I found Father Kenneth Doyle’s column, “Resettling Muslims” (CR, March) condescending and demeaning. Asked why Christian migrants should not be given precedence over Muslims, Father Doyle did not initially respond with facts and rational Catholic thought. Instead, he accused the questioner of “blatant bias.” This was unwarranted.
Reasonable people can disagree. Hilaire Belloc, the great Catholic historian, called Islam a heresy and predicted much of today’s problems. Popes Urban II, Innocent III and Gregory IX, among others, declared Islam to be a threat to Christianity. Western Europe and Christianity fought to contain Islamic invasions for nearly a thousand years. Current day prohibition of Christians preaching the Gospel in Muslim countries and demonstrations by Muslims shouting “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” make me skeptical that things have changed very much.
So we have a difference of opinion, not bigotry. Father Doyle should apologize.
Edwin Soeffing
Severna Park
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