Pope Francis arrives to attend an afternoon session of a two-week synod on family issues at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014. Catholic bishops predicted widespread approval Saturday of a revised document laying out the church's position on gays, sex, marriage and divorce, saying the report is a "balanced" reflection of church teaching and pastoral demands. The final report of the two-week meeting of bishops will be voted on later Saturday. (AP Photo)
He’s missing the message
Matthews’ column is baffling. He acknowledges that he is full of anger at the church.
He rejects some well-known Catholic teachings. He speaks cavalierly about hell.
He sees no difference between people who commit serious sins, stop and repent, and those who commit serious sins, don’t stop and don’t repent.
He seems to have nothing but scorn for the Catholic Church’s clergy, including the bishops who are, in Catholic theology, the successors of the Apostles themselves.
And he misunderstands the current state of the Catholic discipline regarding abstinence from meat on Fridays.
I was left wondering whether he has ever taken the time to study why the church teaches the things it teaches — especially on the matters he disagrees with.
Mr. Matthews, please write a follow-up column under the headline “Why I am a Catholic.” I really want to know.
Greg Lensing, Dallas
A simplistic mistake
Frank Matthews, in his somewhat nasty attack on the Catholic Church and Catholics, makes a very simplistic mistake.
He believes that it is important that Catholics are being judged daily by the church or one another. In fact, in Matthew 7:1-3 King James Version, the Lord simply said: Judge not, that ye be not judged.
We Catholics believe we all will be judged one day, but by God, not Catholic officials, Mr. Matthews’ Community Voices, or anyone else.
Paul Knopick, Denton