A Rebuke of a Rejoinder

I begin with a bow, for Fr. John J. Lynch merits a small measure of praise. I applaud his chastisement of hierarchical passivity “in the face of persistent doctrinal, moral, liturgical, and canonical aberrations.” I hail his call for the episcopate to confront the issues of right belief and right conduct and to stand firm in its opposition to the “present evil age.” This, indeed, cannot happen too soon. But I have come to parry with Fr. Lynch not to praise him. [See John J. Lynch, “A Rejoinder,” Oct. 29, 1976, in reply to Paul Williams, “The Severed Roots of American Christianity,” Aug. 6, 1976.]

St. Thomas Aquinas taught us that all clear thinking comes from making constant distinctions. This is an elementary lesson in logic that Fr. Lynch apparently has not learned. In the first place, he fails to discern the difference between the various levels of speech. Mistaking the figurative for the literal, he takes me to task for my usage of the adverb always. Surely, this is nitpicking.

PW

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Paul Williams

I begin with a bow, for Fr. John J. Lynch merits a small measure of praise. I applaud his chastisement of hierarchical passivity “in the face of persistent doctrinal, moral, liturgical, and canonical aberrations.” I hail his call for the episcopate to confront the issues of right belief and right conduct and to stand firm in its opposition to the “present evil age.” This, indeed, cannot happen too soon. But I have come to parry with Fr. Lynch not to praise him. [See John J. Lynch, “A Rejoinder,” Oct. 29, 1976, in reply to Paul Williams, “The Severed Roots of American Christianity,” Aug. 6, 1976.]

St. Thomas Aquinas taught us that all clear thinking comes from making constant distinctions. This is an elementary lesson in logic that Fr. Lynch apparently has not learned. In the first place, he fails to discern the difference between the various levels of speech. Mistaking the figurative for the literal, he takes me to task for my usage of the adverb always. Surely, this is nitpicking.