MAIL CALL AND CORRECTIONS

HIV and Crystal Meth

Public-health officials, gay and HIV/AIDS organizations have failed to respond effectively to the convergence of the crystal-meth epidemic and HIV ("Party, Play--And Pay"). Frustrated by a lack of local leadership, we raised more than $80,000 from private donors (including gay bars) to launch one of the first crystal-meth and HIV-education campaigns targeting gay and bisexual men. After we exhausted our private funds, the campaign ended. We hope the latest wave of media attention will generate new leadership and resources before another generation must confront life with HIV.
Steven B. Johnson
Health Policy Consultant
David Contois, Chair
San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative
San Diego, Calif.

Your article "Party, Play--And Pay" made me wonder what the world is coming to. The descriptions made me cringe, and the statistics made me gasp. But none of the words in the article affected me as much as when 45-year-old Hans Kindt--who recently lost his job and home, and contracted HIV due to his crystal-meth addiction--stated, "Had there been a candid, clear, honest discussion about the drug and its dangers--not the hysteria we are prone to in this country--then I think I would have listened." So Kindt means to tell us that he didn't know that snorting or smoking or shooting up meth, and sleeping with random, unprotected men was a bad thing, but if someone had sat him down and calmly explained to him that it wasn't a wise choice, he would have listened? I don't buy it. Kindt has no one to blame but himself.
Jenna Kennedy
New Auburn, Wis.

'Spiritual Grace Under Pressure'

Thanks for " 'Precious' Suffering" (Feb. 28), an impressive and overdue tribute to Pope John Paul II and to his inspiring spiritual grace under pressure. As your article makes clear, history does not offer much help in the matter of a pope's resignation. A compos sui pope, however, could see to it that the church is spared a preventable historical emergency. A related question, however, must be considered. Cardinals, if they are 80 or older, are legally deemed unfit, only because of age, to elect a new pope. A fortiori, it could be legally decreed that a person may no longer serve as pope once he reaches the age of 80. A papal election could, in that case, be a scheduled event properly announced and prepared. During my four years at the Vatican I was privileged to enjoy the friendship of a number of cardinals who had decided never to join their eminent confreres at papal functions in St. Peter's Basilica as their personal protest against the decree that made them incapable of being conclave participants because of their age. It's an easier task to elect a pope than to be a pope.
Fr. Larry N. Lorenzoni, SDB
Salesian Provincial Office
San Francisco, Calif.