Sir, – I have followed the debate in your letters page among sincere and well-meaning Catholics about the teachings of their church. The thing that unites both liberal and conservative perspectives is their faith in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as their motivation.
Given the diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive teachings being advocated by each side, could we agree that at minimum the Holy Spirit is not especially effective at communicating its intentions? – Yours, etc,
JOHN HAMILL,
Castleblayney,
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Co Monaghan.
Sir, – It is disappointing that Fr Brendan Hoban in his response (Letters, August 23rd) to Breda O’Brien’s column (“Catholic Church is not a democracy so don’t expect radical change”, Opinion & Analysis, August 20th) on the Catholic synod process takes a rather ad hominem and extremely negative approach. He thereby fails to practise what he preaches, namely, listening to all voices in the church.
As Fr Hoban says in his letter, “we are all in this together”. Shouldn’t he engage with the arguments then and not dismiss Breda O’Brien’s clearly presented arguments as mere straw men? It is something of a straw man of his own to assume that “conservative” Catholics deny and reject change. He seems to be questioning not only the sincerity and integrity of your columnist and other Catholics who believe the church’s teachings, but also Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, claiming that only with Pope Francis are Vatican II’s reforms being promoted.
But he fails to respond to what Breda O’Brien quotes Francis as saying on the need for church unity and a correct approach to the synod.
Fr Hoban, and Fr Gerry O’Hanlon (Letters, August 23rd), place great stress on development of doctrine, as if Breda O’Brien were unaware of this important dimension of Catholicism.
St John Henry Newman has written clearly on the necessity and limits of doctrinal development. Newman emphasised that genuine development must exhibit a strong element of continuity with Catholic tradition.
But such continuity is sorely missing from some of the radical reforms promoted by certain voices given prominence in the synod’s synthesis document and most media coverage of it.
One must hope that the wise discernment concerning changes, which Fr O’Hanlon mentions, will be guided by what Vatican II, and all subsequent popes, actually teach about the church and the faith.
I’d recommend beginning with what the constitution on the church (Lumen Gentium), read in its entirety with no cherry-picking, taught about church teaching authority and how this relates to the People of God. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN MURRAY,
Lecturer in Theology,
Dublin City University,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – Should the synod of bishops, due to assemble in a year’s time in Rome, ignore the messages in this invited response from the laity, a core of fundamentalists is all that will endure in the Catholic Church.
Humanity does not need another group of religious fundamentalists. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GANNON,
Kilkenny.
Sir, – Unlike Jim Stack (Letters, August 20th), I took part in the recent synodal process. It was good to listen to others and share my concerns.
Parishioners welcomed active participation but will quickly walk away if it all turns out to be a dead-end of patriarchal control and clerical domination.
Honest Catholics readily admit serious problems within Roman Catholicism and that the talents of women and men in equal measure are essential to form a wholesome entity. All participants seemed in agreement on the core Gospel religious message but were also able to discern the multitude of lesser clerical opinions and outdated practices which have accrued over centuries without healthy challenges, checks and balances.
Catholics today, sickened by all the abuse and cover-ups, refuse to give credence to deficient clerical nonsense on non-core matters.
Like other synod participants, I wish to pay tribute to the excellent ministry of pastoral priests, including the Association of Catholic Priests. While those men may be constrained in what they can say publicly from within a clerical club, those men know that it is not possible to evangelise today in the language of sexism, homophobia, exclusion, enforced celibacy and medieval structures of patriarchal monarchy.
Pastoral priests know that there must be equality and justice for women in the leadership, governance, teaching office and ministry of the Roman Catholic Church.
Undoubtedly, there is a group of Catholics who oppose all change, even though official clerical teaching states that reform is always needed. This group wishes to retain all beliefs and practices from a bygone era of their childhood. The world does not stand still, and change, growth and reform are signs of life. The church is the living People of God which has changed and evolved over centuries. The synodal process as moved by Pope Francis might be a move in the right direction. While a powerful clerical control group may continue to favour a patriarchal monarchy, the vast majority of Irish Catholics value their voice and vote and favour power-sharing within an imperfect democratic system.
Catholic people treasure the core Good News of Jesus Christ and wish to transmit this fundamental faith and action to new generations.
However, they are painfully aware of the difficulties with evangelisation in the absence of massive change and reform and church unity. – Yours, etc,
JOE MULVANEY,
Dundrum,
Dublin 16.