In his Nov. 30 letter to the editor, Coadjutor Archbishop John Nienstedt cites four verses from the Bible and concludes that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and under no circumstances can they be approved." Well, the Bible has much to say about divorce as well. Are the Catholic Church's grounds for granting an annulment consistent with what the Bible has to say? The church is picking and choosing what it wants to uphold in the Bible.

MARK BISIGNANI, MINNEAPOLIS

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on the evening of the conclave that elected him Pope Benedict XVI, said in a homily that we are now witnessing the "dictatorship of relativism," which "does not recognize anything as absolute and leaves as the ultimate measure only the measure of each one and his desires." This is a reminder of the sharp line between right and wrong; a real challenge for each of us -- a challenge our soon-to-be archbishop of the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, John Nienstedt, is putting before us out of faith, obedience and courage.

RUSS PAUMEN, MAPLE LAKE

Did any other reader notice that in Archbishop Nienstedt's response to Nick Coleman's Nov. 28 column regarding the church's and the archbishop's lack of compassion toward gays, none of Nienstedt's biblical references included a direct statement by Jesus?

There of course is a reason for that, leaving open the question: What would Jesus say? Many of us Christians faithfully believe that Jesus would be open, and, yes, compassionate and accepting toward his homosexual brethren.

HOWARD HERBST, MINNESOTA LAKE, MINN.

Nick Coleman omits the catechism's declaration that homosexual acts are both "acts of grave depravity" and "intrinsically disordered." Measured against the catechism, Holy Scripture and centuries of Catholic tradition, Archbishop Nienstedt's viewpoint is not extreme.

JOHN NAHRGANG, EDINA