The following letters to the editor appear in the edition of Sept. 18, 2003. Letters appearing in this space do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arlington Catholic Herald or the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. The editor reserves the right to edit letters as necessary. There is no guarantee of publication. Send letters to: letters@catholicherald.com.

Illogical Taxes

Why should the poorest 20 percent of Virginians shoulder a heavier tax burden than the richest 20 percent? They shouldn’t. And yet, the way Virginia’s tax code stands today, this is exactly the situation. The richest Virginians have seen their income levels rise by 62 percent between the late 1970s and late 1990s. In comparison, the poorest Virginians have seen their incomes rise by less than half that amount (28 percent) over the same period.

Strangely, the wealthy actually pay a smaller percentage of their income in state and local taxes than anyone else in the state. Middle-class Virginians should also be concerned with inequity. They too pay more of their income in taxes than the wealthy. Like the poor, however, they have experienced a much smaller increase in income levels over the last 20 years.

By adjusting Virginia’s income tax structure to more fairly represent our state’s wealth distribution, Virginia could capture more tax revenue while at the same time easing the tax burden on poor and middle class families. It is high time that Virginia shifts a greater portion of the tax burden onto those who can afford it most and off those who can afford it least.

David Barish
Charlottesville

The Unabashed Bashed

While movies and the media bash Catholicism and Catholics sit unabashed, a form of persecution acceptable in democracies is mounting. In Canada, there are now laws against speaking openly against homosexuality. Will there soon be others concerning re-marriage, cohabitation and abortion, all in the name of civility? In India and many countries dominated by the Orthodox religion, there are laws against trying to convert someone to Catholicsm, and here in the U.S., we find that laws are being considered requiring breaking the seal of confession, requiring schools to provide birth control devices and requiring all doctors and hospitals to perform abortions in order to be licensed. Good Catholics are no longer considered eligible for judgeships. While we sleep, only the lay-run Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights protests.

Frederick A. Costello
Herndon

An Episcopalian View on Robinson

As an active, life-long Episcopalian, I would like to comment on George Weigel’s commentary, "The Implication Behind Gene Robinson" (ACH 9/11/03). For the most part, I agree with the author’s point of view, especially the points made about the structure of the Anglican Church that allowed even the idea of openly homosexual clergy making it as far as it did, and the decisions made by the Episcopalian Council of Bishops having implications far beyond the confines of the Anglican Communion. I believe many of the consequences of this unfortunate decision have yet to be realized.

Several weeks ago, I read a letter in your paper predicting many conversions to the Roman Catholic Church by disgruntled Episcopalians. There may be some but in my parish church, which is very politically and religiously conservative, I have heard no one mention this option. My wife of twenty-nine years is Roman Catholic and through the years both of us have become politically conservative and also consider ourselves to be religiously conservative. Friends from her parish church have tried to convince me to "convert" to Roman Catholicism and from time to time I have considered doing so, but in the end, have always decided against it. Why would I stay with a "liberal" religion when I have become conservative? Well, I have reasons.

One reason is that neither religious denomination is, in my view, perfect. As an outsider, I have observed things on the "Roman" side that I consider imperfect and to elaborate on them in this letter would serve no purpose. I have heard it said that: "From the day one joins a religion that they think is perfect, it becomes less than perfect." Suffice it to say that one does not just change religious affiliations as easily as voting habits, and I, like most of your readers, value the traditions that are part of my religious growth, and I am reluctant to part with them.

The Anglican Church does have some sordid events in its history and I agree with the author that the actions of Henry VIII were evil. His actions alone; however, are not the only factors of Anglican history; there are other reasons as well for the establishment of the Church of England. For example, England at the time was physically separated from mainland Europe and Rome thus requiring a separate Church. Be that as it may, there is no living Episcopalian responsible for the actions of Henry VIII, just as there is no living Roman Catholic responsible for the evil actions of some priests in the middle ages that triggered the Protestant Reformation. Christians of any denomination can find things in their Church’s past of which they are not particularly proud.

A close friend from my wife’s parish again asked me when I was going to become "Roman." I asked him that if his church had just made a similar decision would he: immediately find another denomination to convert to; or stay within the church and do what he could to convince the leaders to correct their errors. As I expected, he chose the latter.

I ask your readers then, to pray for the Anglican Communion, especially the Episcopal Church in America, and to realize that if some of us decide to remain Anglican it does not mean we agree with the decisions of our Bishops; it means that we may have chosen that latter course of action.

Don Barnett
Woodbridge

Catholic Colleges in Bad Shape

The article "Catholic Colleges Ranked among Best in Nation" (ACH 9/4/03) sounds as if American Catholic colleges are in great shape. It lists, to name a few, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and Boston College.

Your article doesn’t mention that in 1990, Pope John Paul II issued the document, "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" (From the Heart of the Church), to recognize the mutual relationship that exists between the Church and teachers of theological disciplines in Catholic colleges and universities. "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" is applied to these teachers by the local bishop granting them a mandatum. On June 15, 2001, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued "Guidelines Concerning the Academic Mandatum in Catholic Universities."

The mandatum is acknowledgment by Church authority that a Catholic professor of a theological discipline is teaching in agreement with the pope and magisterium. A mandatum attests that "as a professor of a Catholic theological discipline, I am committed to teaching authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting gforth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’s magisterium." All Catholics who teach Catholic theological disciplines in a Catholic university are required by the USCCB to have a mandatum.

In Aug. the National Catholic Register listed the schools that are in compliance with the USCCB with respect to the mandatum. Unfortunately, only Creighton University in Omaha appears on both lists. We think this means that American Catholic colleges are in terrible shape.

Clare K. and William J. Richter Jr.
Charleston, S.C.

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