I appreciate the attention drawn to Michael Rose's lapse in responsible journalism ("Goodbye, Good Journalism?” June 30-July 6) and sincerely hope Father Taillon's reputation as a faithful priest is honorably restored.

However, if even a quarter of what Rose uncovered in his book Goodbye, Good Men is true, the Church in America owes him a debt of gratitude for his courageous exposé. I have served seven years on the vocations board of the Phoenix Diocese and have a deep love for seminarians and for their formation. May God have mercy upon the bishops, rectors and seminary faculty members who are, or have been, party to this shameful desecration of the priest-hood of Jesus Christ.

JENELLE VAN BRUNT

Tempe, Arizona

They Accused Padre Pio

Regarding “Let's Roll” (ncregister.com):

We need to see both sides of the coin. Critics charged St. Pio with sexual improprieties and mishandling of donations. An archbishop called him “demon-possessed” and a “corrupter of morals.”

At Padre Pio's beatification, our Pope said God had allowed these misunderstandings to serve as a “crucible of purification. What concerns me at this time is that innocent priests may well be unjustly accused.

EILEEN FEEHAN TOEDTLI

Salem, Oregon

Priests and Me

Regarding “Let's Roll” (ncregister.com):

I have no desire to minimize the seriousness of the accusations that have been leveled; correction of these abuses will require the utmost seriousness and dedication. Indeed, I pray that the lessons learned and the humiliation we Catholics have endured will not be forgotten, dismissed nor excused. May God bless us with the courage to make the right decisions, according to his plan and will, and not according to the currently fashionable advice being proffered so freely.

My real purpose in writing is to simply express one Catholic's deep appreciation for the gift the priesthood is to the Church, to society and to me. The faithfulness of so many priests has helped me immeasurably to encounter Christ. Their counsel, concern and committed love have enabled me to deal with my daily challenges, and to make decisions of lifelong importance to me and my family. Their joy and sense of humor have helped me to keep my difficulties in balance. It has been their sacrifices, including the commitment to celibacy they and so many other religious men and women in the Church have made, that have allowed them to be available in service to those of us occupied in the trying task of caring for our families.

I remember sitting down with my wife's longtime pastor, Father Cimperman, to ask if he would marry us in his parish church. Before getting down to business, he proceeded to ask my fiancé about each of her 11 brothers and sisters, inquiring as to their present health and well-being.

Several years later, my wife expressed concern to our pastor, Father Hilkert, who didn't look like he was getting enough sleep while enduring medical problems. He said he thought of playing tapes of some of his homilies at bedtime; he had noticed that they seemed to help so many others get to sleep.

At all the turning points of my life, there has been a priest. I pray for them daily. I pray that they may not be disheartened or intimidated by these present passing scandals. Rather, I pray they may take courage from the opportunity to be more like Christ in his willingness to endure all, that others might come to know the Father's love.

DAVE MYERS

Wildwood, Missouri

A Plea for Prayer

I read the interview with Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR ("Father Groeschel on the Scandals: Where to Go From Here,” June 14-20). It is right in line with what I have been telling my fellow Catholics. It is very easy to make an accusation without any real basis for it. But once the damage is done, it is hard to convince anyone that it was “just an accusation” and not really true. It is like opening up a “feather pillow” in the wind.

While there is a possibility of some accusations having merit, the media is bent on exploiting every accusation and not just those that are true. I happen to believe that there is a real effort out there to try to discredit not just priests, but the Catholic faith and all faith in God in general. I would not put it past them to even fabricate some of their own.

Only through a groundswell of prayer, such as we saw after the Sept. 11 tragedy, can we overcome this latest threat. I have, on my own in a small way, tried to get a prayer crusade going. But it will take more than my meager effort to get it going throughout the United States. I also think that every church should sponsor holy hours either weekly or even daily so that this crisis will pass. If our priests ask for prayers we will support them, and we would want them to also be prayerful.

Lastly, I hope every Catholic priest proudly wears his collar and becomes a witness on the streets by doing so. The only fear we should have in our life is fear of the Lord and not someone's opinion. In the end it is not the

polls, the media or anyone else who has the final say. God looks into each person's heart. He knows exactly where we stand and is also ready to help us when we need him. After all, what we are going through is no less than what he went through 2,000 years ago, and he endured it for each and every one of us. Have courage. God is with us and will not abandon us. Believe it!

JO HRABLEY

Lakewood, Ohio

Miesel and the Miracle

Sandra Miesel voices disbeliefs typical of those who deny all miraculous events ("In Her Eyes,” Letters, July 28-Aug 2). She claims to only see blobs of clouds in the Virgin's eyes, yet questions why and how the 25-power enlargement of the eye contains a bearded bust of St. Juan Diego. She contends an indigenous Mexican would not have had a beard.

Let me attempt to answer Miesel's concern as to how Juan Diego's bust can be in the eyes of his tilma that he is presenting to the bishop. The reflections in the eyes on the tilma are known in photography as a “Purkinje-Sanson” effect. Photography did not exist in 1531, yet the best explanation of the image on the tilma, by Kodak officials no less, is that the image is a color photographic print developed on the cactus fiber tilma.

So how did God pull that feat off? The Blessed Virgin must have been invisibly present in the room as Juan was presenting the flowers to Bishop Zumarraga. God used his miraculous polaroid and photographed his mother, and also let her eyes reflect at least three persons standing in front of her, including St. Juan Diego. God then instantly developed the photograph on the tilma as the roses cascaded to the floor.

Since 1956, these eyes have been examined by many ophthalmologists using ophthalmo-scopes; all have seen the miraculous reflections and none have reported seeing blobs of clouds. To those with the gift of faith, little proof is required. To nonbelievers, no amount of factual evidence will ever suffice to document the intervention of God in our scientific world.

GREG WATKINS

Concord, California

Adam in the Garden

Regarding “Eco-Theology” (Letters, July 28-Aug. 3):

I am sure Greg Wood is technically correct, but I think human interaction with the world's resources is what we are supposed to be doing. God gave us the earth to take care of. We are the stewards of his creation.

My father, former Interior Secretary Walter Hickel, once was quoted as saying “we can't let nature run wild” and meant that we are supposed to take responsibility in this regard.

Our own safety often depends on cutting the brush and trees away from buildings to protect them from wildfires caused by lightning strikes or careless people. The forests might be healthy in themselves, but not for us, the stewards of the earth. Sometimes we have to step in and prevent damage from insects that would damage or destroy the resource.

The forest in that condition, without our interaction, is not healthy.

TED HICKEL

Portland, Oregon

Contraception Kills

Regarding “N.Y. ‘Pill Bill’ Puts Church in Tough Spot” (July 28-Aug. 3):

There are flaws with local Catholic conferences and bishops’ groups not opposing “family planning” programs but focusing only on abortion because of the difference between killing human life and preventing contraception.

God struck down Onan for the most inoffensive of contraceptive activity: withdrawal. Modern-day contraceptives are very damaging to women and ultimately increase medical (and social) costs to society. Contraceptive use increases abortion rates. The Alan Guttmacher Institute statistics and “pro-choice” experts readily admit this among themselves. That's why they lobby so hard for contraception.

Most of the popular contraceptives are abortifacient. This cannot be stressed enough! It doesn't matter that the abortifacient potential is listed as a third mechanism behind suppression of ovulation and thickening of cervical mucus to prevent sperm and egg from meeting. No one knows when the abortifacient mechanism comes into play in an individual woman. It is possible that more human life is destroyed by these chemicals than by surgical abortion.

I sympathize with Msgr. William Smith's assertion that the state should not be forcing individuals or religious institutions to violate their conscience. Alas, the Constitution's principles are violated every day. Unless American Catholics start to obey the teaching authority of the Church, the future does not look too bright for our Church in this country within the next few decades, and I think a great deal of damage will be done to Catholic health care systems.

KATHRYN GROENING

Midland, Michigan