Messianic Complex

Dear Editor: Does anyone share my extreme disappointment in the absence of a response from leaders of the Catholic Church to incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus’ disrespectful comparison of our president-elect to Jesus (per his Christmas Day 2016 holiday greeting: “Just as the three wise men did on that night, this Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new king.” (Huffington Post, Dec. 26, 2016)?

False Charge of Racism

Dear Editor: As a racial “minority,” I am disappointed that The Tablet would assign the title of “A Cure for Racism“ to a letter (Dec. 24-31, 2016) expressing the familiar attitude that will have and has had the opposite effect when put into practice. False accusations of racism encourage the cultivation of real racist responses among those who revel in accusatory vitriol.

Diocesan Assignments: Jan. 28, 2017

PASTOR
Rev. William G. Smith, from pastor of O.L. of Light, St. Albans, and from dean of Queens Deanery 9, to pastor of St. Charles Borromeo, Brooklyn Heights, effective June 30.
Rev. Jeffry T. Dillon, from administrator of Christ the King and St. Mary Magdalene, Springfield Gardens, to pastor of O.L. of Light, St. Albans, effective June 30.

Two New Features

The Tablet begins two new features this week.

Sister Ann Helen Seguljic, I.H.M.

Sister Ann Helen Seguljic, I.H.M., 86, formerly Sister M. St. Ignatius of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died Jan. 21, at Our Lady of Peace Residence, Scranton, Pa.

Hope: God’s Gift and Promise to Humanity

Second in a series, Early in his essay, “Not Settling for Less: The Audacity and Practice of Christian Hope” (America, Nov. 21, 2016), Paul J. Wadell discusses hope in relation to our friendship with God.

Jesus’ Dying Wish: That All Christians Would Be One

Christ’s last prayer on earth was for unity. In John 17, He prayed that all of His followers may be one, just as He and the Father are one in the bond of their Holy Spirit. For most of the two millennia of the Church’s history, unity has been an elusive attainment.