Dear Editor,
Having read both volumes of Henri l’Église et des Blocher’s La doctrine de sacrements, I was surprised and disappointed to read (in your October 2024 issue) Leonardo de Chirico’s article ‘A new theological critique of Roman Catholicism.’
Even though an introductory paragraph surveys the broad scope of volume 1, and states that the article will concentrate on just one aspect, the impression created by your title and by the article as a whole is that the book’s main thrust is to provide a critique of Roman Catholicism. That is far from being the case. Positive teaching on the Biblical doctrine of the church has to come to grips with what has been said and done over the centuries, and that is what H. Blocher has done. The back cover mentions the polemics that have arisen among different Christian traditions, in ecumenical debates, and even among evangelicals, without citing Catholicism in particular.
For the sake of comparison, we can note how the book is divided up: pages 17–106 the church in Scripture; pages 107–170 the Catholic conception of the church; pages 171–222 the Reformed (paedobaptist) conception of the church; pages 223–295 the Credobaptist conception of the church. Catholicism, though dealt with thoroughly, accounts for only about 20% of volume 1.
H. Blocher has participated in international dialogue with the Roman Catholic church and, here in France, was for several years a member of the National Catholic-Evangelical Conversation Group, of which I was co-chair.
Yours sincerely,
Gordon Margery, France
