Warren

I am very grateful to you for your Christian support and charity.

As you know in CE at present I am in the wars.

You disagree fundamentally with me on one issue. But we agree in so many other things, including our commitment and love of the Church.

With humor, insight and charity you express your views.

I appreciate your frankness.

I may be wrong in my views. I very often am.

However many have deeply held views, and in the heat of debate one is often inclined to lose the head and become abusive, judgmental and unChristian. But you retain your balance and integrity and never lose charity.

It is encouraging for me to know that you are genuinely praying for me and have my interests at heart.

As you know I am having family difficulties at present, so I appreciate your prayers and those of others.

So, Warren, I want to thank you and assure you I value your good Catholic insights.

Warren

I am afraid I do get into skirmishes, but my good friends realize this and support me, even when I am wrong. I do not mean they agree with me, but I think they know I try to be a faithful Catholic.

The principal skirmishes I had were :

1. Married clergy in the Church, but I never discussed women clergy as this issue id not open for debate.

2. The current one about the immorality of voting for Obama.

3. The one about the Eucharist. Someone suggested that Jesus is mystically present in the Eucharistic. I claimed he was really present. Then a very wise person said we were essentially saying the same thing. She was then attacked by everyone. However a person whose views I hugely respect, and will not name him, requested very astutely that I should cool it. The issue then subsided.

4. I disagree fully with one participant here in this round-table who essentially claim flesh is bad, spirit is good. It is not really building up our fellowship here for me to get involved with this person.

In general I think robust debate is good, as long as Catholics do not wander from the official teachings of the Church.

There is room for all of us in the Church.

"There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28).

"I often think it's comical – Fal, lal, la!
How Nature always does contrive – Fal, lal, la!
That every boy and every gal
That’s born into the world alive
Is either a little Liberal
Or else a little Conservative!"
(Gilbert & Sullivan "Iolanthe" http://math.boisestate.edu/GaS/iolanthe/web_op/iol14.html).