Apologies

Re “Hey, I Said I Was Sorry,” Commentary, July 20:

After reading the article, I assumed I stumbled on the thesis of Ann Calhoun in her attempt to earn a Ph.D. in sarcasm. Reading it a second time, I now assume her purpose was to suggest that apologies being made by religious people, leaders and organizations are pointless if they are not the result of heartfelt changes in attitude and behavior. Who disagrees with her?

If she’s read “Healing America’s Wounds” by John Dawson, she knows he doesn’t. Does the Pope? I don’t know, but she seems to think he’s part of, in her words, “the self-serving in self-renewing pursuit of the meaningless.”

This recent spontaneous movement of asking forgiveness for historic injustices is serious and while questions should be asked and results studied, cynical sarcasm reveals far more about Calhoun than it reveals about those she mentions in her article.

THOMAS GRODE

Santa Monica