Sir, - It's extraordinary how quickly debates on Christian theology move towards positions of intransigence, surely a paradox in itself. The letters from Brian Rush (July 10th) and Rudolph Lohse (July 12th ) highlight this tendency.
Certainly, the views and customs of Roman Catholics on transubstantiation should be respected, as should those whose belief is in the symbolism of the Eucharist. Despite their fundamentally different perspectives they share much more in common theologically than that on which they differ. What is lacking is the mechanism through which all Christians may share in the celebration of the Last Supper. When the will is there it will be done.
I'm afraid that when it comes to either written or verbal dogmatic viewpoints, what comes to my mind is not the infallibility of a particular dogma but the very imperfect fallibility of the human mind. What is certain is that if Christians truly believed they would make such a commotion that the world would notice! Incidentally, a statistic which I recently heard, coincidentally on the feast of Corpus Christi, is that there are currently over 30,500 separate Christian groups in existence. That in itself is symbolic of the scandalous brokenness of the one body of Christ and should give rise to more than metaphorical food for thought. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Vincent Kenny, Director, Volunteer Missionary Movement (Europe), All Hallows College, Dublin 9.