Questions for O’Callaghan

THE EDITOR: Some of my thoughts in reply to Ms O’Callaghan’s article. It seems that your article on “Why Catholics are leaving the Church” is over (finally). I just have some questions for you to ponder and not necessarily answer, because it is not what I believe, but rather what you believe and practice and what you do not what I do. First, having written and (hopefully) read your verbose and lengthy article (over the last five or six weeks), do you believe that you have answered the question which caused you to write this article? Additionally, do you think that the average reader of the newspaper understood everything? Do you think you have clearly identified the specific reasons? Can you list them in point form in simple language? Secondly, do you believe that, if they have read your article, atheists, agnostics, non-practising Catholics, other Christian denominations, teenagers etc, will be galvanised into joining, re-joining, become practising believers in our Church and our faith? Do you believe that your article will have helped them come to a determining position of becoming Catholic or will they stay as non-believers, dropouts or other Christian faiths who tell us so?

Third, you have delivered many ideas citing many authors and events, including race. I might be totally wrong here, but I do not recall seeing any suggestion to reverse this trend or what we should do to increase the numbers and vibrancy of our Church. Again, correct me if I am wrong, but I also do not recall seeing any references to the Bible in support of your arguments (uh huh, The Bible. You would be surprised what it contains, for instance there is one teaching about the rich young man who could not give up all his wealth to follow Jesus). Finally, over the length of time it has taken for this article to be written and published, have you convinced a non-believer to give our church a try? Have you convinced a non-practiser to begin practising again?  Do you have a RCIA candidate you are sponsoring for entry into our Church? Or do you sit prayerfully in Church, praying for yourself and perhaps immediate family and thinking about how you do the right things while others don’t? I cannot tell people how to be Catholic or to be better Catholics so I am in no way questioning your faith or how you practise it. The above are the more salient questions prompted by your articles. May God bless and keep you Ms O’Callaghan and provide you with infinite mercy and graces.

BRUCE  HAMEL
Tunapuna