Hillary's Oath

I was dismayed to see that you chose to picture Hillary Clinton being sworn in as a U.S. Senator ("Catholics Remain Largest Religious Bloc in Congress,” Jan. 14-20).

Could you not find another new legislator who is not antagonistic to our Catholic beliefs? Mrs. Clinton opposes everything that our Church represents. Also, the adjoining article that Catholics remain the largest religious bloc in Congress — are these Catholics in name only, or Catholics who truly believe and live out the teaching of the Church?

From what I read, most Catholics in Congress are pro-choice. Are they really Catholic?

ELIZABETH C. CORY Brandon, Florida

Catholic Congress?

Your paper reported that 150 members of the 107th Congress are Catholic ("Catholics Remain Largest Religious Bloc in Congress,” Jan. 14-20). I ask, how many of those are pro-life?

Once again I have been sickened and thoroughly disgusted by Ted Kennedy. Not only does he flaunt his murderous views, but he is also one of the “champions” for unlimited, unrestrained abortion.

If Kennedy and other elected officials continue to publicly support such a serious crime as abortion, they should be publicly excommunicated due to the scandal they create to the faithful.

A letter to the editor in a previous issue stated, “I ask, what would their (bishops ’and Catholic political leaders’) position have been if the Republicans had a party plank advocating the murder of 1 million Jews or blacks?” It's time for the laity to help them answer this question.

KATHLEEN BAL Iron Mountain, Michigan

Beyond the Archies

Thank you for the article on the comics about the Pope ("Italy's Latest Superhero: Pope John Paul the Great,” Jan. 7-13). Secular comic books are a very expensive form of entertainment. At about 10 cents a page, they cost $6 an hour if you read one page a minute.

But $6 an hour is near the normal price of public education, about twice the cost of Catholic education. And the great thing about comics is that they will be read: Both children and adults find them difficult to resist.

I have recommended Iva Hoth's The Picture Bible, a 750-page comic-book Bible, to public libraries in the Sacramento area. As a result, 11 copies have been added to the collections of ten different branches. I can not do much to get it included in libraries outside of the Sacramento area. But you can get this comic Bible and good Catholic books included in your local public library. You can read the letters I wrote to the librarians at my Web site, geocities.com/richlee-bruce.

As Chris Erickson of Catholics United for Faith suggested, it would be great to get the four comics on the Pope printed in English. I would also like to see a big, thick collection of Catholic comics in hardback that I could suggest to public libraries.

RICHARD BRUCE Davis, California

Christ in the Mall

The following comments are offered in support of the very perceptive column by Kevin Hasson (“Who'll Bring Jesus to Today's Public Square?”) published in your issue of Dec. 24-30.

Sadly missing from Mr. Hasson's fine essay was any suggestion of a specific way to achieve the worthy cause he enunciates. May we offer a suggestion which did work successfully this past Christmas season. We offer it to any who might wish to imitate our success.

Finding ourselves between assignments (I am an ordained deacon), my wife and I wondered what we might do to evangelize our neighbors in the months immediately preceding the new year, when we expected to relocate to a new parish. It was her suggestion that we set up a Catholic religious-articles shop in the large mall in central St. Petersburg, Fla.

The concern, of course, was that crèches in malls are not permitted and, as Mr. Hasson points out, generate immediate response from the ACLU and their allies. Our thought was to rent a kiosk and fill it with Catholic literature, statues, rosaries, medals and all the other good things we have seen so little of lately. We wondered whether we would be confronted with overt opposition and, if so, whether existing right-to-work laws and the first-amendment clause regarding freedom of speech would prevent open controversy.

To put it briefly, they did.

We operated the stand, smack in the middle of the mall for three months, with no difficulties. The literally hundreds of sincere inquiries by young men and women who had not been in a church for years was truly gratifying. It was well worth the time, effort and expense.

To anyone wanting to engage in a similar ministry, we can offer our assurance that the effort can easily be financially self-sustaining, emotionally satisfying and evangelically successful in a short time. We are grateful to Mr. Hasson for his column and to you for publishing it.

AL AND JAMES THOMPSON St. Petersburg, Florida

The writer, a Catholic deacon, kept his local bishop apprised of his mall plans.

Shake Them Up

After reading “Photo Shoot Out: Taking Aim at Tasteless Ads” in the Jan. 7-13 issue of the Register, I thought it might be helpful to let your readers know how I express my disapproval of actions by organizations I have supported in the past when they become involved in immoral activities.

I am a graduate of both Case Institute of Technology (now a part of Case Western Reserve University) and the University of Michigan. Several years ago it occurred to me that calls for alumni support presented an opportunity for me to express my pro-life views. I inform fundraisers from both universities that I would be pleased to provide support if they could assure me that the university does not allow or teach abortion procedures in university medical facilities. Neither has been able to do this thus far, so I have not contributed to either.

As an addendum, I have resolved not to purchase a GM vehicle as a result of reading your recent article disclosing that GM now has an interest in a company selling pornography.

CHARLES ROELANT Paradise, Michigan

The Cyber-Register

I am a religious-education instructor and, from time to time, I read articles in the Register which I would like to share with our director, pastor, staff, etc. Is there any way I can get copies of these articles? In particular, I am interested in the Inperson interview with singer Annie Karto, “Thunder Shatters a Stormy Life” (Jan. 7-13).

May God continue to bless your work. Know that I do share these papers with my co-teachers.

SARAH SHANEFELTER Middletown, Kansas

Editor's note: The article you refer to, along with several others, is available at our Web site, www.ncregister.com, through the “Editor's Picks” link. Unfortunately, the site is limited and does not provide a comprehensive database of Register stories — but it's a start.

Smiley-Faced Register?

I am curious about what John Bradey means by [calling the Register] “another 'smiley-faced’ Catholic publication” (Letters, Jan. 7-13). If he means a publication that reflects the teachings of the Catholic Church, then absolutely, the National Catholic Register does indeed. I welcome a newspaper that supports my beliefs and brings me articles that teach and stimulate my thinking.

Some publications that call themselves Catholic seem to take their dogmas from popular culture, and take delight affirming dissident groups that attack the Church. It is easy to go along with popular trends, but it takes courage to defend the teaching of our beloved Church.

BARBARA A. MOSKAL Prosperity, Pennsylvania

30 Years With the Register

I have been a regular reader of the National Catholic Register for 30 years, beginning with my first copy picked up at a U.S. Army chapel in Heidelberg, Germany. Your publication had then, as it has now, the answer to my question: “What is the Catholic viewpoint of the religious, political, economic, and social issues of the day?”

Particularly apropos are the articles in your last two issues: “Catholic Hospital Says It's Stuck with Abortionist,” “Evidence of Embryo's Humanity Presented to U. S. Journalists” and “Bush Promises Creation of Faith-based Programs” in Jan. 7-13 and, in Jan. 14-20, the articles “How Much Will Catholics Like Bush's Cabinet?” “New Threat to Catholic Health Plans” and “Bishops Deny ‘Backing Down’ on Contraception and Sterilization.” These articles alone are worth the annual subscription prices.

More importantly, however, these articles counter the propaganda heard and seen in the [general-interest] media. They provide faithful Catholics with the information needed not to “dialogue with,” but to confront those in the Church who espouse a more secular form of Catholicism. Such articles reassure and refresh the sincere heart.

May the Lord, our God, bless your efforts; I know the Holy Spirit guides them.

ALBERT C. SCHULTZ San Antonio

Missing the Point?

In “Drawing the Line” (Letters, Jan. 14-20), Ms. Hunt did a fine job of defining Church doctrine on abortion, but did not address the point of my letter in the Dec. 31-Jan. 6 issue (“Another Vote for Gore”). It's about a party using the moral high ground on abortion for votes to elective office, followed by calculated neglect of the other social and moral issues. This is the height of hypocrisy, and we all know how Jesus felt about that.

Our catechisms say that the ends do not justify the means. This applies to political manipulations as well as to the acts of individuals. When the Pope speaks of the right to life as paramount, exchanging one evil for another is not what he has in mind.

Last fall, this paper reported that the bishops of this country admitted that very little support has come from the Republican Party on the abortion issue. This is my point. Politics is not going to solve the abortion problem, and the Church knows it. Metanoia of the public is needed. A person who really wants to get an abortion will do it, regardless of legality. When people's actions and attitudes change, then politicians will change. Could this be why the Pope's main theme for the next century is evangelization and not political-action committees?

PAUL SZYMANOWSKI Curtice, Ohio