Following are NCR reader responses to recent news articles, opinion columns and theological essays with letters that have been edited for length and clarity.
Solidarity with migrants
I was so touched by Fr. Dennis Berry's quick action to help his neighbors to do their laundry and protect them from the scourge of ICE (NCR, Nov. 4, 2025) . It is great to see how creative parishes are as they minister beneath the radar of ICE patrol. Berry took a risk that day to guide people to safety and protection. I think it's part of the Beatitudes: Blessed are those who help others to do laundry, they will see joy on others' faces. Berry and St. James Parish, thank you for your service in a city that is "ICE" cold.
(Sr.) PAT MADDEN
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Canonical tribunal for Marymount
As a lecturer in the Department of History and (later) Honors Program at LMU from 2006-2011, I could never square its mission statement espousing social justice with the labor conditions I witnessed and experienced (NCR, Oct. 27, 2025). In the absence of benefits, health insurance or a living wage, I stayed because I loved the students, LMU's beautiful campus, and the presence of beloved Jesuit professors like Fr. Ernesto Sweeney. It is painful to relinquish one's identity as a member of the professoriate, however lowly, because that identity is a carapace that forms over years. However, one cannot live on "spiritual wages" alone. My field is Late Antiquity, so there is something appealing about taking recourse in canon law. And with the secular legal system in its current state, perhaps there is more justice to be found from a canonical tribunal than a secular court.
(Dr.) MARGARET TRENCHARD-SMITH
Scappoose, Oregon
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Loving our neighbor through politics
I appreciate the salient points Mr. Horan makes in his essay concerning what Christ identified as the Great Commandment (NCR, Oct. 30, 2025). Far too many of our politicians pay lip service to their own Christian identity while denying Christian values. No one should expect our politicians to lace their speeches with Christ's teachings but neither should we tolerate public professions of Christianity by individuals who belie those teachings when forming and implementing policies. The reduction of funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as well as cuts to health insurance programs to provide tax cuts for those at the highest end of the income ladder are cases in point which prove the hypocrisy of the primary actors.
Loving our neighbor sometimes involves rising to the occasion to defend others from the excesses of a government which seems intent upon serving the few at the expense of the many. Our dioceses have programs which the faithful are expected to fund which assist the poor. However, the organization most capable of reaching the most in need is the government. Without funding those programs will cease and the private sector, including our dioceses, will be incapable of meeting the need. Our church needs to make a point when soliciting funding that as a church we also expect our government to support those same programs but on a larger scale. Our neighbors are not just those in proximity but everyone in our country who needs our individual, church, and governmental support.
CHARLES LE GUERN
Mount Holly, North Carolina
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