TO THE EDITOR:
The letters to the editor in the Oct. 3 Rhode Island Catholic responding to a previous editorial on the Green New Deal remind me of a story from another time. A reporter, as quoted in “The Roosevelt I Knew,” by Frances Perkins in 1946, once asked President Franklin Roosevelt:
“Mr. President, are you a Communist?”
“No.”
“Are you a capitalist?”
“No.”
“Are you a Socialist?
“No.”
“Well, what is your philosophy then?”
“Philosophy? I am a Christian and a Democrat — that’s all”.
Roosevelt sought to lift the heavy burdens from the shoulders of working people in a very difficult time. He encountered pushback and criticism. In the 21st century the challenges may be different but the pushback and criticism continue.
Father Thomas O’Neil, Senior Priest
