Letters: Pope’s message for Brazil rings hollow

Re “Pope, in visit to slum, scolds Brazil,” July 26

Pope Francis is indeed a representative of the Americas: He has the same tendency to profess one thing and do the opposite that bedevils this whole hemisphere. The Roman Catholic Church continues to deny women the right and ability to control their own reproduction, significantly contributing to poverty throughout the Americas.

Rather than criticize the Brazilian government for indifference to the poor, the pope should recognize the role of church policy in the plight of the poor and fight to lift all restrictions on birth control.

Geri A. Mellgren-Kerwin

Burbank

When Francis proclaimed to those with power in Brazil that “no one can remain insensitive to the inequities that persist in the world,” he affirmed the notion that we are indeed our brothers’ keepers. This, of course, must be most disruptive to those who believe that Ayn Rand had it right when she proclaimed that the only moral imperative is to one’s self.

It appears the good pope was not presenting the “rugged individualist” as a role model for the faithful.

Frank Ferrone

El Cajon

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