Worthy Of Applause

To the Editor,

As we all know from our Latin Class I, there’s a lot of “laud” (not always “loud”) in the word applaud. Of course, the base of the word means praise and while there are some very base things that receive praise, there are several events in the Greater Newtown Area deserving of such.

All one needs to do is to consider some of the events of the past and current week to realize the difference.

1) The front page picture in a local paper showing a Danbury Rabbi and a Roman Catholic Priest (and off camera, I am certain, the third member of that awesome triumvirate, a Congregational Minister) holding candles in the midst of St Gregory Church and showing remorse for the sins of humanity against our very brothers and sisters. This event memorialized the Holocaust and, united as one family, asked forgiveness. This event needs to be applauded.

2) A tremendously exciting concert by the Newtown Middle School, on successive evenings of this very week, featuring the bands, chorus, and orchestra, deserves much applause. The discipline of the children in putting forth their efforts in order to learn what appeared to be some very difficult renditions is deserving of our praise. So to, stand the talented instructors of these groups and the school itself. Newtown is most fortunate for its musical talent.

3) Watching the funeral service at St Patrick Cathedral, on Tuesday last, offered occasion for praise and not. The service was most  impressive and carried out with utter simplicity and solemnity. At no point did the pomp and circumstance take away from the warmth and dignity of that sacred moment. The man being honored and prayed for, John Cardinal O’Connor, deserved much praise. One need not agree with all of his decisions in life (or anyone else’s, for that matter) to manifest our applause. I thought it most appropriate that people broke into spontaneous applause both at the homily, and even more so, upon the procession to the crypt chapel, for burial. I am not of the opinion that all  of the dignitaries in the front row of the cathedral, that day, deserve the same measure of applause. Life just does not seem to be as important to many of them as it  appeared to be to the young lad with one leg, sitting immediately in  front of them. He is worthy of applause.

In addition, one could plainly witness at St Patrick Cathedral that not all of those involved in politics were sitting in  the front pews. The cathedral was replete with politicians, many of whom were wearing mitres and clad in other such “religious” apparel. Maintaining a proper separation of church from state (and not all is necessarily proper), the religious from the secular and the prophet from the ruler, is quite learnable, discernable, tricky, and worthy of our praise.

The Reverend Leo McIlrath

Corpus Christi: a catholic community

13 Sugarloaf Road, Sandy Hook, CT                           May 10, 2000