“Trying to comment on specific excerpts made by one Cardinal of the Church without reference to the whole of his thesis is problematical. Why then evangelize? Why have missionaries? St. Paul should have left the pagans alone? Why have converts from other Christian denominations to the Catholic Church? Why did Cardinal Henry Newman, GK Chesterton, and the long parade of distinguished atheists, including a former Rabbi of Rome, bother to convert to Catholicism? Why have martyrs? Indeed, why did Christ provide the Great Commission to Peter and his Apostles to “Go forth and teach all nations....” and establish His Church (not Churches) where the gates of hell shall not prevail against it?”
That’s a question you’ll have to ask the Cardinal. It is not an opinion I have not encountered with Catholics before. In fact, on other forums, they call me bigoted for denying them.
Establish his Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevai; against it?
Umm..which Church do you think that turned out to be?
There is too much of PC going on. A must-read is from one of the great English essayists, Hillaire Belloc: “The Heretics.” This book is brilliantly written and argued. Unfortunately, we have a number of “low-intellect” Christians who go around simply quoting snatches from the Bible and religious treatises taken out of scriptural context, history, tradition, revelation, and liturgy.