SIR – Donal Anthony Foley (Feature, October 13) gives an excellent account of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima. He rightly stresses the devastating impact on two sceptical journalists. But I was once privileged to meet a converted sceptic who was a very different case, and is seldom mentioned in accounts of Fatima – the visionaries’ older sister, Maria.
It was actually journalism that brought this meeting. In the 1950s, when Fatima was attracting widespread interest, there was a wave of misguided speculation. It was alleged that the Miracle of the Sun had foreshadowed a great event which was going to happen in 1960. In those days I was writing occasionally for a Sunday paper. It struck me that the reports of the solar miracle deserved attention in an article. Late in 1959 I suggested to the features editor that I should visit Fatima and see how the topic might be presented to the general public. He agreed, and arranged contacts for me. As a result, I met Maria.
She had had no part in the visions, and told me that, in common with most of her family, she had been unwilling to believe in them. On the day, she was terrified that nothing would happen and the crowd would be enraged. But, she said, the Miracle of the Sun converted her. I asked her what the sun actually appeared to do. She quietly raised one hand and traced a circle in the air with her finger. That was it.
Yes, I am prepared to say that I have met someone who witnessed a miracle. And at the time I was quite content that that word should appear in the heading of my article.
Geoffrey Ashe
Glastonbury, Somerset
SIR – I read with dismay Emma Green’s letter (October 20) in which she related her understanding that popes are chosen at the direction of the Holy Spirit. In this she is no doubt faithful to what some catechist taught her, as this travesty of doctrine seems widespread among Catholics.
If the outcome of a conclave was infallibly an act of the Holy Spirit, there would be no need for all the prayers and Masses we offer seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the conclave. The Church prays for it precisely because it is not guaranteed. It is a burden too heavy for faith to bear that the Holy Spirit actively chose Alexander VI. The Holy Spirit certainly preserved him from teaching error, that much
is true.
Of even more concern is the conclusion she apparently reaches, logical in its way, that the Correctio Filialis opposes the will of God. However one assesses the prudence of that document, it is quite shocking to think that to uphold the unchanging, and unchangeable, teaching of the Church can be construed as criticising the will of God. If that is true then to be Catholic is to be a dupe and a fool.
Fr Hugh Somerville-Knapman OSB
Douai Abbey, Berkshire
SIR – Peter Couch, an Anglican, raises the very pertinent question of who exactly can be considered a member of the Roman Catholic Church when he finds among supposed and/or declared Catholics “those who support abortion, pre-marital sex and same-sex relationships” (Letter, October 13).
There are two steps to find the answer. The first is to grasp the essential point that the doctrines of the Church are not based on or composed of a list of edicts from which a Catholic can pick out some and ignore or reject others. These doctrines are based on the eternal, unchangeable will and Word of God, the writings of the Church Fathers, and the occasional definition of certain items that a pope considers should be reaffirmed publicly for the whole Church, in other words the totality of the Magisterium of the Church. This cannot be changed by anyone.
The second step is to test what a person says and does by examining how it fits in with the Magisterium. Help is readily available here in the form of the slim volume of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the much more detailed, fully referenced Catechism of the Catholic Church, both published by the Catholic Truth Society, and the Bible. An excellent basis can be found in the first publication mentioned. Thus, with regard to abortion, the answer to question 470 on what is forbidden by the Fifth Commandment as “gravely contrary to the moral law” includes “direct abortion, willed as an end or as a means, as well as co-operation in it.
Attached to this sin is the penalty of excommunication because, from the moment of …. conception, the human being must be respected and protected”. A true Catholic has to accept this. The rule is not of my making, nor am I a swivel-eyed “fundamentalist”. The words mean what they say: abortion is a grave sin and those who commit it do so at the peril of their immortal soul.
Mr Couch, and indeed others, will find answers to his other points if he follows my suggestions. He may even come to increase his joy at visiting the Benedictines by joining their faith.
John O’Sullivan
Abingdon, Oxon
SIR – Last week’s BBC Two programme Abortion on Trial was nothing of the sort. It was a free puff for the pro-choice lobby. So how could it be called a “trial”?
Overwhelmingly, the documentary was laced with pro-abortion people who even attempted to push further abortion reforms, in spite of a couple of token spirited pro-life contributors.
Just as seriously, the state broadcaster offended against its own code of practice concerning objective, fair and balanced programming in matters of public contention, hence the compact between the broadcaster and the viewer has broken down.
Bernard Cartwright
Stourbridge, West Midlands
SIR – As the quincentenary of the Reformation comes upon us, it is sad that so many, including Catholics, have bought the Reformation lie about purgatory and indulgences. They seem to have accepted the idea that Fr Johann Tetzel was nothing better than a common huckster, selling a false hope of salvation. However, historical research reveals that he was a godly, devout priest, who defended indulgences magnificently in response to Luther. He demonstrated how they are not a medieval invention, but grounded in the revealed word of God.
As St Paul so beautifully puts it, “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the Church” (Colossians 1:24).
In my 25 years as a Catholic, I have never heard a clear exposition from the pulpit of the beautiful and authentic teaching about indulgences and purgatory. In fact, I have had to learn about them through apologetic websites like Catholic Answers, CTS pamphlets and private reading.
Similarly, when did you last hear the word “purgatory” at a Catholic funeral? People wonder why we have a dearth of vocations and declining congregations. May I suggest that the Catholic faith is not being taught effectively.
Robert Ian Williams
By email
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