Many people probably aren’t aware of the identity of Jane Roe in the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.
Her real name was Norma McCorvey. Interestingly enough, she never had an abortion and later regretted her part in that decision. In fact, she worked for its overturn.
To the editor:
Have you ever noticed that among thousands of women saints who are virgins, and several great men saints who repented of fornication, there are no unambiguously historical canonized women saints who were neither virgins nor married, except, traditionally, Mary Magdalene?
One might confusedly wonder if Jesus is above all for virgins, not sinners, and if such women should pin their hopes on purgatory.
In recent years, I have written about the struggles of the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide the kind of health coverage that respects their faith and moral values.
I’ve also written about a car dealership in Minnesota that did not want to provide abortion-inducing drugs to its employees. “It has long been my conviction to run my business according to the teachings of my faith,” said Doug Erickson of Hastings Chevrolet.
These are just two instances where religious freedom has been imperiled.
One way to protect religious freedom is for President Donald Trump to sign an executive order promoting religious freedom.
In the 1970s, I remember going to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin to do a story on refugees from Vietnam who were settling in the Diocese of Madison.
One of our parishes — St. Joseph Parish in Dodgeville — helped sponsor a number of these Vietnamese refugees.
Over the years, refugees from other countries received assistance settling in our diocese through the Catholic Charities resettlement program.
Programs such as this continue throughout the United States through Catholic Charities and other religious-based agencies.
To the editor:
What will we Americans do to save 53,000 American lives every year? Twenty-seven million Americans could lose coverage in the first year of repeal of the Affordable Care Act, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This is in addition to the 26 million who did not have health insurance in 2015. A Harvard School of Public Health study finds that for every thousand people without health care, one dies each year.
Faithful Catholics attend Mass every Sunday and hear the Word of God read and preached to them.
Our challenge as Catholics is to take that Word and live it out in our daily lives the rest of the week.
One of the ways we can see how our faith can be lived out is by reading about how it can be done.
To the editor:
In writing about Pope Francis’ opinions of climate change, the writer in the December 15 issue of the Catholic Herald quoted the importance and opportunity of “stewardship of our earth in human solidarity.”
Not once in the article is there a reference to conserving LIFE. Other quotes in the article are also vague. “Avert deterioration by human activity.” “Outstanding academic and research institutions make a vital contribution in the years ahead.” “Scientist work free of political, economic, or ideological interests.” They must “build a cultural model to confront the challenge of climate change.”
During my own 12 years of Catholic school education, students were encouraged to be involved in service projects at school, in our parishes, and in our communities.
I can still remember Aquinas High School students in La Crosse in 1965 sandbagging along the Mississipi River. Severe flooding had caused the river to crest at 16 feet, nearly four feet above flood stage. Many students came out to help save the community.
On December 7, 2016, there was a quiet announcement that few people probably noticed. But it carried some significant news that can help save lives.
On that date, the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles announced that Choose Life Wisconsin Inc. is now an authorized group for the purpose of requesting a specialty license plate.
To the editor:
We want to thank the Catholic Herald for the publicity before our recent Rosary Crusade. We had a wonderful turn-out.
Our thanks go out to Fr. Peter Auer, who led the Rosary, including the Glorious Mysteries and Benediction afterwards; to the Fourth Knight Knights of Columbus Marie Assembly 1150 of Jefferson; and many others who helped with readings, songs, and setting up the chairs, including the ladies of the Council of Catholic Women, who provided the lunch.
