Catholic Church’s response to sex issues
Re: “Sex and the church,” Dec. 6 guest commentary.
Hats off to Keith Swain for his excellent commentary on the ongoing debacle in the Catholic Church. The church’s recent gay- bashing “instruction” is easily viewed as a smokescreen to ward off additional scrutiny of its legacy and perpetual challenge with pedophile employees. At a minimum, the “instruction” serves as a distraction and psuedo-relief for the average churchgoer, providing them with another policy-driven alleged solution.
Combine Swain’s articulate column with a news story in the same day’s Denver Post (“Ex-altar boy’s kin say faith shaken by abuse”) about yet another lawsuit filed against the Denver Archdiocese for alleged child abuse by priests. Relatives of the most recent alleged victim of pedophilia are quoted as saying that their “faith is shaken to the core.”
But, hey, everything’s good, don’t worry, the Catholic Church has a policy.
This “ostrich syndrome” on behalf of the Catholic Church precludes ethical accountability and responsibility. Catholic Church leaders ask for your prayers. Prayers cannot protect your children. Policies have not protected your children.
One can only hope that the criminal justice system will protect your children.
Bill Christie, Lakewood
A holiday by any other name …
It is both amazing and amusing to listen to the rants of the hysterical fringe of Christians regarding the use of the word “holiday.” Setting aside the fact that other religions have celebrations this time of year, I am wondering why these critics cannot see the obvious. “Holiday,” according to my dictionary – not that one is needed for this simple word – means religious festival or holy day. Is not Christmas a holy day, a religious festival? Where’s the disrespect?
Mark “Doc” Holiday, Centennial
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It’s the thought that counts, right? To me it’s always nice to have somebody wish you happiness, whether it is “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah,” “Happy Holidays” or any other well-intended phrase. We all have different religious beliefs, and people should respect that, but why are we all wound up so tight?
If it’s said with a warm smile and a cheerful tone of voice, it all kind of means the same, doesn’t it?
Raquel LaBriola, Denver
Thinking outside the (ideological) box
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Re: “More of us should think outside the (ideological) box,” Dec. 7 Colorado Voices column.
Hats off to Mark Moe for writing about a very troubling trend in which people in this country tend to think inside very fixed ideological boxes. Moe’s comments are consistent with those of former President Clinton, who recently asked for less hostile political discussions.
For some time, I have been very concerned by the deep divisions caused by the intensity of the political rhetoric in this country, which makes open and honest discussions of differences very difficult. Unfortunately, there are too many “pseudo-liberals” around who subscribe to a fixed set of political agendas but who are not really liberals because they are not capable of thinking outside the box. There are also too many “pseudo-conservatives” around who subscribe to a fixed set of right-wing political agendas but are not really conservatives in the sense that they really believe in conserving.
Noting that Moe is a retired teacher, I can only hope there are many teachers in this country who teach the value of thinking outside the box. I also hope that newspaper columnists will take note of Moe’s way of thinking.
Jim Hoffmeyer, Erie
Redevelopment of Denver’s Gates Rubber site
Re: “Funds pledged for Gates; Denver proposes $85 million to help transform the former rubber plant,” Dec. 12 news story.
Your article describing the proposed funding plan for the redevelopment of the Gates Rubber Co. site is nothing short of amazing. For the record, let’s remember some critical facts:
The redeveloper is a private entity whose sole function is to make profits for the owners of the company. They do this by buying environmentally distressed property at a discount, conducting the cleanup and then remarketing the property at a higher price. The project profit is the difference between these two numbers and is confidential. They determine the extent of this discount by conducting studies to determine the cost range of the cleanup and other forms of due diligence, including insurance that limits their losses, and then attempt to buy the property at a price that ensures profitability.
This is classic private-sector business, and I cannot imagine that the city had any involvement or was even informed about the cost model they used to settle the price and close the deal with the prior owners. Now we’re informed that 37 percent of the pledged $126 million is to go for the cleanup. Is this an indication that the redeveloper seriously underestimated the cleanup costs and now needs to be bailed out, or is there a better explanation? If there is, I certainly hope that Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie will be able to offer it as part of the record that the City Council will hear before agreeing to this proposal.
Steve Haverl, Denver
Replacing Gary Barnett
Re: “African-American Bohn’s best bet,” Dec. 9 Jim Armstrong column.
The University of Colorado’s next football coach must be judged on his coaching and recruiting abilities and his ethics, period. Race should play no factor. If Jim Armstrong is right that CU suffers from an image problem with black athletes, then correct that problem by hiring a fantastic football coach for whom they will want to play, that they know will return CU to a national powerhouse. Great players want to play for great programs – no matter the race of the coach. USC, the top-ranked college footbal team, seems to do just fine with minority players while having a white coach. Base the decision on the next coach on the content of the man’s character and football skills, not his skin color. That will attract far more great players of all races than pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Todd Cason, Lincolnshire, Ill.
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The University of Colorado and the University of Oklahoma have one very important thing in common. OU has a great president in former U.S. Sen. David Boren and CU has President Hank Brown, another former senator. Both have similar backgrounds and qualifications, and are dedicated to their home states.
Several years ago, when Boren took over the helm at Norman, he traveled much of the U.S. visiting with alumni groups. His mission was to raise giving levels. OU was hurting for money. He asked one very simple question: What do you want me to do for OU so that you will give money to the university? In Denver (and probably many of the other cities), one answer was: Give us an athletic program that is good and clean. Boren responded: OK, if I give you such a program, will you give money to the university? The alumni said “yes.”
Boren hired Bob Stoops as football coach. OU started winning and the money came in. Today, OU is prospering, there are new buildings and programs everywhere, and there’s money in the bank.
It can work at CU. Brown should call Boren and discuss Boren’s strategy and seek permission to talk with Stoops – not to hire but to find an OU assistant who is ready to take the helm at CU.
A happy alumnus is a giving alumnus.
Jim Dysart, Centennial
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
For an upcoming edition of the Perspective section, we invite readers to weigh in with their thoughts on the New Year and what might lie ahead. Please answer this question:
What good news do you hope to see happen in 2006?
Limit your replies to 100 words. Topics might include the war in Iraq, immigration, bills in the Colorado legislature, education reform – or whatever you hope will be in the news next year. In the subject line of your letter, please write “2006.”
E-mail: openforum@denverpost.com
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Mail: The Open Forum, The Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver, 80202
