Don't forget the Thanks giving

		Notes from the  Vicar General  Msgr. Paul J. Swain

Some years ago I read about a person calling into one of those "turkey hotlines."

The question was asked: How long do I cook a 20 pound turkey? The response from the other end was, Just a minute.

Thanks, said the caller, and hung up.

Holidays can be so hyper-active that we can become stressed out and not think or act clearly.

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It is a wonderful time when family and friends get together to share a good meal and good fellowship. Sometimes, however, with the logistics of travel and meal preparation, and for some the football games, we can neglect or marginalize the thanks giving part of it.

Events bring reminders

Just reflecting on recent events, there are many to whom I should be grateful and give thanks. Bishop Morlino's recent surgery brings to mind the health care professionals who do so much to heal and comfort.

The steeple replacement project at St. Raphael Cathedral brings to mind the many laborers who build and repair in all kinds of conditions and weather.

The recent elections bring to mind the many people who work at the polls for 14 to 16 hours, and others who participate as involved citizens seeking the common good.

Recent picketing at the Cathedral brings to mind the police and other professionals who day after day work to assure and protect our freedoms and our safety at home.

The war in Iraq brings to mind the men and women scattered throughout the world, often separated from family, who risk their lives not only for their own country but for the dreams of others, and those who work for peace.

Celebrating Mass brings to mind the many who volunteer as readers, ministers of communion or music, as ushers, servers, council members, and in so many other ways.

Hearing confessions brings to mind those who are committed to live faithfully and with humility seek reconciliation with God.

Baptisms bring to mind those parents who in a difficult day joyfully assume the responsibility of nurturing their children in body and spirit.

Witnessing marriages brings to mind those men and women who live out the challenging wedding promise to be true in good times and in bad.

Administering the sacrament of the sick brings to mind those who have born the burdens of the day with class and carry their crosses with faith and hope.

To be grateful

Gatherings of priests bring to mind my brother priests and permanent deacons who while on their own faith journeys support one another and are instruments of God's grace.

Observing the Bishops of the United States in general meeting last week brings to mind those who have been called in a special way to teach the message of Christ with clarity and courage, and to shepherd the people entrusted to them with compassion.

Watching with awe Pope John Paul II continue his towering leadership from a physically weakened position brings to mind the Church and all who work for life, justice and peace, often with personal sacrifice.

Driving up the road to the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center brings to mind the staff who work for the diocese in so many significant ways though often unknown to many. Returning to the Cathedral rectory brings to mind the staff there and at Holy Redeemer Parish, and all parish staffs who humor us pastors and with good will keep the parishes going.

Reflecting on the vitality and uniqueness of the Diocese of Madison brings to mind Bishop Morlino, Bishop Bullock, and Bishop Wirz who continue to touch so many lives, including mine, not only in sacrament but personally.

Pondering the crucifix brings to mind the one to whom we ought to be most grateful, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross that we might be saved, and who calls us to love as he has loved us. We begin to do so by being grateful people.

Those are some who I will remember and ask for God's blessings this Thanksgiving Day.

Debate over biotechnology:
Raises ethical and moral questions

		Eye on the  Capitol  John Huebscher

Governor Jim Doyle's ambitious proposal to support Wisconsin's biotechnology industry guarantees that the practice of stem cell research will be part of the debate over the 2005-07 state budget.

The debate presents Wisconsin's citizens with an opportunity to ponder a number of ethical and moral questions.

Ethical questions

Stem cell research is complex science involving "cutting edge" thinking and discovery. To the extent that stem cells are taken from people who have already been born, the ethical questions are less grave.

However, to the extent that stem cells are procured by destroying human embryos this debate will include the fundamental moral question of how much our society values vulnerable human life.

Ethics versus profit

From this fundamental moral question, other questions with moral implications will flow. This is significant in light of recent political debates.

We heard in the recent election campaign that moral values are more important than economic benefits. The moral issues implicated in the coming debate will give citizens and legislators a number of opportunities to test that argument.

The U.S. bishops taught in their pastoral letter on the US economy, Economic Justice for All, that the economy exists to serve people, not the other way around. As this debate proceeds, Catholics must ask whether the profit motive will trump ethical and moral considerations regarding the value of human life. In a number of ways, the discussion over biotechnology will compel us to ask, "What is the importance of ethics versus profit?"

Embryonic stem cells

One such question will be: Why emphasize embryonic stem cells over research on stem cells taken from adults?

Research on adult stem cells does not require the destruction of embryos. There is evidence that such research can also offer hope for current and future medical and scientific breakthroughs.

Why is this road not emphasized? Is it because the potential benefit is limited? Or, is it because Wisconsin's early experience is with embryonic stem cell research and "shifting gears" will be more expensive?

Commercial benefits

Another inquiry flows from that part of the new initiative that facilitates the process by which university researchers may become commercial entrepreneurs to financially benefit from their discoveries.

This blurring of the line between the academy and market place raises yet another set of ethical concerns. Hence the question, "Will the citizens who fund taxpayer subsidized research share in the health benefits derived from their investment, particularly when so many lack access to affordable health care?"

Indeed, the eagerness of policy makers to encourage biotechnology is deeply grounded in terms of economic development. Thus we need to consider: Is the science in this instance motivated by a purely academic desire for knowledge that serves the common good, or is it motivated by money?

How does this financial interest skew the focus of research and resources and blind us to the ethical issues at stake? What does history tell us about the "trickling down" of the health benefits of scientific discoveries?

These are only some of the important questions that must be part of the coming debate over the biotechnology initiative. They do not lend themselves to 30-second sound bites or catchy slogans. But our capacity to debate these issues will say much about our capacity to exercise informed and faithful citizenship.

John Huebscher is executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.