Catholics should move past the social issues

To whom it may concern:
I’m writing in response to the article by Valerie Bergeron and Anthony Masiello, entitled “Catholic Campus Ministry says goodbye to Pope Benedict XVI.” Before I respond to the article itself, I’d like to first say that I appreciate Valerie and Anthony’s leadership actions in writing an article for our student newspaper. It thrills me that students are active in their community outside of S.U., and I applaud them and their organization for their increased visibility and efforts. So, with exposure comes criticism, but any publicity is good publicity.

I am sure that many of the responses you’ve received about this article are in response to the third paragraph, wherein the Pope’s responses to “rises in moral deteriorations such as abortion, contraceptive use, and homosexual marriage” are referenced. These arguments, abortion, contraception, gay marriage, are complete non-issues. They distract from much more important issues that actually matter in this world.

In 2010, 85 people died per day on average from gun violence. Let’s talk about how to change that. The “War on Drugs” is a miserable failure, let’s argue about how to fix it. Today, 22,000 children will die today from poverty, let’s talk about how to help them. We’re destroying our environment and running out of resources, let’s change the tone about our environment. And not least of all, sexual abuse occurs in more places than just the Catholic Church. And yet, fundamentalist religious groups distract from these very real issues just to argue about whether we should have sex or not???

Whether or not a person who is raped should have access to an abortion? Whether or not two people who love each other very much can get married or adopt a child who needs a home?  It’s completely absurd. We need to deal with the issues that will face our children, and their children. It is our duty to leave this world better than how we found it for the future generations. We can start by ditching these red-herring issues and moving on to the fact that our economy is tanking because a few billionaires want to be free to pollute rivers and not pay a fair share in taxes.

Look, it’s 2013. 80 percent of the world’s people live off of less than $10 a day while the Pope sits on a golden chair, in a massive palace, wearing a hat that’s worth could feed countless families for years. My sincere hope for the Catholic Church is that the administration realizes the power of compassion and understanding, and works toward a better world where God’s love permeates religious, national and economic divides. A world where people confront the challenges we face that humanity has never faced before; where we take into account our own personal experience and findings, as well as what scripture says to decide how best to love our fellow humans.

I find Benedict’s resignation honorable; it draws attention to the hypocrisy of the Vatican.  Perhaps what took a toll on him was the realization that he was at the helm of a global empire worth billions of dollars. Matthew 19:24 states, “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is wealthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” yet the Catholic Church believes that people who have sex with condoms to prevent pregnancy and the spread of HIV are sinners worthy of eternal damnation. If you fight for what you believe in, then God bless you. If you only fight for what you’re told you’re supposed to believe in, I hope that one day you see the light of God that comes from within yourself.

Respectfully,
Greg Brown

Disappointed in SGA

I have transferred from S.U., but can’t help be disappointed by this post [“The SGA House of Delegates voted tonight to impeach President Nigel Huckle.” – The ’Doah Facebook Page]. I know that the SGA was exercising their rights as a group to do this, but I can personally say that I would be very proud to be represented by someone like Nigel. I have had the pleasure of knowing him ever since middle school, and [he] has always shined with talent, leadership and honesty. I am a little disappointed that some people would think keeping Nigel in the organization would “tarnish” the reputation. The facts are that everyone has skeletons in their closet and, unlike most people, Nigel bravely came in front of his peers and expressed a sincere apology. I am sure he would never do anything with the intention of harming others.

Alexandria Smith