LETTERS
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IN MY EXPERIENCE There is no denying that Michael Mayosky is a very talented artist. He painted the benches in front of Recycled Records and did a great job, although it took forever to get them back. When he finished them he said he would do a portrait of my parents and grandparents to hang in the store. I gave him family photos to use for the picture. That was at least three years ago, and I do not have the photos or the picture. Lincoln would not be proud. Mark Kessler Springfield
BISHOP’S HURTFUL WORDS Call to Action Central Illinois and Holy Family Inclusive Catholic Community are deeply disappointed by Bishop Thomas Paprocki’s recent decision to quote in his weekly Catholic Times column the 14th century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus, who calls the Muslim prophet Mohammed’s teachings “only evil and inhuman.”
At a time when greater interreligious dialogue and understanding is needed in order to advance the ultimate goals of peace and harmony around the world, people of faith must move beyond tired, outdated and medieval stereotypes that serve only to increase misunderstanding and spread false information. In choosing to recall this quote, and then defending this decision, Bishop Paprocki displays a profound lack of understanding of what it means to be a Muslim.
Bishop Paprocki could have made his point using a more appropriate quote, such as this one from Imam Abdullah Khouj, an Islamic scholar and director of the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C.: “You do not kill innocent people, you do not cheat, you do not lie, you do not destroy any property of other human beings.”
The Koran itself says: “[I] f anyone slew a person – unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people. And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people” (chapter 5, verse 32).
The Koran also says: “Of those who answered the call of Allah and the messenger, even after being wounded, those who do right and refrain from wrong have a great reward” (chapter 3, verse 172).
Additionally, the Roman Catholic Church itself has a violent, troubling history that includes the crusades, the multiple blessings of wars, warrior popes, use of capital punishment for heretics and nonbelievers, corporal punishment, use of slavery, the subjugation of women and worldwide colonialism in the name of conversion to Catholicism.
Call to Action and Holy Family wish to make it clear to our Muslim brothers and sisters that Bishop Paprocki does not speak for all Catholics. We regret his hurtful words, and hope to work closely with the local Muslim community in the coming months and years to foster greater understanding and acceptance. As-salamu alaykum. John Freml, spokesperson Call to Action Central Illinois and Holy Family Inclusive Catholic Community
SUICIDE LIFELINE I am writing this Sept. 10, which is World Suicide Prevention Day.
Having lost my son, Jacob Bowersock, to suicide this past summer, I find myself not only ultra-sensitive to this topic but ultra-aware. Suicide is a real problem. My son passed in June and since that time I’ve been contacted by other mothers who have lost their children – Regina in Lincoln, Paula in Bloomington. Labor Day weekend, a mother named Jill lost her daughter, Hannah, in Pekin, and recently a senior in high school in Clinton, Evan, has died. Suicide needs to be talked about. Talk to people, ask if they’re doing okay, tell someone if you are not. Promote awareness.
The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Put it in your phone, share it with your friends, post it on your locker, and give it to everyone. It’s time that we quit whispering, quit ignoring it and reach out to save someone. Misty Bell Mason City
