Not defined by mistakes

The Gospel tells us of a God whose mercy is big enough to cover the most egregious of our sins and makes room for all the prodigal sons and daughters of our world. But does the Church have room for its own prodigals? The fact that the obituary in The Catholic Spirit for Father Stan Maslowski included only his parish assignments and his offenses as a priest makes me wonder about that. I knew Father Maslowski, and a word about the hard work he did in recovery would have given more balance to his obituary. Yes, we are accountable for our mistakes. But we are not defined by our mistakes. As he worked at recovery, Father Maslowski came to understand this at a deep level. I thought he put it well: “I have failed many times in my life, but I am not a failure. I am a beloved son of God.” Is that not what Church is? We have all failed, but we are not failures. We are beloved sons and daughters of God who walk the journey together. I pray we can be a Church that has room for the prodigals of the world. I learned much from Father Maslowski. May we all learn from one another as we walk the journey together.

Father Robert White
Pastor, St. Victoria, Victoria

A Catholic president?

Let American history record that on Jan. 28, 2021, America’s “devout Catholic” president, Joe Biden, signed an executive order to fund foreign, non-governmental organizations that promote or perform abortions, to which he euphemistically refers as “comprehensive reproductive health care.” U.S. taxpayer dollars, via the U.S. Agency for International Development, will fund Biden’s abortion order. Biden’s announcement clarifies: “The memorandum reflects the policy of the Biden-Harris Administration to support women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States, as well as globally.” America’s irreligious mainstream media trumpets Biden as “a devout Catholic” who regularly attends Holy Mass and receives holy Communion. The Catholic Encyclopedia states “the right to excommunicate is an immediate and necessary consequence of the fact that the Church is a society. Every society has the right to exclude and deprive of their rights and social advantages its unworthy or grievously culpable members, either temporarily or permanently. This right is necessary to every society in order that it may be well administered and survive.” Joe Biden is an unworthy and grievously culpable Catholic. He well qualifies for excommunication.

Gene Delaune
St. John the Baptist, New Brighton

Day eight

Dialogue has failed. President Biden, showing no concern for “the poor, the vulnerable and those who have no voice,” as a priority of his administration, on day eight has signed an executive order restoring United States funding to agencies abroad that offer abortion counseling and services. Can this publication, the USCCB and the pope now at least refer to our new president as a fallen Catholic?

Liz Kirkeide
St. Paul, Ham Lake

Call to action

President Joe Biden recently compared the COVID-19 USA death toll (approximately 440,000) to the combat fatality deaths in World War II (405,000). He expressed outrage at the high loss of life perspective and the irresponsibility of those in charge of managing this pandemic. The virus has had a devastating impact on schools, churches, restaurants, entertainment venues, travel/hospitality industries, sporting events, family gatherings, unemployment levels and more. Citizens have been required to wear masks, stay at home and follow other protocols as prescribed by government, while bailout spending is driving our country’s debt burden on future generations to unfathomable numbers. So, what then should be the scale of President Biden’s reaction to the 62,500,000 babies aborted in the USA since Roe v. Wade (1973), compared to the 56,000,000 total military related deaths worldwide in WWII? Abortions per year since 1973 have averaged about 1,300,000 in America. Recent years have seen a decline, but even in 2020 the estimated number of aborted babies in the U.S. is 874,000, twice as many deaths as COVD-19. At this level of killing shouldn’t we expect our Catholic president to defend, respect and safeguard human life? However, instead it looks like he will try to codify Roe v. Wade and expand funding and access for “women’s reproductive rights.” These actions would make abortion protections the law of the land, irrevocable, and grow dramatically the size of the killing fields. A final thought might be what he should say to the World Health Organization — maybe asking them to propose an equally compelling solution worldwide, to cope with the estimated two billion abortions worldwide since 1973. Mr. President, please step into the breach to protect and save these tiny human souls setting the standard for other world leaders to follow.

Jim Anderson
St. Joseph, Miesville

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