Madam, - David O'Hanlon's letter of March 7th proclaims his belief in Roman Catholicism: "For Catholicism is. Protestantism is merely against it. Catholicism is absolute. It exists of and for itself. Protestantism is essentially nothing more than a negative reaction, an entirely negative construct with a wholly external point of reference."
Such rhetoric may captivate impressionable seminarians but it is a complete misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the Reformation. The writer sees nothing positive in the Reformers' emphasis on the authority of scripture because such authority supplants his own. The idea of God speaking to people directly through his word is, after all, so very dangerous. They might start to think for themselves. Monopolies don't normally welcome deregulation.
The Roman Church's rejection of the Reformation mirrors Christ's experience at the hands of the religious establishment whose man-made rules and traditions he exposed.
Christ and the reformers asserted the authority of the word of God. Conservative Roman Catholics appear to have no scruples about ascribing divine inspiration to the opinions of men, even when they clearly contradict the word of God, which is the case with so many of their core beliefs.
Any meaningful debate regarding the authority of scripture and infallibility must address these contradictions. Rome, for example, says that priests must be celibate. The bible says that church leaders may have only one wife. Let's all be honest and admit that both can't be authoritative. - Yours, etc.,
IAN KENNEDY, Riverstown Road, Tramore, Co Waterford.