The telegragh today published my response to Hilary Mantel who said no respectable person would support the Catholic Church.
Dear
Sir,
Hilary Mantel opines (14th May) that the Catholic Church is not a place for respectable people.
I am sure Mother Teresa of Calcutta would have agreed, caring as she did for the unloved and rejected. The church preaches an option for the poor, not the respectable. I once drove the late Lord Longford to visit a criminal in prison. He made it clear to me that the church should care for those on the margins.
Christians believe that it was those who thought themselves respectable, the Pharisees, who sought the death of Jesus. The church is for all, especially those outside it, but the self satisfied do not feel they need God's help.
Unwittingly, Hilary Martel points to the Christian belief that the church is a sacrament, a means of grace, to the world.
Yours faithfully,
Robert Tickle,
Hilary Mantel opines (14th May) that the Catholic Church is not a place for respectable people.
I am sure Mother Teresa of Calcutta would have agreed, caring as she did for the unloved and rejected. The church preaches an option for the poor, not the respectable. I once drove the late Lord Longford to visit a criminal in prison. He made it clear to me that the church should care for those on the margins.
Christians believe that it was those who thought themselves respectable, the Pharisees, who sought the death of Jesus. The church is for all, especially those outside it, but the self satisfied do not feel they need God's help.
Unwittingly, Hilary Martel points to the Christian belief that the church is a sacrament, a means of grace, to the world.
Yours faithfully,
Robert Tickle,
