Speaking Up for Her Faith

Dear Editor: I received a letter today from a friend of mine who is a beautiful woman, and I’d like to share a portion of that letter with you. She writes:

“So I just finished a summer class at the end of July on public speaking. Can you imagine me speaking publicly? I’d rather die. I did well, though, learned a lot, and had fun. I had to write a persuasive speech and deliver it to the class. Originally I planned to do ‘Big Pharmaceutical and Its Role on Health Care in the U.S.,’ but after I heard one of the speeches delivered by a very bright young man in class I changed course. He bashed the Catholic Church, insulted our Blessed Mother, mocked the Virgin birth and basically stated that people of faith are ignorant.

“I had to respond! I was so offended, not by his atheistic view but by his intolerance and disrespect for others. I took an opportunity to share my point of view and felt much better afterwards. I think the professor was pleased as well. I got an ‘A.’”

What is amazing is that she threw away her prepared speech and gave a great speech straight from her heart and convictions. She is a wonderful and courageous person. She is in her early fifties and suffers from multiple sclerosis, and says she is starting to show signs of disability on the left side of her body. Yet she had to stand up for her faith and her Church. What a remarkable woman, beautiful inside and out.

James Mack
Brick, N.J.

What Went Wrong?

Dear Editor: Regarding Father Lauder’s column (Aug. 2), Father Lauder cites the Pew Survey findings that one-third of native-born Catholics have left the Church and 10 percent of Americans are former Catholics. And Father asks, “What went wrong?”

Forty some odd years ago, the Church was flourishing; our churches, schools and seminaries were packed. One may agree and one may disagree but the facts speak for themselves. It is not a mortal sin to speak out or print the truth; even our bishops would have to agree. Today the Church has to form cluster groups because of church closings and priest shortages.

Ecumenism, one of Vatican II’s reforms, has clouded our minds. While interfaith dialogue and cooperation with our separated brethren is fine and to be encouraged, we have ended up putting Protestant churches on the same plain as the Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, many Catholics are ill informed and/or weak in their faith and have no problem whatsoever leaving the Church and joining up with a church more liberal and perhaps more in tune with their life style.

Our Lord Jesus Christ established the one true Church, outside of which there is no salvation. There are countless saints who have taught this doctrine without ambiguity or apology. To name a few: St. Augustine, St. Louis de Montfort, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Alphonsus Ligouri.
To quote St. Francis, “All who have not believed that Jesus Christ was really the Son of God are doomed,” and “All who see the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and do not believe it really is the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, these are also doomed.”

To quote St. Alphonsus, “The Holy, Roman Catholic and apostolic Church is the only true Church, outside the pale of which no one can be saved.”

There have been three ex-cathedra papal announcements that outside the Church there is no salvation. Did the teachings of saints and popes recently become null and void?

Why do we not hear more of this (if, at all) from the pulpit? Why do we not hear that it is only in Catholic churches (Orthodox, excepted) that we can find the Real Presence of Jesus?

Why do we not hear that the Bible is a Catholic book given to the world and to our Protestant brothers and sisters by our Church? That “that old time religion,” respectfully, they sing about is in reality our religion, the Catholic Church, which existed from the time of the apostles and well before the Bible. That the Church does teach the Bible, contrary to what our separated brethren believe and that it is the Holy Spirit within the Church, which interprets for us the truth. Let us not allow the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals and others to “swallow up” our people.

Why do we not hear more of this from the pulpit? Should all of this not be part of the New Evangelization we are hearing about? It should be proclaimed from the pulpit that those leaving the Church are putting their immortal souls at risk.

Thomas Maddaloni
Woodhaven

Dear Editor: Father Lauder asks the question about former Catholics who describe themselves as unaffiliated with any church, “Could their departure be due to apathy?” (Aug. 2)

While the answer to this question for some may be yes, I would posit two other reasons, particularly for the older generation. Some middle-aged former Catholics I know are resentful of their Catholic education. One recurring theme is “I spent 13 years in Catholic schools so I know all about (fill in the blank with words like guilt or shame). While their attitude may show a lack of maturity and their experience or memory of Catholic education is different from mine, it is nonetheless their experience and it is not possible for someone else to say they are wrong.

Then there are those who in their teenage years or as young adults, perhaps newly married and away from home for the first time, sought counsel from a priest or religious and feel that they were not listened to or were ill served by the counsel they were given.

These people are not apathetic about the Church - they’re angry or disillusioned. And I would guess that in many cases their children would have to struggle to find a home in the Church. Just as the transmitting of the faith from parent to child is powerful and personal, conversely, a negative attitude toward the Church conveyed to a child would likely be equally strong.

I believe the only form of evangelization that might attract people with these feelings is the power of example and a welcoming attitude. Parish evangelization and informational programs, books and words would be a distant third.

Frank Bolton

Park Slope

Cost of Closing School

Dear Editor: Why would you close a school because of a $250,000 debt and use the “savings” to evangelize? (Aug. 16)

What do you think is happening when you educate children in a Catholic school? Isn’t this evangelizing?

Is any other evangelizing effort more effective than inculcating the golden rule into the hearts of the young in their Catholic classrooms?

You’ve given up the greatest and most effective opportunity to bring people to Jesus through Catholic education for a dream of changing hearts and minds through other methods of evangelization.

When will we as Catholics realize we have a good moral foundation for life because of the care and example we had as Catholic elementary students from nuns, brothers, priests and lay teachers?

Isn’t there any successful Catholic who graduated from St. Gerard Majella (or any other Catholic school) who can do for this school what an anonymous donor did for St. Bridget in Manhattan? Fund Catholic education. It’s our best hope for a living Church!

Carolyn Conaboy
New York, N.Y.

Back to Catholic Schools

Dear Editor: It is that time again when school is about to begin and I have a suggestion and that is Catholic parents think seriously of giving their children a Catholic education.

I, for one, would like to praise Catholic schools for their ongoing contribution to education and for their key role in ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the nation. These fine schools produce students strongly dedicated to their faith, families and communities by providing an intellectually stimulating environment, rich in spirituality, character and moral development.

The teachers in Catholic schools are dedicated to every child and try to bring out in as many children that hidden talent to make them the best they can be. You see these children are the leaders of tomorrow and need what Catholic schools provide.

In my view, I hope all interested parents get in touch with your parish or the Catholic school in your area and take the first step in improving your children’s future.

Fredrick R. Beddell Jr.

Glen Oaks Village