Letter: 'Truth' will out

IT IS obvious from the quantity and content of recent letters, feelings are running high amongst many in the wake of the Pope's visit to Scotland. Joyce McMillan's recent essay offered balance, fairness and objectivity against a storm of individual and collective conviction. I don't think that she intended we all "dither" over what is right or wrong.

If we consider the quote offered by Nancy Clusker from Pope Benedict's speech about the "obedience to the truth of the (Catholic] faith", Ms McMillan merely engages with the prudent idea that we all have a right, and indeed a duty, to explore what that "truth" is.

Pope Benedict asserted the "truth" that atheism supported the Nazi's rise in Germany. Yet many historians recognise that Hitler's success in convincing enough of the German people that their economic problems were all the fault of the Jews was largely because of a deeply ingrained anti-Semitism brought about by centuries of hostility towards Jews by the Christian churches.

The glaring contradiction in praising the "unequivocal conviction" of Pope Benedict is to ignore why it took him, whilst a cardinal, seven years to defrock an American priest convicted of child abuse. Perhaps the answer is in one of the quotes from the Pope's correspondence which stated that consideration had to be given as to what was in the best interest of the Church. Does this reveal that at the heart of the Catholic Church there is a "truth" that its own position came before the safety of children?

There have been words of sorrow and apology from the Pope in recent days, but what motivates these words? Genuine regret - or a determination to regain lost ground? The "truth" will be revealed in whether the Church hands over all material to police in every diocese worldwide where allegations of abuse have been made. Perhaps the "truth" is not in doctrine, ritual or dogma, but in how we treat our fellow human beings.

MARGARET DELUSSEY

Oakleigh Drive

Greenock