Letters: Quiet revolutionary

The
Catholic Weekly
Online

Sydney
23 November 2003

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Editorial: Young hopefuls

Letters: Quiet revolutionary

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Virtual boost to learning

‘Big kids’ meet ‘littlies’

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Letters: Quiet revolutionary

Lech Walesa, one of the most remarkable revolutionaries of recent times, has just visited Sydney.

The feisty Catholic unionist, who led the Poles out of Communism, peacefully changed the shape of Poland, Eastern Europe, and indeed the world.

A charismatic man with a quick wit and the gift of the gab, Lech Walesa is a born leader. His journey began in the Gdansk shipyards, where thousands of workers toiled under terrible conditions. In 1980 he led striking workers in negotiations which eventually gave them the unprecedented right to organise an independent (non-communist) trade union - Solidarnosc (Solidarity).

Despite harassment and imprisonment, Lech Walesa led Solidarity to become a major political party, gaining the support of many Polish people, including the Pope John Paul II.

In 1981 he was received at the Vatican, and in 1990 was elected president of the Republic of Poland, a post he held until 1995. Where Poland led, the rest of Central Europe soon followed - and the Soviet Union was not far behind.

He has been quoted as pointing to Catholicism as a source of strength and inspiration. As the father of eight children, another great belief is on the importance of the family.

The values of Mr Walesa have much to say in the Australian context.

Equality, mateship and the desire for a ‘fair go’ are synonymous with Australian culture. And from the day we stood together at the Eureka stockade, Australians have had a proud record of solidarity and collectivism.

It seems that it’s time for our own revolution. Where the life of Christ is revived through solidarity and compassion, the dignity and rights of all human beings can be developed and respected.

In a speech at Government House, Mr Walesa declared that ‘in spirit’ he is still a revolutionary. Perhaps it’s time for compassionate Australians to join his quiet revolution.

Virginia Judge MP
Strathfield, NSW

EXUBERANT

Alf Zammit is exuberant in his desire to turn Sunday Mass into a time for meeting and greeting other Mass-goers (Welcoming community, Letters CW 26/10).

If we “attend Mass as individuals” sitting absorbed in “our own prayers and thoughts, we might just as well stay home”. Really?

Moreover, according to your enthusiastic correspondent, the men should shake hands firmly with the men nearby and if they know the ladies, give them ‘a kiss’.

The congregation at the Masses where my wife and family attend Mass are all friendly and responsive, without overdoing things, at the appropriate time.

They have a sense of occasion and worship with dignity and respect. After all, the sacrifice of the Mass is a solemn celebration.

If people attending Mass wish to meditate and pray quietly without interruption, that is their God-given right in a Catholic church. Forced handshakes, hugs and kisses, etc, do not belong in a Catholic church during Sunday Mass. No sir.

Furthermore, there is always a danger of someone taking liberties with their kisses which could result in a reaction that is the exact opposite of the sign of peace. Personal choice in such matters is the way of authentic peace and a spirit of welcoming,

Thomas A Watkin
Burwood, Vic.

INFORMATION

Once I started reading George Pell by Tess Livingston, I could not put it down. It is well written, easy to read and full of information.

It covers his life, his involvement in sport, his studies in Rome, as well as his nine-year association with the missions through Caritas. His achievements with seminaries and the religious education of youth and school children are impressive.

Opus Dei, Humanae Vitae and even Harry Potter are explained in simple language. And Agatha Christie and John Le Carré get a mention too.

I wonder how many other people have read it and what they thought of it?

Avonia Moran
East Ryde, NSW

LITURGICAL NORMS

Nowhere in my letter (New Mass, Letters CW 19/10) did I question someone’s orthodoxy (Unorthodox laughter, Letters CW 2/11).

I was concerned with obedience to liturgical norms or standards of conduct as laid down in Canon Law and Vatican decrees, in particular those emanating from the instruction Liturgicae Instaurationes (Liturgical Renewal, 1970) e.g. The Collaboration of the Non-Ordained, #6, 2,1997).

Arthur Negus
Tuggerawong, NSW

INERRANT

There are no contradictions in the Bible (Biblical errors, Letters CW 2/11).

It is inerrant.

Tony Taylor
Oatley, NSW

FUNDAMENTALISM

Recent writers have touched upon the problems of inerrancy in Holy Scripture (No contradictions, Sodom and Gomorrah, Letters, CW 19/10; Biblical errors, Letters, CW 2/11; Interpretations, Letters, CW 9/11).

In March 1994, the Pontifical Biblical Commission commented quite briefly on this and other complex issues in The Interpretation of The Bible in the Church.

“... Fundamentalism also places undue stress upon the inerrancy of certain details in the biblical texts, especially in what concerns historical events or supposedly scientific truth. It often historicises material which from the start never claimed to be historical. It considers historical everything that is reported or recounted with verbs in the past tense, failing to take the necessary account of the possibility of symbolic or figurative meaning.”

“...Without saying as much in so many words, fundamentalism actually invites people to a kind of intellectual suicide. It injects into life a false certitude, for it unwittingly confuses the divine substance of the biblical message with what are in fact its human limitations.”

The commission, of course, maintains the absolute historical certitude of the salvific events in Holy Scripture and would reject any demythology that was unwarranted and not scientifically and solidly based.

Fr John George
Randwick North, NSW