No letters were printed this week; here is the letter from two weeks ago:

Reader: Follow new pope’s lead of encouragement and love toward a hope that does not disappoint

Daniel Conway’s editorial in the May 9 issue of The Criterion on “Waiting for Peter’s successor” was insightful, faithful, but also very down-to-Earth and “real-world” oriented.

Conway pointed out that the pope is a normal, regular human being, given to all the pitfalls and pratfalls of some, but called to lead Jesus’ Church and be both a nurturer and shepherd of the flock, which as of this writing is 1.4 billion people!

Our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has already come under scrutiny by some for being an American, and possibly a liberal one at that.

To this, I can only say Jesus never told Peter to separate his sheep, to give all the food to certain ones, and ignore others.

Conway closed with a note that the calling of a new pope is a challenge to the rest of us to follow his lead of encouragement and love, and toward a hope that does not disappoint.

- Sonny Shanks | Corydon