I love reading the Catholic News Herald from front to back, but your Aug. 29 edition was a noticeable change from your usually excellent publication.
The Viewpoints pages are a particular favorite of mine, containing great religious articles. But in the Aug. 29 edition’s Viewpoints section, there was a turn to the political with commentaries written by Jason Adkins and Jamie Stuart Wolfe.
The second part of Jason Adkins’ commentary, “Leadership Rooted in Hubris,” was politically charged. I know the page is called “Viewpoints,” but politics should not be part of your publication.
We get enough of this fodder from the everyday media. Jamie Stuart Wolfe’s article also belonged in Time magazine rather than the Catholic News Herald. On the other hand, Mark Bradford’s article in that same edition, “The prophetic witness of disability,” is more of what I expect from the Viewpoints section.
Lastly, in the “In Brief” section of the national and world news pages, we read more politics in “Land transfer including indigenous sacred site blocked” and “First lay synod in India’s Eastern Church …,” as if nothing else religious happened in the world.
My recommendation would be to leave the politics to ABC and Fox and continue with the religious information that we all so desperately need.
Daniel A. Longo lives in Concord.
The quote “If you want world peace, then go home and love your family,” is often attributed to Mother Teresa, and no one embodied a love of family changing the world more than recently passed Hickory Catholic Karen Miller (1945-2024).
Karen and her husband raised their 12 children in Hickory with love and affection, as well as instilling a deep faith in them. Miller’s adult children are now a business franchise owner and employer, pastor and priest, social advocates, musicians and artists, and parents of their own. When my mother first moved to Hickory, she immediately noticed Karen, the loving matron of 12, at St. Aloysius Church. Karen graciously brought my mom into her family’s circle, making my mom family as well.
As I remember and pray for Karen in her passing, I feel like I finally understand Mother Teresa’s directive to treat those closest to us with love and how that changes the world for the better. I thank Karen for helping me see that.
Aaron Kohrs is a former member of St. Aloysius Parish in Hickory.