Pro-life advocates do more than protest

Elizabeth Rosenwinkel’s letter (“Roe overturned, now what?” July 28) envisioned all of the societal ills which will befall the babies saved by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that there is no right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution, thus ending the abortion free-for-all of the last 50 years. After listing every conceivable societal evil which will still exist in the lives of these children, Rosenwinkel plainly states, “The promises of pro-life advocates to take care of the babies rings hollow.” In a country with scads of government programs to address the needs she describes, in a country where the ladder to success — education — is free for a dozen years of a child’s life, why is she blaming pro-life advocates for man’s inhumanity to man? That is the same argument used by the fellow who accosted our small group of pro-lifers in front of Planned Parenthood. Middle fingers upraised, he yelled accusations at us using her same arguments. Neither he nor she seem to know what pro-lifers do behind the scenes, providing support with food, clothing, and housing for troubled mothers. They are the one hand outstretched to the torn lives of these women at their ultimate moment of “choice,” and their witness has helped several women change their lives into something positive. The societal evils Rosenwinkel believes will befall the children saved from abortion are caused by one thing: individual choices by individual people to do evil to another person, through word or action. The remedy for this is Christ. And perhaps all of us can carry the blame for not being the Christian witness in the face of evil that we should be.

Cindy Paslawski
St. Pius X, White Bear Lake
St. Louis, King of France, St. Paul

A chance at life

A previous letter writer is forgetting something when she writes of the problems that babies might face if they are saved from abortion (“Roe overturned, now what?” July 28). Yes, we do have problems in this country, but along with problems are the many good things in life that babies will enjoy if they are at least allowed to live. We don’t have the right to take these good things away from them. Also, some of the babies saved might, as adults, have helped to solve these problems. How many intelligent people, even geniuses, have we killed through abortion before they had the chance to live and contribute to this country? How many of our problems might have been corrected? And Roe overturned doesn’t mean the end of abortion — it just means it won’t be as easy to destroy someone else’s life.

L.C. Carlson
St. Peter, Forest Lake

Doing what can be done

A recent letter, “Roe overturned, now what?” (July 28) puts forward a pro-life advocates’ predicament: our “fractured society” and “the promises of pro-life advocates to take care of the babies saved rings hollow.” One is reminded of the “starfish story.” One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?” The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” The man laughed to himself and said, “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, “I made a difference to that one.” Now, due to the SCOTUS ruling, “the surf is up!” We might not be able to save the world (aka, the lives of all of the unborn), but we can do something. We Catholics are challenged to continue to do what we can to make a difference.

Gene Delaune
St. John the Baptist, New Brighton

Papal respect, abortion concerns

In answer to the letter “Catholics in confusion” (July 28), I would say that we should honor the pope because of his office as the Vicar of Christ. Our Lord has given the keys to the kingdom to St. Peter and his successors, and one man’s questionable decisions do not change that. We as Catholics ought to respect the office of pope, even if we have difficulty respecting the man currently holding that office. I am concerned by what the letter “Roe overturned, now what?” Implies (also July 28). Although the author may not have meant this, it seemed to say that babies who are born in difficult circumstances would be better off being aborted. What is worse: to live in poverty, to be assaulted or to die? Should children be killed because they might have a difficult life? There perhaps is more that we could do to help, but any outcome is better than abortion.

Serena Hedman
St. Raphael, Crystal

Inspirational leadership

In the letter “Catholics in Confusion” (July 28), the author wrote that Pope Francis was discouraging him and displaying lack of leadership by not adhering to the teachings of the Church. He pointed out that the pope took time to talk with Nancy Pelosi as evidence. Since we don’t know all the details of what transpired there or the ultimate outcome of their encounter, I’m not sure how he’s judging that. I’m old enough to be suspicious of the opinions of folks who think they are holier than the pope. For my part, I find that Pope Francis’ leadership is inspirational and exciting. He is leading in the way of Jesus’ love! Perhaps “Confused Catholic” could find some clarity if, instead of watching sketchy internet sites, he were to read the New Testament and then think, “What would Jesus do?”

Karen Karn
Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata

Finding the sacred

Pope Francis is alarmed that so many Catholics are embracing the pre-conciliar Tridentine Mass and rejecting the liturgical reforms of Vatican II. The group he speaks of constitutes about 1% of the total Catholic population of the U.S. but is purportedly growing. Not long ago, Pew Research polling revealed that only 39% of Catholics regularly attend Sunday Mass, only 17% receive the sacrament of penance more than once a year and most shockingly — only about 30% believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist! Something has clearly gone awry in the Church, and Catholics who have sought a restoration of the sacred and found it in the old Mass should be the very least of the Vatican’s concerns.

Robert Sandquist
St. Agnes, St. Paul

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