Editorial

Where has the summer gone? Before long school will be starting. Families are shopping for school clothes and supplies. Principals and teachers are busy getting their classrooms and lesson plans ready for the new school year.

New seminarians. Among those heading back to school in the Diocese of Madison are 10 new seminarians, as our front page reveals. They join 10 current seminarians, bringing the total to 20 future priests for our diocese.

Promoting vocations has been a priority for Bishop Robert C. Morlino. He hired a full-time vocation director, Fr. Jim Bartylla, who has spent the last year encouraging prayer and work for vocations. Members of the Serra Clubs in the diocese and many others have joined the bishop and Fr. Jim in spending time in Eucharistic Adoration for vocations and other forms of prayer.

Now we must continue to pray that these men persevere in their studies on the road to the priesthood. The demographics show a declining number of priests in our diocese - but the increasing number of seminarians will help reverse that trend in the future. We need priests to staff our parishes and to serve in special ministries in our diocese in the future, along with consecrated men and women and dedicated laity.

Back-to-school news. Other back-to-school news in our diocese:

• St. James School in Madison - celebrating over 100 years - is not afraid to try something new. St. James is launching a new four-year-old kindergarten program. See Page 10 [print edition only].

• St. Joseph Parish in Fort Atkinson has a brand-new school. Thanks to the work of many volunteers, St. Joseph students and faculty will return to a beautiful new school building. See Page 12 [print edition only].

• Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart in Madison is embarking on its 125th year with special activities throughout the school year. Beginning as Saint Regina Academy for girls in 1881, Edgewood has grown. As a co-ed Catholic high school, it expects to welcome 640 students this year.This year also marks the 200th anniversary of Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, founder of the Sinsinawa Dominican order that established and still sponsor Edgewood Campus School, High School, and College. They carry on the Dominican values of truth, compassion, justice, community, and partnership. See Pages 14 and 15 [print edition only].

Commitment of church. The theme of this year's Catholic Schools Week - to be celebrated January 29 to February 4, 2006 - is "Catholic Schools: Character. Compassion. Values." These three qualities stem from the life of the Catholic Church and the commitment of the church to educate our young people.

Youth are the future of our world. We need committed Catholics - priests, religious, and lay people - to carry the message of the Gospel to every corner of our nation and world. Our seminarians and Catholic school students need to be educated to accept that mission in their lives.

Mary C. Uhler, editor

Mailbag

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

More success with adult
stem cells

To the editor,

Adult stem cells have been successfully used on human persons to treat 56 conditions. This list can be found on the Web at www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm

Remember, no one has to die to retrieve adult stem cells because they come from a person's own body, therefore there is no tissue rejection factor. Adult stem cells can be kept growing almost indefinitely in culture, with some having the ability to grow cells for treatments and to form any adult body tissue. Adult stem cells can be found in almost any part of the human body including skin, fat, bone marrow, baby teeth, and a newborn's cord blood or placenta.

With all these promising successes, it seems reasonable to spend tax dollars on further adult stem cell research. But unless we can change the minds of many of our Wisconsin politicians, our tax dollars will be spent on embryonic stem cell research.

Consider this, embryonic stem cells are only found in human embryos at the very earliest stage of life (first few days). In embryonic stem cell research, a human life is destroyed for a "potential," not yet realized, benefit of another. There have been no human trials because embryonic stem cells grow uncontrollably and would cause tumors if put into a human person. Embryonic stem cells have not been used to treat one person.

Thanks to Dr. David A. Prentice for his contributions to this information.

Victor Metcalf, Montello