Letters to the Editor

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.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Angelus publish a picture of the image that progressively showed up in a drying sidewalk puddle starting on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, outside of my home parish, Holy Family of Artesia. Was it a miracle? Or was it just a Rorschach test identifying more about the viewer than about the actual image?

Thinking about it offered me a mini-perspective of my life as a modern Catholic. As a very scientific person, I am a bit conflicted. There is the modern attitude we all have to deal with: “Oh look, those Catholics are seeing the Virgin Mary in a piece of toast! What a bunch of primitive ignoramuses!” So I and like-minded people avoid being roped into saying this is some kind of miracle.

However, I must say, if Mary wanted to send any parish a greeting card honoring their devotion to her, Holy Family would be a decent choice. I see more people praying to her at this church than at any other church I have been to.

Thank you so much for your lovingly beautiful tribute to Sister Wendy Beckett. I stumbled across her on a BBC program many years ago and knew I was looking at a gem of culture. More than that, she had a God-given insight with such a rarity of articulation and expression that is completely lost today. Thank God for her books, writings and television presentations to remind us of the rare gift God gave to us. I'll pray that they will be aired often. God bless you for your tribute.

In your November 16th issue, Greg Erlandson wrote that the current sex abuse scandal is made worse because ‘heads haven’t rolled.’ That is, there should be much more punishment meted out for anyone even remotely involved in cases of sex abuse in the church, including not only the priests who were found guilty, but any other churchman involved with the perpetrator before or after his sin/crime should have been somehow punished by the church authorities, apparently without regard to their level of guilt.

What flashed through my mind was “the eighth commandment.” When I looked it up, the eighth commandment forbids “bearing false witness.” According to the Catholic Catechism, this commandment includes avoiding ‘calumny,’ or ‘destroying the reputation and honor of one’s neighbor.’ (2479, “Catechism of the Catholic Church.”)

In other words, we are to be very careful when imputing sin to another person. If we are too eager to relay our suspicions or even our convictions about another’s morality, we may commit sin ourselves in trying to force the presumed sinner to judgment.

So, Erlandson is recommending that more Catholics should be turning in presumed sinners, which is forbidden by the Catechism.

The article by John L. Allen Jr. about the Synod’s delicate document is so disturbing that I feel obligated to respond.

First of all, the bishops decided to change the response to the sexual abuse on the Church for years from “zero tolerance” to “rigorous prevention measures” because it meant different things to different people. Really! What is confusing about the word intolerance?

The most disturbing was a quote attributed to Pope Francis saying the Church as “mother” is under attack from the “great accuser.” “At this moment the devil is accusing very strongly and the accusation becomes persecution.”

Truly — is it the devil who is exposing what’s been going on in the church under Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II whom he immediately canonized — or is it possibly the Holy Spirit bringing to divine light the need for acknowledging our sins, repentance, humility, gratitude for Christ’s saving grace?

The Catholic Church has survived scandals before. If it faces the truth of its sins and repents with grateful humility and truth, it can survive again.

Re: Ruben Navarrette's piece on diversity. What came across loud and clear is his dislike for conservatives, not just Tucker Carlson. Is he going to do a piece on Rachel Maddow and her liberal party's support for abortion? Doesn't that limit diversity? It is mostly minorities who have abortions. Didn't Keith Ellison the chairman of the Democratic National Committee say if you don't support abortion you're not welcome in the party?