Letters to the Editor

After reading about Gary Jansen's article about our Guardian Angels in the Sept. 10 issue of Angelus, I wrote this poem offering gratitude for all the great content Angelus provides to Catholics in L.A and around the world. Angels Among Us ANGELUS, Angels are among us delivering; A…Affirmation N… News G…God’s work E…Experience L…Love U…Unity S…Sympathy ANGELUS, Angels are among Us….

Thank you so much for Robert Brennan’s article looking back on the spiritual gifts given to the Brennan family by their parents, especially their father. As a young man nearing marriage and also struggling with my own retail business, this story hit home. He beautifully described the simple but powerful faith and traditions passed along from one generation to the next. It recalls my own upbringing. Sadly, I suspect far too few Catholics nowadays are blessed with such fine examples. We need more stories like this — inspiring, uplifting, and yes, emotional — I was crying.

I have just finished reading “California v. Common Sense” in the May 24th edition and feel an urgent need to convey my disgust at the article and the arguments against the church being legally required to report confessions of probable abuse. The article is insensitive, as well as a dismissive distortion of the facts of recent history. There certainly were plenty of confessions and the church did not police itself well. It did not stop child abuse from within its own ranks — not through confession, not through reassignment. Please do not ignore the lessons of history. The Church is better than this!

After reading the article “Protecting the true transition to womanhood,” I was compelled to write that every woman, no matter what age and circumstances in life, should have faith and follow the Blessed Virgin Mary's examples of grace, femininity, and trust. Although we live in a very contradictory and scary world right now for mothers, daughters, and sisters, the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary will always be a guide through life.

I just want to thank you for the latest great issue — two stories on Tolkien and one very accurate analysis of myth and Jordan Peterson was a treat and a surprise! Of course these are topics that fascinate me, but I am so grateful to you for this. Looking forward to reading more of your publication. Looking forward to reading about gargoyles and the Defiant Requiem. It is so nice to read an archdiocesan weekly with so much solid substance! Thanks.

Fr. Rolheiser's homage to Sister Wendy Beckett spends too many words on her “consecrated virginity” and “appreciation of the nude human body.” He mentions her brilliance, but misses that she was a self-taught art historian and voracious reader who inspired a generation of art lovers to trust their own instincts when viewing art. She taught all of us that art is meant for the common viewer. Better to mention that when filming her 15-minute segments, she worked without a script and got it right in one take because her interpretations were so pure. Sister Wendy Beckett was my personal hero because she nailed the truth in every piece she viewed, while also linking every piece to the beauty of the human soul. Rather than anything scurrilous, may she be remembered for her interpretive genius.