Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
October 09, 2006

Love of Learning

How happy I was to see your reference to Alma Miller, R.S.C.J., in the editorial, The People’s Schools (9/18). It was a privilege to be both her student and a dear friend, with whom I corresponded weekly throughout her life. Mother Miller demanded and expected the best from us. In addition to receiving a marvelous education, I was given a love of learning that I have never lost. Her enthusiasm for knowledge was contagious. After 50 years I am still taking courses, reading and writing. I know that would please her.

Phyllis Townley
New York, N.Y.

Powerful Influence

I was thrilled to read Alarm Bells in the East, by Drew Christiansen, S.J., (9/11). What a wonderful idea to have the great peace agencies work together and make their influence felt throughout the world.

It might be good to bring in on such an effort the great peacemakers of our day, scattered throughout the religions and the countries of the world. Perhaps, too, the religious could be brought in to support this great effort. I have wondered, for example, about all the good the 150 or so communities of sisters and the many communities of men religious in Nairobi alone could do for Kenya if they collaborated more closely. How powerful an influence for world peace might be the religious of the world in support of the efforts of the agencies Father Christiansen mentions.

Oliver Blanchette, A.A.
Nairobi, Kenya

Hard to Acknowledge

I generally read the columns by John F. Kavanaugh, S.J., sometimes under duress and sometimes with agreement, but always with deep and critical interest. His recent column, Realistic Politics (9/25), was extremely significant and timely. And I assume it was written with a deep degree of disappointment and dismay. The feeling of betrayal by the Republican so-called pro-life crowd was profound and, I sense, perhaps a bit hard to acknowledge. What is important in this article is the recognition that pro-life cannot be simply or exhaustively defined by one’s position on abortion. While Father Kavanaugh correctly notes that the issue of war is critical to this question, he also indicates that the areas of health care, education and economic policies are also equally important in the Catholic social vision and cannot be dismissed in political discussions. I commend him for his essay and his integrity as well as his pledge not to waste another vote.

Thomas A. Shannon
Eagles Mere, Pa.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
17 years 6 months ago
I hope that someone at America is writing an essay on the common themes presented by the Foley and Church sex scandals. In my opinion, the most interesting parallel is the reluctance of the congressional and Church leadership to recognize and aggressively deal with misbehavior by "one of their own." Regards, John Vialet

17 years 6 months ago
I hope that someone at America is writing an essay on the common themes presented by the Foley and Church sex scandals. In my opinion, the most interesting parallel is the reluctance of the congressional and Church leadership to recognize and aggressively deal with misbehavior by "one of their own." Regards, John Vialet

The latest from america

Right there at the cross, in Jesus, our humanity doesn’t fall beyond its edges. Even there, even then, he continues to love. And even in that dense darkness—or loneliness—that he experiences as a human being, he doesn’t let himself forget that he is loved too.
Andriy ZelinskyyMarch 29, 2024
The 12 women whose feet were washed by Pope Francis included women from Italy, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Peru, Venezuela and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"We, the members of the Society of Jesus, continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other territories in Israel/Palestine, spilling over into the surrounding countries of the Middle East."
The Society of JesusMarch 28, 2024
A child wounded in an I.D.F. bombardment is brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on March 25. (AP Photo/Ismael abu dayyah)
While some children have been evacuated from conflict, more than 1.1 million children in Gaza and 3.7 million in Haiti have been left behind to face the rampaging adult world around them.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2024