Editorial

Saying 'yes' to God:
Our priests and bishops deserve thanks, prayers

The new millennium has witnessed 11 new priests ordained for the Diocese of Madison: five in the year 2000, three in 2001, and now three more in 2002.

This is especially amazing considering that only six priests were ordained for the diocese in the entire decade of the 1990s (1990 to 1999).

	Prayer for the Perseverance of Vocations O God, You have constituted Your only-begotten Son supreme and eternal Priest for the glory of Your majesty and the salvation of mankind: grant that those whom He has chosen ministers and dispensers of His mysteries may be found faithful in fulfilling the ministry they have received. Presented by the Serra Club in furtherance of its vocations objective

Last Friday, May 24, Bishop William H. Bullock ordained Michael Eugene Moon, Tait Cameron Schroeder, and David Allen Wanish to the Order of Presbyter (priesthood) at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison. These priests all have said "yes" to Christ's call to serve God and his people. They have dedicated their lives selflessly to others.

What impresses me during the ordination rite is when all priests of the diocese lay their hands on the heads of the newly ordained. This is a vivid reminder of the continuity of the priesthood through the ages, from Christ to his apostles to our priests today.

Bishops mark jubilees. Both Bishop Bullock and Auxiliary Bishop George O. Wirz are marking their golden jubilees of ordination to the priesthood this year. Bishop Wirz was ordained on May 31,1952, in Madison and Bishop Bullock was ordained on June 7, 1952, in St. Paul/Minneapolis.

(A special supplement prepared by the Diocese of Madison in this week's paper looks at the 50 years of priesthood of Bishop Wirz, who will celebrate his jubilee at a liturgy for invited guests on June 2. Bishop Bullock's celebration is slated for Sept. 29.)

Express gratitude, remember in prayer. Especially with today's challenges, it takes courage and deep faith to answer God's call to priesthood. We should all express gratitude to our new priests and our bishops - in fact, to all our priests and religious - and remember them in our prayers. One suggestion is to offer the Prayer for the Perseverance of Vocations below [online edition: in yellow box above] from the Serra Club.

Continue to pray, too, for our seminarians, religious in formation, and others discerning a call to priesthood and religious life. They need our support and encouragement as they answer God's call in their lives.

Mary C. Uhler, editor

Mailbag

To the editor:

	Mailbag policy We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Limit letters to 200 words or less. All letters must be signed. Send letters to: Mailbag The Catholic Herald P.O. Box 44985 Madison, WI 53744-4985 Fax: 608-821-3071 E-mail: info@madisoncatholicherald.org

I share John Huebscher's love of Wisconsin's progressive tradition. In his column that appeared in the May 16th issue of The Catholic Herald he cited programs such as unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and public assistance as examples of that tradition. But he erred when he included Milwaukee school vouchers as one of them.

The progressive programs seek to provide a safety net for all citizens beneath which no one can fall. Milwaukee school vouchers do just the opposite. Although the vouchers do succeed in rescuing a few students from schools that are not meeting the needs of their students, they do not come close to (nor do they even try) rescuing all students from them.

The result is a program that skims the cream off the top of a school's student body and sends them, along with a few thousand dollars each of taxpayers' money, to private and parochial schools. Money that would have gone to the poor, run-down public schools that desperately need it now ends up in the coffers of private and parochial school coffers where it is used to the benefit of all their students.

Milwaukee school vouchers end up being a systematic government sponsored program to finish what the "white flight" to the suburbs began a generation or two ago. The urban area of Milwaukee has lost its diversity, its manufacturing base and, soon, its vibrant, healthy, public schools.

One thing is clear: Milwaukee school voucher program is divisive, not inclusive. The sooner it is brought to an end the better.

Jerome Joyce, Madison

Column on use of pill misleading

To the editor:

Fr. John Dietzen's May 23rd column on usage of the pill was misleading as to the moral implications of the use of the pill. The question he was responding to was "Is it morally acceptable to use a medication if it causes infertility as a side effect?"

Given the abortifacient nature of the pill, "infertility" is not the issue. Yes, one action of the pill is to suppress ovulation. However, another common action of that same pill is to break down the uterine lining disallowing implantation causing a newly conceived embryonic person to be aborted.

It is never morally acceptable, for convenience sake, to cause the abortion of your child, whether that child is an embryonic person or full term. Whether intentional or not, killing children through abortifacient birth control for regulation of periods, acne, cramps, headaches, etc., can never be justified.

Documentation on the abortifacient nature and moral implications of pill usage can be found at www.prolifewisconsin.org.

Peggy Hamill, state director
Pro-Life Wisconsin, Brookfield

Thanks for column on Middle East

To the editor:

Thank you for Tony Magliano's column, "Finding terms for peace: In Middle East" in the May 23rd issue of The Catholic Herald. I think he made important points for us to consider and he emphasized information that is often neglected in other media. I hope he will write more on this subject.

Donald Ryan, Janesville