MAN CRASHES PLAN INTO IRS, BLAMES CHURCH?

After reading the six page letter left by the Austin man who crashed his light plane into the IRS office building, I am amazed at the tenacity of anti-Catholic bigotry.

Somehow, a man who tries to burn hundreds of people to death believed that the Catholic Church leaders are the "corrupt monsters" in this story. Odd.

How exactly is the tax exempt status enjoyed by the Church the culprit behind this man's life failures?

Tax exemption is granted to all non-profit organizations. The argument has always been that such organizations serve the public good and contribute to the civic life. Why single out the Catholic Church when spewing venom against this long established exemption?

Also, the Catholic Church is not wealthy, unless measured in real estate. Much of our land and buildings lie in inner cities or rundown neighborhoods or are unsuitable for any use but religious. Our "wealth" is, thus, vastly overestimated. Most of our parishes get by on very tight budgets. Without the exemption, it would be hard to survive.

ICE STORM

Due to an ice storm, I was without power for several days. I was struck by the intensity of the gloominess of a dark house, lit only by candles and battery powered lanterns. There were shallow pools of light throughout the house but, in an odd way, the light seemed to underscore the strength of the dark.

I was reminded of one of my favorite lines from Hamlet, when the King cries out "Give me light!" And lots of it, please.