THE LIMITS OF MORAL LEADERSHIP

In his review of “The Crosswinds of Freedom” by James MacGregor Burns (Book Review, April 16), Larry Ceplair says that Burns cited the American Bishops’ 1983 and ’84 Pastoral Letters as isolated examples of exemplary moral leadership in a society in dire need of the same. Ceplair then notes that “the bishops, as a body, have been silent on the Ayatollah Khomeini’s death sentence on Salman Rushdie.” Is Ceplair implying that the bishops somehow approve of Khomeini’s threats? As far as I know, the bishops have yet to take a stand on, among other things, the Valdez oil spill, Baby Jessica or the accidental entrapment of whales in the Arctic ice pack. Are we to conclude by this logic that the bishops are unconcerned about the environment or, worse yet, don’t like little children or whales?

JOHN CARLUCCI

FONTANA