Madam, - Your Editorial of August 4th accuses the Vatican of "intolerance" in relation to its recent document on the validity of homosexual relationships. The Vatican is, we are told, possessed of "an intolerance bordering on hatred"; and to insist, as its document does, that homosexuals be treated with respect and compassion is "simply not good enough" (good enough for what?). The writer concludes that "tolerance is what is sadly lacking in the Vatican."
This Editorial appears to suffer from the delusion, common among anti-clerical writers of today, that the Catholic Church has some sort of coercive power over society, ruthlessly bending it to her intolerant will. This certainly seems to be the view of Jason Fitzharris, who asks, in his letter of August 5th, how long the Vatican will "continue to treat this country like a feudal vassal".
It is, of course, nonsense. It may have been true at other times in history, and may be true of other faiths in other parts of the world today, but it has nothing to do with the reality of the Church's role in the modern world. The Vatican document simply sets out the traditional Christian teaching on marriage (a teaching which is shared by the other monotheistic faiths, and by the Protestant and Orthodox churches): namely that it is a divinely ordained bond between a man and a woman.
It strives to set this teaching out in language that is sensitive, but also unmistakably clear. The teaching is there, and anyone is free to accept it or reject it as they choose.
The Church will not twist anyone's arm, but she must proclaim the truth as she sees it. The Church's making her own position clear in this way does not make her coercive or "intolerant" in the normal sense of the word.
Yes, her opponents insist, but she is intolerant in the sense that she holds a loving relationship between two people of the same gender to lack the fullness and validity of heterosexual marriage. Well, believing something to be true usually means believing its opposite to be false.
If I think that Juventus is the greatest football team in Europe, I am obviously going to think that Real Madrid is not the greatest football team in Europe - I am, if you like, "intolerant" of the view that Real Madrid is the greatest football team in Europe. And in proclaiming this view, I may offend a lot of people, particularly Real Madrid supporters. But they will realise that they are just as entitled to their view as I am to mine, and will accept our differences and defend their side rather than moaning about my "intolerance".
In the same way, those who believe that marriage is a bond between a man and a woman will believe that views to the contrary are wrong. People should be free to believe others to be wrong without being accused of "intolerance", and those who disagree with the Church's view of marriage should accept her right to proclaim it. After all, her opponents get plenty of opportunities to proclaim theirs. - Yours, etc.,
BRIAN T. HICKEY, Taney Rise, Dublin 14.