Appalled by cartoon
I have never written to an editor of any publication before; however, I feel compelled to voice my opinion regarding the cartoon in The Catholic Virginian (Sept. 6) that culminates in the line, “I told you so.”
Nothing about it is funny, so I have to wonder what the point of it was. Was it supposed to encourage people to get vaccinated? I doubt anyone is going to be encouraged by such a cruel depiction.
Was it simply expressing judgment? Making fun? If that was the case, it is mean spirited and divisive, just like so much sentiment surrounding COVID in the secular world.
It reminds me of a newscaster last week saying that if you’re not vaccinated, don’t bother going to the hospital if you get sick because it’s basically your own fault. Or President Biden saying Sept. 9 that this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated now and he understands the anger of the vaccinated toward the unvaccinated. It goes on and on, and I was appalled to find such in The Catholic Virginian.
The message of support for masks and vaccines is made clear in Barbara Hughes’ column and in a letter to the editor. That’s fine, but the cartoon crosses a line. Instead of love, mercy and compassion for what appears to be a very sick spouse, the cartoon conveys a cold, arrogant and uncharitable scene.
I am very disappointed that our diocesan newspaper would feature something so far removed from the spirit of Christ. By the way, I am vaccinated. – Kathleen Walsh, Newport News
Shouldn’t enjoy another’s misfortune
I am writing to express my disappointment with The Catholic Virginian’s publication of Joe Heller’s cartoon in its latest issue. I am disappointed because, as Catholics, we should never enjoy another’s misfortune. In addition, the cartoon supports the current media portrayal of those hesitant to get the MRNA shot as stupid, stubborn or selfish in some way. That is simply not true for all. I have family and friends who are struggling with the ethical dilemma that accepting this treatment entails.
They want to do the right thing. They would not willingly or knowingly put someone else in harm’s way. They are not anti-vaccine as the press would like to portray them. What they are against is being coerced into taking a novel vaccine therapy that was rushed to market in a crisis. It takes time to assess the safety of any new treatment as anyone familiar with Thalidomide knows. We have already seen complications that did not show up in the clinical trials.
In addition, there are experts in the field of immunology who are questioning the wisdom of vaccinating everyone using MRNA therapy. We are told that vaccinated people can still carry and spread the disease. Therefore, I empathize with those worried as to whether taking this MRNA vaccine really is for the common good. I welcome their skepticism and would like to see their concerns addressed properly and not lampooned.
For the record, I am fully vaccinated. Despite that, I contracted COVID this summer and my symptoms were not mild. – Paul Roderique, Bedford
‘You should be ashamed’
As the editor, I assume you are responsible for the comic on Page 6 of the most recent volume — the comic that is making fun of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers – and enjoying their “bad karma.” I find this comic highly disgusting and highly un-Christian. I would expect it in a partisan, secular magazine, and not in a non-partisan, Christian magazine.
Because you find this funny, would it also be funny to laugh at obese people who are in the hospital because of heart attacks or diabetes? Would it also be funny to laugh at smokers who are in the hospital because of lung cancer?
What if women in Texas started having ‘coat-hanger’ abortions and ended up in the hospital? Funny? Would it be OK to have “Schadenfreude”?
All of these people would be in the hospital because of medically unwise personal choices. I assume the humor would apply to all.
You should be ashamed for letting that go to print. If you had any decency, you would print this email in the next edition, along with an apology. For some reason I highly doubt you will. It’s better to score laughs than to be Christian. – Mike Pearl, Charlottesville
‘Mean-spirited, tasteless’
I always looked forward to reading new issues of The Catholic Virginian because the articles and commentaries inspired my personal “walk with Christ.” That is why I was so surprised to read the cartoon in the Sept. 6 issue.
To me, the cartoon was mean-spirited and tasteless. Did Jesus teach us to enjoy another person’s tragedy? That we are to tell others, “I told you so?”
Did he teach that we get what we deserve? The Bible teaches, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Eph 3:23-24).
Jesus loves us in spite of what we deserve. It troubles me greatly that we have become so divided, including the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated. There are people who cannot take the vaccine; I can’t help but wonder what they thought reading this cartoon.
As Christians, we are taught to love one another. Instead of sitting there “enjoying” the result of the person’s “bad karma,” we should be sitting by their side, giving comfort and praying over them. That is what Jesus would want me to do. – Jodie A. Reha, Virginia Beach
Is any war just?
In the article “Whatever it’s called, does it meet just-war criteria?” (Catholic Virginian, Sept. 6), Mark Pattison lists wars America has taken part in. He gives the criteria for a just war and continues to discuss who in our country decides to go to war.
So, how come Jesus’ followers who are to love their enemies and do good to those who harm them are included in this group who are discussing just wars? Once Jesus’ followers joined with the powerful leadership when church and state united under Constantine, the crucified life of the peaceful Jesus was abandoned and just war theory began to take shape.
Shouldn’t the Church today, rather than trying to find ways to intellectually justify war, be counter-cultural and assert the Jesus teaching of love thy neighbor?
In his World Day of Peace address in 2017, Pope Francis endorsed nonviolence as “a style of politics.”
Where should we go from here? Is any war just? – Maureen Marroni, Norfolk
Don’t insist that we wear masks
Re: “Diocese should issue mask mandate” (Catholic Virginian, Sept. 6):
Tom Bosse, if you want to wear a mask, please do. But don’t insist on those of us that have followed the CDC and been vaccinated and repeatedly told we don’t need to wear masks. Don’t insist on those of us that have serious concerns about the vaccinations in and of themselves.
Study after study shows that there is great concern, and when as many as 40% of our nurses are leaving rather than take “the jab” and lose their jobs, and doctors are leaving for the same reason, that should set off red flags and alarm bells for everyone.
On Sept. 2, the CDC, in yet another change of direction, changed the definition of “vaccine” from providing “immunity” to providing “protection.”
There have been tests on masks and found were: bacteria, parasites, fungi, dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria. Yup, I want to be breathing that in. And I won’t even begin to address the amount of masks in landfills, laying on the sidewalks, parking lots and even on the lawns at local schools.
Dr. Robert Malone, inventor of mRNA vaccine technology, which the COVID-19 vaccine is based on, says, “Even if we had 100% vaccine uptake with these vaccines… we would not be able to stop the spread of the virus.”
Mask wearing hasn’t slowed the spread, hasn’t kept anyone from getting the virus. To think that mandating masks is going to be of any help is delusional.
Again, if you want to wear a mask, please do. But don’t insist on me wearing one. – Denise Reece, Pulaski
Grateful for Traditional Latin Mass
I want to share how grateful I am to be able to attend the Tridentine Mass at St. Benedict, Newport News. I’ve attended in several locations throughout the country and for almost two years at St. Benedict. The Traditional Latin Mass is always peaceful and sacred worship, through which my faith has been strengthened and grown. My understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church has grown immensely.
Families are friendly, and there’s a quiet acceptance of all. People linger after Mass and talk with each other outside, and kids play together. It all feels like one family, no matter who you are. The Mass focuses forward to Christ, the Eucharist, up through the Cross and to God. It’s beautiful.
I also still attend the Novus Ordo, and I see the two as complementary. A deeper understanding through the Tridentine Mass has led to noticing and appreciating some of the details that I didn’t notice before in the New Mass. I don’t see either as exclusionary, but rather as a pair, a left and right foot, or left and right arm working together. It’s similar to what St. Paul teaches that we each are a unique part of the one Body of Christ.
I’m in my 50s. My wife and I have four children, and our faith is very important to us. And even though I’m older, the easiest way to describe discovery of the Tridentine Mass is like a little boy who discovers his grandfather’s treasure chest in the attic, and it’s filled with all his memorabilia and things handed down from his father and grandfather — things I never knew about but are so meaningful and important. Please don’t let it be taken away. – Bob Boyer, Virginia Beach
Pope’s ‘motu proprio’ about Latin Mass was ‘gut punch’
I am responding to the article regarding Pope Francis issuing “Traditionis Custodes” to restrict the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) – a Mass that has been celebrated for over a thousand years. His motu proprio was a gut punch to my family, who I moved from Hawaii in 2017 to be at St. Benedict Parish – home of the TLM in Hampton Roads.
We love the “Mass of All Ages” because it is beautiful, reverent and holy. Masses begin with a processional (young men in cassocks proceed with the priest to the altar, and the faithful gently bow at the crucifix and priest as they pass); the choirs sings Gregorian chant; there’s sprinkling of holy water (“Asperges Me”); priests vested; incensing of the high altar and faithful; all face the crucifix and the reality of Calvary for which our sins are responsible (“Ad orientem” or “to the east” — inherited from the Jews when the Church was born); bells (at the Sanctus, the Consecration and the Centurion’s prayer) and we receive Communion from the priest kneeling at a Communion rail (only a priest’s hands are consecrated).
Both the old and new ways of celebrating Mass are legitimate; nobody disputes that. Nobody is condemning Vatican II. We just prefer the old, unbroken way — “unbroken” as in linked with the past. It really is that simple.
Apparently, this is a source of division. In a world where a healthy percentage of Catholics do not know the Real Presence, defaulting toward the more reverent Mass seems the better decision I wish the Holy Father had made. – Craig Wortham, Chesapeake