Jolene McGowan’s Nov. 2 column (“ ‘Peace be with you,’ and with all the other outsiders in church for Mass”) was a cleverly worded attempt to trivialize and demean what is most sacred to Catholics.

But the humor of parody that is being used here is a convenient method of hiding its evil intent, for this is the climate and classic example of how bigotry and intolerance begin to take root and thrive in any community they enter.

The unseemly nature of McGowan’s column centers on the most sacrosanct element of Catholic belief, namely, the Holy Eucharist, a sacrament that deals with the most intimate union of God and man throughout the entire Catholic world – a precious gift to be revered and not trifled with, as the author has seen fit to do.

The worthy reception of this sacrament has been maliciously misconstrued and made light of as well. The Press Herald should exercise discretion in the choice of columns it selects for publication, particularly ones that use this important venue for the dissemination of material that denigrates, by ridicule, the religious practices of the Catholic faith.

Freedom of the press is not the issue here. But civility and common decency would dictate that any news outlet not be seen as the sponsor of such willful and flippant caricatures that only defame the image of that which is inherently good.

Hopefully, Ms. McGowan may one day see the truth and not scoff at it, remembering that a heart that seeks God with malice is only, sad to say, self-deceived.


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