Interested in the Atheistic Perspective

In response to Gabrielle Bernard's July 5 article [We Don’t Have Another 400 Years], I am eager to discover how a true student of early Roman Catholicism does not know the contents of the Didache (the writings of the twelve apostles). It is curious how this fundamental treatise eludes Ms. Bernard, yet she is quick to point out early church fallacies—which do not shock modern day Catholics who retain even a modicum of knowledge about the church's early days. If Ms. Bernard feels that refuting her statements with solid facts is "bullying," perhaps she should not submit her writings for public perusal.

As for her "Catholic" sources, I would strongly remind her to differentiate between the Roman Catholic Church and the American Catholic Church, as there is a significant disparity between the two, the latter being the more liberal. I recently met a self-proclaimed Catholic who did not even know what transubstantiation is, so before writing another piece, I would ask her to check the validity of her "Catholic" sources. I would also caution her against "suspecting" that based on her family and friends 100% of Catholics use artificial contraception. If one wishes to get an accurate depiction of Roman Catholicism, mild objectivity is essential.

In regards to comments made about our Jewish brethren, I think most of us are aware that the Jews did not kill Jesus, and I would like to remind her that during the Holocaust, thousands of Jews were saved by Catholic priests.

Galileo, a convinced Copernican, had a penchant for making enemies unnecessarily. While his contributions on heliocentrism and the forces at play in the states of rest and motion are significant, Galileo could not prove many of his findings. Though the church did not agree with his notion of heliocentrism, he was never prevented from presenting it as theory. When Pope Urban granted Galileo permission to publish his book Dialogue concerning the two world systems, he completely ignored the Tychonic system and put the Pope's argument in the mouth of the village idiot. I would not use Galileo as a compelling example of early church inequities.

Perhaps in her next letter, Ms. Bernard could explain to us Catholics how we are in "error" in abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent; I'm sure many of us are interested in the atheistic perspective.

As a final note, "a rather pleasant, happy atheist" does not write misguided, acrimonious letters about other people's faiths. To quote from the Didache: "Happy is he that gives according to the commandment, for he is guiltless."