Dear Editor: As a deacon for over 31 years, I can honestly say that there is more to serving as a deacon than what Deacon Ferrari wrote (“Is There a Need for Permanent Deacons?” Aug. 18).
Letters to the Editor
We welcome letters to the Readers’ Forum, but they must include (for verification purposes) the writer’s full name, home address and phone numbers. Letters with incomplete information won’t be considered for publication. Your name may be withheld upon request, after verification is completed. Letters signed simply “Name Withheld” are not considered for print. Letters should be as brief as possible, and, of course, all letters are subject to editing. Letters containing the proviso “Do Not Edit” also are not considered. You can submit your letter by clicking the button below.
No Limits on McDermott
Dear Editor: Mike Mastromatteo’s appreciation of Alice McDermott (Aug. 18) is right on the mark. If the author (or any artist) resents being pigeon-holed as Catholic, Irish, or whatever – remember the awful phrase “lady novelist”? – it is not so much that she denies her roots as that she rightly deplores the condescension that would limit the significance of her work.
Time to Clean House
Dear Editor: With all due respect, we have been getting apologies for the past 30 years all around the world from the Catholic hierarchy on clerical abuse. It’s time to clean house and excommunicate and civilly charge by secular authorities any priests, bishops and cardinals who participated or covered up these crimes. People need to go to jail. People have been leaving the church in droves around the world because of these crimes and coverups.
The Cost of Living
I am a longtime reader of The Tablet, an excellent publication. I was quite dismayed, however, when I read The Editor’s Space (July 21), titled ‘What Happens to a Building When It’s No Longer a Church?’
Mercy vs. Justice
I’m 79 years young, a retired civil engineer, a widower, and humbly a faithful Catholic. I completely disagree with the pope’s recent pronouncement on the death penalty.
Social Security’s Future
The letter to the editor about the future of Social Security should resonate with all Americans. Today, fewer Americans are working full-time jobs and contributing to Social Security. What’s the answer to a system put in place in the 1930s that the majority of Americans count on and appreciate?
Gov’s Misguided Stance
Dear Editor: Is it not amazing that Governor Andrew Cuomo gives his most energetic endorsement to a law that legalizes the killing of an unborn child in the womb.
Stand for the Anthem
Why are many pro football players choosing to kneel rather than stand during the playing of our National Anthem? If they want to protest our country’s policies, there are certainly other peaceful ways to do so, of which they have every right but never should they not show respect for our National Anthem.
Repentance Is Needed
The Tablet regularly updates us on Church abuse scandals and it appears there’s no end to these. The scandals afflict the faithful and victims with wounds, trauma, frustration and disgust.
Patriotism Is Acceptable
In her letter, printed in The Tablet, July 21, Geraldine Gazzara questions whether “patriotic is acceptable anymore.” Of course it is.