I’m Asking Gov. Cuomo to Use Common Sense
Dear Editor: It is reported that the first 170,000 doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is set to be delivered by the Federal Government by December 15th to New York. Good news, right?
Now the problem is Gov. Cuomo has doubts about the Trump Administration safety standards for the vaccine and the need for federal funding for distribution. Meanwhile, the CDC says it is safe based on FDA approval.
In addition to that, the state has millions of dollars in unclaimed federal funds for vaccine distribution. Gov. Cuomo’s dislike of President Trump should not cause the loss of more New Yorkers losing their lives from COVID-19. I’m over seventy years old and I’m asking Gov. Cuomo to use common sense and to do the right thing and to stop griping on what can’t be done but what can be done.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Bellerose
Sister Ave’s Book on how to Survive the Pandemic
Dear Editor: I want to recommend to your readers a short (140 pages) down to earth book called “Heart of Courage” by Sr. Ave Clark O.P., which I believe is one of the few books written during the COVID-19 pandemic about how to survive it spiritually and psychologically.
Sr. Ave is well known throughout our diocese as a speaker and retreat day facilitator but how many remember that fifteen years ago she was severely injured when her car was slammed into by a runaway LIRR car?
So when someone like this writes a book about ordinary and extraordinary struggles, resiliency, tears, waiting, the courage to “ask questions” and the courage to “say no,” it makes you want to read her reflections — especially since the chapters are so short and have some interesting “heart reflection questions” and “heart prayer” at the end of each chapter.
Also, you can skip around from chapter to chapter without losing the flow of the book. This is not some “how to avoid COVID-19” book but rather a book you can read to give you strength during this wintertime of waiting for the vaccine to become available and wondering when life is ever “going to get back to normal.”
And what a great Christmas gift this can be too. I found myself ordering copies of this book shortly after it was published in June to give to people I knew as a thank you for being such good neighbors or friends.
Simple acts of kindness as Sr. Ave calls them in the book.
What a down to earth way not just of observing the Advent and Christmas seasons, but also of exteriorizing the book’s subtitle “the ordinary and the extraordinary becoming holy.”
David Hughes Powell
Glendale
The Accusations That Trump Is Being Undemocratic Are a Farce
Dear Editor: With all the calls on both sides — Democrat and Republican — for President Donald Trump to admit he lost the election and to stop his dogged insistence of election fraud, the public should be made aware of what transpired previous to the election.
In the months leading to the 2020 election, the Democratic Party enlisted dozens of lawyers to promote their agenda in the swing states Trump won in 2016. They exerted pressure on judges and other officials to change election laws by allowing for ballots to be counted even if they arrived after Election Day, missing post date marks on ballots and accepting questionable signatures.
The cries that President Trump is being undemocratic are a farce since what was done was unconstitutional — only state legislatures are responsible for making changes to elections laws.
After almost four years of unfounded charges against President Trump of Russian collusion, a blatantly partisan impeachment process and the constant harassment by the press and their cohorts, this was their last chance to put an end to Donald Trump’s glorious pursuit to make America great again and save us from the small minded, ambitious politicians whose only goal is to return to power and forget they were hired to represent us, the American people.
Thomas and Constance Dowd
Oakland Gardens
The 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt not Judge
Dear Editor: During these months of COVID concerns, and the concurring months of division and hyperbolic “hate talk,” one of the decisions I have to make weekly is whether my current mental state is strong enough to open The Tablet and read it.
The letter by Thomas Klocek (“It’s Going to Take More Than a Working Group,” Readers’ Forum, Nov. 28) is a prime example of why I face this decision every week.
With everything else going on, the unforgiving and judgmental reactions to their fellow human beings by my fellow Christians gives me reason to question my faith and the future of the Catholic Church.
I won’t attempt to argue the points Mr. Klocek makes. However, I will question his language. Mr. Klocek says, “I’m not calling for excommunication …” Who are any of us to assume we know the state of someone else’s soul? There is an eleventh Commandment that should have been added: Thou shalt not judge.
Christine Napolitan
Park Slope
Christine Napolitan’s “thou shall not judge” let me confused even though I did read the letter from Thomas Klocek who criticized Biden for supporting abortion. What exactly was he judging? Biden’s support of this violence? Would she have had the same response if the issue were slavery or child abuse? And what is hateful about stating the position of Biden and that he supports the killing of the innocents? Lately, I’ve noticed that this is the new line from those who question Biden’s support of abortion. Call them hateful if they dare to articulate what the candidate stands for. It’s not hate to express outrage at promoting and condoning an injustice which has resulted in over 60 million deaths, and then claim to be a Catholic.