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Letters to the Editor

A granddaughter’s gratitude

Margo Precht Speciale • Sep 22, 2025
I wanted to thank Robert Brennan for his thoughtful review Sept. 10 of the Netflix documentary “Sunday Best” on AngelusNews.com. I am the producer of “Sunday Best” and Ed Sullivan’s granddaughter.  You captured not only the impact my grandfather had on American culture but also the decency and values that guided him throughout his life. His Irish Catholic heritage was such a steady force for him, and it means a lot to see that recognized in your piece. — Margo Precht Speciale

A refreshing discussion of adultery

Thomas Rocco • Sep 08, 2025
I appreciated Msgr. Richard Antall’s essay “The Church of Second Chances” for its unusually honest and thoughtful approach to marital infidelity, especially coming from a priest! I haven’t read Anne Tyler’s “Three Days in June,” so I can’t offer an opinion on the book that Father read. But I know firsthand the wounds that the evil of infidelity causes in marriages. And that damage only gets worse when you can’t acknowledge or talk about it as a real problem, especially in church.  Human weakness is an opportunity to experience God’s grace and forgiveness, as the adulterous woman in the Gospels discovered. Human effort always falls short. Thank you, Msgr. Antall, for not falling back on the standard moralistic approach to sin. With Christ, healing and conversion are indeed possible.  — Thomas Rocco, Yorba Linda

Don’t fall for the Ozzy media narrative

Ryan Anderson • Aug 25, 2025
In Robert Brennan’s Aug. 14 column on AngelusNews.com, “Praise Ozzy Osbourne, but not the Satanic showmanship,” I can understand as an outsider and nonfan, the heavy tones of the music itself, the artwork, some song titles, the band name, and most especially the portrayal of Ozzy by the media as a satanist desiring the ruin of souls had captured your attention and possibly awe. From the outside looking in it can appear to be mischievous evil being done in the name of Satan. However, I’d like to take an opportunity to invite you to explore the truth and explore facts, both of which the Church deeply asks us to do. Were you aware that all members of the band grew up Catholic and that Ozzy’s father gave them all cross necklaces before they departed for America so that God would keep them safe? Were you aware that Ozzy was in recovery from alcoholism and wrote a multitude of songs about his addiction, the ills, and destruction it can cause and in warning against it? Please see “Demon Alcohol,” “Road To Nowhere,” and “Suicide Solution.” I believe you’ll find not a man participating in the occult, but a deeply introspective man struggling with faith, life, recovery and a desire to seek good. So all this is to say please take time to at least dig into the words of the songs, dig into the real story of the music and the humans behind it, take time to seek truth, not just write articles to dissuade about a subject you admit you aren’t an expert in. I’ll listen to Black Sabbath, say my prayers, participate in my faith and recovery, and know in good conscience I have not only not done anything wrong, but I’ll have found more peace and joy in my life, two things God desperately desires we seek.  — Ryan Anderson

Words that paint a picture of India

John Flaherty • Jul 31, 2025
I enjoyed the substance and content of Rafael Alvarez’s essay “Of gods and dogs in Goa” in the July 25 issue almost as much as I did his writing style.  Alvarez paints imagery one can see, hear, and almost touch in his writing. The reader can see oneself on the ships, trains, riding in the cabs, praying in the basilica, and strolling through the streets. I love that your pilgrimage began on a cargo ship out of the Port of Long Beach, which is where I live. What an adventure!  I appreciate writers who take readers to places as you make the world a smaller place for all God’s children. I’m half-Japanese, having been born and raised there. My mother is from Kumamoto, the southernmost island of Japan and within 50 miles of Goto where St. Francis Xavier and his companions first touched ground in the Land of the Rising Sun.  — John Flaherty is the director of the Pastoral Liturgy and Pastoral Music Certification Programs at Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Religion and Spirituality  

An incomplete description?

Cindy Hagon • Jul 14, 2025
A news brief in the July 11 issue described slain Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman as a “loyal Catholic parishioner.” But I would have to ask: loyal to whom? Definitely not the unborn, as Hortman was instrumental in codifying the right to abortion in the state — an affront to the Catholic faith. Her archbishop called Rep. Hortman an honorable public servant and a loyal Catholic. But I will pray for her soul.  — Cindy Hagon, Santa Barbara

Pope Francis’ final message

Anne Biondi • Jul 14, 2025
Thank you for the wonderful article by Gregory Orfalea in the July 11 issue chronicling his time in Rome between the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo.   I’d like to add a note, if I may, to the description of Francis’ tomb. The author eloquently described the simplicity of the tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore, but I think it’s worth reminding ourselves of the proximity of the burial site to the icon of the Virgin Mary known as Salus Populi Romani, meaning Health (or Salvation) of the Roman people.   This was a beloved icon for Pope Francis, and seeing it on TV struck me as a powerful visual. By ensuring that his tomb is positioned near the icon’s location, Francis was testifying not only to his love and devotion to Mary, but seemed to be preaching his last sermon to us, as if to say: If you want to get to heaven, entrust yourself to Mary! In the words of the ancient prayer, we ask her to pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death! — Anne Biondi, Sherman Oaks

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