Letters, Sep. 11, 1978

Picking a Pope

To the Editors:

The manner in which you tie the Veni Creator Spiritus with I Corinthians 1: 20 in your cover story "In Search of a Pope" [Aug. 21] is inspirational. I was moved each time I read that paragraph, and I read it more than once. Imagine that: the spirit speaking through TIME! I can only say amen, and amen.

(The Rev.) M. Richard Bevan

Butler Christian Church

Butler, Ky.

Your cover story was concise and excellent. Your concluding words, "The touch of the divine, bringing tantalizing possibilities, may once again make foolish the wisdom of the world," were literary gems in a meaningful summary. Man will always be involved in the affairs of God, but room must always be left for God to be involved in the affairs of man.

Father Raphael Kamel

All Saints Catholic Church

Dallas

The article on Pope Paul's funeral, his Pontificate and the Conclave was a pleasure to read. Thanks to the team that gave us such a serious and balanced report.

Patrick V. Ahern

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

My prayer is that the new Pope identifies with the poor and oppressed of the world, so that future covers of TIME symbolizing the office will show a simple wooden cross—such as Bishop Dom Helder Câmara wears—indicating a papacy that enters into the suffering of others.

Ruth McDonough Fitzpatrick

Fairfax, Va.

Let us pray that the next Pope has read TIME'S story, in the same issue, of vacationers packing the beaches and resorts along the Mediterranean, and does an about-face regarding birth control.

Sarah J. Metivier

Southbridge, Mass.

After reading the specifications of the ten theologians for a new Pope, I can see that the problem doesn't lie in finding a Pope to fit the Catholic religion, but in finding a religion that fits the Catholic Pope they want.

Francesca A. Larson

Edison, N.J.

It is singularly curious and inept of TIME to select Hans Küng to comment on the qualifications for the next Pope. Küng questions the fundamental bases of the papacy—its infallibility and primacy. Küng has been judged by such a competent theologian as Karl Rahner to be little different from a liberal Protestant in numerous of his opinions about the church. In fact, Küng has often sailed very close to objective heresy. Great choice indeed!

(The Rev.) Richard H. Trame, S.J.

Los Angeles

Teddy for President?

The stories on the choice of a Pope and on the presidential prospects of Ted Kennedy [Aug. 21] provide an ironic contrast. For Pope, there is a bewildering array of choices of men of proven ability and unblemished record, so that it is hard to pick a front runner. But for President, there seem to be few options. Ted Kennedy appears to be far and away the front runner. Yet he has little or no executive or military experience. His best friends would not maintain that he is of outstanding intellect or character, and his blemished past is a source of nagging doubt. Is there something wrong with our way of picking a President?

Lawrence Cranberg

Austin, Texas