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The opinions expressed don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors. Letters must be signed and include the writer’s full address and daytime phone number. Names will be withheld from publication upon request. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for length, clarity, and style.
I enjoyed reading the soliloquy in the voice of Robert E. Lee by Fr. Byron Miller in the September issue. As a Northern transplant who has lived in the deep South and now resides in Virginia, I found his approach clever and nicely done. In bringing the statue of Lee to life, Fr. Miller reminded readers of the complexity of the human person and the wider expanse of issues that led to the Civil War. I especially liked the question he posed at the end about polarities regarding current disparities. To be sure, disordered thinking is not limited to bygone eras. When rancor, be it righteous or otherwise, is concentrated solely on the past, we are at risk of negating the lessons they can teach us today. The article offers much to think and pray about.
Barbara H., VA
Two pieces of content in the September edition of Liguorian left me puzzled and disappointed. The first is Fr. Byron Miller’s “letter” by Robert E. Lee. I wasn’t at all clear about the intent of publishing it. Was it a defense of Robert E. Lee in light of the ongoing conversation about public Confederate statues and their removal, which has caused so much discord lately?
My second issue is with an advertisement, prominently positioned on the inside back cover, for a book titled Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay. While I realize this isn’t a Liguori publication, its appearance in the magazine, in my opinion, is a tacit endorsement. I interpreted the “ex-gay” kind of thinking relayed in the ad endorsements as both damaging and dangerous. This type of thinking has been discredited repeatedly, and books like this set us back decades in the pastoral care of gay men in the Catholic Church. As someone who grew up in a Redemptorist parish and has deep ties to their community, I find these messages to be inconsistent with the Redemptorist values and mission I have come to know.
David P., CA