Letters

Year of the Lord (letter)

Fr Chrysostom Alexander

Contents - May 2000 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference - Michael Gilchrist Australian Catholic University student survey - Michael Gilchrist News: The Church Around the World How do we know whether a sacrament is valid or not? - Fr Peter Joseph The priesthood: John Paul II's Holy Thursday Letter sets guidelines - Pope John Paul II What are the foundations of a good Catholic education? - Dr. John J. Haldane Understanding the Incarnation - Msgr Peter J. Elliott Books: Francis Thompson: author of 'The Hound of Heaven' - Michael Daniel How the future John Paul II saved a Jewish girl's life - Zenit News Service Letters: Women's report: a reply (letter) - Dr Marie McDonald Letters: Nothing to do? (letter) - Frank Mobbs Letters: More on Adelaide (letter) - Margret E. Mills Letters: Women in the Church (letter) - Marie Kennedy Letters: 'Day of Pardon' (letter) - Paul MacLeod Letters: Reply to Fr Frank Brennan (letter) - Richard Egan Letters: God's love (letter) - Justin Ford Letters: EWTN visit (letter) - Mike Keating Letters: Mixed marriages (letter) - John Schmidt Letters: Archbishop Pell defended (letter) - Fr Kevin Ryan Letters: Year of the Lord (letter) - Fr Chrysostom Alexander Books: 'Three Inns of Everlasting Happiness' by Fr Fabian Duggan - Catherine Sheehan (reviewer) Books: 'The Wisdom of Adrian Fortescue' ed. Michael Davies - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: 'The Legacy of Pope John Paul II' ed. Geoffrey Gneuhs - Anthony Cappello (reviewer) Books: 'The Ever-Illuminating Wisdom of St Thomas Aquinas' by Peter Kreeft et al - Tracey Rowland (reviewer) Reflection: Mary's divine motherhood: central to God's plan of salvation - Sr Mary Augustine Lane OP

Your paragraph (March AD2000, p. 4) on the projected abolition in the UK of the letters "AD" from the numerals of the year was the cause of some dismay.

The degree of dismay deepened considerably, however, on the accidental discovery that a number of Sydney Catholic schools have been promoting this concept for some time now.

In one instance, which occurred about two years ago, a (then) Year 11 pupil recounted how his class had been required to replace BC and AD with BCE and CE in Religious Studies essays. Failure to comply was dealt with by deduction of marks. When the pupil in question voiced his objections, the teacher allegedly retorted: "Oh, I thought you were a nice boy!" (Emphasis mine).

Having been relegated to the company of unrepentant nasties, the lad later left the school because of its pathetic religion program.

Another young teacher of devout Catholic upbringing told me quite recently how this part of the curriculum caused distress to some of her young pupils unwilling to see Our Lord removed from his place in history. That she could see nothing wrong in this was no doubt the result of years of diluted RE taking their toll.

To make any objection is to invite the accusation of intolerance. The mother of the not-so-nice boy summed it up all rather neatly when she said: "It seems we have to be tolerant of all faiths except the Catholic!"

FR CHRYSOSTOM ALEXANDER
Campsie, NSW

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 13 No 4 (May 2000), p. 16