Letters to the Editor
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Have we become like Nazi Germany?
The dual atrocities committed in Nazi Germany are being repeated in “The Good Old U.S.A.” In Nazi Germany, the first groups annihilated were the lame and mentally ill. Germany’s war with Poland necessitated a need for hospital beds, and the lame and mentally ill patients were moved to vacant castles. There, they were left to starve to death. As the killing of the handicapped went unchallenged, Hitler next targeted a second “unwanted” group and murdered more than 6 million Jews.
Here, in the Unites States, the sequence has been flip-flopped. Our initial atrocity was the sanction of the killing of the unborn. This has resulted in the killing of more than 45 million little persons who have been denied their right of equal protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
Our country has now reverted to Germany’s first atrocities, and has targeted the lame and the mentally ill. Florida state courts now claim jurisdiction to decide which innocent persons shall live and which shall die.
There is a caveat to be learned from the war trials in Nuremberg, Germany. When one is guilty of crimes against humanity, it is not an adequate defense to claim that there was a constitutional right for taking the lives of innocent persons. Not all of those people who were hanged at Nuremberg were in the military.
The U.S. Supreme Court committed fraud in Roe vs. Wade when they defined the word “person” in the 14th Amendment. No persons, not even justices of the Supreme Court, are above the law, and when Americans finally wake up and learn that they have been had, someone will have to pay the piper.
-Paul S. Collignon, Indianapolis
The Church needs to return to the basics
I can’t help but respond to the column written by Father Eugene Henrick in the March 11 edition of The Criterion (Young Catholic adults and Vatican II.) Although I read it several times, I was quite puzzled by the message he was trying to convey.
My wife and I are both young adults with five young children and have studied the history of our faith and have come to a basic conclusion. The faith prior to Vatican II was centered on truly “worshiping” God. The entire faith, including the so-called “old Mass,” was about the God the father. It wasn’t all about us. It wasn’t about forming a “feel good” community. The Church was a vibrant, legitimate community celebrating the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Over the course of hundreds of years the Mass was a true sacrifice as God intended. The so-called “old Mass” was not an outdated practice of uncivilized, uncultured, uneducated peasants. Just like the Bible, the sacrifice of the Mass was timeless. Practiced as Catholics, the universal Church had a common culture throughout the world. The true presence of Christ in the Eucharist was respected and revered.
The Church prior to Vatican II was not an isolationist organization. The Church was vibrant and principled. Vatican II broke a basic and simple common law of any organization. In the spirit of trying to be all things to all people, the Church lost its identity and focus on what was really important. The focus is not us, it is Christ, and in the Father we will find eternal happiness.
The so-called “old practices and traditions” of the past were put into place because wise men, inspired by God, created the traditions that dealt with the human condition.
If you want to see the results of “embracing the modern world,” open your eyes.
You will see a community unfamiliar with their faith, weak shepherds without staffs, and a scattered flock and sheep that are begging to be led.
We need to return to truly worshiping the Father as he deserves. We need to show him respect as a father is to be respected. We need to return to the basics and return to the table of the Last Supper.
When you go to Mass next Sunday, please observe what is taking place. Are you worshiping? Do you truly believe Christ is in your presence? Are you witnessing a sacrifice?
-Matthew Dole, St. Leon