The American Spectator

Your response to George Neumayr’s article about Cardinal Mahony’s latest photo-op are quite unbecoming of a media director of the nation’s second largest, (or is it the largest?) Catholic archdiocese. It is whiny and petulant. Hardly a reasoned, adult assessment of Mr. Neumayr’s remarks.

In any event, I am sure that Mr. Neumayr does not hate air conditioning and indoor plumbing. Of that we can be almost certain. That he “hates” Vatican II and the new liturgy may be a fairly accurate observation. I do as well.

The “sexual abuse situation” is, unfortunately, so serious a matter, that even in the absence of commentary from a “garden variety bandwagoner,” it can scarcely be mitigated or asked to go away. That sexual abusive and pervert priests have fallen momentarily off the front pages in no way indicates that scandal has been resolved. Diocesan media officers like you do their best to paper over the egregiousness and shame, created not by the likes of George Neumayr, et al., but by many of the very prelates and religious whom you serve.

As for “pummel(ling) the church back into the 14th century,” I think, yes, I would prefer that (were it indeed occurring) to the perpetuation of those gross ecumenical enormities arising out of the post-Vatican II 20th century.

I have to disagree with [you], Mr. Tamberg, the “church” will not “continue to reach out to help victims heal.” The “New Church” will continue to lie and obfuscate, having set that ignoble precedent since the scandals first began to break. The latest liar to surface close to home is the Bishop of Phoenix who admitted (probably under much duress) that he had covered over the sexual misdeeds of certain parish priests “for decades.”
— Tim Moore
Watsonville, CA

Tod Tamberg says that George Neumayr believes the Church ought to be put back into the 14th century. Tamberg evidently does not realize that that’s precisely where the Church still is: there is an offshoot of the Church that Tod Tamberg seems comfortable believing is the actual Church, and which he belongs to. Odd, how these spin meisters get wrapped up in such strange opinions. Maybe it’s the pressure of their jobs, that makes them believe they’re living in reality.
— John L. Sillasen

Does this mean that Cardinal Mahony is going to turnover the 31 personnel files? And the Cathedral is ugly.
— Dave Smith

BUYING HILLARY’S BOOK
Re: Francis X. Rocca Living Herstory:

It’s a political contribution, no different from the buyers of Jim Wright’s quasi-book. It’ll be so interesting reading the reviews in the liberal press.
— Kit Winterer
Beaufort, SC
(recently moved from CT partly to escape that extreme liberalism of that state. I can’t understand how those ultra-rich can be members of the rich-hating party!)

The book is only 562 pages? Too bad. If it was 762 pages, I would have bought it for a doorstop.
— Mike Webster
Dallas, Texas

HILLARY’S BIG GULP
Re: Enemy of the Week’s Intimations of Intimacy:

Lord, love us (can I say that and still be P.C.?), little missy Hillary is at it again. Gulping, screaming, so angry she wanted to strangle him. Hey, wait a minute! Is that not how it usually is with them, aside from the photo-op’s of them standing holding hands? They are really quite strange people. They are like ants at a picnic, you know they will turn up, rustling about trying to get their (and others) share of the goodies; they do not seem able to see themselves in their behavior as being teenage troublemakers, you know the ones I mean, the wildly popular in the “in group” who have to be the center of attention all the time.

I am not buying the book and I am not watching Barbara do her happy little “are we not just great gals” act as I might, just might have to hear Hillary actually say the words, ” I gulped, I couldn’t breathe” and if so I will ruin my television set by throwing something at it. It has become a joke, as it should be, but hey it is only funny the first five hundred times. Heck, I woke up last night and couldn’t breathe, I had to gulp for air, it was awful! Then I realized It was from a nightmare. There stood Hillary as the president, with a smirking Bill behind her and people were cheering! So I soothed myself, I curled up in the fetal position and kept repeating this mantra. “it can not happen, It can not happen, It can not ever happen.” I finally fell asleep.

Well, cheer up, we have the movie to look forward to in 2004, and Sharon Stone is supposed to be the actress to play her. It should be a delight!
— Carole

FASTEN YOUR FARM BELT
Re: Jeremy Lott’s Crash Test Dummies: