Editorial

Turn on the radio or television or open the daily newspaper. What do you hear and see? Plenty of news about war and violence. "If it bleeds, it leads" still seems to be guiding the secular media editors.

	Related articles: • Local efforts: Help to build worldwide bridges     Sidebar: Banners for Ghana • Mission program • Column -- Catholic Relief Services: What they do in Gambia

While we do need to know about conflicts in our nation and world, we should also be learning about efforts to build bridges of understanding on our planet. Yet we rarely hear the good news happening in the world.

Global Solidarity Week. That's why it's even more important for the Catholic media to report on such efforts. This week the Catholic Herald is doing just that as the Diocese of Madison celebrates Global Solidarity Week. We are including articles and pictures about diocesan and parish partnerships to build global solidarity.

Since 2002, the Diocese of Madison has partnered with the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga in Ghana. This partnership operates under the auspices of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Four delegations have traveled between the two dioceses.

People on both sides have benefited from the interchange. As delegate Brittany Wendt, a young parishioner from St. Ann Parish in Stoughton, said of her visit to Ghana in 2006, "If I learned anything about our trip, it is the importance of good friendship and the cultural diversity of a wonderful diocesan relationship."

People in the Diocese of Madison are helping the Ghana diocese by selling Divine Chocolate, made from cocoa grown in Ghana, and donating towards the Donkey Project. This year, as the Ghana diocese is celebrating its 100th anniversary, parishes in the Madison diocese are attempting to make 150 banners to send to each of the parishes and "out stations" (mission parishes) in the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga.

Sister-parish relationships. Besides the diocesan efforts, a number of parishes in the Diocese of Madison have established sister-parish relationships throughout the world (see Pages 9-11 [of the print edition] for more information). My own parish, Our Lady Queen of Peace in Madison, has joined with San Jerónimo Parish in Bachajón, Chiapas, Mexico, for over 10 years.

"Our Hearts Are One" is the theme of this partnership, reflecting on the solidarity people feel in both parishes with each other. Jo Gill, a Madison parishioner who visited Chiapas last year, said, "I came home with a great love for these beautiful people of God. I came home with a much better understanding of the phrase spoken by Jesus, 'What you do to the least of these, you do to Me.'"

Witness to Beatitudes. Isn't this the essence of our faith? As followers of Christ, we must continue to witness to the power of the Beatitudes to overcome the violence and conflict in our world. Through global solidarity, we can bring Christ's message of peace and love to every corner of the world.

For information on how you can become involved, contact the diocesan Office of Justice and Pastoral Outreach, 608-821-3086 or justiceandpeace@straphael.org

Mary C. Uhler

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

Moral distinctions between immigration and abortion

To the editor:

In "Welcoming Undocumented, Unborn" (issue of January 25), Wisconsin Catholic Conference Director John Huebscher fails to make a few fundamental distinctions which render his argument misleading. He seems to suggest that individuals who accept the universal moral duty to oppose the direct killing of pre-born children are just as bound to favor amnesty for illegal immigrants due to the common human dignity shared by both.

While the right to life of every innocent human being comes directly from God and cannot therefore be abrogated by man, the right to immigrate is not absolute and can be legitimately curtailed by the proper civil authority for a just reason. In the same respect, exacting a proportionate punishment to violators of an immigration law is also a perfectly legitimate moral course of action for civil government.

Thus, should an individual Catholic conclude that amnesty for illegal immigrants would only encourage more such illegal behavior, and that it would be detrimental to his country, he may in perfectly good conscience disagree with Mr. Huebscher's implied position. No person, however, with an adequately formed conscience, may ever legitimately support legalized pre-born child killing.

Furthermore, it is ironic that on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, Mr. Huebscher is only prompted to "consider the moral tragedy of abortion," while he leads the reader to "confront the moral challenge of welcoming undocumented immigrants" (my emphasis).

On any given day, approximately 60 tiny boys and girls in utero are slaughtered in the state of Wisconsin. I certainly hope Mr. Huebscher has a proportionate action plan to confront the urgency of this moral challenge before he feels too comfortable focusing his energies on mere prudential preferences.

Kay Schachte, Madison

We should honor tradition of school uniforms today

To the editor:

I am so glad you brought up school uniforms. It's a topic I'm concerned about and interested in.

I'm a child of the '60s era, when people had rules and stricter guidelines. Nuns wore habits and we wore uniforms. I was at St. Michael's in Marquette, Mich. The girls wore jumpers, knee socks or tights, white blouses, sweaters, black shoes. Boys wore dark pants, white shirt, sweater, black shoes.

In my opinion, it's a tradition to be honored. When you hit middle school, you got to wear a skirt and blouse to signify maturity. No difference was found between us - I mean students! We all had our strong and weak subjects. But, we didn't have the problem of who has Nikes and who doesn't.

Some public schools are going to uniforms and all boy or all girl schools. It took them this long to catch on.

For all of you who oppose the idea, think of when you were a Brownie, Girl Scout, Cub Scout, or Eagle Scout. Did you wear a uniform? Did you win at least one badge? Wasn't it an honor? Uniforms are a sign of pride.

Kathy, DeForest

P.S. My daughter is totally against the idea!

St. Vincent de Paul thanks for support of blanket drive

To the editor:

Our recent bitter weather makes the generosity of thousands of caring people and supporting organizations during St. Vincent de Paul's 15th annual Recycle the Warmth Blanket Drive all the more meaningful. On behalf of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, I extend heartfelt thanks to the many donors and volunteers who made our annual drive for new and gently used blankets and other bedding a success. The generosity will once again provide warmth and comfort for many Dane County neighbors in need.

We have been collecting the bedding items that were donated at the Madison area's ShopKo stores and at 54 Dane County churches of many denominations. We know already that this year's drive brought in nearly 3,000 blankets, quilts, and comforters, plus several hundred bed linens. The donated goods - along with thousands of dollars in cash contributions - should enable us to provide warm blankets and other bedding free to local people in need all year long.

We extend a special thanks to ShopKo and its caring staff members who helped us mount this drive. We're grateful, too, to the record number of area religious congregations that took part. The resources they provided will offer warmth to people in need who come to the society for help.

Ralph Middlecamp, District Council of Madison Inc., Society of St. Vincent de Paul