Letters to the editor

GROW DISCIPLES
Sadly, Church leadership often misses the simple call — grow disciples. For whatever reason, they get distracted and I find myself wondering if some can find their way back to the mission. But I just read Tom Cronin’s column in The Evangelist (April 15) and I got excited. He is an example of leadership who gets it, really gets it!

Three things he said caught my attention. First, the word “urgency.” Yes! Yes! Yes! Second, “many families have started new routines.” Absolutely! So many have dropped Sunday Mass from the routine long ago. That is not the tragedy. The tragedy is no one went looking for them. Third, “rebuild our Church.” I am literally tired and exhausted in discussing/considering shrinking, consolidating, looking for ways to survive in a shrinking Church. I have continued to ask why are we not seeking to grow the Church. We need to see our challenges as opportunities. Evangelization on several levels is the answer. Evangelization can take many avenues but one thing I strongly believe is that it is not something that one does or a parish does or a diocese does and then can say “we are done, we did that or we are done for now.” It never ends. One-on-one, lay person to lay person is vital, but equally vital is the role of parish leaders who must model, facilitate, understand, learn about and encourage evangelization.

Cronin’s article lays out a little blueprint of how leadership can get started. That is exactly what parishes need. I do believe that many are willing but not sure of where to begin or not certain that they have the resources to do it.

Thanks for firing me up!

Richard Putorti
Rotterdam

H.R. 1 RESPONSE 1
While I respect Sister Bonetti’s opinion and agree with her that election reform is necessary, I disagree that H.R. 1 is even a viable solution. One aspect is voter ID restrictions. Why is it racist to ask for an ID? Among others, Norway, Northern Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Israel, Mexico and Iceland require IDs. Canada does also. Are these racist states? There are so many issues in this law that are not aimed at voter access or election integrity, but helping to ensure the Democratic party has an easier time being elected. H.R. 1 is a travesty.

John Burns
Amsterdam

H.R. 1 RESPONSE 2
In the March 18 “letters” section, Sister Danielle Bonetti encouraged readers to support the For the People Act before the U.S. Senate because it is needed for “reclaiming our national unity” and the “right to vote is essential to our democracy.” No doubt, Sister’s desires for unity are noble. However, this act will give us the opposite result. It will allow mass mailing of unsolicited ballots, waive state rules for signature verification, lead to massive ballot harvesting and override constitutional provisions for states to regulate elections within their jurisdictions. These are the problems that caused the rancor from the recent election. Worse still, this act will result in one-party rule and it will be the same party that does not base governance on the natural law, respect the right to life, protect religious liberty or believe in limited government. I am confident that Sister Danielle would agree that these would be undesirable outcomes for not only Catholics, but for society as a whole.

Thomas Kolberg
Oneonta

Letters are subject to editing and should be 100 words or less, concern topics covered in The Evangelist and include your town and telephone. Essays or opinion pieces, 700 words maximum, are also welcome. We prefer submissions by email ([email protected]), or by mail (40 N. Main Ave., Albany 12203)