We Choose Anthony Fauci Over Stella Immanuel
Dear Editor: The August 1 front-page headline suggests hydroxychloroquine may be a cure for COVID-19 (“Video of Doctors Touting COVID-19 Drug Removed From Social Media,” August 1).
In the article on page 10, we find that Dr. Stella Immanuel, the promoter of this cure, also believes that impotence and infertility are caused by people dreaming of sex with witches and demons.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a long-time expert in infectious diseases, a member of the National Institutes of Health, graduate of Regis, Holy Cross, and Cornell University Medical College, has said that “every single good study … has shown that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of COVID-19.”
We choose Fauci over Immanuel any day!
Barbara and Frank Bolton
Park Slope
Forgive Them, for They Know not What They do
Dear Editor: The recent desecration of the likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary on July 10, 2020, at Cathedral Prep School and Seminary in Elmhurst, disheartened me (“As Attacks on Churches Increase, Fear Mounts,” July 25).
One would hope that such an anti-Catholic act and attitude would only be found in the pages of history books. I hope for this to be an isolated occurrence. As with human nature, I should feel a sense of antipathy towards the individual or persons who’ve committed this sacrilege. As a Christian and a member of the Roman Catholic faith, it would serve no higher purpose for me to feel the animosity in return. Sadness yes, but contempt, no.
The words spoken by our Lord Jesus from the Cross should be the proper prayer for all, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Rafael Ocasio
East Elmhurst
Vandalism Against Catholic Churches
Dear Editor: In the mid-19th Century when New York Catholic churches were threatened with violent vandalism Archbishop John “Dagger” Hughes threatened to retaliate with equal violence against other City structures, “eye for an eye.” Well, Brooklyn churches have been vandalized. We no longer can be quite so “colorful” in our reaction.
But we can vote. So in November, if you think the vandalism is caused by Conservatives, do not vote for them. If you think Progressives are the cause, then vote for Conservatives.
They may get the message.
Robert Doran Petty
Bay Ridge
The Painful Closing of six Schools in the Diocese
Dear Editor: This school year has undoubtedly been the most challenging in my 35 years of interaction with school systems whether as a student, a teacher or a parent. I have had to deal with challenges I would have never expected in my wildest imagination.
This is not surprising, not unique to me, but identifiable to nearly every parent this year, even if we just referenced the fallout of COVID-19. That said, myself and many fellow parents at my children’s school and throughout the diocese are dealing with a devastating blow and the final nail in the coffin of an academically deadly year: mass school closings. In my particular case, the closing of my beloved Our Lady’s Catholic Academy in South Ozone Park, Queens.
The decision to close six schools has students, parents, and staff equally hurt, fearful, and angry. The closures are a mental toll on students already struggling to understand a pandemic. It is a stress-inducing situation for parents who are scared out of their wits with the changing guidelines for reopening schools, now to be further burdened with the need to deal with that uncertainty in unfamiliar buildings, with unfamiliar staff and students. It is an absolutely panic-inducing situation for teachers and administrative staff who are forced to compete with well over a hundred other teachers in a similar situation for positions in an already recessed economy.
Nathifa Lewis
South Ozone Park
Rep. John Lewis — a Man Of Character and Dignity
Dear Editor: Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a civil rights icon, has passed away at age 80, and that has brought much sadness to many.
Here was a brave lion who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., suffered much for the cause of civil rights and was beaten and jailed for his beliefs.
Rep. John Lewis went on to serve in Congress since 1986 for many decades. He had fought for the rights of the many that had not achieved the American dream. As a white man, I believe we are all brothers and sisters and should as such treat each other with respect and dignity. In the 1960s as a teenager for a short time, I marched for civil rights.
Rep. John Lewis was a man of character, honor, and dignity who fought for the greater good of our countrymen and women. He was the personification of this phrase: “Evil thrives when good people do nothing.” America will surely mourn the loss of a good man.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Bellerose