Forgiveness

St. Maria Goretti, martyred for her purity, forgave her murderer before she died, and appeared to him from heaven while he was in prison telling him he would be in heaven with her too. Pope John Paul II went to prison to forgive his assailant as well. Michael Ross, no. 127404, death row inmate of the Northern Correctional Institution, Somers, Conn., convicted for the murder and rape of eight women and various other crimes, seeks reconciliation (“Death Row,” see Letters, Nov. 3-9).

The Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Catholic Church will give him pardon and peace. Jesus Christ, the ultimate victim, will forgive his sins and he is the only one who can speak for the murdered victims. No one else can. I can forgive your crime against me, I cannot forgive your crime against my neighbor.

Mary De Voe

South River, New Jersey

Irish Ire

I resent being fed the English government line by Ben Kobus in London. He writes of “the potential resurgence of the Northern Ireland crisis” (“For Retiring Irish Primate, Peace Hinges on Faith,” Oct. 20). The Northern Ireland “crisis” has been ongoing every minute of every day since 1920. It is the result of a grave injustice foisted upon Ulster's Protestants. They had fought “home rule” but got it anyway. They had envisioned no partition of Ireland but Ulster itself was divided, and tens of thousands of Ulster Protestants were trapped in what to them was a foreign state.

Two of Northern Ireland's six counties had Catholic majorities; 40 percent of the population was Catholic. There were 100,000 Catholics in Belfast and 60 percent of Londonderry's people were Catholics. Obviously, Northern Ireland was not going to remain both a civilized, democratic state and a “Protestant” one. The English knew that when they set it up. Elsewhere they set Jew against Arab, Hindu against Moslem, Greek against Turk, New France against New England, etc. The record of British rule in India, North America, Cyprus, Palestine clearly shows that “divide the conquered” was the preferred policy.

In Northern Ireland, Catholics were to be denied the vote, a job (in either the private or public sector), and public housing in a concerted effort to encourage their emigration. Irish Catholics are engaged in a constant struggle for dignity and rights in a fascist police/army state. Think of Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights struggle— there was a constant story of injustice, while flareups were just the tip.

Why doesn't Kobus go to Londonderry and report the real story?

Robert Phelan

South River, New Jersey

Eat and Run

During the summer months, I am often a guest in different Catholic parishes. I're grown to love the many differences between the churches; architecture, music, the priests, and my brothers and sisters in Christ. One thing many have in common, however, is an apparent lack of reverence for Holy Communion. I am shocked at so many communicants' exodus immediately after reception of the Eucharist.

It seems that the banquet of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus has become just another fast food experience for busy Catholics. One morning as I arrived, I bumped into a lady running down the church steps busily chewing the Blessed Sacrament. So many people were leaving church I thought I had arrived just in time for the next Mass. Once inside, I was surprised to see parishioners still in line to receive while others were exiting the church without stopping to give Jesus any acknowledgment or reverence.

Many Catholics appear to take Jesus' presence for granted, no longer savoring the holy food. Don't eat and run when it comes to Christ!

Susan Heydlauff-Starling

New Orleans, Louisiana

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