Category: Editorial

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Destroyers of peace: Connection between abortion and other kinds of violence

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child — a direct killing of the innocent child — murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?”

The world was shocked to learn that hundreds of people — many of them women and children — were killed in Syria on August 21 reportedly by the use of sarin gas. In the past two years, it has been reported that over 70,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war — and that might be an underestimate.

Millions of babies aborted

However, in comparison, there have been over 56 million unborn babies killed in the United States by induced abortions since 1973, when the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion in this country.

So far in 2013, there have been over 828,000 abortions performed in the U.S., including almost 44,000 after 16 weeks of gestation (www.numberofabortions.com). According to the Guttmacher Institute’s report as of July 2013, about four in 10 pregnancies have been terminated by abortion in our country.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Haven’t we learned? Pursue negotiations before taking military action in Syria

In the September 12, 2002, issue of the Catholic Herald, I wrote an editorial called “Iraq war: President has not made the case.” At that time, I didn’t think President George W. Bush had succeeded in mounting a convincing argument in favor of invading Iraq.

I agreed that Saddam Hussein was a dangerous dictator who had sacrificed his own people’s well-being to become a military power. However, it wasn’t proven that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Later, we learned here weren’t any such weapons in Iraq.

Committed to two wars for over 10 years

Yet on March 20, 2003, the United States led an invasion into Iraq. At the same time we were also committed to a war in Afghanistan.

It has been more than 10 years, and we’re still involved in both of those countries. Fortunately U.S. involvement is lessening, but we’ve spent a great deal of money and resources — and most importantly lost many lives — in these past 10 years.

Now we’re contemplating military action in Syria. Haven’t we learned our lesson yet?

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Forgiving Ryan Braun: Brewers’ fans should accept him for both his successes and his failures

Many children and adults in Wisconsin (myself included) have admired Ryan Braun during his years playing with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Whenever I went to a Brewers’ game, I saw plenty of fans wearing T-shirts with Braun’s name and the number eight. The fans applauded when Braun came up to bat, knowing that he would do his best to get a hit (his career batting average through July was .312).

Braun also seemed to be a nice guy. He accepted his many baseball awards modestly, including the National League’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2011 season.

Taking performance enhancing drugs

It was therefore painful for me and other Brewers’ fans to accept the news that Braun might have taken performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). At first we thought it must be a mistake. However, this summer Major League Baseball suspended Braun for the rest of the season and the postseason due to his involvement with the Biogenesis clinic in Florida.

Now we know that Braun lied to us. We wonder why he and other successful athletes took PEDs. Were they greedy for more money and fame? Were they worried about sustaining their athletic prowess? Did they think they would never get caught?

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Living the dream: We still have a ways to go in our country

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Today, most of us take for granted that people of all races will worship in church together, eat in the same parts of restaurants, and use the same public restrooms.

But that wasn’t true in many parts of our country just 50 years ago. People of color didn’t have the freedom to do many of the things white people did.

Progress in 50 years?

As we observe the 50th anniversary of the famous March on Washington, D.C., on August 28, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on how much progress we’ve made in guaranteeing civil rights for all people who live in our country.

In Wisconsin, I think that the rights of people of all races have been respected better than in some other parts of the country. Our churches, restaurants, and schools have been integrated ever since I can remember.

However, statistics show that non-white people are put in jails and prisons in our state at a higher number than white people. It seems as if minorities have higher rates of unemployment and have a greater chance of living in poverty.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Healthy marriages:They need to be nurtured before and after the wedding day

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

It doesn’t seem possible that 40 years have passed so quickly. It was on July 21, 1973, that my husband John and I were married in the chapel of the Roncalli Newman Center at UW-La Crosse.

We both came from Catholic parishes in La Crosse, but during our college years we were active at the Newman Center parish. It kept us connected to our faith and helped us make friends with other young adults with similar values.

Preparing for marriage

At the time we were married, there were no marriage preparation programs done as a couple. Instead, individuals could complete a pre-cana course. John — always the planner — had his certificate in hand, ready to be married. He just had to find his future spouse! It happened to be me.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

BLT still on the menu: Bishop Morlino continues to badger us lovingly with the truth

On August 1, 2003, Bishop Robert C. Morlino was installed as the fourth Bishop of Madison during a Mass at St. Raphael Cathedral.

During his homily at that Mass, Bishop Morlino focused on the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd. He called that image “one of the richest in the Gospel.”

Just as a shepherd feeds his flock, he noted that priests and bishops nourish people with spiritual food, most notably Christ himself in the Eucharist.

“To enter into that full communion, we have to listen to the word of truth and respond with a profession of faith that we are ready to be nourished by his Body and Blood in the Eucharist,” said Bishop Morlino in that 2003 homily.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Virtual World Youth Day: Join with Pope Francis and young people in prayer

Even though most of us can’t be in Rio De Janeiro this week, we can still join Pope Francis and hundreds of thousands of young people in prayer as they gather for World Youth Day (WYD).

As a “friend” of WYD on Facebook, I’ve been receiving updates and countdowns to the big event for many months. I almost feel like I’m making the trip myself!

I would encourage interested persons to follow WYD on its Facebook Page (World Youth Day Rio 2013). Of course, the Catholic Herald’s own Facebook Page (Madison Catholic Herald) as well as our website (www.madisoncatholicherald.org) and Twitter (@CHMadison) will be carrying coverage of WYD. Our website will include updates from Catholic News Service in English as well as in Spanish.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

A defining moment: Our country needs to pass immigration reform

My ancestors made the journey from Ireland, Germany, and Belgium to the United States of America. They sought a better life for themselves and their families in this great land of freedom and opportunity.

My father’s family from Ireland settled in the Darlington area as farmers. However, they moved to Platteville where the children could get a better education. My father and some of his sisters attended what was then called the Platteville Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin-Platteville) and became teachers.

On my mother’s side, her German and Belgian ancestors moved to the Wisconsin “Holy Land,” the area near St. Anna and Kiel. They, too, started as farmers. My mother, too, graduated from college and joined the teaching profession. She met my father when they taught at the same school.

For these immigrant families, education was very important. So was practicing their religion. My parents both came from strong Catholic families.

Immigrants continue to arrive in the U.S.

Immigrants from many countries have continued to seek a new home in the United States. Statistics show that most of them arrive through legal channels. The Center for American Progress reports that there were 39.9 million foreign-born people living in the United States in 2010: 44 percent naturalized citizens, 24 percent permanent residents, 29 percent unauthorized migrants, and three percent temporary legal residents.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Parents losing influence: Morning-after pill ruling removes parental involvement

Last year, the state of New York became the 32nd state in our country to require that young people under age 18 must have written parental consent before obtaining body piercing.

A member of the state legislature said that “body piercing can result in severe health risks and it is our obligation as New Yorkers and parents to make sure that our teens are taking every precaution to remain healthy and safe.” Besides body piercing, parental consent is also needed for those under 18 to get tattoos or visit tanning beds in the state of New York.

It is good for our elected representatives to be concerned about the health of teenagers and to allow parents to be involved in decisions affecting their health.

Ruling on morning-after pill

However, it seems as if the federal government isn’t so concerned about teenagers’ health or parental involvement, especially when it affects the area of sexuality. On June 10, the Justice Department announced that it will allow girls of any age to buy the Plan B one-step morning-after pill without a prescription and without parental consent. This pill can be bought over the counter, and in most pharmacies it will be will be available on shelves near the condoms.

What is happening in our country? Not only are we encouraging irresponsible behavior, we’re also encouraging teens to purchase drugs that they know very little about — and all without their parents’ knowledge or involvement!

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