Editorial

We celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday, May 14. It is a day when we take the time to honor all mothers, especially those mothers in our own families.

We may treat our mothers to brunch either at home or in a restaurant. We may buy them flowers or a gift. And there will be plenty of Mother's Day cards sold. Of course, all mothers appreciate a visit or at least a call from their children.

But what else can we do to show how much we appreciate mothers? Besides the obvious niceties, I think we can show our appreciation in some other concrete ways - especially appropriate in our society today:

• Encourage efforts on the federal and state levels to support the institution of marriage. Published below is a letter from American religious leaders calling for a constitutional amendment to establish a uniform national definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on this amendment on June 6. Please go to www.RCM.org to find a sample postcard to send to Wisconsin senators urging them to support the amendment: Senator Russell D. Feingold, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave., Room 408, Milwaukee, WI 53202-4504, or Senator Herb Kohl, 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 950, Milwaukee, WI 53203.

• Give an honorarium or memorial gift in your mother's name to a worthwhile community organization that supports mothers. One suggestion in our area is Care Net Pregnancy Center of Dane County, which sponsors the Elizabeth House Maternity Home (one of my favorite places). Giving a Mother's Day tribute to Care Net will help young moms who need our support, says Liz Osborn, executive director. "Many are single mothers who find themselves alone as they take on this new responsibility of raising their children." Send a check to Care Net Pregnancy Center of Dane County, 1350 MacArthur Rd., Madison, WI 53714. Indicate the name of the person being honored by your gift.

• Pray for all mothers and mothers-to-be. Prayer is something we can all do. And remember to ask for the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, to help all mothers choose and nurture life.

Mary C. Uhler

A letter from religious leaders in defense of marriage

Editor's note: The following letter was issued by religious leaders in the United States in support of the federal Marriage Protection Amendment, which will be voted upon by the U.S. Senate on June 6.

Throughout America, the institution of marriage is suffering. As leaders in our nation's religious communities, we cannot sit idly by. It is our duty to speak. And so across the lines of theological division, we have united to affirm, in one voice, the following:

For millennia our societies have recognized the union of a man and a woman in the bond of marriage. Cross-culturally virtually every known human society understands marriage as a union of male and female. As such marriage is a universal, natural, covenantal union of a man and a woman intended for personal love, support and fulfillment, and the bearing and rearing of children. Sanctioned by and ordained of God, marriage both precedes and sustains civil society.

Marriage is particularly important for the rearing of children as they flourish best under the long term care and nurture of their father and mother. For this and other reasons, when marriage is entered into and gotten out of lightly, when it is no longer the boundary of sexual activity, or when it is allowed to be radically redefined, a host of personal and civic ills can be expected to follow. Such a point has always been stressed by the world's great monotheistic religious traditions and is, today, increasingly confirmed by impeccable social science research.

Long concerned with rates of divorce, out-of-wedlock births, and absentee fathers, we have recently watched with extreme alarm the growing trend of some courts to make marriage something it is not: an elastic concept able to accommodate almost any individual preference. This does not so much modify or even weaken marriage as abolish it. The danger this betokens for family life and a general condition of social justice and ordered liberty is hard to overestimate.

Therefore, we take the unprecedented stand of uniting to call for a constitutional amendment to establish a uniform national definition of marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman. We are convinced that this is the only measure that will adequately protect marriage from those who would circumvent the legislative process and force a redefinition of it on the whole of our society. We encourage all citizens of good will across the country to step forward boldly and exercise their right to work through our constitutionally established democratic procedures to amend the Constitution to include a national definition of marriage. We hereby announce our support for S.J. Res.1, the Marriage Protection Amendment.

May God bless all marriages and all those who labor to protect the sanctity and promote the goodness of marriage throughout this nation.

This letter was signed by 50 leaders of many religious denominations. Catholic bishops signing the letter include: Archbishop Charles Chaput, Denver, Colo.; Cardinal Edward Egan, New York, N.Y.; Cardinal Francis George, Chicago, Ill.; Bishop Jose Gomez, San Antonio, Texas; Cardinal William Keeler, Baltimore, Md.; Cardinal Roger Mahony, Los Angeles, Calif.; Bishop Robert Morlino, Madison; Archbishop John Myers, Newark, N.J.; Archbishop Joseph Naumann, Kansas City, Kan.; Bishop John Nienstedt, New Ulm, Minn.; Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Phoenix, Ariz.; Cardinal Justin Rigali, Philadelphia, Pa.; Bishop John Vlazny, Portland, Ore.; and Bishop John Yanta, Amarillo, Texas.

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

Can't re-write natural law

To the editor:

A recent lead article in a popular newspaper tells us that "Embryonic stem cell research in Wisconsin isn't just about science - it raises complex moral issues. And both sides of the debate claim they have the support of the public."

I didn't know that right and wrong were determined by a public opinion poll. I always though that God was THE moral authority and that the natural law was written on/in our hearts.

Number 1958 and 59 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that the natural law is immutable and permanent. It provides the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices and is the basis for civil law.

People who think they can re-write the natural law have made a mistake and some day they will find out how serious that mistake was.

The area of genetic engineering is loaded with complex moral issues. I urge each of you to become informed about the Catholic Church's position on all life issues.

Jim Holden, Watertown

Working women excluded

To the editor:

I've read Kathy's and Charlotte's letters to the editor regarding the Catholic Daughters of America Court meetings in the past two weeks with great interest. Kathy writes that meetings are held during the day which excludes working women. Charlotte writes that the members have decided to hold meetings during the day because they don't want to go out at night and suggests that Kathy contact her about starting a "working" women chapter.

Both letters illustrate a problem in our diocese: there is little opportunity for working women in the diocese to participate in their church communities and often, working women's participation in existing women's organizations is not wanted. I say women because it's my experience that our brothers accommodate working members. Why can't we sisters demonstrate the same spirit of inclusion? We sisters need to follow our brothers' example and make more of an effort to include rather than exclude.

While the suggestion to start a second chapter seems to make sense on the surface, it is not very practical. Having two of the same organization or group would mean competition for members and resources, which would be derisive. I don't know of any parish that has two Knights of Columbus chapters or two parish councils: one for those available during the day and one for those not available during the day.

That day meetings will be the norm until the membership gets younger was also mentioned. Well, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but, ladies, as your current members go to God, their replacements will also be ladies eligible for AARP cards because of the meeting times, so your membership will not get "younger" but will continue to exclude working women. Something else to consider, why would working women join your organizations upon retiring when from the start, they were not welcome?

Amy, Madison