FRAMING THE BOUNDARIES OF EVIL

For Pope John Paul ii to traverse the globe preaching the ''evils'' of birth control in this day of runaway population growth, mass starvation and ever shrinking resources is beyond naive, beyond irresponsible. It is evil. And any leader who uses his forum to issue an encyclical ((RELIGION, Oct. 4)) that exacerbates the problems -- who, in effect, endorses and propagates the cause of the suffering -- is himself evil, no matter how fancy his hat or how white his robe. Paul McComas Chicago

Holy cow! It looks like the Pope has really gone overboard this time. His latest encyclical contains a list of sins so sweeping that it is now practically a sin to be a human being. Paul Hoylen Jr. Deming, New Mexico

I applaud the Pope in his hard stand against abortion and premarital sex. Sure, sin still abounds, and all of us have done something in violation of God's law. But that is no excuse to justify and legalize evil. Wrong is wrong. The Golden Rule still fits: ''Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.''

James Bzoskie Hastings, Minnesota aol: JamesB3614