Letters: ‘What Would Mary Do?’

If a woman is revered by the church for giving the faithful their savior, then surely women are good enough for leadership roles in the church to save it.
Vishwanath Ayengar, Wappingers Falls, N.Y.

It's great that NEWSWEEK did a cover story on the importance of women to the Roman Catholic Church, but I was disappointed that the piece failed to -acknowledge the courageous work of contemporary Catholic women. If you know what feminist theology is, it's -because Catholic women essentially created it. And if you want a good -answer to the question on your cover, look to Fordham University theology -professor Elizabeth Johnson. When asked a few years ago what Mary would say about the sex-abuse scandal, Johnson -quoted from Mary's Magnificat: "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly."
Angela Bonavoglia, author of Good Catholic Girls: How Women Are Leading The Fight To Change The Church, Mt. Vernon, N.Y.

In even the most unenlightened civilizations, child sex abuse is considered among the worst crimes. A modern Mary would indict the leaders in the Vatican—including the pope, who says the abuses are "petty gossip"—for systematic -human-rights violations. If these insulated, self-protecting priests had children of their own, the world would be a different place.
Carol Brown, Orinda, Calif.

'Drowning in Hate'
In Ellis Cose's well-written but one-sided column, he rails against the tea-party movement as if it were the incarnation of all things evil. At the same time, he fails to mention the eight years in which President George W. Bush endured daily vitriol. Did he complain? He did not. Did the left call for civility during that time? It did not.

Mike Morehouse, Merced, Calif.
Cose's column is timely and true. President Obama is being maligned by all sorts of fringe elements. I have never seen or heard anything like this before. I want the president to succeed, but I fear that so many individuals will do anything to discredit him, even when it is to the detriment of the whole country.
Ray Nicholson, Phoenix, Ariz.

'The McCain Mutiny'
How many more articles do we have to read about John McCain being a maverick? First he is, then he isn't. He embraces the term, then he denies it. McCain is a maverick only when it's in his interest to be one. The term "maverick" became a sick joke when, after the Democrats passed health-care reform, he declared that Republicans would no longer cooperate.
Michael Willhoite, Cranston, R.I.

Corrections In "A Woman's Place Is in the Church," we reported that Timothy Dolan is a cardinal. In fact, he is archbishop of New York. In "What Went Wrong," we mistakenly credited the portrait of Pope Benedict XVI. The painter is Suan Seh Foo. And in "Cleaning Up Dirty Police in Russia," we reported that Vladimir Putin was Russia's vice president. He is Russia's prime minister. NEWSWEEK regrets the errors.

Clarification In "Try to Hit These Curves" (April 5), the answer to question No. 14—Who managed three different teams in the World Series?—could also have been Dick Williams. He led the Red Sox in 1967, the Athletics in 1972 and '73, and the Padres in 1984.