Category: Opinion

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Elizabeth Durack

Sisters’ cooperation with Vatican hopeful sign

To the editor:

The statements in the recently released Final Report on the Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to the effect that Jesus Christ is central and Sisters should be implementing “an ecclesiology of communion” echo past documents on the Religious Life. Some may miss why this is significant in the new report — after all, isn’t that a given for Religious Sisters?

The painful ground-level reality has been that some Sisters and whole LCWR congregations have grown apart from the Church in heart and mind and come to feel estranged from what they call “the institutional Church.” More than a few have questioned whether they want to be part of it.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Pray for wisdom for the Supreme Court

On April 28, the Supreme Court of the United States began taking up the issue of same-sex marriage.

We’ve been hearing plenty of comments from people on this issue, from those who support the marriage of one man and one woman and states’ rights to define marriage to those who want same-sex marriage approved across the country.

People often react emotionally when talking about marriage, but I think we need to take time to study the issues before the Supreme Court and what they mean.

We also should consider what the Catholic Church teaches and be able to talk about our beliefs calmly in conversations about marriage.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Cardinal leaves legacy of faith, courage, wisdom

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Cardinal Francis George’s episcopal motto was: Christo gloria in ecclesia (To Christ Be Glory in the Church).

Cardinal George dedicated his life to Christ and His Church. However, it wasn’t an easy life, which is probably why Cardinal George felt such compassion for other people.

At age 13, Cardinal George suffered from polio. He said the disease left him “a captive in my own body.”

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Patrick Hardyman

Faithful Christians bear crosses today

To the editor:

Good Friday service with the reading of the “Passion” and the “Veneration of the Cross” had a deeper meaning for me this year considering the events happening in our world today.

Approximately six weeks ago, 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were beheaded by the Islamic State in Libya and a few days ago, Al-Shabab, another Islamic extremist group, murdered 148 university students and personnel in Kenya who professed to be Christian and not Muslim.

This follows a pattern that has been happening frequently throughout many parts of North Africa and the Middle East. In addition to the killings, these groups are destroying churches and priceless artifacts dating back to Biblical times.

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Rick Lofgren

Become an organ donor to save lives

To the editor:

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) was founded in 1986 when residents of Bloomington, Ind., rallied around a toddler who needed a life-saving liver transplant. In less than eight weeks, the community raised $100,000 to place the boy on the organ waiting list.

But the child died before an organ became available. Those community volunteers, along with his parents, turned tragedy into triumph by using the funds they raised to help other transplant families. That was the beginning of COTA.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Some shocking news — and what to do about it

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Wisconsin has long held a reputation as a great place to live and work. We are known for providing an excellent education for people at all levels, along with good jobs and a safe place to live.

Our state prizes the values of opportunity, responsibility, family, and community, pointed out a speaker at a break-out session at the Catholics at the Capitol legislative conference held on April 8 in Madison.

Ken Taylor, executive director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, said there are many good things happening in our state.

Shocking news

He also shared some shocking news.

Data published in April of this year reveals that Wisconsin has the highest unemployment rate for black people in our country at 19.9 percent. By contrast, less than five percent of white people are unemployed in Wisconsin.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Make ’em believe!

The theme for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team has been “Make ’em believe.”

When they lost to Kentucky in the Final Four last year, most of the team (minus Ben Brust who graduated) came back to try to achieve their dream of becoming national champions.

They wanted people to believe that they could win that title, along with other goals of being conference champions in the regular season and post-season tournament.

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Anonymous

Pray the Rosary daily for world peace

To the editor:

The Holy Rosary is a beautiful prayer. The article published on March 5 in the Diocese of Madison Catholic Herald, “McFarland parish promotes love of the Rosary,” should be an incentive for all Catholics to say the Holy Rosary.

The Blessed Mother has encouraged us to pray the Holy Rosary and do penance for world peace. Most people could say a Rosary daily; even the busiest person could say at least a decade of the Rosary daily.

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Kathy Wehrle

Take steps to engage in healing, growth

To the editor:

I was happy to read your editorial that discussed the recent shooting of a young black man in Madison.

A major part of the piece is the subject of the letter written by a group of 90 religious leaders in the Madison area.

I had to go elsewhere online to read the full letter and to see the list of people who signed this call for action. However, I was saddened by the fact that none of the signers were Catholic priests, nor was Bishop Morlino a signer.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Help support places where Jesus walked

As we prepare to begin Holy Week, our thoughts and prayers turn to what happened in Jerusalem during Our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection.

We will be reliving the events of that week during the liturgies of Holy Week in our churches. It is a special time for us as Christians, and hopefully we will attend as many services as we can.

Reliving Holy Week

During Holy Week, we may envision what happened in Jerusalem: Jesus’ triumphal arrival with palms waving, his last supper with his apostles, his suffering and death on a cross. We may see these events as part of history, viewing them almost with a sense of nostalgia.

However, our faith makes us realize that these events are not only in the past. We reenact them every year — and every day of our lives — as we journey with Jesus in the triumphs, crosses, deaths, and resurrections we face.

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