Readers Write for Sunday, April 12

What those who protest President Obama's speech at the University of Notre Dame on May 17 don't understand is that the Catholic Church is more than mauve and red. It is not just the bishops and cardinals; it is everyone -- people who wear all colors, speak in different accents and practice their faith in many ways. It consists of communities such as St. Stephen's in Minneapolis and St. Agnes in St Paul -- people of good conscience who have different interpretations of challenging issues.

MICHAEL ALLEN MIKOLAJCZAK,

MINNEAPOLIS

After reading George Will's April 5 commentary and the Los Angeles Times article that he references, I'm more convinced than ever that the administration's changes in store for Detroit are necessary.

Will believes that drivers won't buy what Detroit manufactures, but Detroit created the demand for luxury pickup trucks and SUVs. Why buy a Ford F-Series or Chevy Tahoe when you can buy a Lincoln Navigator or Cadillac Escalade? American automaking innovation has focused on audiovisual enhancements and coolers in the glove box, with fuel efficiency as an afterthought. My nearly eight-year-old van gets the same (or better) mileage than its 2009 replacement. A crossover vehicle -- another "need" created by Detroit -- offers a smaller vehicle with similar gas mileage to my old van.

Detroit has not kept up with its foreign competitors, and, without a push from Washington, it will continue to lose market share and favor with U.S. buyers. The time for change is now.

MICHAEL BURAKOWSKI, GOLDEN VALLEY

I know many people who don't believe in life after death but who are just as ethical -- or more so -- than many believers. Recent polls show that around 15 percent of the U.S. population falls into this nonbeliever category. These people tend to be more intelligent, more educated, more law-abiding and less superstitious than the believers.

On the other side, many religious people are antigay and antifeminist and put up roadblocks to scientific research that could lead to less suffering.

JOHN ANNEN, ELK RIVER

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David Lebedoff desperately tries to connect the economic crisis and other immoralities to freethinking secularists who don't believe in heaven and hell. His article is littered with unsubstantiated accusations and baseless suppositions suggesting that a lack of belief in a Judgment Day naturally lends itself to self-serving hedonism.

We secularists -- consisting of atheists, agnostics and humanists -- believe in the sanctity of humankind and the earth on which we live. Albert Einstein got it right when he said: "Ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."

ERIC JAYNE, APPLE VALLEY

After reading the feature article on Rep. Michele Bachmann ("The messenger," April 5), I'm reminded how Republicans like Bachmann are quick to criticize yet offer no solutions to problems they created. It's like a member of my family spending all of our savings at the casino and saying "don't worry, I'll go win it back the same way I lost it" while the rest of the members scramble to figure out how to pay the rent and put food on the table.

MAC SANTIAGO, MINNEAPOLIS

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There are many very unhappy people at the moment. The man in Pittsburgh who killed those police officers blogged that he was afraid that Obama was going to take his guns and his freedom. Where do you think he heard that stuff?