Efforts Applauded

In reference to the article, “How the Faith of 272 Black Catholic Slaves Has Given Georgetown a New Future” (Nation, Oct. 2 issue), I applaud these efforts to make reparation to the black slaves owned by the Jesuits of Georgetown in 1838.

This includes, also, the descendants of these slaves who were sold to help to finance the construction of the buildings for Georgetown University. I am writing to remind readers that our black brothers and sisters are now, in 2016, again being targeted for financial gain.

Planned Parenthood intentionally opens abortion centers in locations where there is a high population of blacks.

It is well-known that the abortion rates in poor black communities are much higher. Let us not wait 178 years to make reparation for the present injustice.

Instead, let us continue our efforts to defund Planned Parenthood while providing support for black women and men to bring their babies to term.

                        Elaine Swanson

                        Arapahoe, Nebraska

 

Miraculous Match

I enjoyed the article on Eucharistic miracles from the July 24-Aug. 6 issue of the Register.

I have a question, though.

If it’s possible to determine the matching AB blood types and verify the DNA is human, why can’t investigations be done to see if the DNA matches, as well?

                        Becky Mays

                        Hemet, California

 

Author Ron Tesoriero, who was the subject of a related “In Person,” responds:

In the work on the Buenos Aires case of 1996, a blood-type analysis was not carried out.

The reason was that this type of test is not so informative because many people may have a particular blood type, even though an AB blood type is not so common.

Also, such a test would use up some of the valuable sample. DNA testing today is more specific and far more informative.

However, DNA testing was attempted on the Buenos Aires sample, but no genetic profile could be extracted, even though white blood cells, which hold the genetic material, were noticed in the pathology tests of the sample to be visible, vital and intact.

The lack of ability to generate a genetic profile was also encountered in further DNA tests. These findings were regarded as unusual.

Looking at the situation from another perspective, if a genetic code was obtained (the genetic code is the combination of genetic information contributed by a mother and a father through sexual union), then it would not be the blood of Jesus, as he is believed to have been conceived without the intervention of a biological father.

This anomaly is currently the subject of further investigation.

 

Going the Extra Yard

Pertinent to “Notre Dame to NCAA: Play Sports, Not Politics” (Education, Oct. 16 issue):

This is an outstanding article, but as Joan Desmond notes, Father John Jenkins needs to take this position further.

Perhaps an article that addresses pressure on BYU to surrender the Sabbath and academic policies that maintain opposition to the “LGBTQ” agenda.

         Robert Michael McAvoy

         Burleson, Texas

 

Lady Macbeth Revisited

Tom McArdle’s commentary (“Is the Al Smith Dinner Still Worthwhile?” In Depth, Oct. 30 issue) is right on the money regarding the farce that the Al Smith Dinner has become.

But although McArdle may not intend it, his equally applied disappointment in both candidates will encourage Catholics whose hands are too clean to vote in this election. (They will refrain, lest their lily-white purity be sullied by casting a ballot for a crass, sinful man, even if he is the only hope for the Supreme Court.)

Later, when these same Catholics are paging through a newspaper announcing the appointment of yet another pro-abortion-rights justice, one wonders if, like Lady Macbeth, they will see their hands are, in fact, marred with awful spots.

         Amy Kelley

         Mount Kisco, New York

 

Good Viewing

I recently watched two EWTN presentations the Register highlighted in its TV listings: The Polish Pope, concerning Pope John Paul II, and A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, about Saul Alinsky, the “pope” of American social progressivism.

John Paul II endured the ravages of the Nazis and Soviet communism.

The Nazis wanted to exterminate Poles and Poland from the memory of man. The communists wanted to make Poland a satellite in the godless universe of Karl Marx. Either way, Poland would die.

The methodology of the communists resembled Alinsky’s methods.

He also got his ideas from Karl Marx. Marx embraced Lucifer, as did Alinsky. Neither man was original in thought; many have gone down this path before.

One can question if Lucifer is all that bad; some believe he is not.

One cannot question that men like Marx, Stalin and Alinsky were capable of great evil to achieve their goals.

Judge your “god” by the actions of the disciples and “a tree by its fruit.”

         Edmond Day

         Rotterdam, New York

 

Blessed Margaret

Regarding “‘Blessed’ Sanctity: Tales of Three Holy Lives on the Highway to Sainthood” (Culture of Life, Oct. 16 issue):

We were blessed by your article, including information about Blessed Margaret of Castello. I have just completed a book on her life, focusing especially on her ministry to the sick and the outcast. It is presently in press with New Priory Press.

         Sister Mary Elizabeth O’Brien

         Professor emeritus

         The Catholic University of America

         School of Nursing

 

Maple Trees and DNA

My neighbor has a beautiful 30-year-old maple tree in his front yard that gets plenty of sun. It is more than twice as tall as his two-story house and about twice as wide. It turns beautiful colors this time of year. I did an estimate of how many leaves this large tree might have. I am guessing about 10,000.

According to studies from the National Institutes for Health, human DNA, in each cell of our bodies, has an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 genes carrying 3 billion bits of information.

To get some concept of 3 billion, let us compare it to the same maple tree.

Three billion divided by 10,000 shows us that if each and every information point on one human DNA corresponded to one leaf on a large maple tree, we would need 300,000 trees to cover all the information points.

DNA is not seemingly random, like tree leaves, either. 

Each DNA information point is in its own precise location. If all the pieces of one cell’s DNA were lined up, it would be 6-feet long, all in perfect order. How could something so complex happen by chance?

Remember that there is a God, and he gave us laws, such as “Thou shalt not kill.”

Just as a master carpenter makes his own tools, this same God created DNA, and it is his tool for the creation of life, now, adding an eternal human soul to each conceived human being.

We would do well to take seriously his Fifth Commandment and not promote the destruction in the womb of the marvelous human beings that he creates.

         Helen Dickey

         Reston, Virginia

 

Political Disease

Pertinent to “About Those Unthinking Backward Catholics … ” (In Depth, Oct. 30 issue):

This debilitating disease that infects the Church and society is mostly the souls of compliant Catholics and other Democrats, manifested by a warped view of the world that they would like, not how it is. Their mantra is: “It’s my conscience; don’t confuse me with the facts.”

In the just-concluded presidential election, our choices were a media libeled and slandered nonpolitical potty mouth who has bucked a corrupt system and a Catholic-hating, scheming, robotic liar with a lifelong appetite for power and an entourage riddled with Catholic bigots and compliant and vincible, ignorant Catholics.

The cure is to Google some of Archbishop Charles Chaput’s writings and believe in what he, representing the Catholic Church, says.

         Michael Velsmid

         Nantucket, Massachusetts

 

 

A Kinder Dialogue

It has been interesting to listen to the political discourse and angry dialogue from both major parties in America’s current election.

For the most part, it was more profane than profound, and sometimes not fit for family consumption.

As an American, I try to vote in every election cycle for candidates that I believe would be the best for the America proclaimed in our very first and most important document.

The Declaration of Independence states that we are “created equal … endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As a Catholic I sometimes go to morning Mass, which is basically thanking God for his creation.

Prayer is essentially talking to God. For some time now, we [Massgoers] have been in a loving dialogue (prayer), asking God and his saints for their help in selecting the best people for leaders of our great nation.

Our prayer is ecumenical, covers all the most important issues and can be used by anyone without harmful consequences:

 

_{Respect Life Prayer}

Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, and St. Teresa of Calcutta, may our nation return to a culture of life by voting for candidates and laws that support the sanctity of life and oppose the taking of innocent lives, from the moment of conception to natural death.

Father, give us hope; Jesus, give us courage; and Holy Spirit, give us wisdom.

Amen.

         Donald Chisholm

         Dillon, Colorado