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A Letter to Cardinal Rigali The following is one of Frank McGinty’s letters to the Cardinal. We encourage you to echo Frank’s thoughts in your own personal letters to the Cardinal. Dear Cardinal Rigali, Seventeen-year-old Richard Johnson, recently an honors grad of St. Joe’s Prep and winner of an academic scholarship to the college, was shot and killed in South Philadelphia this past weekend. 52 people have died so far in London. The casualties in Iraq climb each day. On July 19 the Israeli government will begin demolishing the homes of 50 families [500 people] and take possession of 125 acres of Palestinian farmland in Hebron so the ‘wall’ of separation can go on. I know you are saddened by these events no less than I am. We know that Christ figuratively weeps. The reason for this letter is to ask you to meet with three members of Catholic Peace Fellowship to discuss the local church’s response to the violent world we live in. We see the September 18 closing of the Year of the Eucharist as a providential opportunity for the local Catholic community to publicly pray and witness for justice, an end to violence, and for peace in our city and world-wide. May we discuss all of this with you? We await your reply. Frank McGinty |