Devon Dick

Michael Burke, Roman Catholic apologist, in response to my article 'Doubting Mother Teresa' (October 30) said "According to Dick, uncertainty is understandable, but doubting is not (my paraphrase)" (Jamaica Observer, November 1, page 10).

I, however, never said any such thing. And, having misread me and put words into my mouth, he then refutes what I did not say and concluded by saying, "No one knows for sure, however, if or when Mother Teresa will be canonised, as it is a very thorough process. In any event, the final is the Almighty God."

Misunderstood article

I am not sure what those sentences mean. Apparently, he is saying I should not question Mother Teresa being canonised and that God is the one who selects the Roman Catholic saints.

Burke misunderstood my article. I said that persons are doubting Mother Teresa because she expressed feelings of abandon-ment and displayed doubt about some things. I am aware of some Roman Catholics and atheists who have raised serious doubts about her and I came to her defence in my article when I said, "It is, therefore, not unusual for Christians in the face of great challenges and burdens to feel abandoned by God. Mother Teresa is no different and should not be crucified for that. She should be commended for her honesty in sharing her spiritual suffering with God and her superiors."

I illustrated my position by saying that Jesus and Elijah felt abandonment!

I also said that doubt is a sin and added, "But we who are Christians must remember that we all fall short of the glory of God. We do sin. We do have lack of faith. We have fears. And we doubt the ability of God to protect, provide and to empower."

That is saying that we are like mother Teresa. Why then is Michael Burke expressing doubts about what I wrote?

Is it because I said doubting is a sin? In the book of Romans we read, "But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14: 23).

Why did Bro. V. James claim that "whenever October 31 comes around the Rev. Devon Dick will not allow us to forget what he considers the wrongdoing of the Catholic Church 500 years ago" and add that I am "anti-Catholic" (The Gleaner, November 2).

I wrote in defence of a Roman Catholic nun and he calls me 'anti-Catholic'. Sadly, Brother James does not give one iota of evidence to show that every year I write an 'anti-Catholic' article.

Running a risk

I have written glowing tributes about the late Archbishop Samuel Carter, including asking that the then government name a part of the Highway after Carter.

I have spoken on a Sunday morning at the Roman Catholic Church of the Reconciliation, St. Catherine. Would they have asked for an anti-catholic to address their audience?

Last year, I received a letter from a Catholic nun which gushed with praises for me, the contents of which I would not share publicly.

Last year, I gave the George Liele Lecture and I criticised some aspects of the Baptist Church. Does it mean I am 'anti-Baptist'?

In my book, Rebellion to Riot: The Jamaican Church in Nation Building, I have a chapter titled 'Sins of the Church'. Does it mean I am 'anti-church?'

Sadly, in Jamaica if one is critical of a political organisation or a church belief or practice, one runs the risk of being called names and be regarded as enemy.