Letters

Archbishop Pell (letter)

George Christensen

Contents - Sep 2002 - Buy a copy now Editorial: AD2000's Fighting Fund launched - Michael Gilchrist Is the self-destruction of Anglicanism to continue? - Nigel Zimmerman News: The Church Around the World - AD2000 Vocations: Corpus Christi Seminary enrolments bounce back - Michael Gilchrist Promoting Catholic vocations in the Melbourne Archdiocese - Joanne Grainger CHURCH ATTENDANCE: The family, feminism and the declining role of fatherhood - Richard Egan The 1960s 'cultural revolution': from self-sacrifice to self-fulfillment - Fr Gregory Jordan The strange case of Father Damien and Robert Louis Stevenson - Fr F.E. Burns PE Australian Rosary CD wins international recognition - Colleen McGuiness-Howard John Paul II and World Youth Day in Toronto: an Anglican perspective - David Warren Letters: Church design (letter) - Greg Briscoe-Hough Letters: Renovations (letter) Letters: Archbishop Pell (letter) - George Christensen Letters: Abortion (letter) - Bob Denahy Letters: Seminaries (letter) - Andrew Sholl Letters: Media complaints (letter) - Michael Daniel Letters: Feminism dead? (letter) Letters: Teaching the faith (letter) - Kevin McBride Letters: Zero tolerance (letter) - J. Dekker Letters: Priestly 'uniform' (letter) - Philip Robinson Letters: Horse and cart (letter) - Arthur Negus Letters: Shakespeare (letter) - John Doherty Letters: Vatican II (letter) - Valentine Gallagher Books: Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception - Bill Muehlenberg (reviewer) Books: The Arians of the Fourth Century, by John Henry Newman - Peter Westmore (reviewer) Books: The Lost Shrine of Liskeard, by Claire Riche - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: Christianity for Buddhists, by Frederick Farrar - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: Think Piece: Religious, Ethical and Moral Values, by Sebastian Camilleri OFM - Mark Posa (reviewer) Marilen Studios: a Christian approach to business - Joe Padero Music: CD specials from AD Books Reflection: The Christian way to spiritual maturity - Fr Dennis W. Byrnes PP

Labor leader Simon Crean recently called into question Catholic beliefs over Sydney Archbishop George Pell's reported comment that the focus on sexual abuse within the Church deterred focus on greater evils such as abortion.

Mr Crean's comments insinuated that this statement was wrong and reflected badly on Archbishop Pell.

It is the Catholic belief that what is termed as an embryo is human life. The fact is our society considers the destruction of human life a greater crime than sexual abuse, as is evidenced through our legal system. Logic then dictates that anyone who believes an embryo is life would find abortion more of an evil than sexual abuse.

This is not to say sexual abuse is not an evil. Archbishop Pell is aware of that and has been credited for producing the world's best investigation and compensation system for sexual abuse complaints while he was in charge of the Church in Melbourne.

For political leaders to publicly denounce Catholic beliefs as somehow wrong is intolerant, bigoted and certainly deserving of an apology to their Catholic voters.

GEORGE CHRISTENSEN
Mackay, Qld

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 15 No 8 (September 2002), p. 13