I wish to express my deep sadness at the news reported in your Sept. 30 issue, “Blair and Catholics,” that Tony Blair was invited to speak at the Al Smith dinner on Oct. 18.

One would presume that no speaker would be invited to a Catholic event whose views on the sanctity of life and the sacredness of marriage are directly contrary to Catholic moral teaching. Unfortunately, this is the case with Tony Blair.

Mr. Blair consistently supported abortion on demand and embryonic stem-cell research while serving as prime minister of Great Britain. In addition, his government began the authorization of same-sex “marriages,” as well as a policy requiring Catholic schools to refrain from speaking against the morality of homosexual relationships.

Regardless of whether Mr. Blair has attended Mass, his support for these anti-life and anti-family policies makes his appearance at a prestigious Catholic fund-raising event inappropriate in the extreme.

If it is true that Mr. Blair is considering entry into the Catholic Church, then it is appropriate to remind him that no faithful Catholic can give support to the destruction of innocent human life, nor can any sincere Catholic fail to recognize marriage as exclusively the union of one man and one woman.

For good measure, Mr. Blair should be reminded that his efforts to pressure Catholic schools, and his attempts to force Catholic agencies to open the door to gay adoptions, are violations of religious liberty.

Father Gary Sumpter

Scotia, California

In Father Andrew McNair’s article titled “The Reality of the Devil” in the Oct. 28 issue, he mentioned that “the occult movement of Satanism ranks No. 1 one among teens and young adults as their preferred spirituality.”

I would be very interested to know what other readers see that would affirm this statement. Maybe shed some more light on a growing popularity. I don’t have very close contact with the younger generation, only my peers and they are practicing Catholics. Perhaps the Register would sponsor a poll. Thanks for your consideration.

James Hogan
Mount Rainier, Maryland

Regarding “For All the Saints” (Oct. 28):

Your reference to the video God in the Streets of New York mistakenly attributed it to the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. While we love the bearded friars, the video was actually produced by Grassroots Films of Brooklyn, N.Y. — the independent film company behind the vocations film Fishers of Men and the upcoming release The Human Experience. We have been overwhelmed by the success of God in the Streets of New York City and its role in inspiring a revival of Eucharistic processions.

Joseph Campo
Producer, Grassroots Films
Brooklyn, New York

Regarding “School Abuse Crisis” (Oct. 28):

I give the Associated Press only partial credit for exposing teacher sex abuse in public schools. The three-part AP series cited 2,500 cases of sexual abuse by teachers over a five-year period. Those are shocking statistics that make the clergy abuse scandals look miniscule by comparison.

Nevertheless, that is not the most shocking news. What is most shocking is the AP’s failure to proportionately report cases of homosexual abuse in the schools.

According to the Empirical Journal of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior, 35% of all sexual abuse cases in U.S. schools involve homosexual men and male students. In the seven English-speaking countries the journal researched, 43% of abuse cases involved homosexual predators.

Here’s how the AP reported the story:

The first installment in the AP series highlighted nine cases of sexual abuse by teachers. Seven involved male teachers and female students. One involved a female teacher and a male student. Only one of the nine cases involved a male teacher and male student.

The second article was devoted solely to heterosexual abuse, citing 20 cases involving a male teacher and a female student.

The third installment cited two cases, both involving male teachers and female students. So, of the 31 cases, only one involved homosexual abuse, and that case was buried deep in the article where most readers never venture.

From the Associated Press’ point of view, the public school crisis appears to be almost entirely heterosexual. The way it was reported, it might appear that only 3% of cases involved homosexual teachers. Talk about skewed reporting.

The reality is that more than one-third of all cases involve homosexual predators and male students. There is a more than one-in-three chance that if your male child is molested at a public school, he will be molested by a homosexual male teacher. Why wasn’t that newsworthy?

Don’t be surprised. The mass media also failed to report the true nature of the clergy abuse crisis in the Church. An independent study found that 81% of all clergy sexual abuse was committed by homosexual (not pedophile) priests who preyed on boys at or above the age of puberty. The media, though, mischaracterized that as a pedophilia crisis.

Bad as it is, the big story here is not teacher sexual abuse. It is the media’s continual protection of the homosexual rights agenda by slanted reporting. Aided by a sympathetic media, the homosexual rights agenda moves forward with lightning speed, mostly unopposed by a sleeping public.

In California, the governor just signed into a law a bill that prohibits use the words “mother,” “father,” “husband” and “wife” in schools because they might suggest something wrong with other “family” arrangements. It’s complete madness.

On the national level, the U.S. Senate is considering a bill that will criminalize speaking out against homosexuality. This shows how powerful the homosexual rights movement has become.

So powerful, it may succeed in trumping the First Amendment right to free speech while simultaneously destroying the sanctity of marriage. It’s time to get off our pews and confront lawmakers.

Ken Skuba

Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania

Regarding the letter “No Way Means No Way” (Nov. 4): His suggestion that we “unite and declare” that if Rudy is nominated we will all vote for the Democratic nominee is incredible!

Vote for a party that has been a firm supporter of all things that run contrary to pro-life philosophies? Yeah, that will teach those Republicans! And what do we get in the meantime? A party running the country who shares none of our values.

Seems to me there are other ways to “get the message” to the Republican National Committee — like voting all present representatives out of office and finding those who do share our values.

Marye Pat Skinner

Nashville, Tennessee

Regarding “Pro-Lifers on Rudy: ‘No Way’” (Oct 7) and a recent letter, “No Way Means No Way” (Nov 4):

Perhaps there is a “way” as in “lesser of two evils.”

If Rudy Giuliani is the Republican nominee in 2008, and pro-lifers walk, then the Democrats (Hillary Clinton) will win. And this would be a catastrophe for the pro-life movement.

But pro-lifers don’t have to walk. There are differences between Rudy and Hilary.

Rudy has promised to appoint strict constructionist judges (like Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalia). I also believe that Rudy will maintain current restrictions on federal funding for abortions. The Republican base will force him to do this (if necessary).

I agree we can’t be absolutely certain about Rudy. But we can be absolutely certain about Hillary.

Bill Surine

Baltimore, Maryland

Editor’s Note: We don’t think pro-lifers need to give up on the battle for the primaries before they even begin. No nominee has been chosen yet. It is not time to compare Rudy Giuliani to Hillary Clinton. It is time to compare him to the other Republican nominees.

Susan E. Wills blows the lid off the pink-ribbon fallacy in her poignant and well-written piece “Fully Aware” (Oct. 28), which so clearly cited the holes in the battle against Breast Cancer. 

As a mother of four who is in constant contact with the subject, I think a thank-you hardly suffices. My only hope is that Ms. Wills’ sage findings reach out to the secular world, which is so naively fueling the so-called “race for the cure.”

This column needs to be left in coffee houses and day care centers, synagogues and evangelical churches, school faculty rooms, parks and fitness centers so that all women can learn the Good News of God’s divine plan for human sexuality.

Sadly, Catholic women are often also turning a blind eye towards the evils of the Pill. 

I am deeply saddened to see my fellow sisters in Christ, whose medical providers profit from the big business of oral contraception, submit in ignorance to the evils of medicine.

This can turn around when more Catholic doctors expand with confidence their medical practice to embrace the culture of life, and when families in turn seek out faith-based family physicians.

Jennifer C. Bioche

Marion, Iowa

The tagline of the column by Rev. Deacon Thomas J. Davis Jr. in the Nov. 11 issue of the Register incorrectly stated that he is a moral theologian and trade regulation attorney.