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Some Anglican leaders in the U.S. think the confirmation of gay bishop V. Gene Robinson will cause a "shattering of the Episcopal Church" [SOCIETY, Aug. 18]. Perhaps this display of intolerance and bigotry will sever the church into two parts: the side of love, tolerance and peace vs. the side of hatred, prejudice and condemnation. The latter group may not realize how fortunate they are to be able to practice their religion freely, as they selfishly quest to make others conform to their own narrow standards. ROBERT GENNET Los Angeles
It's wrong to label the current dissidents in the Episcopal Church as "conservatives." The dissidents have compromised or accepted such issues as the revised liturgy, women in the priesthood and heretical clergymen. They are, in fact, the church's moderates. True conservatives left the church years ago. RICHARD S. SHAWKEY Arnold, Calif.
The controversy surrounding the ratification of Bishop Robinson is just one symptom of a much deeper divide: between those Christians who consider the Bible to be literally the unchanging, inerrant word of God and those who reject this view. From the Fundamentalist perspective, the elevation of Robinson is equivalent to acknowledging that Scripture is not inerrant, that its prohibitions against homosexuality are neither the word nor the will of God. There is more than homosexuality at stake here; gays have been caught in the cross fire. GRANT GRISSOM Media, Pa.
Lethal Border Crossings
In "People Smugglers Inc.," you described how the traffickers who smuggle migrants over the border into the U.S. have become violent and are using automatic weapons to fire on American and Mexican authorities [WORLD, Aug. 18]. The Bush Administration has stationed 139,000 troops in Iraq but none on the Mexican border. Bush's priorities are upside down. He refuses to deal with this ongoing scandal. When will he put 20,000 troops on the Mexican border to defend the U.S.? LAWRENCE BRISKIN Centerville, Ohio
I would like to remind all those who feel the welling of compassion for the "undocumenteds" who come across the U.S.-Mexico border that when migrants choose to deal with criminals, they should expect them to act like criminals. While no sane person would wish harm to the migrants, do not forget that they choose to enter the country this way. They could go through the immigration system, as millions of others do. It is their choice to trust the "coyotes." If granting permanent residency to migrants is the only thing Washington officials can think of, we may as well throw up our hands and open the border completely. It's hardly stopping anyone now. MERRY DOBBINS Dallas, Ga.
Self-Interest at Work
In Daniel Kadlec's "They're Getting Richer," Kadlec noted that it is corporate executives who are benefiting most from President Bush's tax cut on dividends [BUSINESS, Aug. 18]. I guess Kadlec thinks he can decide for me who deserves the money and who does not. A much more useful article would have noted how much corporations have raised or lowered their dividends in the latest quarter compared with dividend figures for past quarters. GARY BARTLETT Oakton, Va.