LETTERS
2003 LETTERS
December
November
October
September
July/August
June
May
April
March
February
January
ARTICLES
NEWS
ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
Contents © 2003
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
LETTERS
September 2003
CORRECTION
On the front page of the July/August issue, we identified a picture as that of Judge Terry Hatter. The person pictured was not the judge. We apologize for the mistake.
OFF THE SUBJECT
In regards to Maria Kennedy's article, "Down the Chain of Command" [June 2003 Mission]: I was at the gathering at the Norwalk Council's hall to listen to the Rev. John Farren, OP, discuss, "Catholic Education and the Good: Truth, Freedom and Morality and their Ultimate Source, God." This was advertised as presenting facts about Catholic education and there would be ample opportunity for questions and answers on "this subject." When the floor was opened for questions, the audience was admonished to keep the questions to the subject of the talk. Everything went smoothly until your reporter hi-jacked the meeting to discuss Knights of Columbus membership policies. Your reporter states, "Farren appeared to be uncomfortable when I asked him about the situation of Catholic politicians who support abortion rights." Her question had no bearing on the subject matter of the meeting and was completely out of bounds. The Rev. John Farren had to be taken aback by a question that should not have been asked and he was right that it is a matter that is handled at the local level. Because of your reporter's actions, the rest of the people there that had questions about the subject matter of Catholic education were denied an opportunity for discussion. I guess that the reporter's creed is, "whatever it takes to get a story."
Steve Repasky
Cerritos
EXPEL BERMUDEZ
If the Knights of Council 3678 in Norwalk are reluctant to kick out assemblyman Rudy Bermudez just because he supports prenatal murder, there is another compelling reason to drop him from membership: he may well no longer be a Catholic, having incurred automatic, self-inflicted excommunication. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life."
Although Assemblyman Bermudez does not stand accused of personally dismembering an unborn baby, suctioning the tiny body parts out of her mother's womb, grinding them up in an abortuary disposer, and dumping the remains into the L.A. County sewer, he certainly could be called an accomplice to each of these murderous and grisly crimes committed since the day he voted to have the California Health Facilities Finance Authority give Planned Parenthood money -- not to mention his vote in favor of Assembly Joint Resolution 2 which celebrated Roe v. Wade.
There is another aspect to a "Catholic" politician who steadfastly promotes pre-natal homicide. Because Latino people are overwhelmingly pro-life, Mr. Bermudez and other "Catholic" politicians who doggedly vote pro-death are not doing so out of political necessity. Such votes are gratuitous. Indeed, Mr. Bermudez and other Latino politicians would probably enjoy even larger margins of victory if they were to vote pro-life. This could lead one to the conclusion that he and other pro-death "Catholic" politicians may be deeply and personally committed to permitting the murder of unborn children in their mothers' wombs. Real Catholics simply do not hold to such ungodly beliefs and practices.
My brother Knights of Council 3678, I beg you: for the sake of Rudy Bermudez's immortal soul, expel him! Perhaps that great act of charity on your part will afford him the necessary wake-up call to get off the road to Hell each and every pro-abortion politician is travelling.
Garvan F. Kuskey, D.D.S.
Council #1648
Santa Barbara
STATISTICS, PLEASE
In response to your comments on the auto-destruction of the Catholic Church, you are right in saying that I would be "interested" to know that the seminaries, religious orders, and congregations that are still orthodox in the same style as the Church of Pope Pius XII are doing well and growing. Can you name these seminaries and religious orders? I would be interested in statistics and numbers.
I am on the internet every day and I cover the religions from all over the world, and the statistics for the Catholic Church are all bad. I know that there are convents and seminaries that are run by the schismatic Society of St. Pius X, but these ultra-Catholics are not in communion with the See of St. Peter. These independent Catholics are really just new Protestants. I think that the likes of the suspended priest of the Fatima Network, Father Nicholas Gruner, is an example of the kind of future of Catholic orthodoxy that you and many of your readers represent. I think that we are all in for an interesting theological ride over the next 50 years. The pedophile problem is not going away any time soon and the priests who were educated in the now closed seminaries are the present Church leaders and bishops of the only post-Vatican II Catholic Church that we will all be dealing with and watching in the daily news with horror and shock.
Dr. Alan Albert Snow,
Newport Beach
Editor's reply: Dr. Snow represents, it seems, the tired progressivism of the 1960s that believes everyone will inevitably move in a modernist direction; that those of us who hold to Christian tradition are a doomed and dwindling minority. Such an opinion, however, ignores some important facts. Many of the newest appointments to Catholic sees in the United States are of the orthodox stamp; among these, I mention Bishop Morlino, formerly bishop of Helena, Montana, recently appointed to be bishop of Madison, Wisconsin; Bishop Vigneron, appointed bishop of Oakland; Archbishop Chaput of Denver; Archbishop Myers of Newark, New Jersey. Our time is also witnessing a new flowering of religious life and orthodox religious orders -- which are getting vocations. Those American groups that come immediately to mind are: St. Michael's Norbertine Abbey in Silverado; St. Joseph's Priory of Norbertine sisters in Tehachapi; Miles Jesu; the Society of Our Lady of the Trinity; Franciscan Fathers of the Renewal; the Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek, Oklahoma; the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Dioceses, such as Denver (under Archbishop Chaput) and Lincoln, Nebraska (under Bishop Bruskewicz) are also drawing young men who want to be priests. Lincoln, too, has four teaching religious orders of women. I shall allow Dr. Snow to research the statistics for these groups himself.
I do not claim that, on the whole, the Catholic Church is not in bad shape, as far as vocations are concerned. I do think, however, that this has arisen because so many in the Church have embraced the kind of progressivism Dr. Snow seems to espouse. In early spring, one does not see the new growth for all the winter drear surrounding him. The orthodox orders and dioceses are not affecting the worldwide or national statistics -- yet. But, like the little tongues of green that appear in the waning of winter, they promise a rich and abundant spring. The Catholic Church will recover herself, as she ever has. And even Dr. Snow may live to witness the enduring vibrancy of Catholic orthodoxy and tradition.
A GREATER CHALLENGE TO VOCATIONS
I am responding to Dr. Alan Snow's letter calling for married and women priests. He claims Protestant seminaries are doing fine. I have read that many students are studying theology at various Protestant seminaries, but how many are truly planning to become ministers? A few minutes spent searching the internet will answer this, since one will quickly find articles on how various Protestant denominations are also dealing with shortages in clergy. This points to a bigger cause for the vocation challenges the Catholic Church may be facing, which is the pull and attraction of secular and materialistic forces in our life opposed to the Catholic Church's position on celibacy, women's ordination, contraception, abortion, etc.
Will changing the Catholic Church position on any of the above be a solution to the "vocation crisis" in our materialistic world? I believe the answer is no, and the challenge for all of us Catholics is to truly live a Christian-focused life in the midst of all the distractions and material delights we experience everyday. This is extremely hard for all of us and especially so for the thoughtful young men who are considering a priestly vocation.
Dan Tracy
Fremont
SLAUGHTER FEARS SLAUGHTER
The front page of the Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2003, carried an article on a bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), banning partial birth abortion. Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla) strongly supported the bill. The culture of death party responded with this quote by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Anaheim): "This bill opens the door to outlawing all abortions regardless of circumstances." But the best quote came from Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY), "What are we doing here? What in the name of God is next?"
Are we to assume that Rep. Slaughter means that God can do something worse than stopping the slaughter of the partially born? Perhaps Rep. Slaughter may fear that God can become so depraved that He might stop the slaughter of all unborn innocents. Is that what the non-slaughter Rep. Slaughter fears?
Edward J. Filardo
Temecula