Occasional NRODT contributor Father George W. Rutler e-mails: “If Mr. Derbyshire is correct in thinking that “obessive dwelling on the physical details of Christ’s passion” is “a very RC thing”, I expect Christ is very RC. He thought about it long before it happened, and replied in very strong RC tones when St. Peter told him to lighten up (Matt. 16: 21ff). St. Peter ended up quite a prominent RC himself. So did Monsignor Ronald Knox (1888-1957) who recalled the Church of England’s squeamishness about matters necessary for salvation:
When suave politeness, tempering bigot zeal,
Corrected “I believe” to “One does feel.”