Letters to the Editor

Thank you for including the photo of the new 2022 Vatican Christmas stamps in your Always Forward newsletter. It’s wonderful how the Vatican chooses unique artists such as Francesco Canale, born without arms or legs, who paints holding a brush between his teeth. What moved me to tears was the way the artist managed to convey deep emotions of joy and astonishment in the two scenes with just a few simple brush strokes. This artist is truly gifted and was a great choice for 2022. — Marilyn Boussaid

I appreciated the coverage of John Shea’s life and legacy in the Nov. 4 issue following his passing last month, which I think captured an important truth about John and his wife, Dorothy: that there was no end to what they would do to help children and families. I first met John and Dorothy Shea when I was assistant superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District in the early 1990s. I had the honor of working with them for 10 years (also later as superintendent), starting with their support for a four-year-old kindergarten program (such programs did not enjoy the public funding they do now). I believe this was their only investment in public schools before they became known for their generosity to Catholic schools. The Sheas inspired so many teachers like myself who have worked in different capacities in education. They understood the importance of early learning and early child development as well as anyone, including researchers, policymakers, or teachers. They were deeply committed to all aspects of forming our youngest children — especially those who didn’t have all that they needed — not just educationally, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. And our Catholic children and families are the better for it. — Vera Vignes is the school board chair of St. Andrew’s Catholic School in Pasadena.

Thank you for the wonderful, uplifting article on AngelusNews.com on the eucharistic procession that made history crossing the Mississippi River from Iowa to Illinois. There is nothing like a peaceful public display of faith as a way to preach the Gospel and give glory to God. — Marilyn Boussaid, St. James Church, Redondo Beach

Jenny Gorman Patton’s article in the Oct. 21 issue, “Where love remains,” resonated with me so much! I married my non-Catholic, Methodist-raised husband in 1982. He agreed to let me raise our children Catholic — in his words, “it was close enough to Christian.”  By 1995 at the Easter Vigil, he had joined the Catholic Church after seeing the outreach programs at the parish I attended, St. Lawrence Martyr Church in Redondo Beach. In 2004, he joined the diaconate program and was ordained in 2009. For all those years, I never pushed him, never asked him to come to Mass, just quietly took our children. Apparently it was God that opened his eyes to the community, to the words in the Bible, and the wonderfulness of the Eucharist. — Kim Sheckler, St. Lawrence Martyr Church, Redondo Beach

As someone who is impressed with Angelus week after week, I was gravely disappointed in Robert Brennan’s column in the October 7 issue, “Thoughts on a South Bend conversion.”  The article was ostensibly about the Catholic conversion of Notre Dame’s football coach, but the piece actually said nothing about the man. Instead, it took a series of cheap shots at the university, questioning its Catholic charism.   As the father of a young man who attends Mass every week of his own accord — one who graduated this spring from Notre Dame along with 12 of his Loyola High School classmates — I can assure your readers that the Catholic faith is alive and well at Our Lady’s university.  — Dr. Patrick Whelan, Corpus Christi, Pacific Palisades

As the first season of “The Rings of Power” winds down, I find that Stefano Rebeggiani’s assessment of the series in the Sept. 23 issue has proven correct: None of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “aesthetic and philosophical impact” is anywhere to be found in the show. Whereas there was still some hope for future character development and a deepening of “Tolkienian themes” in the first two episodes, that is now gone. The series’ shallow characters seem to stumble from episode to episode while major plot holes go unexplained. Perhaps our society is no longer able to ponder the existential questions that formed the heart of Tolkien’s mythology. — Laura Carey, Playa del Rey