San Diego Magazine / August 2005 / August 2005

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August 2005

THANKS, BUT NO THANKS
Thank you for s.d. liddick’s exposé of the Roman Catholic Church [“A Church Divided,” June].

As an active and lifelong Catholic, I have met many priests and religious members of the church whom I found to be selfless, dedicated and humble people who sacrifice daily for the greater good. I now see how they all belong to an institution driven by “conspiracy,” “hypocrisy,” “money,” “manipulation,” “power,” “sex” and “control.” The shadowy, off-center photos (especially the blurry devil next to the Pope) were a nice touch, and lent further credibility to the piece. In the guise of balanced journalism, too bad liddick felt the need to include one lukewarm paragraph conceding some “good works” of the church. The article says more about liddick and your magazine than the Catholic Church. Come on.

DONALD SUTHERLAND
SAN DIEGO

 

TRUTH & CONSEQUENCES
Your article on the Roman Catholic Church in San Diego included statements about Catholic belief that were not accurate. It was obvious from its tone it was meant to be a “gotcha” in regard to the church’s sexual teaching in general and to San Diego Bishop Robert H. Brom (my employer) in particular.

Your writer asserted on page 183 that it is “Catholic principle” that “all truth is fixed, contained in the Bible and delivered on earth by the Pope.”

We do not believe all truth is fixed. We believe certain things are moral absolutes; for example, that it is wrong to murder. But we also believe many things are true one day and untrue the next. One day it may be true to say, “It is raining,” but it cannot be true every day. This is not a trivial matter, because the Catholic teaching is that we are obligated to try our best to know the moral absolutes and to apply them to the ever-changing realities of everyday life. Such application is called prudence. Your article distorts the richness of Catholic teaching on moral truth.

Also, we most emphatically do not believe that all truth is contained in the Bible. The Catholic Church has condemned such treatment of the biblical texts.

Finally, it is not at all clear what your writer means when he asserts that all truth is delivered on earth by the Pope. We do not consider the Pope the font of all truth.

Because your writer concludes his article with a little primer on how the church should be more like Jesus in dealing with homosexual people, his failure to grasp how Catholics make moral distinctions leads to confusion. We believe in chastity. This is one of those things we view as a moral absolute. When we apply this to ourselves, it means we are either married, in which case we share a sexual relationship with our spouse, or we are obligated to refrain from sexual intercourse.

This teaching is difficult, but it has led many people to lives of fulfillment and selfgiving. We believe that it leads to happy families and healthy communities. It applies to all Catholics, not just homosexual people— though of course it poses particular burdens for homosexual people. Further, it is not forced on anyone; it is offered freely as the teaching of Christ. Anyone is free to accept or reject it.

CYRIL JONES-KELLETT
EDITOR
THE SOUTHERN CROSS
SAN DIEGO
(The Southern Cross is the official newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. This letter is intended as an expression of the author’s opinion, not an official communication of the diocese.)

Editor’s note: Few San Diego Magazine articles have elicited as much or as passionate a response as s.d. liddick’s indepth look at the controversy surrounding the local Roman Catholic Diocese. To suggestions he was biased against the church, liddick responds:

“The article’s ‘assertions’ were culled from church doctrine, scores of interviews (of clergy, former clergy, Roman Catholics and former Catholics) and textual research. I don’t believe the weather—a physical absolute—is a fair metaphor for the church’s moral stance, one that has shifted with the political climate (i.e., a “don’t-askdon’t- tell” policy on homosexuality that was abandoned in the face of the most recent pederast crisis). And I believe it misses the point. The danger in reducing the broader questions of a divisive debate to semantics is that it often takes both sides of the issue further from mutual understanding.

I received the following e-mail on April 11:

Hello Shane: I am writing to respond to your e-message in which you invite me to “sit down for an open conversation” as part of your preparation for an article for San Diego Magazine regarding the “Catholic Church.” As the spokesperson for the Diocese of San Diego and Bishop Robert H. Brom it is my responsibility to respond to media inquiries regarding specific matters. Your request goes far beyond a specific matter. Consequently, I must decline the invitation. Sincerely,
Rodrigo Valdivia
Chancellor

The e-mail that elicited that cordial but brief response was the first of more than a dozen calls and e-mails to the San Diego Diocese and the Washington-based Conference of Catholic Bishops that went unanswered or met with minimal response. Far from a “gotcha” spirit, I went into this investigation with few preconceived notions regarding church policy, pedophilia and the institution’s centuries-long dance with homosexuality. I found a little-known history that was disturbing—at times, almost shocking—and a management structure that is tight-lipped and clearly more adept at damage control than rehabilitation (of clergy or laity).

It is a shame to offend the sensibilities of the millions of decent and upstanding Catholics in the United States. But as with a flawed government, change is often possible only when driven by a system’s financially supportive (and morally compelled) constituency.

FAVORITE SON
Thank you so much for the interview with me in the recent issue [Dialogue with Tom Blair, July]. I really appreciate it.

It started me thinking, I’m sorry my parents are gone. My mother would have loved it. And my father probably would have believed it.

BILL KOLENDER
SHERIFF, SAN DIEGO COUNTY

 

POWER PLAY
Contrary to the statement in “Power to the People” [by Margie Farnsworth, Preserving Paradise, May], there have been many power plants built in San Diego since the 1970s, most notably the three Applied Energy facilities on local Navy bases and the Goal Line power plant in Escondido. These plants provide a total of 160 megawatts of generating capacity, enough power to supply 160,000 homes. Applied Energy’s facilities began operation in 1989, with Goal Line following in 1995. All of these plants provide firm power to SDG&E through long-term contracts. Similar privately owned plants installed in local universities, hospitals, schools, hotels and industry provide an addition 164 megawatts.

The above facilities were built with private investment and provide additional environmental and economic benefits in the form of heating and cooling. This useful thermal energy is derived from the waste heat from the power-generation process. This “cogeneration” has yielded substantial energy benefits to the state as a whole in the form of more than 9,000 megawatts of installed cogeneration capacity.

We recognized SDG&E’s reentry into the power-generation business, but we do not want the San Diego community to think there has been no progress since the late 1970s, when SDG&E made the corporate decision to stop building power plants. Our facilities have compiled an enviable operating record and helped keep the lights on during the power crisis of 2000-2001.

JIM HINRICHS
GENERAL MANAGER
GOAL LINE, L.P.

 

DAVID HERMANSON
GENERAL MANAGER
APPLIED ENERGY, LLC

BON APPÉTIT
Last year, my wife and I had such a good time doing Restaurant Week 2005 every night. I’d like to know if you intend doing this event in 2006, and if so, when. This year, we are considering inviting friends from out of town who need to make advance plans.

Also, how can I be one of the first people to get the 2006 schedule, since the best restaurants reserve up quickly? Do I need to sign up for the A List newsletter through your Web site, or is there another way?

Thank you for sponsoring this great event. My wife and I got to eat at restaurants we normally would never have.

DAVID M. GUGGENHEIM
SAN DIEGO

 

San Diego Restaurant Week 2006 is scheduled for January 22-27. For more information on the event, you can visit these sites: sandiegorestaurantweek.com, savor.com or sandiegomag.com, along with the A List. -EDITOR

DUELING ANCHORMEN?
In your July issue [“The Insider” by Thomas K. Arnold, Front Pages], you suggested Michael Tuck and I are experiencing personal difficulties here at KUSITV— in your words, “butting heads” in the newsroom. That’s not true. Mike and I have known each other a long time, and we get along just fine, thank you.

Maybe the “Insider” actually meant we are a couple of old butt-heads. That I could understand.

Thank you, though, for spelling our names right.

PAUL BLOOM
KUSI-TV
SAN DIEGO

 

BITING RESPONSE
Okay, so one of us spiked the other one’s hairspray with glue, then that guy turned around and slipped a whoopie cushion into the other one’s anchor chair right before airtime.

Trouble is, we’re both too damn old to remember who did what to whom, so the only thing we’ll be sinking our teeth into is a cup full of Efferdent—and not each other.

Besides, the only thing Paul and I ever argue about is which one of us was the real Ron Burgundy.

MICHAEL TUCK
KUSI-TV
SAN DIEGO

SCRAPPY
This is in response to a July letter to the editor from Cathy Smith regarding your choice of Scrapbook Junction as best scrapbook store [“Best of San Diego” by Amber Cyphers, June]. I was saddened to see this letter. It seemed so spiteful and mean. The fact that it was totally inaccurate made it that much worse. Anyone who had been in Scrapbook Junction from early February until its last day open on May 29 knew the owner was selling the store to spend more time with her family. It was never just “going out of business.” I was the one who ultimately decided to purchase the store, after having been an employee for almost four years.

It was such an amazing way for Scrapbook Junction to go when we found out we were voted the best scrapbook store by your readers and our customers.

I do hope you will let the public know that Scrapbook Junction didn’t go out of business; it was sold and is now in a new location: 9224 Carlton Hills Boulevard, Suite 1. I am the new owner, and have made the store my own with a new name and an entirely new concept. Scrappin’ Attack! is San Diego’s first and only discount scrapbook store, and we are sure the customers will love the new look and feel of things.

SHAWNI REYNOLDS
SCRAPPIN' ATTACK!
SANTEE

 

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© 2006 San Diego Magazine