Issue of Transgender People in Sports
Dear Editor: The latest assault on our children is in the introduction of transgender males in girls’ sports.
Having won a heroic fight for Title IX to protect women in sports, the battle continues with this latest attempt on female rights.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, the Royal Aid Society, and the New York Civil Liberty Union have all joined forces to protect transgender rights regardless of the rights of these females and their families.
Would these so-called social justice warriors want their daughters to shower and dress in the same facility as transgender males and suffer defeat and possible injury because of unfair competition?
If there are males who claim to be female, let them initiate their own league where the competition is fair and balanced. This is a reasonable solution.
Parents, this is another wake up call! Be active because of what’s happening in your schools.
Thomas and Constance Dowd
Oakland Gardens
Take Back the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Dear Editor: While watching the recent St. Patrick’s Day Parade, I found it quite upsetting that WNBC-TV and their corporate sponsors have bastardized the true spirit of the parade all due to the Church’s refusal to allow the LGBTQ+ community to march under their banner.
I believe the Church should again review the parade at the steps of the cathedral and have the cardinal bless and greet the marchers.
If corporate sponsors cannot be found, it will provide TV time for the Church to spread the Gospel, recruit vocations for religious life, and send a message to those who bully and strong-arm the Church to comply with their misguided representation of what the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is all about.
Stephen Macaluso
Maspeth
Seniors Please Vote
Dear Editor: As reported by the AARP, seniors have voted in previous elections in large numbers.
But in the upcoming election, it is more important that seniors come out in larger numbers.
In the next 10 years there could be a reduction of 20% to Social Security and Medicare.
First of all, Social Security is money earned through a lifetime of hard work.
For older Americans, it ensures they can afford everyday expenses such as groceries, gas, and housing.
I am 75 years old, and my wife Eva is 71, and we worry about cutbacks in our Social Security.
There are many seniors where Social Security is their only source of income. I will not tell you who to vote for, but I urge people to vote for those candidates in Congress and president that will protect Social Security and Medicare.
I also urge those of voting age to do the same to protect these programs.
So, please get out and vote.
Frederick Robert Bedell Jr.
Bellerose
Eulogy or Not
Dear Editor: Not to belabor the point, but I have to disagree with Joseph Puntino’s letter (“I’m With the Deacon,” Mar. 30) on the eulogy in Church during a funeral Mass.
From my point of view, we come together at Mass always as a family, for that is who we are.
The Church embraces her children and gives them comfort in times of sorrow.
Why isn’t a tasteful, well-spoken eulogy considered part of that comfort, and taking it a step further, part of the prayer?
The fate of the departed is known to God alone, but most of us have a pretty good idea of who makes it into heaven.
My husband suffered from cancer. He never complained.
His thoughts were for me and my future only. That coupled with the wonderful husband and father he was, he was in heaven.
His wake and funeral wasn’t for him, it was for us left behind who needed comfort.
We had a eulogy. My son is well spoken and a trained lector, but even if he wasn’t, he was entitled to speak. His words were a comfort.
That funeral Mass was perfect because we were there as a family, the family that belongs to the people of God, and we came home to bring one of the faithful ones for a final time.
Maria F. Mastromarino
Manalapan, NJ
Springtime in Ukraine
Dear Editor: Regardless of the war, spring is entering Ukraine. Early dawns become even more beautiful with their mists, through which the sun’s rays boldly penetrate.
Birds are singing and trees are blooming despite the air-raid alarms we hear almost every morning. We are fighting! And we will be fighting for as long as it takes us!
Life is much more powerful than death. A little tender sunray is brighter than the most terrible Russian crimes. And those who love never die! Thus we are trying to live, smile, and give glory to the most beautiful God.
I think life in Ukraine is so special right now. You don’t even know if you will wake up in the morning. Is it my last spring or not? Will I go to war? Will I be killed there or will I survive?
So, we Ukrainians are trying to appreciate every moment of our life, and I think we’ve learned how to see a collateral beauty in the little things.
Yarema Semaniv
Kyiv, Ukraine