Category: Opinion

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Mike Sanders and Tracey Pederson

Thanks for outpouring of support for new hospital

To the editor:

On Sunday, March 18, approximately 6,000 area residents joined us in celebrating the opening of the new Monroe Clinic Hospital. It was an exciting day for our staff who also came out in full force to welcome the community and tour them through the new facility.

We are touched by the outpouring of support we have experienced through the grand opening events over the past week, and we want to take a moment to say thanks. We’d like to start by thanking the community for their personal interest and kind words during the open house and throughout the entire construction process.

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Joseph B. Johnson

Catholics are being stymied by ‘defenders of choice’

To the editor:

In his March 29 column, Bishop Morlino hits the nail on the head when he notes how the contraceptive mandate puts a disturbing new spin on the tired, old “my body, my choice” slogan.

What strikes me in particular is how the folks who’ve been telling us for years that the government has no place legislating about what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms are now arguing that the government has every right to do so by executive fiat.

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Mercedes Pozo

Pilgrimage was truly an experience of love and unity

To the editor:

From the first time we went to Rome, we could sense the greatness and beauty of the Catholic Church, the priests and nuns dressed in their habits walking through the streets of Rome as a visible sign of Christ and his Church.

But the recent Diocese of Madison Ad Limina Pilgrimage took me beyond my imagination. To be in the excavations below St. Peter’s Basilica and to visit the place where St. Peter’s bones remain, I felt transported — in those moments neither time nor space existed. I realized the triumphant, suffering, and militant Church is One, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman. I cried like Mary Magdalene because I could not contain my emotions.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

How to combat violence: Holy Father has suggestions for building a better society

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Violence seems to dominate the news recently in our state, nation, and world. A man shoots a young intruder hiding on his porch. A neighborhood watch vigilante kills a young man who is walking down the street. An American soldier kills civilians — including children — in Afghanistan.

What are we to make of this senseless violence? What is the world coming to and what — if anything — can we do about the violence that pervades our society?

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Philip J.F. Schumacher

Helping the regime change might be better in Syria

To the editor:

Recent media reports from the Middle East and beyond indicate that many Christians of various denominations and rites in Syria are quite nervous, some going so far as to question whether the Arab Spring will wind up being the Christian Winter; this is also a concern for Alawite, Druze, and Shi’ite communities in Syria and Lebanon.

There is no question that what is going on inside Syria cannot be justified as far as implementation goes — unquestionably, the current regime is despotic and shooting at civilians with artillery and all the rest is simply beyond defense. However, seeing what has happened in Iraq and Egypt so far shows that perhaps helping the regime change is vastly preferable to changing the regime.

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Kathy Wehrle

Consider investments, how they impact community

To the editor:

In the Saturday March 10 is of The New York Times, writer Samuel G. Freedman highlights the support that various clergy and congregations have shown to their parishioners and local communities in the midst of the mortgage crisis in “Mortgage Crisis Inspires Churches to Send Lenten Season Message to Banks.”

In the spirit of Lent, churches are calling for a moratorium on foreclosures, moving church monies out of the major banks involved in widespread foreclosures to local banks, even supporting families at meetings with their bank.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

United for religious freedom: Let’s join our bishops in standing up and praying for religious liberty

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

The Catholic bishops of the United States have called on all Catholics to unite in opposition to various threats to religious freedom in our country.

At a meeting of the bishops’ leaders in Washington, D.C., the bishops issued a statement on March 14 called “United for Religious Freedom.” The bishops said they are concerned not only with protecting the Church’s own institutions, but also with the care of individuals and the common good.

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Greg Wagner

Mandate should be seen as attack on religious liberty

To the editor:

At a recent gathering at our parish, I overheard a group of people discussing the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. The consensus of their conversation could be summed up as follows: “The bishops are getting way too riled up over this issue. It is an election year after all and the president will back down on this.”

As Archbishop Chaput stated, “The  current administration prides itself on being measured and deliberate. The current HHS mandate needs to be understood as exactly that.”

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Bringing ‘drop-outs’ back: Everyone in the Church can make a difference

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

We hear these days that more people — especially young adults — are “dropping out” of organized religion. They say they are still “spiritual,” but they don’t want to belong to a particular church.

In the past, young people sometimes took time off from regular church attendance. There were those who shopped around at different churches to see what they were all about, but many of them ended up returning to the denomination of their youth.

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C.J. Kruchten

Suggests writer should consult catechism rather than party talking points

To the editor:

John Murphy’s letter (February 9 issue of Catholic Herald) claims that Newt Gingrich, in calling President Obama the “food stamp President,” meant to demean African-Americans.

Mr. Murphy should be advised that ascribing racist motives to someone without any supporting evidence is calumny and therefore, sinful. Whatever one may think of Mr. Gingrich, his basic point that food stamps and dependency have increased exponentially under this president is factually correct.

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