JESUIT: Attacks are nothing new

Having just returned from Sunday Mass celebrated by a Jesuit priest from Gonzaga (a “hotbed” of Jesuit activity) I feel compelled to respond to Wilson Herndon’s letter of this same date — April 12. As a Catholic, I am used to attacks upon my church which have been launched continuously for 2,000 years. I generally ignore them as they are weak compared to “the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” Yet this one is different in that it is launched against one specific component of the church — the Jesuits. They have never been a “militia” and they do not infiltrate other religions for whatever mysterious plots are implied. Mr. Hendon refers to a book and a comic strip which allegedly prove his case. If he wishes to compensate me for my time and effort I will gladly compile a list of publications trashing any or all aspects of my church. How many would he like? Ten? A hundred? Several thousand? It is often remarked that anti-Catholicism is the last accepted bigotry. Mr. Hendon claims to not be anti-Catholic but simply wishes to expose “evil.” To paraphrase an old saying: “With friends like that, who needs enemies?”

PHIL MEMBURY

Coeur d’Alene