Category: Opinion

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Take action to protect dreamers

The  official name for individuals who meet the general requirements of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is DREAMers.

However, I think we could call them dreamers in the regular sense, because they are young people who dream of staying in the United States and becoming citizens of this country.

In 2012, a policy called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — popularly known as DACA — was implemented under the Obama administration. It gave young people — mostly 15 to 30 years of age — a temporary reprieve from deportation and the authorization to be employed in our country.

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Peggy Rakow

Hopes Church will continue to offer Mass in both rites

To the editor:

R. Jared Staudt’s article (July 27 issue of Catholic Herald) suggesting the Church use both the Extraordinary Form (with priest facing ad orientem) and Novus Ordo rites was interesting.

The Extraordinary Form offers much rich music, protocol, vestments, rubrical gestures, and the ranking and roles of the celebrants. God is adored and worshiped, and this worship is strictly conducted. Much attention is given to well-defined ritualistic human behaviors and postures which are meant to indicate the pious devotion of each worshiper.

The Novus Ordo offers a simpler worship . . . a community called by Christ nourished and fed in Word and sacred sacrament, and gathered around the living and active Christ who is present in the celebrant, the Word, His holy body and blood . . . and His people.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Here’s a way to help the homeless

The National Alliance to End Homelessness states that there are 564,708 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the U.S.: 36,907 (6.38 percent) are children, 47,725 (8.33 percent) are veterans, and 269,991 (47.6 percent) are disabled and unable to work.

Many factors can contribute to a person becoming homeless. These factors include (but are not limited to):

• Poverty

• Lack of affordable housing

• Job loss

• Lack of health care

• Mental illness

• Substance abuse

• Domestic violence

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Tom Roberts

Commentary strays from Matthew 5-7

To the editor:

The commentary by Boyd Cathey, “The triumph of lunacy,” in the July 13 Catholic Herald, illustrates how far we can stray from the words of Jesus in Matthew 5-7 in our zeal to protect our Church.

I spent 42 years among students at what he characterized as a supposed center of higher education. Gullible, soul-less students? Hardly. They were too ethical and asked too many questions. And when they studied the Greek philosophers, they found men who engaged in discourse with and entertained the views of those with whom they differed.

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Roderick A. Baker

Liked commentary on America’s societal ills

To the editor:

Fr. Bevil Bramwell’s article in the July 27 issue of the Catholic Herald entitled, “The Church and the New Left,” is a brilliantly expressed commentary on America’s societal ills.

One of my favorite expressions is that you cannot serve two masters. When people react politically due to ill conceived and wrongful “handouts” and ignore the Church truths, they are “denying their integrity as human beings.”

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Support efforts to stop trafficking

At the recent Catholics at the Capitol in Madison, we heard about the dangers of human trafficking in our state and nation.

We need to invest more of our resources to fight against labor and sex trafficking, which sadly targets many young victims.

The U.S. House of Representatives took a step in the right direction on July 12. It passed an anti-trafficking bill which would put more than $500 million over the next four years into efforts to fight labor and sex trafficking both in the U.S. and abroad.

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Jan Mailloux

Bishop Barron’s comments on Luther found ‘confusing, disturbing’

To the editor:

This letter is in response to Bishop Robert Barron’s article, “Looking at Luther with Fresh Eyes,” in your June 29, 2017 issue.

Bishop Barron’s comments, based on a book he had read on Martin Luther, were confusing and disturbing. In the article’s descriptions of Luther’s “experience of grace,” his “love affair,” and his “ecstatic experience,” the seriousness of Luther’s harmful effect on countless souls was minimized. Bishop Barron even seemed to conclude that both the criticism and the celebration of Luther’s solas could simultaneously be appropriate, thus helping to pave the way for ecumenism.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Encouragement key for new priests

We rejoice in the ordination of three new priests for the Diocese of Madison: Frs. Jared Holzhuter, Andrew Showers, and Luke Syse.

While we thank God for the gift of their priesthood, some of us can also take a little credit for their ordination.

Importance of encouragement

Why is that? According to the annual survey of this year’s ordination class, 82 percent of the men ordained to the priesthood were encouraged by four people in their lives, including parish priests, friends, or other parishioners.

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