Editorial

During the Christmas season, we recall the story of the Holy Family - beginning with Mary and Joseph's travels to take part in the census. As we know, Mary was pregnant. She and Joseph had difficulty finding a place to sleep.

They found room in a stable, where Jesus was born. But imagine what could have happened to them? Their situation might have been worse - they could have been captured and sold into slavery. Such things happened then, but they continue to occur in the 21st Century.

Human trafficking. In fact, trafficking in human beings is considered a "growth industry," according to a report by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Over $10 billion is spent on buying and selling human beings each year. CRS estimates the number of people trafficked into forced labor and prostitution range from 700,000 to two million people - primarily women and children - annually. And that is a conservative estimate.

Exactly what is trafficking in persons? It is defined as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs."

Men, women, and children are all being trafficked. However, the most vulnerable groups, those with limited rights or protections, have been the hardest hit, observes the CRS report. Disproportionately, trafficking affects poor women, children, and members of disadvantaged minority groups.

New film. What can we do about this terrible problem? We can start by educating ourselves about human trafficking. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is supporting - through the Catholic Communications Campaign and Catholic Relief Services - a new film titled Lives for Sale - The Scourge of Human Trafficking.

The Diocese of Madison's Office of Evangelization and Catechesis in its December E-News alerted people in our diocese to the possibility of this film being shown on Public Television sometime in January if enough people contact their local PBS affiliates asking their station to air the film.

I encourage concerned citizens to contact Audience Services for Wisconsin Public Television in the Madison area at 800-422-9707 or go to the Web site at www.wpt.org for other contacts.

Information about human trafficking can be found at:

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: www.usccb.org/mrs/htconf.shtml

• Catholic Relief Services: www.crs.org/get_involved/advocacy/trafficking/in_depth.cfm

Take action. We must educate ourselves about the tragic increase in human trafficking. The more we know about the root causes and how trafficking works, the more we will be able to prevent it.

Please let Wisconsin Public Television know you want this important program to be aired in our state. Catholic Herald readers have had an impact on our local television stations in the past. Now's the time to make your voice heard again.

Mary C. Uhler

Mailbag

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Liturgical music needs to fit the occasion, says musician

To the editor:

I am writing to support the bishop's article on liturgical music. While much of the music currently being used is not bad music, it can be inappropriate for the occasion. Just like hip-hop at the president's inauguration or pop at a graduation ceremony.

As a Catholic musician (Madison-based Catholic rock band Oremus) I face this issue all the time. I believe that popular music, while a powerful evangelization tool (and great entertainment), SHOULD NOT be played at Mass. Mass is too solemn an occasion to stand up and sing the religious equivalent of the Beatles' I Wanna Hold Your Hand.

Liturgical music needs to fit the occasion. God is on the altar! We don't play hip-hop at the president and God deserves better than the president!

I think there is great merit in using "guitar Mass" music at non-liturgical events: Gather Us In for a youth rally; We Are Called to end a talk on service to the poor.

Why give the president Jay-Z when you could give him the Drum Corps? Why give college graduates Britney Spears when you could give them Pomp and Circumstance? Why give God folk rock when you could give him Bach?

Chris Reitz, Madison
Oremus Catholic Rock

Memorable Christmas in jail

To the editor:

One of my most memorable Christmas Eves was spent in jail. As a young priest, the Janesville ecumenical group invited me to participate in one of the first ecumenical services at the Rock County Jail in Janesville. Unlike other local priests, I was free to participate because I was in high school work.

The days snailed by. But Christmas Eve finally arrived. Butterflies fluttered fear in our hearts. Would the prisoners receive us? How would they react to the service? The more we worried, the more we trusted in the Lord.

The services were voluntary, but most of the inmates came. We welcomed them and introduced ourselves. Then we and the prisoners sang, prayed, and listened to Scripture. A few volunteer clergy and lay persons shared what Christmas meant to them. We closed the service with more singing. Fellowship and snacks followed to feed the stomach as well as the spirit. As we visited, I realized that there but for the grace of God go I!

We felt that we gained much more than we gave. The inmates expressed their appreciation that we cared enough to spend Christmas Eve with them. Their Christmas spirit moved us. I felt blessed for the privilege of sharing the message of Christmas with them.

This graced Christmas Eve service opened the door to my participation in other Christmas and Good Friday services at the jail for the next 20 years. I felt that Christ had been reborn in my heart! Like Lou Gehrig, I felt that I was the luckiest person in the world to be able to share Jesus in this way with such receptive prisoners on Christmas.

Fr. Don Lange, Madison

Inmates appreciate paper

To the editor:

On behalf of all the inmates here at the institution I'd like to thank you for the free subscriptions of the Catholic Herald. We enjoy getting it and keeping up on the current events that are going on within the Catholic Church.

We also would like to recognize Deacon Dennis Sutter, who takes the time to visit us here at the institution to instruct a Catholic Bible study. Deacon Sutter took time to contact you for our subscriptions.

We greatly appreciate all of your time and the donation to us here at the institution. May God bless you all for remembering us. Thank you.

An inmate at the Columbia County Correctional Institution, Portage