2002 LETTERS
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Contents © 2002
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

JULY/AUGUST 2002 LETTERS

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1.) Editor: No priest under Norbertine superiors was ever appointed pastor in the diocese of San Diego.

2.) Editor: Because of an error in interpreting data provided by the Statewide Office of Health Planning, News Notes incorrectly reported in its June edition that 11 hospitals in San Diego County performed abortions in 2000. In fact, seven hospitals in the county actually reported abortions. Although fewer hospitals performed abortions, total in-hospital abortions were more than double what was reported: 477 instead of 231.

The error was brought to our attention by Leslie Bradley, medical affairs director for Continental Rehabilitation Hospital.

News Notes reported abortions at the following hospitals where, in fact, no abortions were performed: Continental Rehab, Sharp Cabrillo, Fallbrook, Tri-City, Sharp-Chula Vista, and Alvarado.

The seven hospitals in the county that performed abortions are:

Sharp-Coronado: 2
Sharp-Mary Birch Hospital for Women: 252
Grossmont: 8
Palomar: 7
Scripps-La Jolla: 6
UCSD Medical Center: 199
Pomerado: 3 *


ALPINE SHOCKER

Last weekend I happened to be in San Diego for my daughter's swim competition in El Cajon, and our team stayed in Alpine's Country Inn motel. So not far was the Catholic Church. We attended Mass on Saturday at 5 pm at Queen of Angels, and Fr. Matthew Spahr was the celebrant. Boy, was that a shocker!! The words to the consecration for the bread were exact, but the words for the consecration of the wine got ad libbed towards the end. So did the Our Father. The homily didn't really touch upon this special day of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. I had to explain to my daughter that this parish is not like our St. Mary's by the Sea in Huntington Beach.

You gotta check this one out. By the way I get your San Diego News Notes and what a fine job you're doing.

Pax Domini sit semper,

Stan Jay
via email


A CHEAP SHOT

The "Blood Money" article in San Diego News Notes [June] represents a thinly-veiled threat to those named in the piece. Both the law and science are on their side. The delineation of life beginning at the moment of conception is a personal opinion that is simply not supported biologically, legally, or in any other tangible way. I respect your right to express a strong anti-abortion viewpoint, but casting aspersions at other decent, law-abiding citizens who happen to share a different view from yours is a cheap shot.

Dave Mitchell
via email


THORN IN THE SIDE

I saw several copies of Goodbye, Good Men for sale at the Barnes & Noble store on Mira Mesa Blvd. just yesterday. [See "Hot Book Not on San Diego Shelves," June News Notes.] It's available through their online sales, Amazon.com and NewsMax.com, also.

For your information, the best "Ghetto Catholic" bookstore I have seen is St. Francis on the north side of Highland just east of E Street in San Bernardino. They have it all, new and used, and have a great selection of statuary, art, jewelry, etc. It's old and dusty in spots but GREAT. Hank, the owner, and his store are a thorn in the side of the San Bernardino diocese -- his best reference. Keep up the good work.

Name withheld
Mission Village


CLEANSING AND PRUNING

When the media experts comment on future attacks from the Al-Queda, that's their commentary. When the FBI and our vice President expand on what the media reports, that's shocking.

When Osama Bin Laden declared a Jihad (holy war) against America, I believe President Bush under his Christian breath said,"I accept."

I feel most people are aghast over what's going on world wide in the Catholic Church with the pedophilia. I was horrified at first, now I have a different perspective. If America and the entire Christendom is to be engaged in a spiritual and physical war against evil forces, we need to do what is necessary to win.

I believe God is cleansing and pruning the church so we will be united, strong, and wholesome. I feel in our present condition we would have evil fighting evil. I believe God will not bless America to victory unless we are committed to goodness. Pedophiles in high standing being exposed all over the planet is no fluke, It's God exercising justice.

Jim Behrendt
San Carlos


CHALLENGE TO THE SOUTHERN CROSS

Editor: The following letter was sent to the Southern Cross on May 11 and as of June 20 had not been published:

Dear Mr. Jones-Kellet [Southern Cross editor],

Your March 28 rebuttal of old rumors surrounding Bishop Brom's tenure in Minnesota read more like an editorial than a news article, in that it was liberally interspersed with expressions of opinion stated as fact. This violates the principles of responsible journalism and represents a marked departure from your usual professionalism. The piece was also enigmatic in the following ways:

It mentioned "an unrelated legal dispute" but provided no explanation of that dispute, how it relates to Bishop Brom, and how it recently resurfaced the allegations. The article accuses three people of involvement in resurfacing these allegations but makes no mention of how they did so.

Its descriptions of the three people are cryptic and highly subjective. With regard to the priest who was laicized, the need for discretion regarding his alleged "serious misconduct" is perhaps understandable. The description of the ex-seminarian as having "assumed a critical posture that has become fixated on Bishop Brom" begs more questions than it answers. Why has the ex-seminarian assumed a critical posture toward Bishop Brom, who arrived several years after he was dismissed from the seminary, and what does "fixated" mean?

With regard to your mention of "the publisher of News Notes" as one of the guilty parties, you omitted any mention of how Jim Holman resurfaced the allegations. I have received News Notes for several years and have never seen any article that made accusations against Bishop Brom for sexual misconduct in Minnesota, San Diego, or anywhere else. Clearly, however, you intended to create the impression that News Notes has done precisely that, although you provided no evidence to support this impression. This is another instance of irresponsible journalism. I challenge you, in a future issue, to provide evidence of Jim Holman's culpability in resurfacing the Minnesota allegations, to provide clearer explanations for the other matters and to do so in an objective manner.

Maggie Clitherow
Chula Vista

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