Ratzinger's prizes
Sir: If Cardinal Ratzinger has a more flippant and cynical attitude to his fellow men than Vera Buchanan showed ('Fraternal conversation', 6 October), he deserves all the prizes offered for the Treasure Hunt, including a single air ticket to Delhi or Bombay. She asks what Fr Leonard Boff was defending himself against. I can offer a clue. Britain has the Trade Descriptions Act, which requires merchandise to be what it purports to be, because ordinary customers are not equipped to test its chemical or mechanical properties. Most ordinary Catholics are not equipped to test the theological content of a book. If it is written by a priest, whom they know to have been trained for his office, they reasonably assume that it is consistent with their faith. Should it be inconsistent with their faith, they have a right to be warned of the fact.
Why had Vera Buchanan to write of Fr Boffs 'circus of cardinals and siblings' when 'circle' would have been more man- nerly? Why was it noteworthy that a Franciscan should wear his habit on a formal occasion? The words `Macchiavel- lian red herring' were unworthy. Finally, how would this writer react if Catholic clergy stirred up civil war in South Amer- ica? The conflict would be prolonged, because other powers would intervene on both sides. It could lead to a world war. The poor would suffer even more.
Mary A. Lynch
St Joseph's Nursing Home, 15 Churcli Street, London N9
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