with reality. His embracing of "a divine revelation to all creation" seems likewise part of that seductive but dangerous dream world which is normally associated with New Age. - Yours, etc,
VINCENT TWOMEY, Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology, Maynooth, Co Kildare.