Never too much Christ-like love
I would suggest to Christine Flowers that she should re-read the the parable of the prodigal son in the New Testament (“Increasingly, Pope Francis does not speak to me,” Opinion, Sept. 27). If the faithful son could have written a letter, it would have been very similar to hers. She almost chastises the pope for loving too much. Is she jealous? Did not Christ come to save sinners especially? Once he had forgiven, did he seek to remind them always of their past sins? I don’t think so.
When Flowers proclaims abortion to be the worst sin possible, I wonder if she would ever really forgive the sinner as Christ most assuredly does if asked. She sounds to me like the type who would never let the woman forget. If her ties to the church are such that she can be put off by too much love, then I believe we who are left will not miss her too much.
MAUREEN BEAMER, DUNWOODY
Still much work on climate change
It is heartening a majority of Republican voters now believe human activity is contributing to climate change (“Republican megadonor urges climate talks,” News, Sept. 29). This is consistent with the resolution on climate change recently put before Congress by Rep. Chris Gibson and 10 other Republican representatives.
Many things appear to be converging in the wake of our environmental consciousness-raising by the pope. The oil industry has been shaken by Shell’s decision to abandon drilling in the Arctic Ocean. The divestment from fossil fuels campaign recently topped $2.6 trillion. On the down side, NOAA announced that August, this past summer and the first eight months of 2015 all smashed global records for heat. Meteorologists say 2015 is a near certainty to eclipse 2014 as the hottest year on record.
There is still much to be done.
DAVID GREENLAND, SANDY SPRINGS
Cuba progressed despite sanctions
I find it interesting that in her diatribe against Fidel Castro and the deterioration of Cuba under his rule, Mona Charen never once mentioned the crippling sanctions put into place by the most powerful nation on Earth (“Redistribution is liberals’ unconquerable delusion,” Opinion, Sept. 27). If she and other conservatives had their way, these sanctions would still be in place. What she failed to mention is that in spite of these hardships, Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world. They have top-notch medical care in that they are far advanced ahead of us in treatment of several deadly diseases. And in disaster relief, they provide, proportionately, more assistance than most First World countries. Imagine how far advanced Cuba would be, if we had not tried for decades to stymie their every effort to advance as a nation.
SUSAN BAKER ARASI, COLLEGE PARK
