Pope John Paul II
I am not Catholic, but I would like to point out Pope John Paul II’s consistency in taking pro-life positions. He is opposed to the death penalty (Jan. 28), opposed to the bombing of Iraq, as well as to the all-encompassing economic sanctions that are responsible for the deaths of almost 1 million children there; opposed to the economic embargo of Cuba, which has devastated the civilian population there; and opposed to abortion, a euphemism for the murder of unborn children.
ELBERT W. NEWTON
Pasadena
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When Benjamin Schwarz agrees with the pope when he says capitalism is the most destructive force in the world (Commentary, Jan. 28), I must disagree. While I feel that some areas of society should not be market-based (i.e. health care), overall, capitalism has produced in America the highest standard of living in the world. Look at places where Marxism was tried. North Korea, the former Soviet Union and other so-called “workers’ paradises” are or were brutal dictatorships with little to no freedom and horrid living conditions, where dissent was or still is punished by a stint in the friendly neighborhood gulag or maybe execution. Not only the offender was punished, but his or her whole family suffered the consequences.
So thanks but no thanks, I prefer our system the way it is and, as for the pope, kindly butt out.
JEFF LANE
Anaheim
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The Michael Ramirez cartoon of Jan. 27 showing the pope and President Clinton side by side, with the pope casting a huge shadow vs. Clinton’s tiny one, brings an image to mind that is probably not what the artist had in mind. To me the pope’s huge black shadow represents the misery and poverty of millions of loyal Catholics who follow this man’s insistence that they “be fruitful and multiply,” with tragic consequences to so many who have far more children than they can decently support. I would hope that this pope is replaced with somebody with a more enlightened worldview than facing the doubling of the world’s population in 40 years or less without any apparent concern.
ROBERT W. LOVELL
Huntington Beach
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Referring to the picture of the pope and Clinton on your Jan. 27 front page, it is clear from the look on the president’s face that he cannot be held accountable for paying attention when, as your headline declares, “In Brief Visit, John Paul Urges Higher Moral Vision for U.S.”
RAFN STEFANSSON
San Marino
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With all the talk of Catholics who do not attend Mass on Sunday, it would seem the bishops and priests would want to find out the real reason. As a 27-year-old female who converted on my own to the Catholic Church from evangelical Protestantism, I know exactly why they stay home. In an attempt to appeal to the young they have brought in drums, guitars, clowns, dancers, actors and puppets. The clergy do not teach from the pulpit what the church teaches. Sermons remind me of corny Hallmark cards.
The Catholic Church has taught the same truths for 2,000 years. If the feminists, liberation theologians, contraceptors, the immoral and the pro-abortionists don’t like it, they are free to leave Christ’s church. Long live the successor of St. Peter--John Paul II!
ANNE McHARGUE
South Pasadena