Debacle continues

Dear Editor,

Isn’t it sad that our country has reached the depths of depravity under this administration?

The southern border is unsecure and without a doubt potential terrorists have gotten into this country; we don’t know the numbers or locations, but one can be assured they are someplace within our borders. Many have been caught, but it’s logical to assume that some have managed to infiltrate our nation. We are learning now that the northern border is being breached, as well. We have become a country without borders, which is definitely a recipe for disaster.

Our children are being indoctrinated in the most dangerous ways to themselves and to our country. Parents are being left out of basic decisions that are meant to protect their children as the family unit is torn apart by the leftist progressives.

The Biden family through Hunter have shown their complicity and collusion with foreign entities; now President Joe Biden is implicated in mishandling of classified documents dating back to the days he was a senator. What is the implication in this situation??

The justice system is broken; it has become politicized and is in the pocket of the democrat/socialist party. The partiality shown to this party was made apparent when the existence of Hunter Biden’s laptop and its damaging contents was known by the DOJ but not shared by the mainstream media before the 2020 election; the misplaced documents were not publicized until after the 2022 midterm election. What used to be honest is deceitful now; the trust in elections has been diminished. The democrats cry about saving democracy as they dismantle our country at their leisure.

At some point someone must state the “impeach” word. The Biden administration has done nothing to unite this country; he has done just the opposite of what he said he’d do, and the divisive unrest speaks volumes here and abroad.

Biden has botched and bungled the position of leadership he wanted for so long, and the citizens of this country are paying the price of his ineptness. He has no interest in controlling spending, just reckless creation of more debt that is spiraling our country into chaos. Two more years of this debacle are hard to imagine. Hopefully, after those two years he will be a “former” president, leaving someone else to clean up the mess that has been created.

Norma Bankoske,

Warren

Praise for Benedict

Dear Editor,

Marc Thiessen, in his article in the Jan. 5 Warren Times Observer, joins with other conservative Catholics who have complained about what they call the “confusion” of Pope Francis’ pastoral style. However, as noted by Michael Sean Winters, writing in The National Catholic Reporter, “What conservative voices miss is that for all the differences of style and approach, all popes do their best to articulate a Catholic response to the challenges of their times, not a liberal or conservative one. Such continuity can be clearly seen in Catholic Social teaching. For example, “Benedict’s” Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) provides a clear bridge from John Paul II’s cautions about unfettered capitalism and Francis’s exposing structures of inequality and exclusion.”

Anthony Annett, author of Cathonomics: How Catholic Tradition Can Create a More Just Economy, said Americans need to appreciate Benedict’s past as a person who grew up in postwar Germany to understand his perspective.

Annett also sees Benedict’s contributions to social teaching as paving the way for Francis. “Benedict was steeped in Catholic social teaching and in many ways paved the way for Francis,” Annett said. “We can see this in two ways.

First, Benedict’s environmentalism — he was known as ‘the green pope’ — set the scene for Laudato Si’ (On Care For Our Common Home). And in Caritas in Veritate, Benedict argued that economic life must be seasoned by fraternity and gratuitousness — a theme developed by Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship). Overall, Caritas in Veritate’s call for a reimagining of the economic order is radical in the truest sense of that word.”

University of San Diego theology professor Victor Carmona highlights a different aspect of Benedict’s legacy.

“Although Benedict XVI’s legacy is complex, his writings contributed a helpful remedy to heal some of the effects of the culture wars that have seeped into the life of the church in the U.S. His constant affirmation of secularity — the rightful autonomy of the political sphere from the ecclesiastical one — offered an essential ground for making faith-based claims in defense of human rights, particularly those of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers,” said Carmona.

The connections between Benedict and Francis go beyond Catholic social teaching. At his new website, On Polity & Faith, political philosopher Stephen Schneck argues that Francis relies heavily on Benedict’s interpretation of modernity.

All popes, starting with Leo XIII, have raised some of the same concerns about modern notions of individual autonomy and state overreach.

For example, consider this papal quote: “While the poor of the world continue knocking on the doors of the rich, the world of affluence runs the risk of no longer hearing those knocks, on account of a conscience that can no longer distinguish what is human.” Which pope said it? Benedict, in Caritas in Veritate.

In short, conservatives distort Benedict’s record. Yes, Benedict and Francis are different people with different backgrounds and experiences. First and foremost, however is their shared Catholic faith. Both are supporters and promoters of Vatican II, and the reform it brought to the Church.

Neil Himber,

Youngsville

Where darkness lies

Dear Editor,

Newton’s Third Law states, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law applies not only to the material and chemical but to the spiritual as well. An example is as light advance’s the darkness recede’s at the same speed and when light recede’s darkness advances at the same speed.

Jesus said in John 8:12. “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,but shall have the light of life. (KJV) Sixty years ago the light began to dim as the Bible was removed from the public schools. Shortly thereafter moral values took a downward spiral as promiscuous sexual activity increased the spread of STDs, and the recreational use of drugs sky rocketed, pushing both to near epidemic proportions.

The light continued to dim as “Christmas” displays and the Ten Commandments were banded from public property. The Ten Commandments and a carving of Moses remain in the Supreme Court, even though the court raely follows them. With a void being created by the removal of light, the ancient God’s Baal, Molech, Ishtar and their minions moved into the void.

Like ancient Israel our leadership has turned against the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whom this nation was dedicated too by our founding fathers. And like ancient Israel our leaders began endorsing sin on a national scale. They have tried to disguising these sins and immorality as supporting love and healthcare. After being sworn in our first President George Washington gave a prophetic warning to this new found nation. In essence he warned, “if America ever turned away from God and His eternal Laws, its blessings would be removed.”

Basically 85% of the House of Representatives and Senate profess to be Christians, but look at the positions they take and vote for. Jesus said in Matthew 7:20, “therefore by their fruits you shall know them.” Also in the Book of Isaiah the word of the Lord says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”

But like fireflies on a dark summer’s night there are beacons of light flashing all around this nation and they are growing in intensity. Remember that light can expel darkness, but darkness cannot expel light. That battle was won at the cross.

James A. Gillette Jr.,

Clarendon