Catholic church deems all non-marital sex acts immoral
I want to correct a misstatement attributed to me by Michael Ollove in "Voices of people scorned" (Nov. 16).
In it, he recounts testimony presented at a public hearing in Salisbury convened by the governor's Special Commission to Study Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Mr. Ollove wrote that I "reminded the commission that some regard homosexuality as a religious transgression."
On the contrary, my testimony made a specific distinction between homosexual orientation and homosexual sexual activity. It is the latter the Catholic church regards as sinful. Indeed, a sin can only be a thought, word or action, not an inclination.
Therefore, my actual oral statement read, in pertinent part, "The church maintains its and society's long-held position on the immorality of homosexual acts even as it respects the human dignity of persons who have homosexual feelings."
The Catholic church teaches that the sexual act should be reserved for the union of a man and woman within marriage.
Therefore, Catholics who adhere to the teaching of their church profess homosexual sexual activity immoral for the same reason they consider intercourse outside marriage between a man and a woman morally illicit.
Jeff Caruso
Annapolis
The writer is associate director for social concerns of the Maryland Catholic Conference.
Managed care may leave foster kids out in the cold
The findings on the problems of children in foster and kinship care accessing medical services documented in the recent report from Advocates for Children and Youth are consistent with anecdotal evidence that has come to my attention ("Health care for kids lacking, study finds," Nov. 1).
These children are among the most vulnerable in Maryland. They have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect or abandonment. They frequently have serious psychological problems and are medically needy.
The medical system that serves them must provide immediate access to a wide range of medical and mental health services and must be flexible enough to allow for changes of their managed care providers during residency changes.
We thought adequate protections were written into the law, but our anecdotal data and the findings of ACY's report raise serious questions about whether managed care works for Maryland's most vulnerable children, those in state-supervised care.
Charlie Cooper
Baltimore
The writer is administrator of the Citizens' Review Board for Children.
Historic buildings make our neighborhoods shine
How ironic it is that in a neighborhood long on charm, but short on architectural beauty, the Enoch Pratt Free Library plans to demolish what is obviously one of the most significant and beautiful buildings -- Highlandtown's Grand Theater.
We shouldn't be tearing down the gems of the neighborhood. We should be carefully polishing them, or at least moth-balling them until some more enlightened time, when we may finally realize that it is precisely such wonderful, old buildings that make our neighborhoods shine.
Greg Baranoski
Baltimore
Support group assists learning disabled adults
I was delighted to see The Sun's positive article about college students with learning disabilities succeeding with accommodations and support ("Students with disabilities can succeed," Nov. 15).
As a parent of an adult child with learning disabilities, who graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and is now employed. I know that a good support system, along with family and friends, helped my son to succeed.
The Group for Independent Learning Disabilities (GILD) is a support group for adults with learning disabilities, where they find fun, friendship, information and caring support.
I have found it very helpful in dealing with the issues facing people with learning disabilities and the impact those issues have on family members.
Harriett Woolf
Reisterstown
The writer is a board member of GILD.
City is still searching for its peace dividend
It was insulting to read the comment "Good riddance" regarding the demise of the Development Commission of Baltimore City ("The region in Election 2000," editorial, Nov. 11).
It was also misleading to describe the commission as "an illogical and misguided 13-year-old commission that had attempted to supervise Pentagon spending from the banks of the Patapsco."
Supervise means to oversee and direct. Only Lockheed Martin and other military contractors might be able to do that with Pentagon spending.
Missile defense is just one program that could be eliminated, with a portion of the funds reallocated to cities such as Baltimore for education, drug treatment, mass transit and other social needs.
Despite the demise of the Development Commission, Baltimore activists intend to continue to highlight Pentagon fraud, waste and abuse and demand the city's share of a peace dividend.
Max Obuszewski
Baltimore
O'Malley can't match Townsend's record
