Paul Rankin’s letter, ‘Play Content Inappropriate for Catholic School’, raises some very cogent and pertinent points. In any portrayal of lesbianism – for example- there are grounds for believing that natural law teachings may be treated with some indifference if no internal (dialogue) counterpoint exists.

However, I believe a larger, trumping point also enters: Is Loyola, as a higher educational institution, dedicated to training its students in the basics of critical thinking, or not?

If one is only exposed to homogeneuous pabulum and “uni-thought” with which everyone concurs, there is a danger of leaving the university as a one-dimensional thinker. St. Ignatius aside, my reading of the Jesuits is that they’ve always promoted a forum or basis for debate, and the exercise of thought.

In doing this, argument and reason is invoked to show why an argument or presentation is flawed – not pre-empting exposure ab initio.

As a final footnote, I attribute my path to atheism to attending a discourse by Jean Paul -Sartre at the old Loyola Fieldhouse while a student there in 1964-65. The Jesuits then – as I hope now – let students hear, think and see novel ideas, presentations- then make up their own minds!

Philip A. Stahl

Author, ‘The Atheist’s Handbook to Modern Materialism’