Look at the young seeking guidance; that's the future
Thomas Cahill may know a lot about the Irish and Greeks, but he is not well informed about Catholics ("The Price of Infallibility," April 10 Forum). Cahill speaks of saints and sinners as if they were expressions of equally valid Catholic "traditions." No, Jesus Christ founded the church among sinners so that they might repent and become saints. Even popes need to repent and confess their sins in order to be saved. Saints, like Mother Teresa, are proof of the church's success.

Cahill's assertion that the doctrine of papal infallibility was a novelty "imposed" on the First Vatican Council by Pope Pius IX is inaccurate. The pope has always been responsible for settling disputes about doctrine among the bishops. Catholics have always believed that the pope is guided in a special "infallible" way by God when he makes doctrinal decisions for the whole church. The council only affirmed that constant belief.

Pope John Paul II held fast to the moral doctrines of the church despite great pressure to change these teachings. This is hardly surprising. For the papacy to be credible it cannot change the moral teaching it has passed down -- and ably defended -- for 2,000 years as coming from God. No pope is ever going to contradict what a previous pope has solemnly declared is unchangeable doctrine regarding faith or morals.

Crowds of young people flocked to Pope John Paul II for moral guidance when popular culture was telling them to look elsewhere. That's the future of the church.

E. WILLIAM SOCKEY III
Venus, Venango County

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Defender of faith
Thomas Cahill's April 10 piece ("The Price of Infallibility") contained not only sharp criticisms of Pope John Paul II and various church teachings, but also an intemperate, generalized denunciation of the current "ranks of the episcopate." It seems appropriate that Mr. Cahill's piece appeared adjacent to Dennis Roddy's column about the characters claiming to be pope ("Popes in the Wings," April 10).

Mr. Cahill's rhetoric does not entirely conceal his ignorance or bias in matters of religion and history. His rather selective citation of Galatians 3 as evidence of inclusiveness in the early church ignores other passages in the New Testament (e.g. 1 Corinthians 5, 9-12; 1 Corinthians 6, 9-10; Galatians 5; Colossians 2; 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; and Titus) and the writings of the early church fathers, who warned against teachings and immoral behavior that threatened to undermine the church.

The drumbeat is already loud to change not only Catholic practices and disciplines, but also some of the basics of the faith that Pope John Paul II so ably defended and promoted.

JOHN S. SIEGER
Mt. Lebanon

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Unchangeable truths
It didn't take long, did it? "Change," John Paul II's critics scream, following Thomas Cahill's liberal exhortations ("The Price of Infallibility," April 10 Forum).

Ask the millions of young Catholics; ask the millions of older Catholics; ask non-Catholics: What did John Paul II personify? Why, Christ on Earth, apparently, manifested in his unflinching defense of the great unchangeable truths.

John Paul II "an enthusiastic condemner"? There is much to condemn. As for Mr. Cahill's insulting characterization of the episcopate as "mindless sycophants and intellectual incompetents," it could be said that for the most part he would be unworthy to be in their company.

Let us pray for another pope of John Paul II's mind-set: "aggressive papalism." Our sorry world, rife with danger to civilization itself, cries out for just such a blessing.

D. MONTA
Monroeville

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Don't go backward
It took some courage for the Post-Gazette to publish Thomas Cahill's unflattering piece on Pope John Paul II ("The Price of Infallibility"). You will get slammed by Catholics who can find no fault with their recently departed pope.

John Paul II was a superhero pope, no doubt about it, but he also presided over a "restorationist papacy" to the delight of some and the consternation of many. Many Catholics who are enthusiastic about this attempted "restoration" aspire to a pre-Vatican II church, which, because of their age, they never experienced.

The next pope will be my seventh, so I have been where they think they want to go, and I don't want to go back. It was not like they imagine it, and I strongly suspect they wouldn't like it either. The challenge for the next pope will be to lead us to a future church in which all Catholics can feel at home.

JOHN HOUK
McCandless

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A helping of lobster
I am with the Three Rivers Auction Company, which has been hired to conduct the "Last Call" auction of Chiodo's Tavern. In your April 10 "Asides" commentaries, you mentioned that "we don't think any stuffed lobsters are in the collection but, like Chiodo's Mystery Sandwich, one never knows." I thought you might get a chuckle to know that there is indeed a stuffed lobster and it will be auctioned off April 24.

JULIE EWING
Auction Manager
Three Rivers Auction Company
Washington, Pa.

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North and south
I am writing to thank you for the column by Brian O'Neill that shed light on the travel of people like myself who are native to Pittsburgh ("Pittsburghers, and Deer, Rarely Roam Too Very Far From Home," April 10). In my life on Pittsburgh's social scene I have come to learn that there are North Hills people and South Hills people, and they lead very separate lives.

Granted, North Hills people and South Hills people occasionally meet. There's the Internet, working Downtown and sporting events. Just don't expect to meet someone from across the Liberty Tunnels at your local watering hole.

I have had one across-the-river relationship. Life was a constant compromise: Which side of the city to go on a Saturday? Which park to go walking? Eventually the relationship decayed. We cited irreconcilable differences. He was from the North Hills and I am from the south. If that makes me a deer, so be it.

CHRISTINA MASUCCI
Mount Washington

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Far-right 'reality'
Once again, Jack Kelly has lost touch with reality ("At the Crossroads Again," April 10). Although 82 percent of Americans opposed political meddling in the Terri Schiavo case and most recognized it as grandstanding, the far right sees it as a great victory. How does that work? Just consult an "alterna-poll" where she is called a "disabled person ... not terminally ill" and the removal of her gastrostomy tube is "denied food and water." Presto! Now 79 percent of us support the religious right's position.

Mr. Kelly goes on to conflate this woman's sad situation with abortion, euthanasia, slavery, segregation and massacres of Native Americans! He fantasizes a "religious populace" will rise up and demand the judiciary submit to the far-right agenda, just as the other branches of government have. He even has the audacity to compare the GOP's war against judicial autonomy to the American Revolution and the Civil War.

Wake up, Mr. Kelly. We are content with the constitutional separation of powers and the separation of church and state. We don't want our politicians or our judges to have to answer to the black-robed clerics of suburban mega-churches. We don't want Sen. Rick Santorum or Rep. Tom DeLay forcing us onto life support while withdrawing the Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare that support millions of lives.

On a positive note, kudos for having your "national security writer" cover this. Though unintentional, it sends a message about where the greatest threat to our nation lies.

MIKE USMAN, M.D.
Indiana Township

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Good government
Thank you for writing the April 13 editorial "Row of Savings" on the important issue of row office reform, which is a referendum on the May primary ballot. The voters really have very little knowledge of this vote and it needs to be covered more by any communication possible.

It is time to bring this county into this century and have a responsible and well-organized government. I also agree with you that two more departments, sheriff and treasurer, should have been eliminated. When that is done, we really will be in this century.

MILDRED PFEIFER
Bethel Park

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Many people have a low income, so how can they save?
I'm a bit dismayed at a couple of articles that appeared in the Post-Gazette recently about retirement savings. An April 6 article discussed that people are not saving enough money ("Workers Not Saving Enough for Retirement," April 6). Last Sunday, you ran another article about people not saving enough in their 401(k)s ("Many Workers Failing to Manage 401(k)s," April 10).

I'd like to ask how people are expected to accomplish these tasks when they make $7 or $8 an hour? How do you expect them to support a family and live day to day and put money into savings and 401(k)s?

People who write these articles really need to experience the real job market in America where $7- to $8-an-hour jobs are standard these days.

K.R. JONES
Munhall