Opinion – Page 95 – Madison Catholic Herald

On my visits to Rome in previous years, I can remember seeing gypsies sitting on street corners in colorful but ragged clothes. Often women and children with sad faces would beg for us to put some coins in their cups.

I know the Roma or gypsies have been the subject of controversy. I’m sure they are considered nuisances by the citizens of Rome, who have tried to deport them to their countries of origin.

But whatever the situation, we should have compassion for them, especially for the children who have no control over who their parents are or where they are born. That’s why I was particularly disturbed to learn that four gypsy children burned to death on February 6 while sleeping in a makeshift shack on the outskirts of Rome.

On February 10, 2011February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers

What a game! What a victory! The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. The Lombardi Trophy returns to Titletown.

Like Packer fans everywhere, I was glued to my TV set on Sunday to watch a great football contest. I wore my Aaron Rodgers jersey, a gift from my husband for Christmas of 2009. I consider it my lucky jersey, since we won every playoff game when I wore it!

The reason I received that jersey was because I have had confidence in Aaron Rodgers since he took over the starting quarterback role from Brett Favre. While I liked Favre when he played for the Packers, I didn’t like the way he left the team. And then after playing for the Jets, Favre took a position with the Vikings as if to rub more salt on the wound. I decided it was time to give Rodgers a chance.

On February 10, 2011

Sue St. Louis

Thanks for article on alumni who teach at Catholic school

To the editor:

A couple of weeks ago I sent an e-mail to you regarding the staff of Sacred Hearts School, Sun Prairie. I suggested that it is remarkable that so many of its teachers are also alumni.

On February 10, 2011

Jordan Bartholf

Church needs to reach out with love to teenagers

To the editor:

Being a Catholic teenager is one of the hardest things to do. In this day and age believing in God is thought of as a disease. People make fun of Catholic beliefs and it is getting out of hand.

I am lucky enough to have amazing friends who support me in my faith, but so many others are afraid of showing theirs for fear of rejection.

On February 10, 2011

Joseph Fogerty

Christ spelled out in detail commandment to love

To the editor:

Dave Kuhle pointed out (Catholic Herald Mailbag, February 3 issue) that Christ’s commandment to love one’s neighbor was not new because, under God’s direction, Moses prescribed this same commandment in the Old Testament book of Leviticus Lv 19:18. This is true as far as it goes, but misleading, because Christ spelled this out in detail, which was new.

On February 3, 2011February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Catholic press has ‘irreplaceable role’

The Catholic press has an irreplaceable role in forming Christian consciences and reflecting the Church’s viewpoint on contemporary issues.

That’s not just my idea. It is what Pope Benedict XVI said in remarks on November 26, 2010, to members of the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies, an organization which represents 188 Catholic newspapers.

Despite the crisis in print media today, the Catholic newspaper still has a vital role to play in diocesan communications, the pope said in an article carried by Catholic News Service.

On February 3, 2011

Dave Kuhle

Jesus came not to bring new laws, but to fulfill old laws

To the editor:

From the time I was in parochial school 50 years ago, I believed that Jesus replaced the old laws with new laws and gave us two new commands: to love God and one another. But I was wrong.

We frequently hear sermons at Mass that Jesus gave us new commandments, and in Tony Magliano’s article in the December Catholic Herald, regarding what Jesus would do if he were here today. Magliano wrote, “. . . consider John 13:34. Here, Jesus says: ‘I give you a new commandment: love one another.’” Magliano writes that Jesus’ commandment to love one another is new, and is vastly better than the old commandments which required an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

But a thorough understanding of John 13:34 reveals that when Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment: love one another,” he did not recite a new commandment, but quoted a 1,200 year old passage prescribed by Moses in Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

On January 27, 2011February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Catholic schools: A+ for America

The United States of America owes a great debt of gratitude to Catholic schools. From the early days of our country, Catholic schools educated the immigrants in this land (along with even some of the Native Americans).

As our country became a nation, Catholic schools continued to provide an outstanding education in both faith and academics to all citizens. Catholic schools have a proud tradition which is carried on today.

On January 27, 2011

Patrick Hardyman

No cause is more important than affirming right to life

To the editor:

In 1983, on the 10th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion-on-demand in this country, President Ronald Reagan wrote an article for the magazine Human Life Review titled “Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation.” I would like to share the last paragraph of this fine article on this the 38th anniversary of Roe and Bolton.

“Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should therefore be slaves. Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion or infanticide . . . there is no cause more important for preserving that freedom than affirming the transcendent right to life of all human beings, the right without which no other rights have any meaning.”

On January 27, 2011

Jane Tarrell

Tell elected representatives to protect unborn citizens

To the editor:

Overnight, it seems, in 1973, abortion became legal. We have looked the other way ever since, convincing ourselves there is nothing one person can do to end it now.

We scream to end destruction of lives in Iraq and in Afghanistan. We ended the war in Vietnam because we protested until someone in Washington listened.