Race or immigration issue?

Good news. The racial disparities cited by Joe Ruff in the Sept. 30 issue are really disparities of a different kind (“New restorative justice initiative explores racial injustice”). Since 1990 people of color have grown in Minnesota by 430%. Since 2000 that population has more than doubled. Few of these people came with money. Few came with a college education. Many came with English as a second language. Do you really expect a flood of English-as-a-second-language speakers to get the same marks in education as those who have spoken English from birth and who have parents who have spoken English from birth? Do you expect a flood of indigents to suddenly acquire the wealth that longtime residents in a stable economy have acquired? In the accompanying article, Father Griffith said, “It includes the fact that our brothers and sisters of color experience harm in our society.” That harm was done in Somalia and Central America, not in Minnesota. If you can’t identify the problem, you won’t find the answer.

Mike Ebnet
Our Lady of Grace, Edina

Unnecessary information

I question the wisdom of The Catholic Spirit staff in publishing the article on John Bussmann’s passing (“John Bussmann, disgraced priest, dies,” Sept. 30), complete with a list of crimes and wrongdoings that occurred during his time as an active priest. I am aware that The Catholic Spirit’s article was but a brief synopsis of Mr. Bussmann’s “official” obituary that appeared in the local secular newspaper. But again, what was the author of his obituary trying to accomplish by including such a detailed list of his failings? If you were a friend of Mr. Bussmann, it is likely that you were already aware of his transgressions. If you didn’t know Mr. Bussmann, in my opinion, it’s no one’s business what issues tormented his life. Publishing a chronological list of his misdeeds only serves to disparage the deceased. May God be merciful to John Bussmann. May he rest in peace. Nothing more needs to be said.

Jerome Wilczyk
Assumption, St. Paul

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