Letters: Catholic Church reform long overdue

Reform the church

As a practicing Catholic and former deacon I have been appalled by ongoing revelations of sexual abuse and failure of oversight in the Catholic Church. Secular pressure has forced the church to acknowledge its humanness and frailty. Had it not been for the pressure I suspect things wouldn’t have changed a bit.

I believe the admissions are sincere, but there is little discussion of the root of the problem. Clericalism in the Catholic Church rests on the presumption by many that ordination to priesthood changes people into something that they are not. Ordination doesn’t change the fact that priests are human like the rest of us. It is that which allowed abusers to intimidate the young.

It is that same sense of male triumphalism and entitlement that has encouraged the hierarchy to protect the church at all costs. Our church is in need of major change.

Give us information

I wonder if there is any way that a responsible person can secure and publish the percentage of money the Fayette County Board of Education expends on non-citizen students. This important question should be answered to the satisfaction of all taxpayers before another tax is levied.

The school board surely has enough money, but probably uses it unwisely in its quest to bring more liberalism into the school system. Let the taxpayers, with proper information, vote on this issue of school protection and if it has merit it will win popular support; otherwise it appears the board is using its power arbitrarily.

Political activist James Otis wrote before the American Revolution that “taxation without representation is tyranny.” I don’t think the board supports tyranny, but it is misguided in the way it uses hardworking taxpayers’ money. These “leaders” should publicly show us how they spend our money.

Bring back hope

This year I’ve noticed an uptick in one group of people, those who’ve decided not to vote. Not out of anger toward any particular candidate, or to protest those running. They’re not voting because they’ve lost hope.

They’ve lost hope that anyone listens to them or in the belief it matters anymore who wins. Regardless, their lives don’t change. These aren’t wealthy, but are poor people, some white and many black, who don’t feel anyone cares what happens to them.

They subsist in dingy apartments in poorer sections of town. Their faces vary, but not that look of helplessness and hopelessness. The emptiness that fills them with this despair is visible in their eyes. It screams out: “What difference does it make? What difference has it ever made?”

I hope everyone votes and remembers why. Providing less hope and cutting social programs for those in greatest need isn’t an option.

Singing for a cause

There is an organization in Lexington that not only helps singers of all levels but humanitarian issues in the process. The class is called “Be a Better Singer” and is taught by local music maven Phyllis Jenness, who is 96 years old and still on top of her game. One voice class supports social action at Temple Adath Israel, and the other, Adopt Inc., which supports an orphanage in Guatemala.

Jenness gives of her time for free and the students pay directly to these causes. Bravo to her for doing such a nice thing for the community and beyond. May I be half as productive at her age.