Fundamental issue of life:
Power of man, authority of God

		Notes from the  Vicar General  Msgr. Paul J. Swain

Each October our bishops ask us to focus in a special way on respect for life.

It is a time when we rightly emphasize the tragedy of abortion at the beginning of life and the growing acceptance of euthanasia and assisted suicide at its end.

We pray in a special way for the unborn and for their mothers. We pray also for the elderly and those who some see as expendable because they are vulnerable or need care or their needs are deemed inconvenient.

Respect for life is also reflected in how we relate to one another between birth and death. Abuse, racism, poverty, employment, hunger, housing, and health care raise life issues, as do violence, terrorism, and war.

Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, recently wrote President Bush and noted: "The United States and the international community have two grave moral obligations: to protect the common good against any Iraqi threats to peace and to do so in a way that conforms with fundamental moral norms." We pray for our leaders that sound moral norms will guide their decisions on how to protect the common good.

What is God's place?

On that tough issue and all life issues, there is a fundamental conflict between power and authority, the power of man, the authority of God as creator. The church teaches that human life is a gift from God over which we humans have no authority to create or to take. We do have power, however, to use God's gifts for good or for evil.

The core debate on life issues is about God's place in our lives and our society. When we make decisions that undermine respect for God-given life, we undermine our own dignity as people given that gift. Power we use to denigrate or destroy others can be used against us by others. When we diminish the dignity of others, we demean ourselves because we are one people under God.

Sometimes we can get caught up in the crowd and not really think about what the consequences are of what we say or do, or what is done in our name. To respect life we may need to wake up to what we are doing or condoning, then jump into the fray and call to account.

While we should not, and in fact cannot, impose our beliefs on others, neither should we pull back from presenting the truth we know. We know that injustice, treating others as disposable or pawns for pleasure or selfish purpose, is wrong.

Diminish one, demeans us all

Pope John Paul II labels ours a culture of death. He challenges us in whatever way we can to help build a consensus based on moral truth which will lead to a culture of life where our power to destroy gives way to the authority of the giver of life. We can begin to do that by reflecting on how we really react to and treat one another, especially those who are different from us.

We can build a culture of life by not jumping to conclusions, by showing patience, by accepting inconveniences, and by standing up and speaking out for justice, especially for the unborn, the vulnerable, and those in need.

This October may we pray for the wisdom and courage each day to be respectful of God's creation, especially his children, of which we are all one.

In election: Catholics can play key role

		Eye on the  Capitol  John Huebscher

In a recent column, I suggested that materials prepared by the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) are intended to be but one resource for lay Catholics as they prepare to exert leadership in the political arena.

With the elections now less than a month away, it is important to consider the many ways in which Catholics can exercise such leadership.

As the bishops on the Administrative Board of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in their 1999 statement, Faithful Citizenship in a New Millennium, Catholics bring a variety of "assets" to public policy debates.

One key asset is that of sheer numbers. Here in Wisconsin, Catholics account for fully 30 percent of our state's population. The fact that nearly one in three voters is Catholic positions us to make a difference in any policy discussion.

But politics is a volunteer activity. No one is compelled to participate. Thus, the debates and the elections are decided by those who take part in them.

So it is incumbent on anyone determined to be a "faithful citizen" to take advantage of the opportunity presented by our form of democratic government.

Some suggestions

Share your views with other voters. As I noted previously, the WCC materials are intended as a resource, not the only word, on Catholic views of public policy. Each of Wisconsin's 1.6 million Catholics has his or her own way of articulating principles and issue positions.

Think how enriching the debate would be if only one percent of us, or 16,000 people, sent a letter to the editor or a "guest column" to a diocesan or secular newspaper between now and Nov. 5.

Write to or talk with candidates. In the next month, hundreds of candidates will seek to shake any hand they see, to talk with any voter who can't outrun them on the sidewalk.

Think of the impact if only five percent of Catholics (that's 80,000 citizens) told candidates that an issue was important to them not because of their partisan affiliation, their income, or their occupation, but because of their moral and religious convictions.

Organize candidate forums. There are nearly 1,000 parishes in our state. If only one in three held forums to which candidates were invited to give their views and dialogue with voters, the result would be three forums in every Assembly District.

Go door to door for a candidate. If only five percent of Wisconsin's Catholics, or 80,000 people, each knocked on 25 doors, that would represent a personal contact with at least two million voters, or more votes than were cast for governor in the last election.

Golden opportunity

And even small numbers matter. As one state senator shared during an interview some years ago, only a handful of bills generate so much as 25 pieces of mail.

Since every letter represents many others who feel the same way, any politician who gets 25 letters knows that he or she is facing an issue that many people care about.

So with less than a month to go until the election, Catholics have a golden opportunity to be not only faithful citizens but also very influential ones.

John Huebscher is executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.