SPIRIT OF MERCY
I thought the January/February issue of Maryknoll magazine on “Mercy in Mission” was very good. I know that Maryknoll has been experiencing some ongoing angst over the past 40 years due to the dramatic decrease in vocations to the religious life and the waning religious enthusiasm within Catholicism in general in the United States. Providentially, many enthusiastic lay missioners have joined the Maryknoll Lay Missioners. I have been reading your magazine for over 70 years. One thing that has not changed is the beautiful and powerful spirit of mercy that has always been part of Maryknoll. And here comes Pope Francis to encourage that spirit of mercy in Maryknoll and around the world. We do well to pray for Pope Francis and Maryknoll.
Daniel Collins
Hollywood, Florida
ACTS OF OUR DAY
Thank you and your terrific staff for putting out such great Maryknoll issues. It is like reading the Acts of the Apostles of our day. A line from Father Jalbert’s Today’s Good News column “to be partners with God in redeeming the world” is a real Easter thought.
Rev. Frank J. Rodimer
Newfoundland, New Jersey
CONSUMERIST WAY
The first thing that came to my mind when I was reading the Members’ Memo entitled “Silly Article” in the January/February issue of Maryknoll magazine was Jeb Bush’s comment on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ that he didn’t want the pope to dictate his agenda.
Undoubtedly the letter writer’s opinion on climate change and human intervention reflects the hope that our consumerist way of living could go on untouched forever.
This is my parish monsignor’s answer to my email to him about the Catholic climate covenant: “I’m still amazed at how closed-minded Americans are about global climate change and human causation.”
I have been following and contributing to Maryknoll for some years, and I wish I could get your magazine weekly because I love it and I find inspiration in every single article in it. I love the love that is in every page and the commitment to fight against injustice.
Paolo Pian
Osage Beach, Missouri
ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES
I applaud your fine job of amplifying Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment. At least 50 million “environmental refugees” have fled from places so impoverished or made uninhabitable because of environmental degradation. Millions more who are fleeing from war and oppression might also be considered environmental refugees: For example, in Syria, a terrible drought, worsened by global warming, was a major factor in the unrest that led to civil war. We’re long past the time when cynics could dismiss environmentalists as tree-hugging neo-pagans. To cherish and protect the environment, as Pope Francis so clearly states, is to alleviate human suffering and poverty.
Bob Schildgen
Berkeley, California
AGENDA SCIENCE
I would like to offer a perspective on your “Ecological Conversion” article in the November/December issue of Maryknoll. You offer a spate of eyewitness accounts of environmental disasters. The photo of Antarctica is impressive. Odd, though, that two winters ago there was considerable ice increase that left two icebreakers stranded in Antarctica that had to be rescued. The ice was so thick it required a number of other icebreakers to come to the rescue. But Antarctica is melting away. The accounts of global warming-climate change as proffered by various Maryknollers are at best anecdotal. There is always a danger in drawing a conclusion from what is seen to a cause. I might add that the ice in the Arctic has significantly increased. But whoever hears about that?
Agenda science is junk science. Global warming-climate change is a tsunami of political correctness and overreach. There are billions and billions of dollars to be made in advancing global warming-climate change.
Freeman Dyson, retired theoretical physicist at Princeton’s Advanced Studies and a scientist thoroughly acquainted with climate change studies, says the climate change movement has conveniently conflated pollution with climate change. However, they are quite different. Pollution is a man-made problem and can be solved. For instance, the ozone layer over Antarctica is shrinking. The reason is that industry has developed a substitute for fluorocarbon used in refrigerants. Pollution problems can be solved because they are man-made. But climate change cannot be solved.
Ron Sagnella
West Chester, Pennsylvania
MOST WORTHY CHARITY
The story in the March/April 2015 issue of your magazine about Maryknoll’s accomplishments in Turkana brings back memories of your good works throughout the years. When I was in Catholic grade school in the 1930s, the Sisters always mentioned Maryknoll as one of the most worthy charities. I can remember my mother gave us what change she could find, and we would proudly present our pennies and nickels to Maryknoll, as this was during the Depression and not much money was available.
In conclusion, I have to say that nothing has changed. Maryknoll missioners are still helping the less fortunate.
William R. Arrigoni
Kent, Washington
The editors invite Maryknoll Members to send us their views. Write to:
Members’ Memos
P.O. Box 302, Maryknoll, N.Y. 10545-0302
Our e-mail address is: mklmag@maryknoll.org
