Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor Week of Oct. 29, 2022

October 26, 2022

A Message of Hope for All Catholics 

Dear Editor: Thank you to Bishop Robert Brennan for his heartfelt homily delivered at the recent Mass of Hope and Healing (“Mass of Hope and Healing Returns After 2-Year Hiatus With Message of Contrition, Promise to Help Survivors,” Oct. 22). 

It is an apology toward victims of sexual abuse in the Church, not only for the terrible actions that were committed but also for the inaction taken by the Church. 

Personally, this scandal pushed me away from the Church as I felt equally ashamed by its actions and shattered by its betrayal. How reassuring it was to hear his apologetic message as it helps restore the sanctity of the Church. 

I implore all Catholics to listen to this message and to share it with those who need to hear it — be it direct to victims of abuse or those who simply lost faith in the Church. 

It’s time to heal.

Steve Scacalossi 

Rego Park 

A Pro-Lifers Priority 

Dear Editor: To answer the question about pro-lifers not speaking about capital punishment, I offer this brief reply: People on death row do not number in the millions, and these people are not innocent. They have committed heinous crimes. 

Yet, they have lawyers who represent them and take them through the lengthy appeals process. There is a voice for them. 

The urgency for some of us pro-lifers is for those who have no voice — who our society claims have no rights, no human status, and where the attack on unborn life is at an all-time high. 

We are not talking about 10, 13, or 25 individuals, we are talking about more than 63 million innocent babies who have committed no crime but to have been conceived. 

Today, abortion is praised, financed, and celebrated. Many people claim it is a moral value, a woman’s right to which we all must agree. 

Thank God, common sense and true human decency motivate pro-lifers’ voices to say this is wrong. 

If innocent life is not protected, whose life is safe from the whims of others? 

Patricia Gregorek 

Greenpoint 

Pulpit 

Dear Editor: A friend told me that her pastor announced from the pulpit that anyone who voted for someone who supported abortion rights was not a true Catholic. 

Are we to believe that Catholics are sheep and have to be told how to vote? Aren’t we supposed to look at all aspects of an issue and then make an informed, moral decision that will benefit the common good? 

Abortion is an evil, yes, but there are many other issues like gun control, immigration, treatment of the poor, and the environment. 

We cannot be a single-stance group touting the same thing over and over to the exclusion of all other issues. 

It is dangerous for any member of any clergy to try to tell his congregation how to vote. We live in a free society, and God gave each one of us free will and the tools of discernment. 

Use them and vote. 

Maria F. Mastromarino 

Manalapan, N.J. 

Editor’s note: The Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or tell people how to vote. The USCCB states that “parishes and other church organizations can encourage members to participate in the electoral process.” To read more, go to usccb.org/resources 

The Future Is Education 

Dear Editor: It is gratifying that, during these tough financial times, people recognized the importance of a good education for our youth (“Futures in Education Raises Record $2.8 million at Annual Scholarship Dinner,” Oct. 29), which will enable them to prosper going forward. 

Dale Vani 

Marine Park 

One thought on “Letters to the Editor Week of Oct. 29, 2022”

  1. A note to Patricia and, especially, Maria Mastromarino. Catholics are not single issue voters. Our issues are the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church. Here are some guidelines for how we should vote. Ask yourself:
    • Which candidate supports policies the Church has identified as intrinsic evils?
    • Which party supports items of interest to the Church (and society), such as religious freedom, school choice, free speech, etc.
    • Which candidate has a record of truth and transparency?
    • Which candidate supports the fullness of human sexuality as taught by the Church (e.g., the complementarity of the sexes, reality of birth gender, etc.)?
    • Which candidate supports the sanctity of the family? The elderly, Marriage and marital relations?
    • Which candidate supports personal responsibility?
    • Which candidate takes you further from God?
    This is how we are to vote. NY has an opportunity this year to actually effect change. Do it!