the Davis crash victims

book
BY A STAFF REPORTER THE Charles Davis "I ac
cuse" book, A Question of Conscience, is due to be released in Britain on November 20.
In it the former Catholic' priest theologian explains why he left the Catholic Church last December.
The book will be reviewed in the CATHOLIC HERALD by Fr. Michael Richards, editor of Clergy Review.
PAMPHLET REPLY The same day the Davis book goes on sale a pamphlet replying to his charges is being released by "Living Parish Pamphlets" of London.
In this 16-page 5,000 word booklet, the famous Dominican theologian and lecturer, Fr. Cornelius Ernst, of Blackfriars, Oxford, will answer the main points raised by Professor Davis, now a resident lecturer at Edmonton University, Alberta, Canada.
By pure chance the German theologian and close friend of Davis, Fr. Hans Kung has just written a book, The Church, which will also be seen as a reply.
Fr. Kung says he had written the book—to be released in January — without knowing anything about the Davis decision. -And precisely because it was not written as an apologia, it may better perform this service."
However, Fr. Kung, who like Charles Davis has known the weight of censorship and ecclesiastical wrath, says "we cannot, nor ought we, judge one who has left us."
"TORTURED MAN"
He adds: "We have to respect the conscientious decision of this tortured man, even when it is not our own. And we should not forget another thing: we who are in the Church and who believe in the Church, must recognise the challenge which is issued to the Church by the decision.
"Still more; we should meet this challenge not with feeble distinctions, but with a true, sincere answer.
"And such a true and sincere answer can be given not simply in words but in the end only with deeds. Ultimately, our task is not simply to interpret the reality of the Church, but in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to change it.
• Mr. Davis will be discussing his book in a recorded interview on Radio Four at 8 p.m. on Sunday, November 19.