Before They Were Priests
Dear Editor: How very interesting your series of articles on the careers of men before they were priests.
I imagine most of us think of them as born as miniature priests and just grow into the role.
It was so enlightening to read about the different careers they had before going into the seminary, such as banking, famous chef, and police.
The list goes on and any one of these careers would have taken them through life but there must have been a much stronger voice calling them to the priesthood.
All of them, and I do know some of them from my years working in the diocese, are wonderful priests, dedicated, faith-filled men who are committed to their vocations. Obviously God had plans for them and they listened to the call. Thank you.
Maria F. Mastromarino
Manalapan, N.J.
God Bless Father Fidelis
Dear Editor: Father Fidelis Moscinski was sentenced to six months in jail for a “lock & block” at the gates of Planned Parenthood in Hempstead, N.Y., last year.
The judge acknowledged that Father Fidelis has no other criminal record, except that he is a repeat nonviolent offender at abortion facilities, and expressed no intention to cease such activities, despite previous lesser sentences.
God bless Father Fidelis. His mission and ministry is to try to save the unborn and their mothers. That should be the mission of all Catholics and Christians.
The Tablet, the pro-life newspaper, has reported many wonderful articles about the youth rally in Portugal.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t an emphasis on the importance of the youth of today being taught to practice and proclaim to be “pro-life.” We can’t be vague and just put pro-life issues under the umbrella of religious values. It must be stated openly that abortion is wrong. That being pregnant means there is a baby growing inside of a woman. Abortion ends a baby’s life.
Mageleine Santangelo Palumbo
Sea Cliff, N.Y.
Sounding the Alarm Against Anti-Catholicism in a Secular World
Dear Editor: You did well sounding the alarm against the anti-Catholicism of our secular political leaders (“The Separation of Church and State Is Widening,” Aug. 19).
Doubtless, you will receive and print the usual spate of “amens” pointing fingers at every political ideology but the writer’s own. Yet, as your examples show, our antagonists come from both ends of the political spectrum: the Trump-appointed FBI director and the “woke” burghers of Massachusetts.
The haters in our own ranks have adopted the very philosophy and tactics of our secular critics.
To quote from Bishop Robert Barron’s excellent “This is My Body: “To cling to godliness, in the manner of our first parents is to claim lordship over one’s own life; to surrender to God is to realize that one’s life is not one’s own, that a higher and more compelling voice commands” (p.29).
The binary and the Manichaean among us are the same as the secular authorities that seek our oppression. Why do we imitate them?
Edward R. Dorney
Park Slope
Praise for Catholic Schools
Dear Editor: I, for one, would like to praise Catholic schools for their ongoing contribution to education and for their role in ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the nation.
These fine schools produce students strongly dedicated to their faith, families, and communities, and provide an intellectually stimulating environment, rich in spirituality, character, and moral development.
The teachers in Catholic schools are dedicated to every child and try to bring out in them their hidden talents, to make them the very best they can be.
You see, these children are the leaders of tomorrow and need what Catholic schools can provide.
I hope all interested parents get in touch with their parish or the Catholic schools in their area and take the first step in improving their children’s future.
Let me point out that as Grand Knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council #5911, I have seen what these children can do.
My council has provided St. Anastasia School and later Divine Wisdom Academy in Douglaston with an essay contest called “Responsibility of a Catholic Citizen in a Free Society.”
These students turn in quite impressive essays, and we wished we could have given them all awards.
The education they received helped them to be the best they could be. So please consider a Catholic education for your children.
Frederick Robert Bedell Jr.
Bellerose