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Contents © 1999
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

LETTERS
JANUARY 2000

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USF NOT AN INTERFAITH SCHOOL

The newsbrief "USF an Interfaith School" in your November issue implies that Catholic students at USF have no place to worship. A cursory visit to our campus would demonstrate a rather different reality. Apparently your reporter missed the new and beautifully appointed Blessed Sacrament Chapel which adjoins the Interfaith Chapel on Lone Mountain, failed to visit the Chapel of Our Lady of Montserrat at Loyola Hall on Lone Mountain, and did not have time to visit the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier on the main campus. One wonders, moreover, how the reporter managed to overlook the historic centerpiece of USF, St. Ignatius Church, which seats 1,200 worshippers. A 40 seat Interfaith Chapel is hardly a threat to our Catholic identity. It serves, rather, as a reminder that God dwells first in the hearts of all people of good will before He dwells in any house of cedar. I hope you, your reporter, and your readers will visit our campus soon. I would be happy to give you a tour of the aforementioned chapels, as well as the new Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe that will be dedicated in St. Ignatius Church on her feastday, December 12, and the recently erected shrine of St. Ignatius in the same church.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Thomas Lucas S.J.
San Francisco


WHERE WERE THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS?

Finally I have found the courage to address myself to an editor of a paper I do care about and as an "old Catholic". Thanks very much for the good reporting of the good happenings, although to me and my wife of 48 years it seems so strange that we have to read all this fuss and debating about our Holy Mother Church and her teachings. In our last paper, San Francisco Faith of December 99, we read with pleasure and hope about the wonderful Show the Truth tour [abortion protest]. What courage and faith those participants must have, I will say my next rosary for their good work and will ask our Blessed Mother to look after them. But my question is: Where were all those members of the Knights of Columbus? I am a Knight, have been for many years, in fact, I am a member of the color corps. Why are we so silent? Next question for our brother knights: Are you now willing to defend the Holy Father in his new directive to all the Catholic teaching institutions to "get in line" or else? No, I do not think so, the Knights of Columbus organization's only concern is the insurance branch -- the rest is lip talk. I have experienced this when the University of Santa Clara appointed an ex-nun married to an ex-priest to be the head of the theology department. I still have my letters of correspondence on file between some of us and our bishop's council in San Jose. When I made a request to start a faith discussion program this was denied by the officers [of the bishop's council] as well as using the monthly newsletter as a means of communication to keep our faith alive.

May the Blessed Mother watch over you,

Jan W. Nijssen, Sr.
Rathdrum, Idaho


WE NEED TO LISTEN TO THE CHURCH

Selling baby parts for research and making babies in the laboratory for research, or to put in women's wombs, has raised many eyebrows recently. Many of our problems are the result of a contracepting society. Giving contraceptives to teens as well adults has degraded the meaning of sexual intercourse to a "for pleasure only" act instead of the special bonding of a married couple. It has created an anything goes attitude in the realm of sex and separated intercourse from procreation. We have caused an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases and brought on AIDS. We have made it easy for husbands and wives to cheat on each other, leading to an increase in divorce and single parent families.

Programs that teach chastity for teens have begun to slightly reduce the number of abortions. You don't get pregnant if you don't have sex -- chastity works every time. It also avoids the heartbreaks which occur when you think someone really loves you and then you find out that there is no love at all. An answer to the problem of contraception lies in the new methods of natural family planning that work very well for married couples planning their family. We need a change of heart and an openness to guide lines that work. We need to listen to the Church.

Gloria Gillogley,
San Mateo

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