I write in response to the letter to the editor “Columnist wrote tripe” submitted to The Telegram by Patrick Hanlon.
I will begin by stating that I believe that Mr. Hanlon is entitled to hold whatever beliefs he chooses. However, I must take issue with the fact that Mr. Hanlon obviously believes that the Roman Catholic Church is above reproach and that what he, as a Roman Catholic, believes is the absolute and only truth which can be gleaned from either the Gospels or any other Scripture writings contained in either the Old or the New Testaments.
With regard to Mr. Hanlon’s belief that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are above reproach, I find this claim to be particularly difficult to believe.
Consider the fact that Peter, the disciple on whom the RC Church is founded, was admonished by Christ himself, in the strongest possible terms for displaying what Christ deemed to be inappropriate behaviour.
Jesus is reputed to have addressed Peter by saying, “Get Thee behind me Satan.”
If the person who founded the Roman Catholic Church was not above reproach, why should anyone who is in a position of authority, or a member at large in the contemporary Roman Catholic Church, assume, as Mr. Hanlon so obviously does, that both he and his church are above reproach?
I also find Mr. Hanlon’s attempt to refute valid criticism of the church by referring to such action as bigotry to be lacking in both substance and credibility.
When you consider that the greatest myth perpetuated by the Roman Catholic Church is the biblically unsubstantiated myth that any mere mortal is infallible in any respect, the fallacious claim that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are above reproach becomes understandable, despite the lack of any corroborating evidence in scripture to support such a claim.
Finally, while accusing those who challenge the Roman Catholic Church of bigotry, Mr. Hanlon does not shy away from attempting to inflict his own particular brand of bigotry when he blatantly proclaims that the Roman Catholic Church has a lock, if you will, on what constitutes an appropriate meaning of the sacrament of holy communion, when he brands the manner in which the sacrament is administered in Protestant churches a meaningless ritual because Protestants don’t believe that they are actually eating Christ’s body or drinking the actual blood of Christ.
Small wonder that, while the gates of hell may not be prevailing against the Roman Catholic Church, they are doing one hell of a job shaking things up.
Herb Morrison
St. John’s
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