Letters: Mandela and Mahony, in photos

Re “Mahony’s sins,” Letters, and “He made the world better,” Mailbag, Dec. 7

Just imagine if the opinion section had had no words. Imagine if the only pieces on Saturday’s page had been those two pictures, which stand in stark, stomach-churning contrast to each other in several ways.

At the bottom of the page was a small, black-and-white picture of Nelson Mandela in his former prison cell; he was captured by the camera with a look of compassion on his face. At the top of the page was a much-larger picture, in full color, of Cardinal Richard M. Mahony sitting outside, free as a bird, with his back to the camera.

Sometimes, pictures tell the story better than words.

Thomas Mann

Pasadena

I read both articles, and what a contrast they were.

The Mahony letters were all about a person forgetting his ethics and only thinking about aggrandizing himself, while the Mandela letters praised a common man who did the right thing to make a better world by his high ethics. Which one has won the respect of the world?

I am a Catholic, and I wish church leaders would keep Mahony out of the public’s view.

Gloria T. Estrada

West Covina

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