Archbishop Cordileone’s Decision
Dear Editor: Now that he has publicly forbidden House Speaker Pelosi to receive holy Communion because of her support of what she claims to be a woman’s “right” to have an abortion (“SF Archbishop: No Communion for Speaker Pelosi,” May 28) will San Francisco Archbishop Cordileone deliver the same liturgical ukase against those Catholic members of the other party who seem to wear the Second Amendment around their necks, just as he displays his pectoral cross?
The 10 victims in Buffalo are just as dead as any preborn infant.
Garrett Dempsey
Whitestone
Thank you, Bugsy
Dear Editor: Thank you for highlighting the talents of Keith “Bugsy” Goldberg (“St. Francis de Sales Lifer Guides CYO Sports Through Pandemic,” May 21). He is a treasure.
Keith DeMatteis
Belle Harbor
CNS Is a Valuable Service
Dear Editor: Catholic News Service is very important. Many articles printed in Catholic publications come from this source, and it should be continued. (“CNS to Cease U.S. Operations,” May 14)
This is very concerning.
The bishops need to re-prioritize their spending of money for the U.S. Catholic Church. CNS helps Catholics get an unbiased view of what is happening in our church.
Please relay this concern to the bishops.
Peter McLoughlin
Park Slope
Pope’s Response to Texas School Shooting Tragedy
Dear Editor: Unfortunately, Pope Francis missed his opportunity to manifest the holiness and message of our Lord’s mission.
He called for gun control when his message should be about the wounded psyche of our world. Guns do not kill, people do.
Unless we address the loose criminal laws, the signs of mental illness that have been increasing due to the negative effects of social media, and Hollywood’s “wokeness.”
Also, the lack of common kindness to each other even when we do not agree, signifies the moral depravity so invasive in society.
The true roots of the shooting in Texas are open borders, lack of respect for law, order, and individual rights.
Jesus threw out the moneychangers from the temple. We need to renew and purge our Church from moral complacency. We cannot sit on the fence.
We are not supermarket Christians like Nancy Pelosi, who claims to know better our Lord’s message of the straight and narrow.
Anne Frances Balzer-O’Connell
Astoria
Gun Violence, Mayhem, and Hypocrisy
Dear Editor: Are we not ashamed that our scorecard shows us as the number one nation for gun violence, highest COVID deaths, highest citizen incarcerations, mental illness, drug abuse, etc.?
Another toxic violence looming large is abortion being camouflaged as reproductive health care. We have become a nation under gods (not God). Is it better to spare lives or to spare our guns? You be the judge.
Violence begets violence. Blame for the above maladies lies on our cowardly leaders who indulge in petty gerrymandering and lack the guts to overhaul this freedom (without checks) to bear arms.
May God chastise us if we do not change and repent.
Victor Chukwudi Enemuo
Elmont
Occasions of Sin
Dear Editor: I read with nostalgia the tributes to the nuns who have served for many decades (“Jubilarians Are Hailed for Their Prayers, Compassion,” May 21).
It brought me back to my grade school days in Bushwick at St. Martin of Tours and the Sisters of St. Joseph. I recall how hard they worked at helping us form our moral compass, teaching us right from wrong. Frequently, they exhorted us to avoid the occasions of sin.
“Be careful of the company you keep, the places that you go, and the things that you do,” we were told. Our news pages are filled with stories of mass killings, drug addiction, abortion, murder, etc. How is our society’s moral compass being formed? Does anyone talk about and teach avoidance of the occasions of sin?
Many of our political leaders tell us how gun control and/or mental health services will provide the solution to these problems. I am not so sure.
Like the nuns, I think we need to upgrade our spiritual health, and this is something the government can’t provide.
Joseph Anthon Giacalone, Ph.D.
Smithtown
