Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

To the Editor:

Re “In Bolivia, Pope Apologizes for Church’s ‘Grave Sins’” (news article, July 10):

Pope Francis’ powerful and very welcome apology for the complicity of the Roman Catholic Church in colonial oppression is also a further example of his insistence on the necessity of addressing truthfully the role of his church in the modern world.

His apology is of a piece with his refusal to defend those involved in the child sex-abuse scandal, including bishops, and also his confrontation of other corruptions, like that of the Vatican bank.

What is impressive in Pope Francis’ practice is the way in which, while seeking first of all the spiritual renewal of Catholicism, he does not ignore, minimize or seek to explain away the evident sins and the wrongdoing of those who have represented the church in the past.

His understanding of Christian renewal involves not only social justice and investment in the poor but also truthful confession of present and past sins and injustices.

JOHN C. HIRSH

Washington

The writer teaches medieval literature at Georgetown University.

If I were a Southerner, I would display the Confederate Battle Flag to show my Southern pride. I would not let people who hate my culture define the flag as a hateful symbol. I'm glad to see that Southerners are fighting back against the bigots.

Nobody with any sense opposes immigration. Anybody with any sense opposes illegal immigration. The difference between the former and the latter is the difference between sex and rape, or gift and theft, or euthanasia and murder. Here is Eugene Volokh's story.

Do you remember Live Aid? It was 30 years ago today.

Here.

Here.

Citadel (1977).

Mark Spahn pointed out that I'm not the only person who reads the letters to the editor of the New York Times.

Howard Dean explains how they work.

To the Editor:

Re “States Weigh Gay Marriage, Rights and Cake” (news article, July 8):

My late father, a talented baker who owned and operated a pastry shop in Scarsdale, N.Y., was a passionate advocate for civil liberties and human rights. He was a baker by day and an activist by night.

Were he alive, he would share this tip with Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who does not want to create wedding cakes for same-sex couples: The ingredients of equality and respect for all in society must be combined as carefully as the ratio of butter, sugar, flour, filling and butter cream in every wedding cake.

And a key ingredient for success in a bakery is the joy of baking to make others happy.

In short, if you can’t stand the joy, then it is time to get out of the bakery kitchen. If you bake for one, then you must bake for all.

STUART SCHEAR

New York

Note from KBJ: Really? Does this apply to Muslim bakers? What if I wanted a cake that depicted Mohammed? What if a member of the Ku Klux Klan wanted a cake from a black baker? What if a Nazi wanted a cake from a Jewish baker? What if a person wanted a cake that said "I hate fags" from a homosexual baker? What if a man wanted a cake that said "Women are bitches" from a female baker?