Mr. Oppornockity

Vincent Twomey, SVD

Vincent Twomey has already given us his definition of the informed conscience. It is not one I agree with but it is in keeping with the teachings of the old régime and it has a very fine punch line in: the Church can teach no wrong.

My own feeling is that the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church has, on at least two occasions in the last half millennium, looked a gift horse in the mouth.

The first was Martin Luther, who presented the church with a real opportunity to reform itself, protect its mission, and stay in touch with the rest of humanity. Rejected. Heresy.

The second was the Modernists who attempted to rid the church of some of its most objectionable and obstructive features, such as bureaucratisation and excessive centralised control. Rejected. Heresy.

We are now in an age when many of the features of these two opportunities are re-presenting themselves and show signs of being embraced enthusiastically by the new régime.

There is, however, one big stumbling block which is not being tackled and it is one that is contributing to an enduring, scandalous and unnecessary breach within the Christian community. This is the Real Presence (of Christ in the Eucharist).

I touched on this matter myself in my paper for the 2012 Eucharistic Congress but I think the time is now ripe for a deeper and more authoritative treatment of the matter from a perhaps more sympathetic source. It is an opportunity that, if now missed, may not come again.

I think Vincent would be just the man for the job. It would give him a chance to display any qualities he might think would endear him to the new régime. But, of course, there is always the danger of reverting to form and to guard against this his output would need to be peer reviewed before seeing the light of day.

And what better peer reviewers than Frs. Seán Fagan and Tony Flannery.

Over to you Vincent.