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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

LETTERS
March 2005

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A VERY TOLERANT SCHOOL

I just received my February issue of Faith and was surprised to see that our school was in it! [See "A Cupertino Public School Teacher," News Shorts.] As a parent of two children in the school, I would just like to help set the record straight. The district and the principal cannot discuss the issue because they're part of the lawsuit. The parents, however, have organized themselves into a grassroots group called We, The Parents to help our community see the true face of this amazing school that ranks among the top two percent in the state, even though we're in one of the lowest funded school districts.

We have created a website and would encourage all to see it: www.stevenscreekparents.org. In it you will see pictures of the Declaration of Independence where it always has been, in the library, and it is also printed in its entirety on page R-20 of the history book used by all our fifth grade teachers, approved by the district and the state. You can also see pictures of our Christmas program at the kindergarten where I was invited to go talk about the story of Christmas (interesting request coming from a public school accused of "expunging" the Christian religion, don't you think?) as well as some of the posters of the Golden Rule all over the school. You may also note pictures of the superb Living History Days program, unique to our school, where our children participate hands-on in the learning of the history of our nation.

As a result of some reports about this lawsuit, we were the target of over 3,000 hostile messages that brought about extra policing of our school and much stress in our families. I would hope that true Christians would not engage in such practices and would try to learn the other side of an issue before endangering the safety of children and staff. Please help us to disseminate the truth about what really goes on at the very tolerant school that is Stevens Creek Elementary.

Nathalie Schuler Ferro,
Cupertino

FATHER CORRAL'S WEAK DEFENSE

Father Robert Corral's letter ["Inaccurate, Skewed, And Malicious," January Letters] is very disappointing. It is confusing when a Dominican friar who is trained in Thomistic philosophy writes like a subversive protester trained in hate speech. Damaging words, such as "profoundly misleading," "grossly unfair," and "egregious half truths" appear about 15 times. The letter is a weak defense of an organization that has been exposed for its lack of faith and lack of moral accountability.

The Dominicans and other religious organizations that rebel against the pope are described perfectly in the Old Testament by Ezekiel (34:2), who writes, "woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves. Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?" Here's what Ezekiel is talking about: instead of renting space in the priory to the retired schismatics in the Applied School of Theology, why not fill the priory with young, orthodox men with vocations to the priesthood of Jesus Christ? Rather than saying, "[T]hese men have been removed from.any contact with minors," why not be honest with the parents in the area and tell them that there are criminal sex offenders in the house and they walk past your house to go to the store? And instead of personally attacking the writer of a Catholic newspaper, why not encourage your bright young friars to write articles for the Faith and learn editing skills from the Faith's talented staff? After all, the goal of the Dominican Order, according to your Charter of Fulk (1215, Toulouse), is "to root out the corruption of heresy" and "to teach the creed." And instead of complaining about how your image is perceived by the readers of a newspaper, why not thank the writers of Faith for their honest and well-researched critique and acknowledge the truth in their report? We both know that the Dominican Order is bigger and more venerable than the San Francisco Faith; so why not act like it? Pat the Faith on the back, tell them they are doing a great job, and admit publicly that there is a homosexual problem within the order. Be virtuous and promise the readers that the Dominincan vocations committees in the future will be guided by the 1961 Instruction from Pope John XXIII, which states, "advancement to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers."

Peter Seila
received via e-mail

DESPICABLE AND ODIOUS

In [November] 2004 you published an article about the Dominicans ["Soft Men"] that was so despicable and odious in its content as to be more than slanderous.

I have been a Lay Dominican for 51 years but have never read in any so-called Catholic paper by lay persons, such lies and distortions that my rational mind became stultified. Your horrific prejudice towards the Dominican Order leaves me no choice but to demand that you stop any and all newspapers from every again entering my mailbox.

You have not humiliated the Dominicans, but your arrogance and slander have made me realize that just saying Catholic is not enough nowadays. When you slander a Dominican, you slander the Church!

Joan Ison, OPL
St. Albert's College

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