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Letters to the Editor

The Jewish roots of purgatory

Marilyn Boussaid • Jul 16, 2024
Thank you for the beautifully written article on purgatory by Mike Aquilina in the July 12 issue.  I am a Jewish convert to the Catholic faith who was raised with very little religious education, and I actually felt more Jewish after my conversion to Catholicism than I ever had before. The article’s discussion of the Jewish/Old Testament roots of the Catholic doctrine on purgatory was enlightening to me. In particular, I was really happy to learn about the prayer, El Malei Rachamim, and looked it up so my niece and I can pray it together at my brother’s (her Dad) gravesite. We all struggle with resentments and attachments that can distance us from God. Mercifully, he provides the sacraments for the living and this final means of purgation, or purification, to enable us to receive his love fully in the life to come. — Marilyn Boussaid, St. James Church, Redondo Beach

The truth about Dante and purgatory

Deacon Serj Harutunian • Jul 15, 2024
I enjoyed reading Mike Aquilina’s cover story in the July 12 issue about how Dante did not invent purgatory, but rather supported Catholic teaching poetically. Citing Jewish thought, Church Fathers and Pope Gregory the Great, and ending with “What do Catholics believe about purgatory” citing the Catechism, were home runs. — Deacon Serj Harutunian, St. James the Less Church, La Crescenta

Women with true authority

Maria Barba • Jul 02, 2024
I enjoyed Elise Italiano Ureneck’s contribution to the June 28 issue “Answering the True Call” because it did two things: remind readers of the impossibility of women’s ordination (recently confirmed by Pope Francis) and lift up the stories of some incredible Catholic women. On the second point, it’s important that the examples she cites from Bronwen McShea’s “Women of the Church” book were women who did things for the Church that men couldn’t, and commanded more spiritual authority and respect than the most of the ordained ministers of their time (priests, bishops, and popes included). None of them fell into the trap of thinking that joining the clergy would make them more effective in their mission. The history of the Church is rich with reminders that advocates of female ordination should be careful what they wish for. —Maria Barba, San Antonio, Texas

A poignant point on chastity

Mac Iver • Jun 18, 2024
Heather King’s bracing review of Bishop Erik Varden’s “Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses” in the May 31 issue makes me all the happier to be an Angelus subscriber. I know of few other writers who penetrate the heart of the Gospels more movingly but with such a lack of sentimentality. She’s funny, too. — Mac Iver, St. Therese, Alhambra

Kicker should have defended all Masses

Judith Seki • Jun 18, 2024
I would like to accent Amy Welborn’s commentary (May 31 issue) with my belief that Harrison Butker missed the point by placing so much emphasis on the Latin Mass. With today’s faltering Mass attendance, his message could have been much stronger if he had emphasized the basic need to attend Mass. He could have parenthetically voiced his preference for the Latin Mass while still stating that the Mass is powerful and necessary in any language. — Judith Seki, San Gabriel

A nuanced kick down the middle

John J. Miller • Jun 03, 2024
Thank you for running Amy Welborn’s perspective on Harrison Butker’s speech in the May 31 issue. It captured many of my own thoughts about a speech that meant well but also was flawed. It’s good to read her nuanced approach in Angelus, especially when there’s so much pressure for everyone to line up on our tribal sides and shout at each other. — John J. Miller is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College in Michigan

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