Letter: Where is our compassion for the most damaged children of all?

Letter: Where is our compassion for the most damaged children of all?

THE CHRISTIAN doctrine of Original Sin, as mentioned by Joan Smith, far from leading to a condemnation of Mary Bell should encourage us to see her as no different from the rest of us since we are all inheritors of the sin of Adam, with as much and as little potential for evil deeds as the next person.

With regard to forgiveness, it is not a matter of choice for a Christian ("Can you forgive them?", Section 2, 3 May). While recognising that great personal grief may incapacitate an individual from being able to forgive, Christian belief teaches that all of us must do so.

Ann Dowling

Manchester