Dear Editor: John Calvin was a terrible theologian. His primary idea, that God chooses to condemn millions of people to eternal damnation, regardless of any efforts they might make to the contrary, is by far the worst idea of the Reformation. This obsession with power believes in a God who would be infinitely more evil than all the world’s dictators combined, but in this worldview, power matters and victims do not. From this worldview evolved our capitalist economy, based on domination and power, granting the vast majority of benefits to a few and disregarding the suffering of millions.
letters to the editor
Weigel Right on Education
Dear Editor: George Weigel’s Aug. 15 column (“The Perils of “Preferred Peers’”) about the quality of education at many colleges is excellent and ought to be required reading for anyone involved in the college-selection process.
Two Votes for Prayer
Dear Editor: It is difficult to understand why someone could suggest that prayer “may be a wasted effort,” but Garrett Dempsey (Reader’s Forum, June 13) seems to echo some of the assumptions that secularists hold about Catholicism.
Memories of Bishop Ford
Dear Editor: Thank you for your column on Bishop Francis X. Ford, M.M., (June 6). For some reason as I read the piece I thought “not only does a tree grow in Brooklyn, but a saint, too.” I am sure that there are many, myself included, who know well who F.X. Ford was, as there […]
The Great Professor Catanello
Dear Editor: I would like to express this heartfelt tribute to the late Bishop Ignatius Catanello, who was my professor in New Testament Theology during the Fall 1973 at St. John’s University. I fondly recall Father Catanello as a warm and flexible professor, whose course reflected on select New Testament chapters and verses that were […]
Pay Attention to Women
Dear Editor: On Wednesday, April 29, Pope Francis addressed the problem of “Pay Equality” for women. While I applaud the pope for speaking out on this important issue, closer to home, Francis can lend a hand to end discrimination by having an open dialogue to empower women in the Catholic Church. According to all four […]
Not Impartial About Police
Dear Editor: The May 9 editorial “Another Cop Shot” fails to point out that many police abuses and misconduct are frequently committed by police officers who come from strong families, and who have many friends and colleagues. They are, in not a few cases, self-identified Catholics who go to church every Sunday. The current backlash […]
Don’t Forget the Choir Members
Dear Editor: I’m a parishioner of St. Brendan’s Church in Midwood, Brooklyn, and it has been wonderful reading about the great homilists from various churches in our diocese. But how about our fantastic choirs that lead us in song every Sunday!
My Sister, Sister Mary
Dear Editor: I’d like to thank Joseph Manago for his glowing letter (April 25) on my sister, Sister Mary Alma, R.S.M.
St. Patrick’s, Kent. Ave.
Dear Editor: We lived in St. Patrick’s parish (Kent Ave.) and were educated by the Sisters of Mercy and Franciscan Brothers. These two religious communities furnished us with a remarkable education, starting in elementary school right to high school.