The story of Jonah is a story. Every story is a story. But that does not mean that the story of Jonah is a mere metaphor, or that the story did not actually take place. The story of Jonah has symbolic meaning that goes beyond the literal account. But that does not imply that the actual account is false or never occurred, or that the Catholic Church officially teaches that the Jonah story never occurred.
-A8
(I just told A8 this on another post, but we just got our power back after the ice storms yesterday morning, so that's where I've been for the last 30 hours or so. Temp. got down to 46 in the house this morning. Pretty cold. :)
The story of Jonah is a story. Every story is a story. But that does not mean that the story of Jonah is a mere metaphor, or that the story did not actually take place.
I agree, but clearly the Catholic author of the quote we are referring to does not agree. He put the word "story" in quotes twice. The context was clear that his intent was that the word not be taken literally. As further proof, he explained the metaphor and what the 'story' of Jonah actually stood for. Again, I don't think your real argument is with us.