Persuading Others
Re “The Ceremony of the Innocence is Drowned" (Editorial, 6/11): Abortion is a serious sin. But may I suggest that we Catholics—our bishops, clergy, teachers and laity—have failed miserably in teaching and persuading our own members of the sanctity of life? Instead, we seek to use the law to do it for us and for everyone else. Lacking a consistent and equally vociferous emphasis on all the other “life issues” merely undermines our abortion teaching.
Vincent Gaglione
The Right Thing
Re “Texas Parish Issues IDs for Undocumented People,” by J.D. Long-García (6/11): The parish is doing the right thing. Would that more of us did.
Steve Magnotta
Not in Good Conscience
Re “Is Catholic Identity Hurting Enrollment at Catholic Colleges?” by Michael J. O’Loughlin (6/11): Has anyone considered that the rapidly increased cost of Catholic higher education could be the reason schools are seeing declining enrollment, not the Catholic identity as the cause? My husband and I both graduated from a Catholic college where the tuition has more than doubled in the past decade. Scholarships notwithstanding, I don’t think we could in good conscience encourage our children to attend our alma mater, knowing the student loan debt they will accrue. And where we live, there are multiple state colleges in a four-hour radius that have robust on-campus Catholic centers that can ensure our kids have access to a Catholic faith community during their college years. While I loved my Catholic liberal arts education, I have to balance my wish for my children to have a similar college experience with one that’s fiscally sound for their respective futures.
Kara Hansen
The Meaning of Soccer
Re “What the World Cup Can Teach Us About Everything,” by Antonio De Loera-Brust (6/11): Thanks for this article! For me, an 80-year-old white American who never saw soccer until a neighborhood game in the ’60s, I never understood its meaning to Mexican immigrants or to the world until this article.
Wilda Lynne McCarty Keough
A Beloved Community
Re “Now, Some Good News,” by Matt Malone, S.J. (Of Many Things, 5/28): For the past two years I have lived in one of the most conservative subdivisions, in one of the most conservative cities, in one of the most conservative states in the country.
Due to institutional racism—and real though mostly unconscious bias—people of color are reluctant to move here. Only 4 percent of our population is black. However, I’ve met and become engaged with the Courageous Conversations movement, convened right after Ferguson, with the thought “What would we have to do to make sure that doesn’t happen here?”
Our vision, inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is “a beloved community of compassion characterized by cross-cultural communication, collaboration, celebration and courage.” This is a journey of several lifetimes, I think, but the difficult discussions about race are happening. We are led by people of color who set our agenda and inspire us with their courage and commitment. I’ve come to think of our journey in the words of Thomas Merton: “How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived!”
Jim Deuser
Georgetown, Tex.
The Whole Person
Re “Treating ‘Diseases of Despair,’” by Michael Rozier, S.J. (5/28): This article is right on. More and more we realize that health has many more components than the biological. Catholic health care speaks of holistic care, and the social determinants of health play a key role.
In our ministry, we are seeing an “inner homelessness” and frequent social isolation. Doing what we can to bring people together, to build community and to foster the sense of belonging of which Father Rozier speaks is hugely important if we are to care for the whole person.
Carolyn Capuano, H.M.
Vice President of Mission and Ministry
Mercy Medical Center
Canton, Ohio
Letters to the editor can be sent by email to letters@americamedia.org. Please include the article title, author and issue date, as well as your name and where you are writing from.
