Bush Debate Continues

Dear Editor: In reading the reactions in favor of Sister Camille D’Arienzo’s negative reaction to the photo of President Bush and the nuns on the cover of The Tablet, I believe there are many readers who are uninformed about the Iraq war as well as President Bush’s record.

Just recently President Bush returned from a tour of Africa, where even his critics admit that the massive increase in aid to that continent has made drastic improvements in AIDS treatments. In fact, Bob Geldof, one of the leading civilian African aid advocates, writes in last week’s Time magazine that George W. Bush has done more to end suffering from AIDS than any other world leader or prior American president.

This is one of the greatest success stories of the decade, and it was headed by the USA.

Why did the letter writers essentially ignore this and other noble humanitarian gains by President Bush?

Why would anyone not be proud to see nuns smiling with a person with such a record on AIDS?

With respect to the Iraq war, the war was supported by almost all of the Congress.

Finally, replacing Saddam Hussein with a democratically elected government is a good thing, and a careful read of John Paul II’s statements on this would not disagree, although the Vatican disagreed with methods, mostly because of concern about the affect on local Catholics, and a conflict over preemption.

James C. Gange
Brooklyn

Dear Editor: After reading the letters in the Readers’ Forum (March 1), I’ve come to the conclusion that your paper is anti-Bush and ultra-liberal.

First of all, we are in Iraq not because of President Bush, but to save and protect us from the terrorists that would be here to kill us and destroy our nation if we had not sent our troops there in the first place.

I realize that being a Catholic we must not kill. But if we are in danger of being annihilated, then we must defend ourselves whether we believe it or not.

Michael Tortora
Ozone Park

Dear Editor: After reading the “Letters to the Editor” by Sister Camille D’Arienzo, RSM, and Elizabeth Kollmeier, I was very tempted to write a strong rebuttal to their complaints about President Bush and the fact that The Tablet would print his picture on the first page. However, I had second thoughts, as I felt there would be other readers who felt as I did but were much more gifted in the art of writing. The issue of Feb. 16 not only assured me that I was correct in my thoughts, but that there were many other letters along the same lines but lacked the space to be printed.

President Bush has upheld Catholic teaching in the matter of abortion and stem cell research and does not deserve the appellation of “awful man.”

The Tablet is to be commended for printing his picture visiting the Holy Land.

David Gross
Tarrytown, N.Y.

Early Christian Pacifism

Dear Editor: In response to recent letters, one writer says that “absolute pacifism is itself a moral wrong.” Isn’t the writer aware that for the first 300 years of the Church — the time closest to Jesus’ life here on Earth — Christians were not allowed to serve in the military? Some, like St. Maximilian, even went to their deaths rather than serve in the military. We still have the account of Maximilian’s trial where he said, “I will never serve. You can cut off my head, but I will not be a soldier of this world, for I am a soldier of Christ.”

A Christian could not be a soldier for two reasons: 1) a Christian was not allowed to kill anyone and 2) a Christian was not allowed to wear the medallion that declared the emperor to be a god.

Even after Augustine’s infamous just war theory, Christians were required to undergo an extended period of penance and refrain from receiving Communion if they killed someone in war.

For more on this, you might want to read Roland Bainton’s book, “Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace Through the Ages.”

Father Coman Brady, in his letter, was correct when he said that Benedict XV was a pacifist. All popes since Pius XII in 1943 have said that it is impossible to fulfill the conditions of the just war theory due to the nature of modern weaponry. The conditions of proportionality and no civilians being killed are the first to go.

But the real question is “What would Jesus do?” Can you really see Jesus pushing the buttons that rained down “Shock and Awe” on Baghdad? Would Jesus really drop up to 2,000 tons of depleted uranium on Iraq, causing terrible rates of horrible birth defects and childhood cancer? (Depleted uranium takes four and a half billion years for half of it to disappear. In the meantime, it continues to destroy.) Doesn’t Jesus love the people of Iraq and Afghanistan as much as he loves Americans? The real thing we need to do is to read the Gospels and then read them again and again and again until we know what Jesus would do. Then, trusting in God rather than bombs, do likewise.

Mary Anne Muller
Brooklyn

Response to News Story

Dear Editor: This is just to let you know that I have received the donations from your readers and I have passed them along.

Please know that response to Raquel’s situation has been fantastic in the Diocese of Tulsa and we have more than enough to help her get back on track. Her financial situation is stabilized and she has found a job.

We are now suggesting that those wishing to help do so either on the local level or donate to a Catholic Charities Hispanic Help Center. Problems similar to Raquel’s are common and, at least in Oklahoma, those agencies assisting immigrants are overwhelmed.

We have begun the process of trying to get her husband returned to the U.S. but we are told that may be difficult and, at the very least, a long process. We have pledges of support from a Senator and an attorney.

Dave Crenshaw
Tulsa, OK

Editor’s Note: Dave Crenshaw is a reporter for the Eastern Oklahoma Catholic. He wrote the news story “Husband Deported; Family in Crisis” which appeared in the Feb. 9th edition of The Tablet.

Strong Pro-Life Witness

Dear Editor: In the March 1 account “Helpers’ Vigil Provides a Strong Witness on Court Street” a passer-by is described as shouting to the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants outside a Planned Parenthood facility that did abortions “4,000 guys are dead in Iraq and this is where you are. You’re idiots.”

If abortion opponents were more widely known as opposing all killing — including capital punishment and preventative wars — than the passer-by would have had to shout, “4,000 guys are dead in Iraq and this is where you are. You’re consistent.” Then the title of The Tablet story could have read, “Helpers’ Vigil Provides the Strongest Witness on Court Street.”

 Jim Kelly
Bay Ridge

Example of Msgr. Brady

Dear Editor: The Editor’s Space with Msgr. Thomas Brady as the main subject was excellent. You did have an excellent subject and you did a great job with it.

During his illness, all of his parishioners at Good Shepherd missed Msgr. Brady so very much and I think the ones who missed him the most were the children. He would stand in the school yard every day to see them, say hello to them, and listen to their stories. If an adult (I tried a few times) came in to try to talk to him, you knew you did not have his full attention because this was his time with the children and he would not be distracted. To witness this, it was the most beautiful example of gentle love played out every day. I am sure that as much as the children miss him, he misses them more.

Msgr. Brady firmly believes that the children are our future, the future of the Church and he encourages parents to give them time and attention and to help them strive for excellence.

He also does not neglect the adults of the parish. He always has time for anyone who has a problem and wants to talk something over with him. He truly loves his people and we at Good Shepherd are so blessed to have experienced such love and concern.

Maria Mastromarino
Marine Park