Letter against Catholics overlooked the facts

Letter against Catholicsoverlooked the facts
EDITOR:
It astounds me how often self-righteous people can write letters for the world to see and not do at least some research to make sure their facts are correct. The writer of an Oct. 23 letter asserts that the Catholic Church is wrong in addressing our priests as "Father" as a sign of affection and respect, citing Matthew 23:9. I wonder if the writer called his own male parent his father. That chapter also tells us not to call someone "rabbi," which means teacher, or, "master," which is another way of saying "mister." Are we to believe that those words are sinful to use? Another Scripture verse quoted by the writer, John 17:11, does not say a word about what is or what is not blasphemy; he just made that up to deceive people.
As for the vow of celibacy that our priests take, didn't St. Paul say that he wished all could be like him and not marry, but it was better to marry than to burn? Celibacy is a calling for those who can bear it by the grace of God. The writer denies that grace and goes as far as to say it is the work of demons, and uses Scripture to support his belief. Let me add here that Satan also used Scripture in his temptation of Christ in the wildness.
I wonder if the letter writer knows the original Hebrew and Greek in which the Bible was written. Does he know the cultural circumstances that his Scripture verses were written in? Does he know to whom or why they were written? The most important question is does he care? I doubt it. The Catholic Church does.
Yes we do have traditions, and beautiful ancient customs that help us believe even more strongly in Jesus Christ. Anyone that has honestly researched our traditions and customs would see that they are true, and some in fact go back to a time when the Bible was being written down.
The writer seems to think that our church misleads us simple Catholics. And it is kind of him to point out the piece of dirt in the eye of the Catholic Church; maybe he can see if there is any foreign matter in his own eye.
ALAN RUSSO
Lowellville
When government asks formore money, just say 'no'
EDITOR:
When I was a child, to support a middle class family of four, one person worked while the other stayed home to take care of the house and children. At that time let's say we paid 10 percent of our $3,500 wage to taxes. In 2003 let's say we still paid 10 percent of our $35,000 wage to taxes. The last sentence was just a fairy tale, but you get the idea. Today, in most cases, both parents work. Why? Taxes! This year we (on the average) worked until July 10 to pay for all the collective governments. The wages you earn from July 11 to the end of the year are yours to do with as you please. Sounds hefty doesn't it? That's quite an increase in taxes in such a short time.
What I'm wondering is when another 50 years go by, will our tax burden be 100 percent of our wages? You say, "Oh that would never happen." So that must mean you see signs that the collective governments are going to stop wanting and taking more taxes. I'd say you're wrong. Did Gov. Taft show signs of stopping while the taxes, licenses and fees the state ended up with a budget surplus? Did you notice that the counties are always broke? Did you notice that our local school district wants 7.85 mills, and the superintendent says "that's not enough?"
So what have the collective governments been doing in the past 50 years? I'd say they were thinking up ways to spend our money like drunken sailors on leave.
Remember when the state of Ohio cut most of the welfare budget to the nub? Do you remember how much your taxes went down? If you said, "Not a penny," you would be correct. Remember when just before the Ohio Lottery started, the state said the profits would go toward education? Turns out the profits went to the federal fund and from there the state issued stipends to the schools.
Well anyway, you get the idea. Giving money to bureaucrats is not the most effective way to spend your money. I say it's time to tell the governments, "We're mad as hell, and we're not giving you any more money."
Vote "no" on all future tax increases!
ROBERT M. SIMS
Salem