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Contents © 2004
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
LETTERS
July/August 2004
I REMEMBER A GOOD AND DECENT MAN
It was with great sadness that I read the article on Father Peter Covas ("Not Quit Zero Tolerance," June 2004 Mission). Father Covas was the principal of Notre Dame High School in Riverside, at the time an all-male school, through my graduation in 1968. He was, through my 17-year-old eyes, a tough disciplinarian. In retrospect, however, I remember a good and decent man trying to live out his vocation as priest, administrator, and teacher. The priest in this article is not the priest I knew or remember.
I can only imagine that he fell prey to his own personal demons. I wonder how many other good men struggle with one or more interior battles yet still remain faithful to all their vows. I suspect that, in part, like many of us, the weakest try to go about it alone, without putting their trust in God. Our prayers for our priests are an essential part of their defenses, and we cannot grow lax.
As for Father Covas, I pray he rests in the forgiveness and peace of our Lord.
Phillip Tieman,
Simi Valley
NONSENSE
In the article, "The Second Most Important Question," in your May 2004 issue, the Rev. Michael Enright said, "the Sunday Mass assembly is a group of people who have had some contact with each other during the week. If they have not had that contact, the liturgy gets overloaded with first creating a kind a 'pseudo-community' that comes together only to worship, then trying to move that pseudo-community through the rituals that sanctify us."
But this is nonsense. The validity of a Mass does not depend on who the participating laymen are or even or whether or not they exist. This is made much clearer in the Tridentine Mass than in the "reformed" Mass of Pope Paul VI. Or perhaps Father Enright would like the Church (which in practice would mean grouchy Monsignor X, who doesn't like Blacks or Latinos or Germans or whatever else you happen to be) to decide who may or may not live where.
Charles Pegis,
Wailuku, Hawaii
Editor replies: Father Enright's point in his article was not that community, real or pseudo, makes the Mass valid or invalid; rather, that in the absence of the true community that should exist among Catholics, attempts are made to create community that lead to a forced or "pseudo" community. Nor was the point of Enright's article that the Church should force living arrangements on the faithful. The Church, though, should be involved in fostering that day-to-day fellowship among believers in which they can exercise the mutual charity and solidarity which are essential to the Christian life. We are not saved as individuals but as members of the Body of Christ. Our mystical union in Christ should be expressed in how we live, not only by gathering in the church nave on Sunday mornings.
MASS AT O.K. CORRAL
If Catholics in L.A. are going to have to stand through communion, they ought to re-renovate their churches by putting up corral rails on the backs of the pews so they will have something to lean on. This new, western-style architecture might also facilitate the greeting of nearby churchgoers that some parishes impose just before Mass starts: "howdy, pardner."
O.K., I'm going too far. I admit it. Now, will someone else acknowledge he made a mistake, please?
Joe O'Brien,
Panorama City
A PROTESTANT TOO?
How low can we go in the Catholic Church?
Am I to infer from Father Baysinger's letter [May Mission] that Pope St. Pius V is the "Anti-Christ" since he calls the Mass he established "antichrist?" That slur is normally expected from Protestants? I guess that means Father Baysinger is a Protestant (maybe).
Buddy Shepherd,
Tustin
MYSTIFIED
I just read the May issue and was impressed by the difference between our cardinal's experience at viewing the great film, The Passion of the Christ and my own ["For me, The Passion...", May 2004],. Cardinal Mahony "'felt transported into the scenes, not as a viewer, but as a friend of Jesus, one who was terrified and mystified by each tragic event.' As Jesus' friend, 'Mary, His mother, John the disciple and Mary Magdalene seemed to reach out and draw me into their small circle of disciples," etc. My own reaction was to pray as tears cascaded down my face, "Father, forgive me, for all the things I have done, thought and said, or shall do, think and say that added to the pain and cruelty Our Blessed Lord took on to save me from my just punishment." I cannot meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries or the stations of the cross without reliving this reaction. I pray that I never will be able to do so.
I am mystified that our cardinal "was mystified by each tragic event." Didn't he know that Christ was scourged and crucified for our sins?
Agnes Peterson,
Malibu
I am appalled and disgusted by Cardinal Mahony and so many priests and laity who dare to compare the death penalty with the grave evil of abortion. How can anyone be so brainless to think that the brutal killing of 1,200,000 innocent unborn babies a year, who are literally torn limb by limb from their mothers' wombs and thrown into a trash can like garbage, can be compared with the death penalty?
It is a great error to compare Richard Ramirez, who brutally raped and killed over a dozen women, or the child molesters who raped and killed young children and are now on death row, with the innocent unborn babies. It is a travesty. There are probably a lot less than 100 criminals put to death every year. Nowadays the most common method used is the lethal injection, which basically kills them painlessly, and their bodies are given to their families for proper burial.
We Catholics cannot trust our bishops or priests to represent and teach us the moral teachings of the Church. We need to educate ourselves by reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible. We need to know that as faithful Catholics we cannot vote for someone that supports these five non-negotiable issues: abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning, same sex marriage. Read the Catechism and pray for holy and courageous priests and bishops who would not compromise the truth of our Church -- dare I say, the truth of Jesus Christ?
Luz R.
San Fernando