Category: Opinion

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Defending life: It’s something people of many faith traditions are doing together

In the 40 years since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, many people in the Catholic Church have been in the forefront of the pro-life movement to counteract the court’s decision.

Over the years, however, it’s been obvious that people of many different faith traditions have also been involved in defending the right to life. I can remember Lutherans, Baptists, evangelical Christians, and others who attended the annual Respect Life march at our state Capitol in January in past years, followed by an ecumenical prayer service at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison.

This might have been the first time some people of other faiths had entered a Catholic church! We Catholics also had the opportunity to see how other denominations prayed and sang.

People of many different faiths have also been active in pro-life outreach efforts such as CareNet Pregnancy Center, Elizabeth House, Pregnancy Helpline, the Women’s Care Center, and Vigil for Life in the Madison area. I have been impressed by the commitment of so many people to these efforts to assist parents in choosing life for their unborn babies and to help those in need after the babies are born.

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Maureen Arcand

Keeping a promise to God upon receiving papal award

To the editor:

This letter is an attempt to keep a promise I made to God when I first heard that I was receiving the Benemerenti Medal. I felt totally unworthy of any recognition from the pope. When I prayed about it, I realized that God, who has given me so many opportunities to serve other people, expected me to see this as another opportunity. There was a strong sense that there was something I was to share.

That was when I made the promise. As the weeks went by, I began to see the award as a symbol of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Would there be an opportunity to share with others my confidence in God’s mercy?

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Fr. Don Lange

Respect for Mary’s name

To the editor:

Your editorial about Mary reinforces my respect for Mary’s name. As a boy I thought that Mary was the most beautiful name a girl could receive. My admiration was magnified by our family’s love of Aunt Mary, who reflected Mary’s inner and outer beauty. She was kind, caring, and spoke with music in her voice. Her husband was Joseph.

The Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli once experienced a vision of Mary. He told Father Kinsella, his confessor-friend, that he never saw anyone as beautiful as Mary. Virtue is beautiful and Mary is queen of virtue. Because she was full of grace and open to God’s will, God chose her to be Jesus’ mother.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

What’s in a name? Lamenting the decline in children named after Mary and the saints

When I was a student at Aquinas High School in LaCrosse, there were eight of us in my class with the name Mary. To avoid confusion, we were called by our first and middle name, such as Mary Beth, Mary Ellen, Mary Pat, and Mary Sue. I was usually just called Mary, although I like my middle name and wouldn’t mind being called Mary Clare.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Warning to government: Keep your hands off charitable deductions

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

As our country faces the “fiscal cliff,” our government is considering proposals to keep us from falling off that cliff at the beginning of 2013.

Basically members of Congress and President Barack Obama have to come up with a combination of more revenue  and spending cuts in order to avert the fiscal cliff.

One way to achieve more revenue is to put a cap or ceiling on tax deductions. Among those deductions that could be considered is the tax deduction for charitable donations.

Wrong approach

In my opinion, this would be a wrong approach to our economic problems. In fact, it might create new challenges if people are discouraged from charitable giving.

We already have a large number of people who rely on charities for assistance with the basics of life: food, clothing, and shelter. I can’t imagine what would happen to people already in need if charitable donations were reduced.

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D. Scheifel

What is there to celebrate about Vatican II?

To the editor:

Over the last 50 years, we have seen many incredible changes in our Roman Catholic religion, even the use of the word “Roman” seems to have been eliminated. I wonder that anyone realizes what it used to be like before the “open window/fresh air” policy of liberalism was welcomed in.

Recent discussions about the use of Gregorian chant at Mass and whether or not birth control and abortion are sins, in my estimation, are just a couple of examples of the confusion within the Roman Catholic Church, oops … Catholic Church, today!

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Eugene Hruby

An addendum to your good editorial on the Rosary

To the editor:

Regarding your editorial on the Rosary (October 18 issue): You wrote one of your better editorials for this issue. The Rosary has been a very important part of religion and everyday life. I try to pray it daily.

In my experience, it is almost miraculous the intercessions and the answers the Blessed Mary has provided when reciting the Rosary. It is beyond imagination how powerful the Rosary and its recitation is!

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Wayne Hunt

Catholics must be vigilant to protect religious freedom

To the editor:

As Thanksgiving Day passes into history, I was reminded this morning at Mass to give thanks to the Catholic martyrs who have died because of their resistance to anti-religious freedom laws. In particular this day, we remember Blessed Miguel Pro, a Jesuit priest in Mexico during the violent anti-Catholic persecutions in the 1920’s. On this day in 1927, he was taken to a police firing range and shot to death. His crime against the Mexican government was simply to minister to the Catholic people in their worship of Jesus Christ.

Mexico’s President Calles personally ordered Father Pro’s execution. Before the execution, Father Pro prayed, and then held out his arms in the form of a cross. As the police took aim with their rifles, he spoke the words, “Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long live Christ the King!”).

Father Pro was not alone in his opposition to religious persecution. According to some sources, more than 200,000 Mexican people from every socio-economic background were killed or martyred by 1930. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 25 Catholic martyrs in Mexico, among them being Blessed Miguel Pro.

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