Following are NCR reader responses to recent news articles, opinion columns and theological essays with letters that have been edited for length and clarity.
Dolan's disappointment
Thank you, Editorial Staff of the NCR, for addressing this elephant in the room. Cardinal Dolan’s noted "disappointment" that Vice President Harris could not attend the Al Smith dinner was indeed misplaced (ncronline.org, Oct. 7, 2024).
Instead, the presence of a man who continues to lie his way through this presidential campaign and breaks every rule, commandment, and beatitude beloved and espoused by the Catholic Church seems like it should bear at least the Cardinal's disappointment, if not his disapproval. It is time to set an example for the country: who will follow the steps of Jesus more closely — caring for our poor, misplaced, and marginalized brothers and sisters more joyfully, and paving the way for a future of faith, hope, and love in our world?
K WELCH
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
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Trump a threat to Dolan's flock
During the most consequential election in our history, Cardinal Dolan, whose vocational call is to be a shepherd of souls, threw the sheep to the Wolf (ncronline.org, Oct. 7, 2024). Trump’s words tell us he plans to "devour" these sheep who are the focus of Catholic Charities. Yet Cardinal Dolan welcomed to the table the only nominee who betrays the Gospel values proclaimed by Jesus who said that whatever we do to the least of his brothers and sisters we do to him.
The gift we can be grateful for in this divided nation is the phenomenal example never seen before: that conscious-driven political figures of the opposing party are proving that unity in diversity is possible and a reason to hope that we can move into the future with respect for all our brothers and sisters.
SR. CHRISTINE KRESHO CSJ
Silver Spring, Maryland
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Catholic climate obstructionism
It’s depressing to review the cast of Catholic characters in the legal assault driven by commercial interests against federal regulation in areas like protecting human health and preserving the natural environment (ncronline.org, Sept. 16, 2024). The role of the Little Sisters of the Poor – who were involved in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and previously in the insurance industry’s attack on the Affordable Care Act – is especially disturbing. With the order’s maudlin name and the mawkish photos of nuns it can provide, the Little Sisters are a perfect PR tool for plutocrats pursuing a predatory agenda – one that is inimical to core beliefs of Christians.
The Little Sisters do good work and presumably few of them realize they’re being manipulated. Nevertheless, I am appalled when they show up at my church in an annual fund-raising tour and parishioners are encouraged from the altar to respond, but are given no information about their reactionary political activism.
There are many good causes. I can afford to support only a few. I don’t give money to organizations that use the pretext of "religious freedom" to serve as a pseudo-Catholic auxiliary of the Republican Party.
Surely Charles Koch and Leonard Leo can write checks to cover the expenses of the Little Sisters of the Poor for the next year, or several years. The next time I encounter one of the Sisters at the door as I’m exiting the church after mass, instead of a $20 bill I plan to drop a copy of Laudato Si’ in her basket.
HENRY KELLEY
Arlington, Virginia
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