The Mayor and the Pope
Dear Editor: Now that the Easter season is over, I can truly say that I have not heard anything about the unborn babies in danger of abortion in a homily at all during Lent or after Easter.
Maybe a light intention for prayer of the faithful.
And while I am on a roll, I might as well bring up the fact that I was saddened to see the pro-abortion mayor of New York on the cover of The Tablet (“Hizzoner Meets His Holiness,” May 18).
Yes, he was with the pope, but that makes no difference.
This pro-abortion advocate does not deserve the honor to be on the cover of this paper for all the Diocese of Brooklyn Catholics to see.
Seeing him on the cover can bring liberal Catholics deeper into sin. They can believe their liberalism is OK.
Why doesn’t The Tablet put all the pro-abortion quotes from this mayor on the cover of The Tablet to show what this mayor is really about!
Rosemary Mangino
Bensonhurst
Dear Editor: After reading The Tablet on May 18th about Mayor Adams meeting with Pope Francis, I found it quite interesting.
As such I would like to praise Mayor Eric Adams for meeting with Pope Francis. I think maybe the mayor needed spiritual insight in understanding the world conflicts and including those conflicts of hate in New York City.
Mayor Adams spoke to the pope about conflicts in parts of Africa, Hati, the Middle East, climate change, the global refugee crisis, and about the rise of antisemitism.
These problems also extend to New York City. The mayor asks for prayers concerning these conflicts.
The pope agreed and also asked the mayor to pray for him as well.
The mayor had said about Pope Francis, ”He shows us how to meet these challenges with compassion, most importantly, with love.”
But I also believe we all need to pray for all these world conflicts ourselves and also the large amount of antisemitism in the world and in New York.
Divine intervention is helpful with prayers, beliefs, and hope for a better world. Remember, to love one another is the answer.
Frederick Robert Bedell, Jr
Bellerose
Communion Culture
Dear Editor: The article on the changing practices of the customs of our children receiving Communion (“First Communions Have Evolved, But Christ Is Still at the Center,” May 11) struck a chord with me.
Like the ladies in the article, I received my first Communion in the ‘50s, with the Latin Mass, fasting from midnight, and no catered affair.
Yet I can recall it and what it meant to receive Jesus for the first time.
Now things are so different. There is the dress or suit that costs a small fortune, the girls go to the hairdressers, and catering that costs more than my wedding.
Where is the emphasis? What will they remember, and more to the point, is this their first and only Communion?
Celebrate, yes of course, but in moderation, dress them nicely, yes, of course, but in moderation.
They are going to meet Jesus for the first time in an intimate way. He doesn’t care what they are wearing.
That is the message, and He wants to meet them again and again.
Maria F. Mastromarino
Manalapan, NJ
Re: As The Tablet Sees It
Dear Editor: I’m writing in regard to the recent editorial (“Can We Avoid Catholic School Closings?,” May 7) on Catholic school closings.
I was fortunate enough to attend a Catholic elementary school, and to this day I cherish the memories of the good nuns who taught there and left a lasting impression on me.
Our son, Thomas, attended Holy Cross High School and thanked us for making that decision since he was not happy in public school. He excelled while there and later went on to join the New York City Fire Department, where he is now a battalion chief.
Sadly, living in New York is costly and the hope of sending your child to a Catholic school is not an option for most parents.
But your suggestion of parents working with the Catholic schools to address the problem brings to mind the idea of school vouchers.
This idea has been ar ound for a while, and since public schools have not lived up to their mission of educating our children (witness the poor math and reading scores), it should be a serious tool to address the situation.
We should put pressure on the government, both federal and state, to allow parents to use their tax dollars for education for the school of their choice.
Of course, the lawyers would welcome the challenge by bringing up the separation of church and state, but it would still be worth the trouble to finally break the grip that the teacher’s union has. It might go to the appeals court or Supreme Court with an amendment to the First Amendment to include “Freedom of Choice.”
Thomas and Constance Dowd
Oakland Gardens