Readers sound off on practicing Catholics, shareholder interests and Jann Wenner

A sacred space for community is going underused

Bellerose: This past Sunday, I was saddened to see many empty pews at Mass. Now, on a regular basis, an increasing percentage of Catholics are not attending Mass. About 1.4 million residents of Brooklyn and Queens identify as Catholics and yet about one-third actually attend Mass.

As for myself, I find it most rewarding to worship our Lord with my fellow parishioners. Those who don’t attend are missing an opportunity. I converted from the Lutheran faith at 41. I am now 74, and I’m glad I did. As Catholics, I think this is a time for us to engage in evangelization. All you need to do is ask a friend, relative or neighbor to attend Mass with you. You need to express to others that it is a warm and loving feeling at Mass. We need to open up our faith to all those we meet.

Here is something else to think about: In Brooklyn and Queens we are a melting pot of immigrants, where we have people from 167 countries living in our communities. I think we ought to invite these new immigrants who are arriving to attend Mass with us.

Finally, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 9:37: “The harvest is abundant but laborers are few. Let’s bring in the harvest.” Well, we are the workers, let’s bring in the harvest. Frederick R. Bedell Jr.

Abdicated responsibility

Manhattan: The tragedy of the Kaporos tradition of slaughtering thousands of innocent chickens on the sidewalks of Brooklyn is obscene on so many levels. It’s not only that the great city of New York and city authorities condone it, but that the local animal welfare organizations, the ASPCA and Humane Society of New York, remain silent which makes them complicit. Of all organizations, they should speak out in outrage to end this horrific cruelty. Elaine Sloan

Fat chance

Brooklyn: To Voicer Hansje Kropis-Van de Geest: There’s about as much of a chance of members of Congress not getting paid during a government shutdown as a rolling snowball in hell. Josie Oliveri

Good company

Bronx: Fret not, Voicer Barbara Berg, put aside your fear and trepidation. I, MAGA alpha male, will dominate and take charge of any situation that might inconvenience or threaten your wellbeing. I can also assure you that the only thing that may cause you any discomfort and lead to a choking attack will not be food, but your own words and the truth. Bob Pascarella

Noble initiative

Fort Worth, Texas: I was thrilled to read that President Biden has founded a new office dedicated to gun violence prevention. In gratitude, I’m sending $120 to his reelection campaign in memory of the 120 Americans killed daily by gun violence in this country. Most other developed countries don’t have 120 gun deaths a year, let alone in a single day. With gun violence now the leading cause of death in children, I applaud Biden’s attempt to protect my grandchildren from this escalating threat, whereas the Republican Party continually endangers them by promoting and selling military-style assault rifles with extra-capacity magazines (that can massacre a classroom in seconds) to any Tom, Dick or Dirty Harry wannabe who wants one. Sharon Austry

Dangerous practices

Point Pleasant, N.J.: Re “Cyclist fighting for life” (Sept. 25): Here’s the problem — there are no laws for bike riders. They go the wrong way on one-way streets. They go against traffic on regular streets. They ride on sidewalks, they don’t stop at traffic lights or stop signs. Some of them don’t have signal lights or head and tail lights. They don’t wear reflective clothing at night, they ride down the middle of the street. They weave through traffic. They’re not registered or insured. I can go on and on, but the bottom line is they need to obey traffic laws that are followed by motorcycles and other vehicles, and law enforcement needs to enforce the laws. Gene Speroni

Show cause

Staten Island: So, NYC Sheriff Anthony Miranda, in his infinite wisdom, overrules three predecessors by approving a “good guy” letter for a personal friend. He then blames others and refuses to explain why his terminated-for-cause ex-sergeant is now a so-called good guy. There’s a new sheriff in town. Brian O’Leary

Impotent patrol

Jackson Heights: Mayor Adams had a brilliant idea unleashing RoboCop to patrol the subways. The criminals will have so much fun spraying graffiti on it, kicking and bashing it with bats and filming it for social media as it gets dumped onto the tracks that they won’t have time to terrorize the riders. Very smart. How about a second RoboCop to record the attacks on the first RoboCop? Oh, wait — as they won’t be prosecuted, the perpetrators will destroy that one, too. A third RoboCop? Fourth? Fifth? Perhaps RoboCop is not such a good idea. Never mind. Glenn B. Jacobi

Takers

White Rock, British Columbia: Re “Writers Guild, Hollywood studios reach tentative deal that could end strike” (Sept. 25): Maximizing profits at the expense of those with so much less, or nothing, will likely always be a significant part of the nature of the big-business beast. Still, there must be an imminent point at which the status quo can and will end up hurting big business’ own monetary interests. One can imagine that a healthy and large consumer base is needed. It brings to mind the allegorical frog stung by the instinct-abiding scorpion while ferrying across the river, leaving both to drown. Corporate officers will shrug their shoulders and say their job is to protect shareholders’ interests. The shareholders, meanwhile, shrug their shoulders while stating that they just collect the dividends, the CEOs make the decisions. The more they make, the more they want — nay, need — to make next quarterly. It’ll never be enough. Frank Sterle Jr.

Unmeritocratic

Bronx: When Bob Marley died in 1981, Harrison Ford was on the cover of Rolling Stone. More recently, that magazine’s listing of the 100 greatest singers had the wildly overrated Bono at number eight and one of the all-time greatest singers, Patti LaBelle, at number 92. So it does not surprise me that Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner would choose seven white men as “The Masters.” But if Wenner did not find Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye to be “articulate,” perhaps he wasn’t listening. I rank Mayfield in the same league as John Lennon and Bob Dylan and above the others. While U2 and Bono have done some good work, they are not on the level of the masters. Now that Wenner is off the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s board of directors, will LaBelle finally be inducted, and will there be no more mediocre inductees such as The Doobie Brothers? Richard Warren

Degraded incentive

Brooklyn: I am not the best test-taker, but it doesn’t mean that I am thrown out of the running for college acceptance. Not being able to submit my SAT score gave me peace of mind about having a chance to attend a decent school. However, the existence of applying without SAT and ACT scores caused me to rethink my priorities about school. My discipline and motivation crumbled day by day because of the decreased importance of grades. The College Board should reconsider the basis of their application and the supplement included. Arthur Gorodetsky

Jersey boys

Manhattan: Sen. Bob Menendez, Tony Soprano is very proud of you. Thomas Bower

Do as they say?

Monroe Township, N.J.: As I read several newspapers a day, all the woes of the world seem to be blamed on climate change. If you look at the history of Earth, you would know that the world was tropical at one time. There were ice ages when it was very cold. Yes, the climate does change. The powers that be just use this as an excuse to control us. They hold a conference and all fly there in private jets that put more carbon in the air than my car will emit in a year. The public has to wake up. John Ray