Turlock religious leader: Homophobia in any space, including church, is sacrilegious | Opinion

Fiction versus reality

“Netanyahu rails against US criticism and says Israel won’t stop until ‘total victory’ is achieved,” (modbee.com, March 17)

Civilization has always depended on the belief or agreement of a majority of three fictional creations: money, politics and religion. Wars happen when those in power lose control of one or more of the fictional creations that serve to allow the manipulation of the rest of us.

We are now in a situation where two or three of the fictions are in conflict on a world-wide level. The U.S. and Israel may not survive unless we start to adjust to new situations instead of implementing our will by means of force.

The coming problems our planet faces require a higher level of ability to work together. Fiction is no way to approach reality. Our current geopolitical problems are insignificant.

You can’t get rid of intruders by burning down the only property you have.

Michael Hauschild

Modesto

True sacrilege

“Nearly 8% of US adults now identify as LGBTQ, Gallup finds,” (modbee.com, March 13)

I want to express my deep concern regarding the recent funeral held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Cecilia Gentili, a renowned activist for the trans community, sex workers and people living with HIV. Cathedral Pastor, Rev. Enrique Salvo, issued a statement criticizing the “scandalous behavior” that “degraded” the cathedral “in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way.” He also acknowledged that a mass of reparation, a liturgy aimed at making reparations for harm caused by sin, had been conducted.

I can’t help but wonder if there has ever been a mass of reparation for the harm inflicted upon LGBTQ-identifying Catholics. Despite Pope Francis’ outreach efforts toward the LGBTQ+ community, many individuals within this community continue to feel unwelcome in their church due to the persisting presence of homophobia.

It is essential to recognize that while it is indeed sacrilegious and scandalous to commit transgressions against the church’s physical structure, the most significant wrongdoing lies in the harm inflicted upon one another as “Temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19) Homophobia defiles the sacred space within each of us, and, in the eyes of God, is also considered “sacrilegious” and “scandalous.”

Father Misael Avila

Turlock

Opinion

Sylvan’s reputation falters

“Modesto school board confirms new superintendent,” (modbee.com, April 1, 2022)

As a young mother, I worked for the Modesto City Schools in administration. During those years, MCS was in the shadow of the Sylvan Union School District because Sylvan was paying teachers better. Everyone wanted their children to attend Sylvan schools because they represented forward thinking, young talent that wasn’t perceived to be as present in MCS.

Well, it seems that the worm has turned from those days! At a recent Sylvan School District Board Meeting, the cost of living adjustment teachers were supposedly awarded was turned down and they were offered less than half. To say the teachers are disappointed is putting it lightly. They have been given more children to teach and little to no special education help and no aides in the classroom to support students who may be falling behind.

No wonder there is a growing crisis in the career of teachers. They are being burned out from working harder and not being compensated for the work they do. I once thought about teaching, but after seeing how this once-respected district treats teachers, forget it!

Kate Walden

Windsor

Safety net

“UCSF team ties food insecurity to liver disease in Latino kids,” (sacbee.com, March 12)

There is a troubling surge in cases of fatty liver disease among Latino children due to food insecurity. Unfortunately, this issue will only worsen if low-income, undocumented Californians aged 54 and under continue to be unjustly excluded from critical food assistance.

More than half of undocumented Californians are Latino, and those who would be eligible for CalFresh, our state’s most powerful defense against food insecurity, are among the 600,000 Californians who will continue to be shut out due to their age or immigration status without additional funding in this year’s budget. This exacerbates health disparities across our state when Latino households with children disproportionately experience food insecurity and one in five Latino children lives below the federal poverty line.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and our elected officials must prioritize an inclusive safety net for all so every Californian has access to the food they need to thrive.

Seciah Aquino

Sacramento

The takeaway from the Hur report

“The Hur interview transcript offers a window into the life of ‘frustrated architect’ Joe Biden,” (sanluisobispo.com, March 15)

Special Counsel Robert Hur is probably not qualified to assess cognitive function, and his report contains statements about President Joe Biden’s mental state that are gratuitous and political.

That said, Hur is an experienced prosecutor who is qualified to assess how a prosecution would go in front of a jury — which is what he did. He followed the facts and the law and concluded that Biden should not be prosecuted, noting the huge differences between this case and the classified documents case against Donald Trump.

While we may feel that statements in Hur’s report about Biden’s memory were political, we should celebrate the fact that the Biden White House allowed a Trump appointee to do his job without political interference — a process which would not have happened under the prior administration.

This should also put to rest Republican claims that the Department of Justice has somehow been “weaponized” against Trump and his cronies. In fact, Biden has bent over backwards to keep prosecutorial decisions at the DOJ from being politicized. As a country, we should be very proud of that.

Christopher Toews

San Luis Obispo