Letters to the editor

Re: El Ignaciano Septiembre 2025 

From Helio Gonzalez on 2025-08-28 18:01

Alfredo, Alberto, Sixto,Tony...

Acabo de leer el Editorial de El Ignaciano (septiembre de 2025)

No sólo han demostrado la valentía y el conocimiento de la DSI, tal y como ya nos tienen acostumbrados, sino que lo han hecho en un momento muy necesario, para precisar la función que como cristianos tenemos de presentar los valores que Cristo quiere que vivamos en la sociedad en que vivimos.

Muchas gracias. Con el afecto de siempre.

Helio

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On Aug 30, 2025, at 2:13 AM, Luis Gutierrez <gutierrez@ncf.ca> wrote:

This sounds appealing:

A Theology of Flourishing: The Fullness of Life for all Creation
Paul J. Schutz, Orbis Books, 25 June 2025
https://orbisbooks.com/collections/new-titles-spring-2026/products/creaturely-flourishing-a-new-theology-of-creation

Impressive body of bilingual work.  But is using images of patriarchal religious palaces conducive to fostering social/ecological justice?

This is an honest question.  What about using images like this one?

One Sacred Community
Sister Mary Southard CSJ, Ministry of the Arts 
https://ministryofthearts.org/

Luis Gutierrez

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

03/02/25

On interpersonal relationships by Jorge Rodriguez, too abstract for my taste.  What about concrete interpersonal relationships between men and women?  Is religious patriarchy a matter of faith?  What about patriarchal gender ideology?  What about distorted male/female relationships under religious patriarchy?  What about the ordination of women?  As long as these fundamental issues are not reconsidered, no amount of abstract pontifications on interpersonal relationships have much meaning in a post-patriarchal world.  Consider: https://pelicanweb.org/CCC.TOB.html

Luis Gutiérrez

08/31/24
Congratulations for the selection of issues, articles and studies.

Fr. Marcelino, S.J.

08/02/24
Good content, a bit too orthodox for my taste, too much on concepts, not much on biophysical realities.  Sooner or later, both religious and secular concepts must be reconciled with biophysical realities, or must 'evolve.'

Luis Gutiérrez

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Buen esfuerzo. Gracias a todos. AMDG

Juan Manuel Salvat Roque

Ediciones Universal

Eloísa Echazábal / Email 06/19/24

Elena Muller Garcia’s review of Gronbeck-Tedesco’s book on Operation Pedro Pan made me re-think issues that come up when discussing this historical event so close to the heart of us, Pedro Pans. One of the subjects that comes up is the connection between the CIA and the development of our Pedro Pan exodus. My parents, as well as my aunts and uncles, made the decision to send me, my sister and cousins out of Cuba, as soon as the Catholic and all private schools were closed by the government, so the Communist ideology could be taught at the public schools to all the Cuban children. To my family, these events were enough to realize that the government’s plan was to manage the education and future of the youth, without parental authorization. They didn’t have to see a document about “patria potestad” because in practice that was already happening and, from Elena’s writing, it seems to me that Elena’s parents felt the same way. In an interview which FIU Professor Miguel Gonzalez Pando conducted with Msgr. Bryan Walsh, Msgr. Walsh, among other topics, spoke about the CIA involvement. In my notes I have that Msgr. Walsh said, “governments do not make humanitarian decisions, they make political and economic decisions— if their interest matched our interest, so what.” Regarding abuses of Pedro Pan minors which is mentioned in the book, I feel this is a very sad situation, but also realize that that problem has existed since the world became world, and that, sadly, it will continue existing, that it was not only a Pedro Pan issue.

Eloísa Echazábal – arrived in the U.S. as a Pedro Pan on September 6, 1961

Fernando Fernán Hernández / Facebook

Querida Elena… disfruté mucho tu artículo, te felicito de todo corazón. Nuestra historia es única y cada uno tiene su perspectiva…hasta hoy no he encontrado un PP que lamenta haber llegado vía la OPP.

Abrazos hermana.

This is a very beautiful and thought-provoking essay for all who care for the elderly.
Peggy Krolczyk Skantar 

Thanks for this article. It means a lot to me. I helped with the care of my elderly parents and now I am caring for my husband. It is not an easy task and it is often very frustrating. Luckily my sons help some and now I have a person who helps me twice a week with housework and caring of my granddaughter. It is a task that does not get easier, on the contrary it gets worse with the passage of time. It is only my faith that keeps me going in spite of my age and health issues.
Lourdes Blanco López

Yes, a very beautiful essay - recently a friend died, after years of decline, with dementia of some origin. Her husband took such loving care of her through this, but I always felt that she felt confused, and knew she was a burden, but not quite how or why. I lived also through my husband's physical decline - he was decades older than I. I know one of the most hurtful things was the sense that his usefulness was gone, that he didn't matter anymore. I knew that was not true, he advocated passionately for justice almost up to the very end, but he felt it in the absence of friends, in a sense of irrelevance. I wish everyone could read this essay.
Jill Hanson 

I read this a few days ago and sent it to my family. I was so edified reading it and it spoke volumes to my situation. I forgot to “like” or thank you for this important post. Because of post-polio syndrome I’m now in need of a caregiver. My beloved, wonderful husband takes care of me with love and protecting my dignity. It’s been difficult for me considering that I worked as a psychotherapist/ Social Worker for almost 40 years. I was also devoted to raising our daughters, volunteering at their school and for 14 years being part of the RCIA team. Now sometimes I feel that I’m non-productive and it’s hard to feel worthwhile at times. My husband and daughters assure me that I am much needed for my love, advice, prayers and wisdom. So I’m grateful for this reflection that reminded me that I am “worth more than many sparrows.” 
Alina Sierra Sedlander

Dr. Morgan,
I have read with great interest your excellent article "Worth More than Many Sparrows" published in the September edition of El Ignaciano. I commend you on the way you juxtapose theology and doctrine with the reality of our everyday life.  That has really touched me and several friends with whom I shared it. I thank you for your excellent article. 

I have a question regarding the grey areas of artificially prolonging life which you point out towards the end of the section on Financial Considerations in Long Term Care:

«It must be noted that Catholic tradition upholds the law of “double effect” (EV, 67) as well as affirming that there is no obligation to use artificial means of prolonging life when there is no reasonable hope for a positive outcome (EV, 65). What constitutes artificial means is easily identified as feeding tubes and airway intubation. But the problem lies in the grey areas of what is to be defined as “artificial means” and what is to be defined as “basic healthcare”».

I personally believe that feeding tubes and airway intubation are artificial means.  Is that the Catholic moral tradition? The famous Terry Schiavo case involved the removal of the feeding tube that provided her with nourishment and hydration.  I remember during the seven years that the case was litigated hearing many of my Respect Life friends (all Catholic) say that it would be morally wrong to remove the tube.  I also remember hearing references to an explanation given by Msgr. William Smith, a well-known moral theologian, either referring to that case or similar ones. It went something like this: since the tube carries water and food, which are natural elements and necessary for keeping a person alive, its use is not an artificial means of prolonging life. 

Is there an official Catholic stance on this? As I said before, personally I believe that it falls under artificial (because the means of providing the food and water is artificial). And I would be relieved to know that that is the official Catholic stance.
Elena Muller García (09-02-23)

Elena,
I am so honored that you read my article and have assessed it positively as well as given rise to such crucial questions.  I well remember the Terri Schiavo case, as well as the Quinlan and Cruzan case and, as you can see from the article, Catholic teaching wavers back and forth, sometimes according to the bishops, and once, according to the Vatican (see Cor Unum in 1981 and the document in 2007 that implicitly condemned the withdrawal of the feeding tube from Terri Schiavo).  I quoted Evangelium Vitae in my article, and the CCC basically re-affirms Evangelium Vitae's statement.  Both are brief and seemingly clear.  I also remember, way, way back when I was in High School, the issue of the law of double effect that was the teaching of Pius XII.  The seemingly contradictory decisions are confusing.   I think most of us, in our living wills, state that we do not want feeding tubes or breathing tubes if there is no reasonable hope for a positive outcome.  

I look forward to your response and your help.  End of life issues are complicated and it is difficult to obtain clarity and preciseness in the answers provided.

Thank you again for your words, I value them deeply,
María Teresa (09-05-23)

María Teresa,
In the nineties the Florida Catholic Conference asked me to write a brochure with Guidelines for the Medical Treatment of the Terminally Ill.  I remember the difficulty I had writing it: precisely because of the back and forth which you describe.

I had had a similar feeling in the late seventies when I was writing my research paper on the Model of the Church as Sacrament to complete my Master in Religious Studies at Barry University.  Even though I was not dealing with a moral issue, I sensed a back and forth in the doctrine on ecclesiology.  I was then using the late Avery Dulles Models of the Church as the main reference. 

It was only recently, last year to be exact, while I was teaching a class on Vatican II that I came to terms with that back and forth in church doctrine.  Edward P. Hannenberg, in his introduction to A Concise Guide to the Documents of Vatican II lists seven principles to guide our reading of the documents. The second principles is: “Be as inclusive as the Council. In an effort to achieve as great a consensus as possible, the bishops at Vatican II frequently chose to include competing points of view rather than exclude one side or the other.”  And he adds: “Thus the Council was comfortable allowing a diversity of voices to speak.” I now think that the back and forth that I detected in the seventies and the nineties results from the inclusive nature of the Catholic Church which is well evidenced in the documents of Vatican II. 
Elena (09-06-23)

Good morning dear friends,
The latest guidelines re: artificial and ordinary means:  Samaritanus Bonus. From CDF, issued on 09/22/2020
Re:  feeding tubes:  They use words like "proportionate," so it looks like discernment is needed on a case by case basis.  
Have a wonderful day.
María Teresa (09-07-23)