Act, New York, Act

Dear Editor: On page two of The Tablet (Feb. 24), both Cardinal Edward Egan and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio condemned the mayor’s condom distribution plan. Now Catholics must take action.

When the people of New York complained about the parking tickets during the recent ice storm, the mayor relented and told them to disregard the tickets. When his busing plan caused parents to complain he relented again. Now the condom plan must be halted.

There’s a wonderful Catholic website that is the best kept secret around and it shouldn’t be. It’s the website of the NYS Catholic Conference – nyscatholic.org.
If Catholics would go to that site, there is a letter already written which can be sent directly through e-mail or printed out to send to the mayor and the NY health director stating one’s opposition to the condom distribution plan. This site also e-mails you on other issues which Catholics should take action on which are coming up in the State Legislature.

Thank you for alerting the Catholic population. To get to Heaven, you need prayer, but you also need action. We are to be the Church Militant. Let us not let the cardinal and bishop stand alone on this issue.

Maureen Ferguson
Douglaston

Turn Off the Cell Phones

Dear Editor: I find it very disturbing when cell phones continue to go off in church, especially during Mass. People should turn off their phones or any other electronic devices before entering a church. This would be a respectful act to everyone. The priest should also announce to the faithful before Mass to turn off their phones.

Stephen Lucci
Brighton Beach

Update on Frankie

Dear Editor: I enjoyed the article “Courage and Prayer Keep It All Together for Frankie” (Feb. 24) by Marie Elena Giossi.
I was so touched that I put his name on my prayer list. I do intercessory prayer every day.
May he be richly blessed with good health and blessings. I hope you keep us informed on his progress.

Margaret Ingrassia
Bay Ridge

Editor’s Note: See Youth Page for the latest on Frankie.

Stick With Bush Plan

Dear Editor: President Bush has a clear plan for victory in Iraq that begins with training Iraqi forces so they can defend their country and fight the terrorists. We are making tremendous progress towards this objective.

Withdrawing from Iraq, as Democrats in Washington propose, would send a dangerous signal to our enemies that we cut and run when the going gets tough.
President Bush is offering a clear strategy to win, not a political quick fix.

John M. Rondello
Brooklyn

Don’t Like to Shake Hands 

Dear Editor: I agree with Doris R. Asmundsson. I do not want to be indifferent, but during Mass when it is time to shake hands, I just shake with my immediate family and wave or nod to everyone else.  

My 82-year-old father hates going to church for that reason. His remedy - just before it is time to shake hands, he stands and walks to a corner in the back of the church, where there is no one else, and stays there until the Mass is over.  
Is this practice going to change any time in the future? 

Annette Carillo
Brooklyn

Dear Editor: Re: the “sign of peace” discussion, there are many people who have a problem with the exchange of peace. I am one of them. Sitting next to, in front of, or behind people who are sneezing or coughing up a storm, and then having to turn to shake hands is not something I will do, nor something any of should us do in this day and age with so many health issues.

Last year in The Tablet, Father John Dietzen wrote an article on this very topic. His last sentence refers to a friend of his who stated “if we can learn to make peace signs with our hands, then maybe we can make them with our hearts.”
Sounds like the perfect answer.

Patricia Whalen
Richmond Hill

Sending Zealots to Deaths

Dear Editor: The recent talk by the pope given in an academic setting has set the world on fire. Muslims have gone on a rampage, murdering priests and nuns and attacking churches. If this is done out of religious zeal, the perpetrators put their religion in a bad light. If it is condoned by the Muslim clergy, they do a disservice to all Muslims.

Clergy, whether Christian or Muslim, are human. They are not immune to temptation or error. However, if they are acting contrary to the tenets of their religion, their superiors or colleagues should correct them.

We know that the slaughter visited on Muslim civilians by fellow Muslims in Iraq is inconsistent with the teaching of the Koran. I have read and reread the Koran searching for anything that will justify the practice of teaching children that Allah will reward them if they strap explosives around their body, go into a market place, board a bus or enter a restaurant and blow themselves up, killing and maiming fellow Muslims. It appears that some Imams are involved in promoting this practice. If this is a worthy endeavor, when will we see an Imam become a martyr? It is time for Imams and Muslim leaders to denounce their brethren who perpetrate, or approve, these atrocities and purge their ranks of those who violate the commands of Allah and employ the tools of Satan in their nefarious work.
If this is a legitimate tactic in a holy war, it is time for an Imam or two to come forward and blow themselves up for the cause. Why do they not join the young suicides in the sacrifice of their lives?

Francis J. Donovan
Hicksville

Wrong Slant on Gays

Dear Editor: I take umbrage with your editorial (March 3) on gay marriage. It is not your position on gay marriage rights that upsets me but your assumption that “the most blatant examples of prejudice have been dealt with.” How can you reconcile your thoughts on this with the brutal beating this last week in Hoboken of the man who was perceived to be gay because he was wearing pink pants? This happened in New Jersey, right over the river in one of the best neighborhoods.

Last year I met with Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, and I can assure you that she doesn’t think that prejudice against gays has been expunged from our society nor are we anywhere near that. A trip to your local middle school or high school would clearly disavow you of your thinking. Ask any kid, “What does ‘this is gay’ mean to them?” A quick perusal of the statistics of teenage suicides and the causes would also be of help in understanding the clear and unmistakable homophobia that is present in our country. These kids are killing themselves because of self-hate, taught by their peers and reinforced by their teaches and parents.

We need to do more to educate our youth about the destructive power of hate, and the need to be more inclusive. I am not advocating gay marriage, but advocating that we admit homophobia, like racism, is still a very big part of our country and we need the Church to stand up and acknowledge it and then take responsibility for helping eradicating it from our society.
To date we have not done enough in this area.

Eugene O’Neill
Manhattan

Courage on Contraception

Dear Editor: I write in response to David Barnes’ “Contraception is Destructive to Marriage” (Jan. 20). It took a lot of courage to identify contraception as destructive to marriage in an era when most American Catholics use contraception and do not see the warning signs. I also applaud the U.S. Bishops for confronting such a divisive issue.

Abortion is the ultimate contraception and the two evils are inherently related. Combating contraception use in Catholic families will begin the important task of changing the mind-set of our generation from one that calls the unborn “unwanted” to one that accepts all humans as precious and unique in God’s eyes. All too often, Catholics accept contraception and abortion as necessary evils which actually encourages Catholics to use God’s gift of sexuality in an inappropriate and selfish manner, rather than as a special power to fulfill God’s will. This misrepresentation of sexuality has hurt our society in many ways, but especially in the breakdown of marriage and the family.

As a healthy alternative to chemical contraception, Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a natural and moral way to prevent pregnancy. It is also 99% effective. Information about NFP can be easily obtained through the USCCB.
The Church in her divine wisdom has known all along the evilness of chemical contraception and abortion and its effect on marriage and the family. Now its time for us to accept this teaching and God willing, be emboldened to change hearts, even if need be, one soul at a time.

Raquel Lacomba Walker
Flushing