Now that the November election is over, the work has only just begun — not only by those we elected, but by all of us citizens.
Whether we liked the outcomes or not, we still have to make our views known to our elected officials. If they made promises we like, we have to hold them to those promises. If we didn’t like what they had to say, we have to make sure they hear our opinions.
Pope Francis has said that compassion means “suffer with.” It is a challenge to suffer with a beloved family member or friend who is dying.
The dying process has been called a “sacred time — a final season to seek closure in this life and prepare for the next in the hope of sharing in Christ’s Resurrection,” says a passage from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Respect Life Program publication on “Caring for Loved Ones at Life’s End.”
In the wake of the shootings in the nightclub in Orlando, Fla., I’ve heard some people say, “We have to buy a gun to protect ourselves.”
While on the surface that may seem like something to consider, I’ve looked into the issue of gun ownership and found some alarming statistics.
Most studies show that guns are rarely used in self-defense. When you think about it, unless you’re carrying a gun with you everywhere you go, you often won’t be able to get to your gun quickly enough to defend yourself.
Instead, gun owners are far more likely to injure themselves or an innocent person rather than stop a criminal, according to a study released in 2015 by the Violence Policy Center.
To the editor:
I would like to express my gratitude to Pope Francis for writing his encyclical, Laudato Si’. He inspires us all to act on our calling to care for the gifts of God’s creation.
In 2001, the U.S. Catholic bishops said, “global climate change is not about . . . partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family. . . ” Pope Francis’ encyclical endorses this and moves the climate change conversation beyond politics to the moral realm where it belongs.
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• I’m a student, not a number.
• They really care about me.
• I’m more outgoing, not shy anymore.
• The expectation is excellence. We set high standards in reading and writing.
• Academics are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• We preach the Good News.
• When you come out of a Catholic school, you know what service is.
These are just some of the comments made by students and teachers at Catholic schools in a YouTube video called “Catholic Schools/Now More Than Ever” produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
It is obvious that the students and teachers on the video believe in what they’re saying. They speak with a lot of enthusiasm about their experiences at their school.
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Shame on Wisconsin voters! Approximately 12.7 percent of eligible voters turned out for the August 12 partisan primary, according to results certified by the state’s Government Accountability Board (GAB).
There were 552,342 votes cast in primaries for governor, which is 12.7 percent of Wisconsin’s 2014 voting-age population of 4,348,307, according to Census estimates.
Before I proceed, I have to confess that I am one of those citizens who did not vote in the August 12 primary. I could plead that I was too busy: I worked all day and attended the Diocese of Madison’s Lumen Christi Society event that evening.
But that is really no excuse. I could have left work to vote or even stopped by the polling place between work and the evening event.
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Back in 1993, my husband suffered from a herniated disc and had difficulty walking. Our son, then age 15, spent most of the summer taking care of his dad.
Looking back, I realize our son probably didn’t have as much time for fun activities with his friends that summer. He also had a part-time job, so much of his time was spent taking care of his dad or working. Yet I don’t remember hearing any complaints. Our son did it all cheerfully.
I think part of the reason for our son’s acceptance of these responsibilities was due to his Catholic school education, at Our Lady Queen of Peace Elementary School and at Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart (EHS), both in Madison. Service was part and parcel of Catholic education.
For example, Edgewood requires 100 hours of service as a graduation requirement. According to the school, the majority of EHS students more than double this requirement, with some giving more than 1,000 hours of service during their high school years.
As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week January 26 to February 1, Catholic schools are being challenged to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this observance by pledging 40 hours of service to their local communities. The challenge has been issued by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
In his message for World Food Day, which was observed on October 16, Pope Francis said that “it is a scandal that there is still hunger and malnutrition in the world.”
The Holy Father emphasized, “It is not just a question of responding to immediate emergencies, but of addressing together, in all areas, a problem that challenges our personal and social conscience, to achieve a just and lasting solution.”
In the United States, there are increasing numbers of hungry people. Many of them rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. As of November 1, the benefits to individuals and families were cut for the first time since 1964. That’s because an increase in food aid approved in 2009 expired, and Congress hasn’t been able to pass a new farm bill for over a year (the farm bill includes provisions to fund food assistance programs in our country).
Often when we speak of respecting all human life, we talk about the full spectrum of life from “womb to tomb.” However, it seems as if more of our energy and attention seem to focus on the beginning of life rather than the end of it.
That’s probably because most people don’t like to think about death and dying. Even though we will all die sometime, we usually prefer to put off any discussions about dying until we’re forced into it.
However, we should be concerned about issues involving care of the sick and dying, particularly in light of increased efforts to pass laws legalizing physician-assisted suicide.
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 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.
