Bear good fruits.

THOUGH NOT A CATHOLIC, WENDELL BERRY IN HIS INTERCATHOLIC, view with Jack Jezreel, "Care for the earth is a local call" in the June issue, points the way to a true Catholic and true Christian concern for God the Creator and his creation. And he doesn't do it in a pious or abstract way but with specific examples of faith in action.

Farming itself certainly requires faith and action. Berry encourages us and, through his life and writing, shows us how to live a Christian life full of faith--full of action--regardless of whether we are farmers or lawyers or plumbers or homemakers.

Neal Beets Mesa, Ariz.

In the hands of babes

I was surprised and disappointed, that in his otherwise excellent article (June Sounding Board, "It's time to stop training our kids to kill") Lt. Col. Dave Grossman devoted only four or five lines to gun control.

The terrible imbalance in violent deaths between the United States and other First World countries (whose children also watch American TV and video games) cannot be put solely on the entertainment industry. No--it is the love and lure of the gun culture in American society that must be addressed, something that Grossman seems to feel is impossible to control. Why?

Father Gregory J. Boyle, a Jesuit priest who works with gangs in the East Los Angeles area, said it best (Los Angeles Times, April 26, 1999): "Kids haven't changed; their weapons have--guns are now so deadly that anyone who gets hit, gets buried. Yet we are silent on easy access."

How can we work to change this dreadful burden on our society?

Barbara Hagar Los Angeles, Calif.

With his background, Grossman brings incredible insight to the subject of violent youth. Yet, although he delineates the various culpable areas of our society, he never once discusses his own personal contribution to this problem or the guilt of that institution to which he is linked, the U.S. armed forces.

He never questions the morality of military training. Instead he states that we are training our children to kill, "but without the safeguards." I ask you as a fellow Christian, can there be any safeguards in any type of trained killing?

Grossman insists: "We have raised a generation of barbarians." But if young children who fail not of their own accord can be called barbarians, then the grown men and women of the military who willingly turn themselves over to be trained for the violence of death must be nothing close to human.

Continually throughout the article, Grossman fails to analyze the violence of our own military, which bombs foreign nations as I write, and instead finds fault elsewhere. While I refuse to believe any societal institution escapes blame for the problem of violent youth, Grossman's failure to discuss his personal history of involvement in military violence suggests exoneration.

Finally, his article places blame on the media. Not only is this unfair but irresponsible. Every institution and every person, no matter how removed, shares the guilt. As long as any one person refuses to accept blame, they will fail to bring about change. It takes an entire community to raise a generation correctly, and no one person can exonerate him or herself.

Aileen Parker Bronxville, N. Y.

A class suggestion

I wholeheartedly endorse Robert E. Burns's suggestion in his June The Examined Life column, "Reading, writing, and religion," that we teach world religions in our classrooms because, from experience, I know its effects are long-lasting. When I was teaching high-school sophomores 40 years ago, I included a six-week unit on comparative religions as part of world lit.

Living in the same community these 40 years, I frequently meet former students. Although I taught units from synonyms to Shakespeare, the religion unit is the one they always mention, frequently telling me that it not only broadened their understanding of other religions but gave them a greater understanding and appreciation of their own. Later, I taught the same unit to CCD classes with the same response.

Dolores Curran Littleton, Colo.

Who's responsible?

I am disappointed in Kevin Clarke's May Margin Notes, "Bang, bang, we're dead." I see it as just another example of blaming some system or object for the wrongdoing of an individual.

"Straw buying" weapons is illegal, as is committing other types of crimes (rape; drunk driving; assault with a baseball bat, a gun, or a knife). It is against the law. I was brought up to obey the law and do what is right. Period.

When someone drives drunk, the fault is not with the person who made the alcohol. In all my Catholic studies I do not recall anyone blaming the people who made the nails that were used for the crucifixion as being partly responsible for the death of Christ.

Temptation will continue to be around us. We need to spend more time teaching our children responsibility and right from wrong. They need to know that what they do, right or wrong, is their responsibility, not someone else's. I am adamantly opposed to punishing the responsible hunters and target shooters for the senseless, already illegal acts of other people.

Tom Kingsley Greensboro, N.C.

God the Father and Mother

Alex Garcia-Rivera's article "Can God see me when I go to the bathroom?" in the May issue touched me, as I am sure it touched many parents whose children have voiced questions about God.

At the article's end a request was made for questions children have asked. My 5-year-old son, Nathan, once wondered, "Why do we call God Father? Is there a Mother God?"

I answered by explaining that God is not really a man and God is not really a woman, but we do think of God as a parent. God is the parent of us all. We call God Father not because He is more like a daddy than a mommy, but because he is one and people long ago found it easier to think of God as Father. But, I continued, you can call God Mother, if you want to; I don't think God minds what you call him, as long as you say it with reverence in your heart.

Holly Wiegman Madison, Wis.

Garcia-Rivera's article is one of the best I've read in a long time.

Other doozies that children ask are: Why did God let my baby brother die? Can our prayers change God's mind? Why does God allow really bad crimes?

Peggy Saunders San Carlos, Calif.

Unworthy sacrifice

I found Linus Mundy's article, "A little sacrifice wouldn't kill you," in the May issue nothing short of appalling and disgusting. Unfortunately, his ideas are all too commonly accepted, and I believe that he and many others need to rethink their ideas about God, sacrifice, and children. It is not admirable that any man would agree to plunge a knife into the heart of his living, breathing child in order to please God or anyone else.

As a mother of a 1-year-old son, I am profoundly disturbed by traditional interpretations of the story of Abraham and Isaac, and I am terrified that these interpretations still hold sway among so many people. The only explanation of the story that ever made sense to me was that it was a tale reminding us that our God--unlike many other pagan deities--does not require human sacrifice.

Colleen Carpenter Cullinan Minneapolis, Minn.

Piercing insights

I enjoy your magazine, and I always find the cover quite provocative. The April cover of the pierced-tongue Generation X Catholic was just one of those covers.

I work at a small Catholic women's college in Los Angeles where we have a number of women who have had their tongues pierced. I have teased them about it, so I thought I had an inroad to bringing up the subject again by showing them the April cover. I found the response very interesting and thought I would share it with you.

A traditional Hispanic young woman told me that last Sunday she had wanted to go to Communion but didn't go just because she didn't know what the eucharistic minister would do when he saw her tongue pierced. That led to a good discussion about receiving Communion in the hand--something that had been suggested before but she never did.

Another student had a heart-breaking story with a compromised ending. She also is from a traditional Hispanic family, and her mother was very upset when she got her tongue pierced. The mother threw her out of the house. She talked with her mother, and they've compromised. The student doesn't wear the tongue stud when she's at home.

These stories helped me to see another side to our students, one that I hadn't seen (or guessed) before. Both students asked to read the article.

Sister Carol Brong, C.S.J. Los Angeles, Calif.

Common ground

I am writing to tell you that a middle-aged Jewish woman likes your magazine for all its features and insightful stories. I baby-sit for a family who receives your magazine. They leave it out for me, and sometimes I have told the parents about interesting articles they should look at because they are so busy.

The possibilities for social action, spirituality, culture, and family issues are not unique to any religion. Hopefully, we are all working for a better humankind. Keep up the gallant work.

Lindy, Spiezer Buffalo, N.Y.