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Why
don't you write your own letter to our editor. You
can simply email it to:
editor@theword.ie
or you can post it to the following address:
The Word,
Divine Word Missionaries,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare,
IRELAND
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Dear Editor,
I had a special interest in the October issue. It has an account of the wreck of the ship Leon XIII in 1907. (By Kevin Laheen, SJ. pp16-17) I was born in Quilty and my father used to tell us how the church in Quilty was built. When the tide was out the men lit a fire on the rocks. When the sea came back over the rocks it split them. These rocks were used to build the Star of the Sea church in Quilty.
Brendan O’Boyle, Co Clare
Dear Editor,
I was very much impressed by Fr Twomey's articles explaining the rationale behind the Church's teachings, particularly the so-called 'hard' teachings. I think this was a great idea, as many of the Church's wise teachings have been unfairly caricatured by sections of the media in recent times. So it is good to redress the balance.
I also like the interviews with people who have a positive outlook & view of the Church. It's a welcome change from the usual one-sided/negativity usually carried by a hostile & unbalanced media. The recent interview with Ronan Mullen was very impressive. As was the article by Vincent McKee. As Ronan Mullen observed, a healthy open media is good for society, however, many journalists use their position to promote their own narrow agenda & are hyper-sensitive to any criticism of their own short-comings.
Magazines like yours are essential in giving us a more rounded view of the Church's mission & of the attitudes of ordinary Catholic laity (& other people/religions of good will) in all walks of life.
Eric Conway, Co Meath
Dear Editor,
Please find enclosed a prayer for priests which I came across recently. It was an old practice which sadly seems to have disappeared.
The magazine is most interesting and informative – a good read. Well done!
Anne Hanley, Co Mayo
A Prayer for Priests
Keep them, I pray thee, dearest Lord,
Keep them, for they are thine.
Thy priests whose lives burn out before
They consecrated shrine.
Keep them for they are in the world
Though from the world apart,
When earthly pleasures tempt, allure,
Shelter them in they heart.
Keep them, and comfort them in hours
Of loneliness and pain
When all their life of sacrifice
For souls seems but in vain.
Keep them, and O remember Lord
They have no one but Thee
Yet they have only human hearts,
With human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the host,
That daily, they caress.
Their every thought and word and deed,
Deign, Dearest Lord, to bless.
Dear Editor,
It is interesting to hear how Ireland has changed since we were there on a visit in 1995. The news about the Polish people is very interesting. I do enjoy the various articles and Bible commentaries as well as news of Europe and people in the Third World. We have a strong mission to the needs of those in the South Pacific as well as the suffering in the other countries and a part of our parish commitment.
It seems strange that our country is so rich and yet we have such poverty around us. Our daily paper seems to relish reporting violence and aggression, which I find depressing. Topics on TV and the media seem to concentrate on such to the point that I wonder why they do not comment on kindness, gentleness and compassion amongst people.
I always feel more cheerful after finishing The Word each month. May you continue to uplift us and enlighten us. God bless you in your work.
Helen Murray, Australia
Dear Editor,
The article: "Is Evolution compatible with Creation?" (The Word, Nov pp12) states: "The Church ... never accepted an exclusively literal approach to Scripture." Appended are a few things the Church has said:
God created everything "in its whole substance" from nothing (ex nihilo) in the beginning. (Lateran IV; Vatican Council I)
Genesis does not contain purified myths. (Pontifical Biblical Commission 1909[1])
Genesis contains real history—it gives an account of things that really happened. (Pius XII)
The body of Eve was specially created from a portion of Adam's body (Leo XIII). She could not have originated via evolution.
Various senses are employed in the Bible, but the literal obvious sense must be believed unless reason dictates or necessity requires (Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus).
We must believe any interpretation of Scripture that the Fathers taught unanimously on a matter of faith or morals (Council of Trent and Vatican Council I).
All the Fathers who wrote on the subject believed that the Creation days were no longer than 24-hour-days. (Consensus of the Fathers of the Church)
St Peter and Christ Himself in the New Testament confirmed the global Flood of Noah. It covered all the then high mountains and destroyed all land dwelling creatures except eight human beings and all kinds of non-human creatures aboard the Ark (Unam Sanctam, 1302)
Evolution must not be taught as fact, but instead the pros and cons of evolution must be taught. (Pius XII, Humani Generis)
Investigation into human ‘evolution’ was allowed in 1950, but Pope Pius XII feared that an acceptance of evolutionism might adversely affect doctrinal beliefs. Partial quote from: What Does The Catholic Church Teach about Origins? http://www.kolbecenter.org/church_teaches.htm
Joseph Ulicki, a Christian (Catholic) parent, Canada
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Copyright 2006 by theword.ie
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