Letters

Lost opportunity

Maureen Federico

Contents - Dec 2009 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Benedict XVI: When God entered human history - Pope Benedict XVI Ut Unum Sint: Benedict XVI eases way for Anglicans wishing to 'cross the Tiber' - Michael Gilchrist News: The Church Around the World Marriage: A Biblical defence of marriage: Africans take the lead - Babette Francis Victoria: Abortion evil: pro-life forces need to be united - John Morrissey Episcopacy: Church leadership responsibilities: an American case study - Phil Lawler Events: Melbourne - The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (1962 Missal) How to get Vatican II back on track: a bishop's prescription - Bishop R. Walker Nickless (Sioux City, Iowa) Foundations of Faith: The Eucharist: what the Old and New Testaments tell us - Br Barry Coldrey Vatican II: Yves Congar, Vatican II, ecumenism: finding the right balance - Andrew Kania Saints: Saint Damien of Molokai: Robert Louis Stevenson's prediction fulfilled Letters: New religion - Peter Donald Letters: Stewardship - Peter Finlayson Letters: Greens and Church - Kevin Cains Letters: Climate change - A.R. (Tony) Grieve Letters: Lost opportunity - Maureen Federico Letters: Saint Damien of Molokai - Arnold Jago Letters: Women priests - Ken Bayliss Letters: Complementarity - Kathleen Wood Books: 111 QUESTIONS ON ISLAM: Samir Khalil Samir SJ on Islam and the West - Michael E Daniel (reviewer) Books: THE MASS AND THE SAINTS, by Thomas Crean OP - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: IMAGES OF HOPE, EUROPE TODAY AND TOMORROW, by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: This month's selection from AD Books Reflection: The sacrament of Christian marriage: a nuptial Mass homily - Fr Glen Tattersall

In general the ABC is to be congratulated on the Q&ampA series which gives the viewer a chance to discern the thinking behind some of our people 'in the know' and an effort is made to balance the panellists.

However, on the program of 1 October Fr Frank Brennan SJ let his side down disappointingly. He seemed overawed by Christopher Hitchens, an avowedly militant atheist, and out of his depth trying to be 'all things to all men' in his obscurantist answer on gay 'marriage'.

The program consists of fast repartee and allows no time for the ponderous tactics of a bush lawyer. A sharp Fr Brennan could have quickly and quietly explained the real meaning of marriage as a one man/one woman lifelong commitment which is the nucleus of our society, the outcome being of mutual support and the safe rearing of the next generation, our most precious natural resource. All lost.

Even in regard to gay people there was no help either in trying to ape conventional morality, only serving to make the whole thing look like a circus. They in turn lose their dignity as human beings. Something intrinsically wrong, no matter what the spin, can never be made right.

MAUREEN FEDERICO
Frankston South, Vic

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 22 No 11 (December 2009 - January 2010), p. 15