Bishops' Debate

To the Editors: The letter from the Roman Catholic bishops on the use of nuclear armaments is far more than a theological discussion [Nov. 29]. The bishops are making a valiant attempt to prevent the destruction of he human race.

J. Meredith Smith West Palm Beach, Fla.

As a Catholic priest I am encouraged to see that some in the American church are willing to tackle the most important moral issue in history. The bishops are well aware that they are leaving themselves open to charges of meddling in affairs beyond their competence. But it is better to interfere than to ignore the issue and leave it in the hands of those who deal only in political realities.

(The Rev.) Thomas P. Kneebis Binghamton, N.Y.

Though a Lutheran seminarian, I applaud the Catholic bishops for challenging U.S. nuclear policy. It is time that religion and ethics were brought back into public discourse.

Richard L. Swenson St. Paul

God save us Catholics from our bishops. Under their "nuclear theology" the U.S. would still be fighting the Japanese.

Aniello J. Confessore Huntington, N. Y.

Just as war is too serious a subject toleave to generals, certainly deterrence of war is too important to leave to the clergy

H. Thomas Fincher Lieutenant Colonel, U.S.A Newport, R.I

The Catholic bishops have as much right as anyone to speak out on issues of nuclear arms. They can also expect to be listened to about as much as anybody else.

Mary Schwappach Camp Springs, Md

Man of the Year

The clear choice is the peace activist who is responsible for the phenomenal growth of the grass-roots movement for nuclear disarmament.

Carol L. Addison Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Pope John Paul II.

Mary Bukay Wilmington, Del.

Philip Habib, an envoy for all seasons.

Saleem K. Boghdan North Plainfield, N.J.

Yasser Arafat, commander of the heroes who defended Beirut.

George Khoury Riyadh

The half a million civilians who stayed in Beirut.

Kamal Yacoub Coral Gables, Fla.

Lenny Skutnik, who rescued a woman from the icy water in the Washington, D.C., air disaster.

Freda McGee Mount Pulaski, Ill.

"The Man in the Water," who gave his life so that others could be rescued before him.

Paul De Vincenzo Savannah, Ga.

Phyllis Schlafly.

Don Dussias Buffalo

Ed Garvey, who gave us the cold-turkey treatment for football addiction.

Walter T. Sokolski Kalamazoo, Mich.

Saving Social Security

After reading your story "Wrestling with Social Security" [Nov. 22], I have decided that somebody besides the young should support Social Security. No one guarantees that my income will keep up with inflation. I am taxed so much now that I am not able to save for my retirement. It is my generation that just might be reduced to eating cat food.

Cheryl Dillon Stockton, Ill.

Perhaps it is time to tax churches synagogues and other religious institutions. The money collected from these sources should be earmarked for Social Security. What better way to serve God?

Margaret Z. Schwartz Los Angeles

I am ashamed of my fellow retirees who assume that retirement from remunerative labor also means retiring from the obligations of citizenship. Social Security benefits should be taxed as income, particularly the portion that is paid by employers. The graduated income tax, with double exemptions, protects those who are poor from hardship or impoverishment.

Richard E. Haswell Springfield, Mo.

Organ Ethics

The scarcity of organs for transplanting raises ethical questions, but not the ones covered in your article "Which Life Should Be Saved?" [Nov. 22]. The issue is: Do people have the right to decide what to do with their own organs? The American Medical Association can lay down guidelines for transplants, but this does not negate the donor's privilege to choose who will receive his organs.

Rena Epstein David Henderson Arlington, Va.

The most difficult ethical question facing medicine today is: Are the donors really dead? As a neurosurgeon, I speak for the speechless, the so-called brain dead. When I must make the decision to terminate life support for my patient so that another may live, I feel unclean. I decry the dehumanization of our profession today. We are being asked to place the welfare of the next patient on a recipient list above the best interests of our own patient. The criteria for brain death can be too loosely applied these days, especially if there is a publicity campaign for the transplant of a vital organ, such as a pediatric organ. Richard G. Nilges, M.D. Chicago

I lost an 18-month-old boy in a drowning accident. If someone in that emergency room had only mentioned it, I would have jumped at the chance to donate an organ from my child.

Lynn Scaduto Miami

Lear's Hopes

Your story on the Lear Fan turboprop plane, "Saga in Epoxy" [Nov. 15], was well researched and accurate. However, Bob Burch's expectation that the Lear Fan will be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration in the "summer of 1983" is based on unfounded optimism and lack of experience. If Burch's group is willing to put in an extra $200 million on top of the $90 million it has already invested, it might obtain certification by 1985.

What has been said about my mother however, is not correct; she did the best she could when she was running the company, particularly since she was surrounded by incompetence and greed.

John Lear Cairo

In spite of your unfactual article, the Lear Fan will become not only a technological marvel but a commercial one as well--thanks to the foresight of my father, the dedication of my stepmother Moya, and especially the 275 buyers who have provided a backlog of orders totaling $350 million for what you have mistakenly called a "commercial misfit."

William P. Lear Jr. Los Altos Hills, Calif.

Your report on the Lear Fan plane does a disservice to a great lady. Moya Lear's courage, determination and fortitude made the Lear Fan a reality. In the middle of things she is, confused she ain't.

Arthur M. Godfrey New York City

Wrong Note

In response [Nov. 22] to your story on the Wurlitzer Co.'s fight to survive [Oct. 11], Sandra Rosen says that "no other manufacturer has maintained the consistent high quality of Wurlitzer." Obviously, Reader Rosen has not had to service these products. If she had, she would have been playing a different tune.

Kenneth S. Wagner North Braddock, Pa.

Dam Production

Brazil and Paraguay should be congratulated for building the largest hydroelectric dam in the world [Nov. 15]. But if the dam produces power equivalent to only a "600,000-bbl.-a-year oil well," it is not a very good investment. You obviously mean 600,000 bbl. a day.

Robert T. Durbrow Carmichael, Calif.

Ring Death

Re the tragic death of Korean Boxer Kim Duk Koo [Nov. 29]: Let's not point a finger at boxing. Perhaps more than any other sport, boxing is a microcosm of life in which the lessons of victory and defeat are taught in brutal fashion. Casualties are bound to occur, just as in other professions where pressures can lead to ulcers, alcoholism and suicide. Boxing is one more example of humans striving for a dream.

Bob Hutcheson 1982 Dayton Gloves Boxer Xenia, Ohio

Few boxers hail from affluent families. Often these men have but two options: fighting or crime. When this is your choice, boxing takes on a new light.

Steve Kuplinski Seneca Falls, N. Y.

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