Letters: Mar. 9, 1970

Courage to Remain

Sir: The Catholic exodus [Feb. 23] is also its genesis, its truth, its maturity. Out of this clerical Zeitgeist will emerge the pilgrim church of love, humanity and creativity, and on the final day of judgment I shall embrace every priest and nun who left for giving me the courage and the hope to remain.

JAMES HESSEL HAYDEN San Francisco

Sir: Catholics the world over have had a bellyful of the question of celibacy. Nobody twists a priest's arm when he takes his vows. If I have to go to confession to a man who indulges in sex, has a wife and children, I may as well go to my next-door neighbor and tell him all my problems.

J. SMITH Tyler, Texas

Sir: When a priest feels that ". . . we weren't helping; we were giving them a piece of bread," then he better get out for everyone's sake.

JOSEPH TORPY Scarsdale, N.Y.

Justice in Chicago

Sir: Kunstler and the Chicago Seven are far from alone in holding Judge Julius Hoffman's court in utter contempt. The fact of the defendants' guilt or innocence concerning the conspiracy charges is less important to me than the facts of the trial itself. It was a mockery of justice and should be condemned.

ROBERT JANISKEE Urbana, Ill.

Sir: There is a saying in Texas: "If you dance, you must pay the fiddler."

It seems a surprise to many that Judge Hoffman should impose sentence for contempt in court after the so-called freedoms of these young men were exercised. You can violate the law. This is everyone's freedom. However, when the time comes, and it eventually must, we must be held accountable.

It seems that they could dish it out, but they can't take it now that they must account for their excesses.

RUDY R. VRANA High School Science Teacher Houston

Sir: Justice exists no more, freedom is crushed, man's rights expunged. Only Hoffman remains, and Daley, and Chicago.

HAROLD SCHEUB Madison, Wis.

Piggy Pride

Sir: You aren't going to like this, but your favorite whipping boys, the Chicago police, now refer to each other as PIG. The term is not used, however, in a derogatory sense since the three letters point up the motto awarded them by a grateful public: Pride, Integrity and Guts.

JOHN H. SHINSKE Chicago

Perfect Timing

Sir: Thank you so much for your story on the Fondas [Feb. 16]. It was beautiful. Your timing was perfect — I had just seen Easy Rider, and I wanted to know what Peter Fonda is really like. Now I know—he's even greater than I thought he was.

SUSAN LEVINE Bethesda, Md.

Sir: Peter Fonda may not reach anyone in Omaha but he sure reached me—wow! It would be very interesting to find out what Peter's reaction to the article was (I think he went and vomited again). Anyway, Peter, audentes Fortuna juvat.

SARAH PETERS San Francisco

Sir: Who says you can't tell the Flying Fondas without a score card? First, there's the jefe of the family, Henry Founder. Then there's the girl voted most likely to, Roger, Jane Fondle. And the All-America halfbike, that's Peter Honda. Absence makes the heart grow Fonda.

ED LEIMBACHER Seattle

Unquotable