I thought the quote from the great Romano Guardini in Greg Erlandson's article “From boys to men” in the July 14 issue perfectly described many of the issues at the root of problems in society today: “As long as men are unable to control themselves from within … they will inevitably be ‘organized’ by forces from without.”

Our culture should be helping men and women embrace their God-given gifts and differences, not trying to erase or suppress them. Men are being encouraged to trade responsibility for self-indulgent, addictive distractions like video games and pornography. Modern trends like surrogate pregnancy, sex positivity, and the push for more gender-neutral spaces seem like signs of progress but are sad signs of a world that’s forgotten that families need fathers, not mere custodians.

Thank you to Angelus for raising this important issue.

— Cristal Valtierra, Northridge