Charity and Wesley

Snt,-if you will allow me to add a few more remarks to this discussion, I would say, first, that surely it is a mistake of one of your correspondents to assume that, by taking a charitable rather than a bitterly hostile view, one becomes a "Wesley fan."
A "fan," 1 believe (="fanatic"?) is one who is inordinately devoted to a person. I for one am not inordinately devoted to John Wesley. As I suggested in a former letter, it seems to me that his outstanding doctrine of "assurance" is (unless I mistake its nature) such as to come under the censure of the Council of Trent on "presumptuous self-confidence."
I do still think, however, that in forming an estimate of John Wesley we should take into full account English conditions in his day.
Anglicanism was dry, corrupt and Worldly. The moral conditions of masses of the people were deplorable. He exercised an influence tending to improve things. True, it would have been far better had he been a Catholic; but, as your "Catholic Evidence" writer said, it did not please God "to work the miracle (all but)" that that, in those days, would have needed. So let us take a charitable view and sec the good Wesley did in his limited way.
As to the doctrine of "justification by faith" not being condemned by the Catholic Church. of course what is condemned is "justification by faith only," as taught by Luther and others.
J. W. Poynter. 99 Grosvenor Avenue,
Highbury, N.5.