Does God answer our prayers? What's the official line?
Saturday, 17th February 2007

Dear friends,

The discussion in recent days in the forum has triggered what I am sure most readers will find a fascinating commentary from Ian Elmer today. It seeks to explore if there might be an official Catholic view on this question of whether or not God answers our prayers and how it might have changed in time.

Also stemming from the discussion from the past week on the editorial policy for Catholica, Cindy is bowing out. In her last column for us she argues her case for a different standard. We wish her well and respect her point of view — and that of the significant number of others who may share similar points of view to Cindy. Over a long period of time I have outlined a different standard to the one argued by Cindy. My own view is that policies like that do also have a tendency to encourage hypocrisy and the sort of double standards that we have seen in the Church in recent times. Community standards have changed in these matters and I believe one of the principal reasons they have changed is because there is a greater degree of honesty in society today. And that is to be encouraged. People today tend not to have one kind of language which they reserve for speaking to their parents, or other authority figures, and a different standard when they are saying what they are really thinking to friends.

Catholica seeks to reflect the community standard as, firstly, it is more honest than the behaviours of the past and, secondly, our prime objective is to be intersecting with those sectors of society that do carry on their normal social intercourse using different standards to those advocated by Cindy.

As outlined on the previous occasions where this issue has come up, none of the above is to be read as implying that there are no language standards that will apply in this place. There are. Coarse language is not some kind of norm for conversations in this place. It will be allowable within reason. To provide some kind of guide it might be allowed, for example, to the sort of extent that it would have been tolerated on Andrew Denton's "Enough Rope" but Billy Connolly would be seen as "pushing the boundary" a little too far. I accept the criticism that my own use of a phrase in a commentary last Monday itself pushed the boundary too far.

If others, besides Cindy, feel uncomfortable with this I trust we have at least provided clear warning as to what our standard will be and why. Our principal objective is to be finding the language and style that does intersect with that now large population out in the community who are disenchanted with various aspects of institutionalised religion and this includes some of the double standards it has encouraged. Even allowing for the greater honesty about language in society today we also respect that there are nuances in different social situations and between, say, spoken English and written English. Catholica does not model itself on some football club locker room anymore than it does to the standards that might apply at a diplomatic reception hosted by the Queen or His Holiness. We seek to find a balance in the language norms that are commonly in use today in the tertiary-educated, opinion-leader segments of society and particularly those segments of the population who have become alienated from the institutional Church. We respect that others in the Church might disagree with the standard I have set and seek to pursue the re-evangelisation endeavour by other means and standards.

And now here's a summary of Ian's commentary today and the lead commentaries we've published in the past week...

Does God answer our prayers? In his commentary today Ian Elmer explores whether the institutional Church might have some formal view on this and what some of the thinking has been at different points in time. He argues the trite response to the question is "God gives us what we need and not what we want!" but goes on to argue that the question also raises the fundamental issue of God's role in the world. [more]

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life, and in our world,

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher
Catholica Australia