Steve Lopez on Cardinal Roger Mahony; Sarah Palin on herself; an anti-Semitism list of shame

Taking on Mahony

Re “Scandal taints end of tenure,” Column, Feb. 20

After 25 years of superb leadership, one would think that Steve Lopez would focus on some of Cardinal Roger Mahony’s positive accomplishments in L.A. Instead, Lopez put his focus on an elderly priest who slipped under the radar.

Mahony has been a loud voice for comprehensive immigration reform and for elevating women to powerful positions in the church; he has walked with the janitors in their strike for better wages; he has worked to bring Christians and Jews closer together and on outreach to the Muslim and other religious communities. The list goes on.

I might add that Mahony’s Faces of Immigrants project, which documents the stories of migrants, will go down in both church and secular history as one of the turning points in the struggle for immigrant rights.

Charlie Ara

Cerritos

Lopez is right on the money. My only criticism would be that the headline, “Scandal taints end of tenure,” doesn’t reflect the ongoing scandal and how it taints this guy’s entire tenure; this was just the last chapter before he rides off into the sunset. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will be dealing with the mess this man created for many years to come.

His leaving should bring great comfort to the parents and children of the archdiocese. The kids in the Catholic parishes of Los Angeles will most likely be safer with Mahony gone. That’s a hell of a legacy.

John Schultz

Sherman Oaks

Lopez focused only on the bad the Rev. Martin O’Loghlen did nearly 50 years ago and ignored the good he has done to make amends. I and many others are witnesses to the services he has done for poor slum dwellers in the Philippines. His programs continue to bear fruit.

To name a few of O’Loghlin’s accomplishments: He provided scholarships to poor children; he initiated feeding programs for malnourished children and started classes to educate mothers on how to prepare nutritious meals for their children; and he introduced a micro-finance program.

In short, he has empowered poor people to think for themselves and unleashed their confidence and a can-do mentality.

We Catholics believe in a God who said, “He who has not sinned, cast the first stone.” We also believe in a God who ultimately will render the final judgment on all that we do.

Josie Dumdum

Chino Hills

A full picture of Sarah Palin

Re “Rapt in Palin’s presence,” Feb. 18

In response to her low poll numbers, Sarah Palin says she has to get out there and show the people who she is. The majority of Americans know exactly who Palin is, but she still seems clueless.

She presents herself as an ordinary mom who buys diapers by the case, when in reality she is a millionaire who lives in a very spacious home in Alaska. She also presents herself as pro-family values, but her daughter Bristol had a child out of wedlock when she was a teenager. Palin further presents herself as a viable candidate for president, but she relies on Bristol to help her prepare remarks on the economy.

It’s time for Palin to take a serious look in the mirror.

Sheila Kurnetz

Los Angeles

“Palin is particularly popular among antiabortion groups, which applaud her decision not to abort her son Trig after learning he had Down syndrome, and her daughter Bristol’s decision to give birth after she became pregnant at 17.”

Isn’t being able to make those decisions in essence the very definition of pro-choice? I mean, they both had the right to think about their situations, weigh their options and then make a decision, right? I’m no lawyer or constitutional scholar, but that sounds like pro-choice to me.

Charles L. Freeman

Baldwin Hills

Anti-Semitism in today’s world

Re “Hall of shame,” Opinion, Feb. 18

As a Holocaust survivor whose grandmother died in Auschwitz and whose uncles suffered in Dachau and Buchenwald, I was appalled to see what a few Americans have to say about us Jews. I arrived in America in 1940, welcomed by the Statue of Liberty, and grew up believing in the goodness of the American people.

Although Rabbi Marvin Hier’s Op-Ed article shook me to my roots, it was not my first experience with disillusionment. “It’s time for all of us to take note,” he says. Yes, but we must do more.

What can we do? Educate, educate, educate! Fund the libraries, fund the schools and train the coming generation in not only history but also logic and the pursuit of truth.

Lucy Horwitz

Los Angeles

As disturbing as the recurrent public expressions of anti-Semitism are, similarly disconcerting is Hier’s tendency to lump in anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel. Hier plays this “Israel uber alles” card in his denunciation of Oliver Stone for combining the admittedly offensive Jewish media-control canard with a critique of Israel and the Israel lobby.

As a proud Jew whose immigrant parents barely survived the Holocaust, I take umbrage at fellow Jews who challenge my or anyone else’s right —

indeed, ethical duty — to condemn policies they find unlawful, immoral and, in Israel’s case, ultimately self-destructive.

Vincent Brook

Silver Lake

I am a Jew who believes that Jews and Israel have a right to defend themselves and raise awareness of hate speech. But I have a bit of a problem with Jews making public lists of people who are seemingly anti-Semitic.

What was said by the people on Hier’s list was disgusting. However, in the U.S., I would like to see a calm and intellectual discussion of the clash of religions in the Middle East with all parties, including Jews who think that some of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is wrong.

Seth Clyde-Hamilton Gold

Woodland Hills

Poland did not exist during the Holocaust. It was occupied by Germany. The Polish government was in exile in London.

The Germans killed 3 million Polish Jews and 3 million Polish Christians. In all of the occupied countries, there was only one formal organization to rescue Jews: the Polish Zegota. The Germans imposed the death penalty for helping Jews only in occupied Poland. Despite this, more Polish rescuers are honored by Yad Vashem than rescuers of any other country.

Hier is a Holocaust expert and probably knows this. His statement that Poland did everything in its power to wipe out Jews can only result from anti-Polonism.

Roman J. Zawadzki

Los Angeles

The writer is vice chairman of the Polish American Defense Committee.

In reality

Re “They’re doing it without us,” Opinion, Feb. 20

Andrew Bacevich’s contention that the war on terror has been irrelevant to the uprisings in the Arab and Persian worlds is not reality based. It is similar to those who say that Ronald Reagan’s ratcheting up of the arms race had no role in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the repressive, dictatorial world of the Middle East, the democratization of Iraq and Afghanistan, though slow and painful, has given hope to the oppressed populations that the status quo can change with action, whether from outside or within.

Richard Friedman

Los Angeles

Failed test

Re “President who?,” Opinion, Feb. 21

The Times had an opportunity to teach us all something useful about presidents in a fun way — a quiz — and instead gave us a bunch of forgettable trivia.

Who cares which president was shortest or had the most kids? A refresher on what they did that was memorable would have been just as fun, and we might have learned something of value.

David C. Byers

Encino