Correspondence
CANZIO, WILLIAM DI & EVANS, MICHAEL A. & GALLO, RICHARD J.
CORRESPONDENCE Silly putty New Haven, Conn. To the Editors: I'm embarrassed (and amused) by a typo on page 412 of my essay "An Encounter with Lady Poverty" [July 13]. My manuscript reads: "the...
...Unfortunately there is a mentality that values privacy and independence over the accountability enforced by outside evaluation...
...As our editorial said, the unfortunate result was to divert attention from Cardinal O'Connor's commendable and partly successful effort to teach why abortion is wrong.why abortion is wrong...
...To the Editors: In your commentary on Cardinal O'Connor's pastoral essay [July 13], the stark reality of 1.4 million abortions a year in this country was unfortunately lost from sight...
...Our apologies to Mr...
...Wistful putty...
...I should have italicized putti, which is Italian-and English, too, I thought, by acquisition-for those plump little kids who have been cavorting through Western art, lo, these many centuries...
...di Canzio...
...The tradition may not have universal acceptance but it is essentially sound...
...The uses of oversight Anderson, Calif...
...My manuscript reads: "the bronze putti in their fountain in the court were glis-tening and wistful...
...But these are grown men and women...
...The frequently expressed fear of "government interference" is more often a cover for personal empire-building than a lesson drawn from experience...
...The printed text says: "the bronze putty in the fountain in the court was glistening and wistful...
...RICHARD J. GALLO The editors reply: Most U.S...
...The child in the womb is the most defenseless of all human beings-and the most marginal, the most expendable, according to some modern pseudo-ethicists...
...In his Ethics, that unique, sound, and refreshingly undogmatic book, Aristotle wrote that nowhere else but in human nature can rights be rationally and securely grounded...
...He offered modest suggestions for select groups: parents, educators, religious, educators, political workers, and health-care, legal, and media professionals...
...Of bronze, no less...
...For precisely these reasons, it was wholly predictable that coverage of the pastoral would focus on the section discussing ecclesiastical penalties (which comprises not sixty-five but nearly seven hundred words...
...He gave a reasoned, calm presentation, ending with reflections on the nature of Christian love...
...Some of them harbor an anti-Catholic bias as well...
...WILLIAM di canzio From the Editors: Cavorters, yes, and mischief-makers as well, those puttis...
...MICHAEL A. EVANS Wrong emphasis East Islip, N.Y...
...Each time a scandal erupts, it does immense damage to the many legitimate and effective agencies that serve the needy...
...Curiously, you seem to have accepted the media "spin" on his work, playing up the sixty-five-word sentence about excommunication of politicians who publicly become abortion advocates, while ignoring the other 19,000 words...
...O'Connor's essay addressed the abortion issue in terms of the twenty-three most commonly asked questions about abortion...
...You ignored the media's biases as well, and even the clear manifestations of blatantly bigoted Catholic-bashing that took place...
...At a time when the United States, for good or ill, is the lead society for cultural change, your lack of clarity was distressing...
...The usual requirement of a certified audit calls on us to disclose how our funds are utilized and to show that there are no conflicts of interest, commingling of assets, or undocumented and improper expenditures...
...The church through its dioceses and religious communities has a moral (and perhaps canonical) responsibility to provide oversight whenever a priest or religious purports to be doing some unconventional or "Lone Ranger" ministry...
...But those of us who deal regularly with public and private grants and contracts are required to account for our expenditures, our budgets, and our programs...
...You criticize the cardinal for what you consider his "weak presentation" of a"con-tested concept," the natural law tradition...
...You refer to the "pain" of some intellectuals and politicians with respect to abortion...
...All of them, biased or not, find it harder to focus on ideas than on actions or what they perceive as threats of action...
...Yes, some regulations are burdensome or even nonsensical...
...Surely, not in the muddled thinking of so many media molders of inquiring minds...
...That's not the kind of insight or courage to be expected from Commonweal...
...To the Editors: The popular notion that to have effective social service programs we must somehow be free of all public regulation and oversight is, as your May 18 article and editorial on Covenant House point out, a groundless and dangerous concept...
...Apologies to all baffled readers...
...media outlets do show bias in their reporting of the abortion debate...
...The oversight of a bureaucracy forces us to justify our actions, and to reflect on how and why we do what we do...
Vol. 117 • September 1990 • No. 15
