Learn more about immigration
The response (“Immigration issue not so simple,” April 12) to my letter (“Unsustainable way of life,” March 22) was the exact response I was hoping wouldn’t come: that the overwhelming majority of immigrants are radical Muslims trying to impose sharia law above our constitution. Muslims make up less than 10 percent of immigrants here, coming from horrific circumstances of war. Why is it so hard to see the face of Jesus in these people? Please encourage your readers to go to immigration workshops led by people who have been working on the frontlines of this issue for years, and have seen firsthand the real situation, and how harmful the media have been at portraying the fear-mongering stereotypes of our immigrants. Maryknoll lay missionary Marty Roers recently spoke at St. Albert the Great parish in south Minneapolis to our adult faith formation group about this. (There were so many questions and so many misconceptions on this topic, that he will be coming back to speak again.)
Elizabeth Rosenwinkel
St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis
In defense of enneagrams
As professor emeritus in theology at St. Catherine University, I have long supported both The Catholic Spirit and the Loyola Spirituality Center (or Institute) for years. The latter was described in an article in your paper by Matthew Davis (“Loyola marks 40 years of offering spiritual direction,” April 12). While I appreciated most of what I read, there was a statement in it that I thought was misleading. Davis writes that the enneagram had “occult roots that the Church cautioned against in the 2003 pontifical document ‘Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian reflection on the New Age.’” I am acquainted with the latter document, having read it when it was first published. I think it is important for your readers to know that not all pontifical documents are considered to be infallible, and this one in particular was put out “as a provisional report,” written by a variety of groups. While its intent was to examine “New Age” phenomenon and help Catholics discern what is authentically Christian, it was not all that helpful in its negative interpretation of not only the enneagram, but also Jungian psychology and Celtic spirituality, two areas which I have taught and written about for decades. All three areas — the enneagram, Jungian psychology and Celtic spirituality — have been exceptionally helpful in spiritual direction as well as personal enrichment, and in no way do they detract from a primary loyalty to Christ and our rich spiritual heritage.
Ed Sellner
Professor emeritus, St. Catherine University, St. Paul
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