FAITH OF OUR CHILDREN

MR. SINNOTT and his friends at La Sainte Union College of Education have not yet replied to my letter of March. 5. I am sorry that the queries then raised therefore remain unanswered, for I am sure Mr. Sinnott's reply would have interested a great number of your readers, as well as our Committee.
Pro Fide maintains that it is essential to pursue the enquiry if only because of the number of students now leaving Catholic Colleges of Education with a quite inadequate grasp of the truths of the Catholic Faith. However, in the absence of an answer to our queries, Pro Fide is quite willing to proceed to the second part of the discussion and illustrate, as we do below, some of the more disquieting trends in contemporary religious education:
1 —The authoritative teach ing ing of the Church should be accepted only with reservation. It is emphasised that, in any case, it can only have a provisional character and that it can be erroneous. Some doctrines are omitted altogether as scarcely relevant to the modern age and all seem to be subject to the interpretation of the individual conscience.
The Church's official tea chingg on Original Sin is not given. as it is held to conflict with science. And since Adam never existed and original sin is identified with growing to maturity in a sinful environment, i.e. by imitation not by propagation, the need for infant baptism is questioned and Redemption has little relevance.
3—"Transignification" a n d "transfinal isation" are mentioned as more meaningful than Transubstantiation. The physical Real Presence is
scarcely referred to, nor is any serious effort made to engender devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. The sacrificial element in the Mass is virtually suppressed: in its stead, the emphasis is all on the Mass as a "meat".
Angels and devils are 4 represented as being per
sonifications of good or evil without real existence. They do not affect Catholic life today and can therefore largely be ignored, as can Hell. since the modern mind cannot reconcile the idea of damnation with the omnipotence of an all-loving God.
Pro Fide would be very happy to demonstrate the danger to the faith of our children inherent in such teaching. Perhaps Mr. Sinnott would give us his views?
E M. Wade Honorary Secretary, Pro Fide Movement Croydon, Surrey.