Kinghorn’s compassion
Deacon Robert Kinghorn’s columns are so inspirational. He strikes me as a true Christian who really imitates Christ. He exudes love and compassion by engaging in a difficult ministry to the “wounded and unwanted.” I thank God for his work, and I hope more labourers come forward because that particular harvest is so great.
Catherine Barrett
Guelph, Ont.
Rooting for Czerny
The Register’s Oct. 16th editorial “Root of all Evil” missed an opportunity to make readers more familiar with Catholic Social Teaching.
The editorial referenced an article in the same issue about Cardinal Michael Czerny’s presentation at the Catholic Theological Union. Czerny’s emphasized that being genuinely pro-life requires accompanying, welcoming and joining with others as sibling children of God. He said self-interest and indifference can result in an unfettered marketplace where even human beings can be bought and sold. The remarks are based on Catholic Social Teaching, which many of us could benefit from knowing more about.
The editorial says free markets under the rule of law help lift the global population out of poverty, indignity and oppression. Unfortunately, the rule of law has not fostered the change needed to help people left behind by free enterprise. What does that say about our priorities?
We expect more from one of the few Catholic newspapers left in Canada.
Brenda Coleman
St. Catharine’s, Ont.
Heart matters
Jesuit Cardinal Michael Czerny is reported as saying pro-lifers should focus on more than traditional life issues such as abortion and euthanasia. With all due respect His Eminence: No.
As Mother Teresa taught, there can never be peace if there is abortion. War and civil strife are at the heart of Cardinal Czerny’s problems, so fighting abortion gets to the heart of the problem. Abortion leads to the disrespect of all people, to the killing of the newly born and to euthanasia of the elderly, the disabled, the sick, the mentally ill and, eventually anyone who does, or maybe does not, want it.
John Killackey
Mississauga, Ont.
By George!
Gerry Turcotte’s punny Oct. 16 column, “Catholics must never let puns Peter out” struck a nerve in this life-long punster.
The rolling of the eyes is a small price for a flash of insight into the language that is novel and refreshing with the payoff frequently being a guffaw.
Unlike wit, which can be brutal, the pun is always a gentle play on words. Every good pun can die-late our understanding of how expressive and nuanced the English language is.
Another nerve was struck by Anna Farrow’s Oct. 9 column “Why Orwell matters to the Catholic Church.”
George Orwell is the opposite of the spirit of the pun: the mortal enemy of the punster is the cliché.
Mental sloth is one of the Seven Deadly Sins and the mass acceptance of slovenly thinking is where we get Orwell’s “tailspin of foolish thoughts chasing foolish words.” From which we get the Orwellian itself in public phrases such as “Stay together by staying apart.”
We punsters can also roll our eyes.
Michael Dias
Markham, Ont.