Incarnation Inspiration

It is interesting to note that the mural titled “Adoration of the Magi,” which accompanied the article “What’s in God’s Name?” (Culture of Life, Jan. 7) depicts the Epiphany event as occurring at the manger where Jesus was born.

According to the Catholic Dictionary in the back of the Holy Family Edition of the Catholic Bible (1950), Jesus was born in a manger on the outskirts of town (Luke 2:4-7) — but, by the time the Magi came, the Holy Family was staying in a house in the town (Matthew 2:1-11). Verse 11 reads: “And entering the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they worshipped him.”

I have always seen the Magi coming to the stable in art, but it makes perfect sense that St. Joseph would have not ceased looking for a suitable place for the new babe and his mother. Adoration at a stable for the “lowly” shepherds, and in a house for the “gifted” kings.

Truly, Jesus came for all to behold and love.

John Patrick Pié

Laurium, Michigan

True God, False Impression 

I am having difficulty understanding how it can be proposed that we Christians worship the same God as is worshiped in Islam. Yet that’s what Mark Shea maintains in “Monotheism 101” (In Depth, Jan. 21-27).

Catholics believe that God has revealed himself to man through the Old Testament prophets and, fully and finally, in Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Seven centuries later, a desert nomad proposes a new revelation, the Quran. This teaches that there is no God but Allah and that the writer of the Quran, Muhammad, is his prophet. (The name Muhammad means “the praised one” in Arabic.)

Allah knows nothing about Jesus Christ as his only Son, God incarnate, the full and final revelation. Can this be the same God? Either God is confused — or Mr. Shea is.

Is it not a disservice to both Christians and Muslims to propose that we worship the same God?

Dr. Charles M. Feicht

Zanesville, Ohio

Mark Shea responds: I honestly don’t know how to say more clearly what I have already said. There is only one God, not two. Insofar as Muslims affirm what can be affirmed in common with the Church, they are worshiping that one God. If you don’t believe me, don’t believe the Second Vatican Council, which says, “together with us they adore the one, merciful God.” Also don’t believe Pope St. Gregory VII, who told Muslims that “we believe and confess one God, albeit in different ways.” I am powerless to state the point any more plainly than that.

Where Islam, like Judaism, errs in denying Christ, this does not mean there are two Gods. It merely means there is one God, wrongly understood by Muslims and, less so, by Jews.

Beware Back Atcha

Regarding Jennifer Heath’s letter titled “Beware Blog Banter” (Dec. 24 - Jan. 6):

Jennifer states, “My first objection to blogging has to do with the cult of the individual. Just what is it that makes every blogger, Catholics included, feel that their views are worthy of public display? Why the need to broadcast to ‘whomever’ the way I feel about something?”

Another example of this might be writing to a national publication, expressing one’s opinions for all the world to see in a letter to the editor.

Joe Tritz

Custer, Wisconsin

Seminary Supplemental

I am a seminarian studying at St. Joseph Seminary College for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

May I congratulate you and your staff on the beautiful new look of the National Catholic Register? The pages are much cleaner and the colors are nice. I also appreciate the new organization. Overall, you and your staff produce a great paper and have much to thank God for.

For about the last year, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your paper and have a deep appreciation for the work of evangelization that you do through it. 

Thank you for all your work on behalf of Christ and his kingdom.

Bryan Thompson

St. Benedict, Louisiana

Saddam’s End

The execution of Saddam Hussein (“Tragic and Sad,” Editorial, Jan. 14) was an example of he who has shed the blood of man having his blood shed. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.

Saddam’s trial was more than the victims of his “justice” ever received. Saddam had the right and an opportunity to defend himself against crimes that were, well, indefensible. He had a fairer trial than he afforded his opponents. There is no appeal from being put feet first into a tree shredder and, when your tongue is cut out, there really is no need to be advised of your right to remain silent.

As for those who contend that Saddam’s execution came too swiftly, that he wasn’t accorded due process: Had he been in the American legal system, lawyers might have clogged that system for years, allowing Saddam to die in prison.

Unlike in the United States, where a death sentence often means several decades of free room and board while the murderer is celebrated in the media and on film, writing books while civil libertarians plead his or her case, there wasn’t enough time for Saddam sympathizers in and out of Iraq to organize a decent candlelight vigil.

Maybe the Iraqi government had this in mind when they executed the butcher of Baghdad within the 30 days of his one and only appeal, as mandated by Iraqi law. I wish justice was as certain and swift in the United States. Maybe then the death penalty would have more of a deterrent effect than it does now, saving lives of potentially innocent victims.

Daniel John Sobieski

Chicago

‘Real’ Pro-Life 

I write to criticize the approach of Derrick Jones of the National Right to Life Committee (“Making the Difference: The Future of Pro-Life,” In Depth, Jan. 21).

I am a very long-term member of several groups that are affiliates of American Life League, NRTL’s opposite number. This means that I uphold the teaching of the Catholic Church. That is the common bond of ALL’s affiliates. That is why ALL’s founder and president, Judie Brown, is a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Annually, in January, we demand of our federal legislators sponsorship and passage of the Paramount Human Life Amendment. If they refuse to support it, we cease to support them.

Annually, in July, we demand the abolition of Title X of the U.S. Public Health Act. It funds the hawking and dispensing of abortifacient birth control to the naïve poor and gullible teenagers. When failures occur, the Planned Parenthood businesses trade their clients up to an abortion.

Many Planned Parenthood businesses have been shut down and others canceled in the planning, thanks to the dogged work of STOPP (Stop Planned Parenthood), an affiliate of American Life League.

Another faithful right-to-life group, Human Life International, is dubbed by NARAL Pro-Choice America “Public Enemy Number One.”

Legislators and other government personnel know us. And they fear us, because we can be neither bought off nor hushed up. Real pro-life groups are here to stay. We put our efforts under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We look forward confidently to eventual success.

Grace E. Hogan

Charleston, South Carolina

Clarification

The information box accompanying our Jan. 21 front-page report “Congress vs. Science” stated that amniotic stem cells come from pregnant women and that obtaining the cells causes no harm to the donor. Actually, the risk is low but it’s not zero. Dr. Paul Byrne, a neonatologist in Oregon, Ohio, points out that the cells come from amniotic fluid, which is produced by an unborn baby. The procedure for drawing the fluid — and the stem cells, which are thought to be a good alternative to human embryonic stem cells — is amniocentesis. This process involves inserting a 6-inch needle through the mother’s abdominal wall and the sac of fluid surrounding the baby. According to Dr. Byrne, the risk of mortality to the baby is 1% to 3%.