I was among the many thousands of Baltimore's working class and poor children who greatly benefited from a Catholic school education. The present closing of many Baltimore schools can be attributed to changing demographics, the nearly prohibitive cost of any private education (whether religious or secular), a wounded American economy and the lack of teaching nuns.

Dan Rodricks' twisted reasoning ("Education and atonement," June 13) in equating the Baltimore school closures with the tragedy of child abuse was shrill and illogical. Mr. Rodricks' hostility and negativity does not reflect the mindset of Baltimore's Catholic laity, nor is Mr. Rodricks the voice of this community.

Mary Catalfamo, Baltimore