LETTERS
2002 LETTERS
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Contents © 2002
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
LETTERS
JANUARY 2002
A RETRACTION, PLEASE
I represent Mrs. Rose Wendland.
In the November 2001 issue of the Mission, an article appeared that contains a false statement from Janie Siess, namely, that Rose "stopped" giving her late husband Robert antibiotics during his final illness [see "Big Court Win," by Christopher Zehnder]. Please publish a retraction of this false statement.
In this same article, you have another false statement: I did not "confirm" that Rose and her children "effectively abandoned Robert." In fact, I said that she always responded to calls from the hospital and his physician about Robert, that she visited him on occasion, and that she was otherwise attentive to him. Please publish a retraction of this false statement.
Lawrence J. Nelson,
San Francisco
Editor's note: In the article, I quoted Janie Siess as saying, "she told them [the hospital] to stop giving him antibiotics;" I then quoted the Los Angeles Times article (that Siess cited), which quoted you: "at some point during his illness [i.e., Robert Wendland's pneumonia], Rose Wendland 'made the decision that aggressive treatment was not in his interest, and he was kept comfortable.'") This excerpt from the Times sufficiently qualified Siess' statement while pointing out that Rose Wendland decided to discontinue, presumably, life-continuing treatment for her husband.
I will concede that Janie Siess' statement, that Rose Wendland had abandoned Robert was too strong. However, Siess' statement, "since 1996, Rose Wendland had effectively abandoned Robert," did not mean that she no longer responded to calls from the hospital and his physician about his condition, but that she ceased visiting him, as is apparent from the clause following the semi-colon: "the only one to visit him were hospital staff and his septuagenarian mother." I followed this statement with what I called your "confirmation," in which I quoted you as saying, "it's true, the frequency of their visits went down. They didn't see him getting any better" and found it a "heartbreak to see him in that condition." Your statement qualified Siess' assertion, but also confirmed her point that, while Florence Wendland's visits to her son (and, thus, her concern for him as a person) did not slacken, his wife, Rose's attentiveness to her conscious husband, in this regard, decreased. Your own statement, above, that Rose "visited him on occasion" seems to confirm this: her visits had not that frequency one would expect from a wife.
AS A MOTHER OF CHILDREN?
Hi. I was just web-browsing and I saw an article posted on your site about the Promotoras program of the Los Angles Planned Parenthood ["Latinos: Wanted Dead or Alive," March 2001 Mission.]
As a mother of two young, beautiful children, I can say that the time, energy, love and money required to raise healthy, confident children is gigantic, and any program that gives women more power over reproduction is a good not only for women but their children.
Eve Pearlman,
received via e-mail
PROTESTANTS "SPEAK UP"
Last night at our church we had a "synod" speak-up session for our parishioners. About 70 percent of those speaking asked for programs for the gays and lesbians. About 80 percent decided to ask for marriage for priests, women priests, etc. One even dared to ask that, if the priest is gay, that he may be able to have a companion. I was appalled and disgusted. What kind of religion do these people have? I call them Protestants.
Marina Privitelli,
Los Angeles
IF TAMBERG WERE AN ARTIST.
Tod M. Tamberg of the L.A. archdiocese [see "The Chancery Speaks," Letters, November 2001] needs to be reminded of Michelangelo Buonarroti's observation that "perfection is an accumulation of trifles, but perfection is no trifle." If Tod were an architect, creative or performing artist, engineer, scientist, military planner or intelligence officer, he would not be so cavalier about the Mission's eye for detail. The architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe found much delight in reminding his contemporaries that, "God is in the details." "Fettucine Mother Teresa" anyone?
Richard J. Kulda,
received via e-mail
WAY TO GO, CHARLES!
Well, well, well. So it seems the chancery office of the archdiocese of Los Angeles has finally gotten around to responding to something in the Mission. I refer to the letter of Tod Tamberg regarding Charles Coloumbe's article which appeared in the October 2001 issue ["Fettucine Cardinal Mahony"]. May I be allowed to offer my congratulations? This chancery office has been making covert war on the Church's teachings and the policies of the magisterium for several years now, and the Mission is a paper which finally has the guts to call a spade a spade. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the letter was written by the current media relations director of the archdiocese of Los Angeles, former editor of The Tidings, correct? Was it not the same Tod Tamberg who made the decision, some years ago, to carry the regular columns of the notoriously "anti-Roman" and "anti-papal" theologian Richard McBrien into every parish in this very large, but floundering, archdiocese? Is his boss not the same cardinal whose leadership has effectively gutted St. John's seminary of seminarians, not to mention the "worship space" of many a parish church, and the loyalty to the Church of many a participant at the annual CCD Congress?
If Charles Coloumbe has finally irritated those responsible for the debacle described above to the point at which they actually step down from their ivory tower and end their stony silence and write an actual response, all I can say is: way to go Charles! Way to go, L.A. Mission! True Catholicism will not die in Southern California as long as there are people doing what you're doing. We may not have the power, the money, or the influence of the archdiocese, but we are armed with Catholic truth, and sooner or later we will prevail, not unlike the once powerless Solidarity Trade Union of Poland. I encourage you to continue to fight the good fight. The God whom we serve has a reputation for raising up the lowly and humbling the mighty; may He and the Blessed Mother continue to inspire and guide you in your work.
L. A. Carstens,
Castaic
NOT "WITH" WHAT?
Christopher Zehnder's article on homosexuality was just abominable ["It's Unmanly," November Mission]. The real problem here is not the evil in homosexuality, for there is none; it is just a sexual orientation and a preference by a certain class of people who bother no one. The true evil here is the attitude of certain members of, and clergy in, the Catholic Church. Grow up, Zehnder, and you, too, Father Richard Perozich. You're way off in your thinking, and so was Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany years ago and you all commit mortal sin in your bigoted attitude here. So I suggest a good confession for all three of you, a better education in psychiatry and that you meet some really fine homosexuals. They're out there and truly good citizens and are not "intrinsically evil" at all. And just drop your old-fashioned attitude. You're not with it.
D.R. Green,
Los Angeles
Editor's note: Perhaps Mr. Green needs to read the article in question more closely. We have never made the claim that homosexual persons are intrinsically evil, but that the homosexual orientation is intrinsically evil. There is no sin in merely having a homosexual orientation, though it is in itself an "intrinsic disorder" in that it is an inclination to a sinful act. Only when one acts upon such an inclination does he commit sin.
ALL ARE SINNERS
I am a member of the Courage group in San Francisco and am very glad to hear about the group in San Diego [see "It's Unmanly," November 2001 Mission]. My prayers for much success are with Father Perozich and those who wish to take a universal stand with him against all sin. But I feel a need to bring some light to the understanding of lust since it has been so historically and tragically misunderstood.
If I understand it correctly, the interviewer and Father Perozich seem to think that because the objects of heterosexual adultery and materialistic idolatry are "normal" that this means these desires are somehow "different" in some meaningful way from the homosexual's desires -- even "good" by comparison. It has been my observation that such incomplete, self-serving, and questionable theological presentations deceive many greedy and adulterous persons to see themselves as superior to the homosexual. Such stigmatizing also has a tragic flip side: it lures many homosexuals to see themselves as uncommonly awful sinners who are beyond hope. "If adulterers and idolators can't be saved with their 'objectively superior' desires, how can I?" many homosexuals think. This lack of hope becomes a very powerful key that locks many of them in a subconscious prison of despair concerning their sin. I know because I served a seventeen-year sentence there myself that lust is every sinner's problem. Focusing on the type of lust that destroys the love of God in us makes about as much sense as worrying about the type of rubber in the tires of the car that just ran over you: it can be a waste of precious time. Recovery is more quickly achieved by focusing on the tried and true remedy for all of us sinners who have been damaged by such demons:
"What do I do to get rid of the injury and where is the nearest hospital?" Thank God for the sacraments and the magisterium!
This is not to say that some good cannot be achieved by focusing on individual needs, but all Christians need to humbly and unanimously proclaim with St. Paul that "God has concluded all under sin that he may have mercy on all." Sinners presumptuously distancing themselves and exalting themselves over other sinners only leads to self-righteousness, confusion, and prisons of despair. We are called to love everyone. That's impossible to do when we think of ourselves as superior: the other person always catches on. It's wise to remember that those of us who have received more graces will be judged more severely. Only God knows everyone's circumstances.
Much is said about God's judgment on Sodom. Tragically, much less is said about God's judgment on Egypt for expropriating the fruits of another nation's labor even though this highly common sin of oppressive greed got infinitely more "press coverage" in the Bible than Sodom -- all those horrid plagues and drowning in the Red Sea and such. It even states in the Book of Wisdom that the sin of the Egyptians was worse than the sin of the Sodomites! I'm also surprised at the number of Christians who don't even know that the adjective "communist" can be fairly used to describe the economic system of the early church in Acts. Such ignorance! But it's not my fault: I'm not a licensed preacher or theologian. Neither do I own a newspaper.
In the circumstances of our present society, the failure to properly balance and convey these necessary truths about sin and lust to the American public is a grave error and serious spiritual tragedy. I pray each and every day that it stops for the good of all of us. Please join me.
Tom Saltsman,
received via e-mail
Editor's note: Neither Father Perozich nor I meant to convey the idea that those given to "mere" lust are better off, in terms of their salvation, than practicing homosexuals. Indeed, one might be as desperately locked in the sin of lust for women as one is bound by homosexual desires. Practically, both tempt hell and both require a difficult purgation -- both, too, need the compassion and help of other Christians. I also concede that too often we Catholics concentrate too much on sins of lust, while ignoring sins such as avarice, the "root of all evil." To distinguish the gravity of sins, however, is practically necessary. Homosexuals are in more desperate straits because their desires are impossible of fulfillment without sin, while the sexual desire for women can have fulfillment in marriage. This understanding should not make anyone look with disdain on those suffering from homosexual desires; rather, it should increase his compassion for them and his resolve to aid them in their quest for holiness.
THAT SOUNDS BIZARRE TO ME
I want to thank you for your wonderful paper, which I look forward to receiving each month. You are truly a blessing as you keep me informed on the goings-on in the Church in Los Angeles and in my own diocese of Orange.
In the article about homosexuality in the November issue ["It's Unmanly"] a question was raised asking why we have so many homosexual clergy. In addition to Father Perozich's response, I would like to add a couple things.
One obvious reason for there being so many homosexual clergy is, of course, the fact that Satan has been working overtime in infiltrating and tainting God's Holy Church, particularly since the Second Vatican Council. We sometimes hear of the Masonic/liberal infiltration of the hierarchy and its influence in the liturgy, modernist theology, etc., and I believe this is indeed the case. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the silence of so many bishops and those in authority is due to moral turpitude within the ranks of the American hierarchy. It certainly would come as no surprise.
In the same issue, you quote Cardinal Mahony as saying that the shortage in vocations is "one of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council, a sign of God's deep love for the Church." That sounds pretty bizarre to me. I do agree that the lack of vocations is definitely related to the council and the liberal fruits connected with it. Satan is tearing away at the Catholic priesthood and the hierarchy and the clergy, and the laity are letting it happen. As long as people, particularly the laity, are willing to put up with all the garbage being forced upon them in the liturgy, in catechetics, in the Catholic press, etc., it will continue to foster and grow.
I thank Our Lord and Our Lady for you and your paper, where lay people are given the opportunity to learn about things going on within the Church that they would otherwise not think much about. God bless you, your fine paper, and all the people who support you. Peace and blessings!
Anthony J. Tucker,
California Correctional Institution, Tehachapi
MORE AMMUNITION
Thank you very much for running "Every Woman Deserves to Know" in your October 2001 issue. The article gives me more ammunition to use against our pro Planned Parenthood diocese.
Planned Parenthood set up shop in Syracuse, New York in 1923 (it was called the American Birth Control League until WW2) thanks to the Masonic Syracuse University and their minions. If this diocese had not been corrupt in 1923, Planned Parenthood would not have been able to operate.
God's Blessings on you and your work,
Richard Bucci,
Catholic Radio WVOA FM
Syracuse, NY
DWINDLING CIRCULATION
In 1965, the paid circulation of the Tidings peaked at 465,000 per week. By 1995, the paid circulation had dropped to less than 19,000 per week. The Tidings prints all of the lies spewed out by politicians, government officials, bankers, doctors, lawyers, judges, thieves, business leaders, heretics, scientists, educators and the hordes of fright peddlers who parade as saviors of the world. It was Jesus who described Satan as the prince of the world.
The Holy Spirit has somehow steered His children away from the materialism of the Tidings. Perhaps His children have more brains than the people who publish the Tidings.
Robert A. Obergfell,
Bellflower
BUGGED BY ROMERO
In an advertisement in your November issue you run the following: "JESSE ROMERO is a nationally acclaimed bilingual evangelist. A resident of California and a retired LA Deputy Sheriff, he is a two-time US kick-boxing champion. Jesse spent some time away from his faith before his exciting reversion and has been lighting fires under Catholics ever since. [Emphasis added.]"
Facetiously: relieved to see that the spirit of the Inquisition lives on.
Seriously: why do all fanatics grievously lack sense of humor and appreciation of their own absurdity?
Norman Hudis,
Woodland Hills