THEOLOGY 1S FOR LAYMEN
TOO . .
DR. FRANK SHEED, the internationally known lay theologian, had some strong words to say about the laity's " religious illiteracy ", when he addressed high school teachers in St. Louis, U.S.A., during his recent American tour.
Many educated Catholics have gone through theology and apologetic courses as though they were "learning geometry" he said. They feel that the great doctrines of religion are not to be applied to everyday living, that the study of theology belongs only to the educated clergy. y* y* A Mass they have no idea what they are witnessing because their grasp of the Incarnation and the doctrines of Redemption and the Blessed Trinity is "so smudgy". "The soul of the layman has the same need for dogma and truths of revelation as the soul of the priest," Dr. Sheed declared. "These truths of revelation proceed from the mouth of God. They are a food, and those who don't nourish themselves with this food are starved." Dr. Sheed stressed the need for laymen and women to speak up for and about the Church when talking to a friend or a neighbour "Upon that voice, the conversion of the vast non-Catholic world depends, and that voice is silent." With a good knowledge of the Faith, he said, laymen could talk about it conversationally instead of shying away when the opportunity arose.