Letters to the Editor: What would Jesus say to a rich, anti-’woke’ Catholic activist?

To the editor: I enjoyed The Times’ piece on Tim Busch. Well known for his conservative Catholic views and wealth, Busch usually stands in the background. Shedding light on him and his Napa Institute is a public service and brings some points to mind.

Busch is unabashed in his conservative views, but readily admits that he has no background in philosophy or theology. He is opinion-driven, and his opinion is supported by wealth accumulated from his success in a capitalist world.

Perhaps he might read the New Testament to gain some insight offered by Jesus on wealth. His position that former President Trump reflects King Cyrus in the Old Testament is a white Evangelical trope and should call him to study the Bible carefully.

I am Jesuit-educated with substantial doses of philosophy and theology, and I have learned that the Catholic Church is very complicated. Busch is a good man, but without his money he is just another guy barking in the dark.

Educate yourself, say something significant and I will listen. Meanwhile, the church is not for sale.

Theodore Furlow, Medford, Ore.

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To the editor: This piece struggles to deconstruct Catholic teaching and practice under Western-centric, either/or political labels (“right” and “left”) that are belied by the depth of the Catholic imagination.

It doesn’t consider the “both/and” Catholic sensibility, which local Bishop Robert Barron says “celebrates the union of contraries — grace and nature, faith and reason, Scripture and tradition, body and soul — in a way that the full energy of each opposing element remains in place.”

In ridiculing Catholicism’s rituals, this piece ignores their role in illustrating and sustaining the richness of the Gospels. Each complements and encourages our slow but evolving understanding of spiritual and moral truth discerned through prayer, theological study and philosophical reflection.

The church’s spiritual mission is guided not by “right” or “left” political positions, but by a faith informed and ever-renewed by Christ’s teaching and spiritual presence.

Pope Francis, like his 13th century namesake, is a blessing to both the church and the world. But also like the man from Assisi, he is broadly misunderstood in his own time.

His message of compassion, respect and empathy is neither conservative nor liberal. Rather, his message is Christ-centered and Gospel-inspired: a comfort to the afflicted on both sides of the equator, and an affliction to the comfortable on both sides of the political aisle. This is a message that the world needs and deserves, but it is lost on those set on fostering derision and division.

Stephen Larson, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Busch, the learned lawyer from Irvine, declares with great confidence, “Woke ideology won’t last.”

Perhaps he will listen carefully to the song of Mary (in Luke 1:46-55) that will likely be read in the services he attends this time of year. Such hope has and will continue to stand the test of time.

Steve Wright, Huntington Beach