As we observe Thanksgiving this week, of course it’s a time to give thanks for the blessings we have received in our lives.
While it is good to give thanks, it may be more difficult for us to go beyond giving thanks.
Tag: editorial
Take a good look at proposed tax bill
Although the president and some members of Congress would like to get a new tax bill passed soon, I think it would be wise for citizens to take a good look at this bill before it is fast-tracked.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as it is called, is touted as saving taxpayers money and helping the country produce more jobs. However, there are concerns about whether both of those goals will be met in this bill.
Bishops comment on bill
In a November 9 letter to U.S. House of Representatives members, three bishops who are chairmen of three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called the House version of the bill “unacceptable” as written because it “contains many fundamental structural flaws that must be corrected,” reported a Catholic News Service article.
Where have courtesy and civility gone?
In the later years of her life, my mother-in-law used a walker. Of course, it slowed down her pace and also made it difficult for her to open doors unless they had a handicapped door opener.
When I was with her, I could help her navigate doors. Sometimes she got ahead of me, so I wasn’t there when she reached the door.
I was unpleasantly surprised when other people would just walk through the door without offering to help her. She said this was a common occurrence.
Lack of courtesy
This lack of courtesy is something that seems to be escalating in our country. People seem to think only about themselves.
Your voice is needed at State Capitol
As Catholics, we believe that life begins at conception. So when babies die in miscarriage or stillbirth, their parents should be able to have a service for them.
Elizabeth Ministry, headquartered in Wisconsin, is also working with more cemeteries to set aside an area for babies who have died before birth.
In Wisconsin, there are two pieces of proposed legislation which seek to demonstrate greater respect for unborn children.
Heal Without Harm
The Heal Without Harm Initiative is a package of two complementary bills, the “Unborn Child Disposition and Anatomical Gift Act” (SB 424/AB 550) and the “Fetal Remains Respect Act” (SB 423/AB 549).
It’s important to affirm life at the time of death
As we approach the end of October observed as Respect Life Month and All Souls’ Day on November 2, our thoughts turn towards the end of life.
I think our society today avoids issues of suffering and death. Some say we live in a “death-defying and death-denying” society.
Denying death
As Jeffery A. Johnson says in an article called “Denial: The American Way of Death” (www.OrthodoxyToday.org), modern Americans seems to be “preoccupied with the preservation of youth and beauty.” He says that “society seems content to cling to the illusion that youth — and life — can last forever.”
Continue to oppose the death penalty
During October, which is observed as Respect Life Month in the U.S. Catholic Church, we publish a number of articles in the Catholic Herald about issues dealing with respect for life at all stages.
Perhaps one of the most difficult issues to discuss is the death penalty. If we admit it, I think many of us subscribe to the Old Testament belief in “an eye for an eye” when it comes to punishing those who harm others.
If someone murders another person, we may feel the death penalty is justified. After all, the murderer took someone’s life, so his life must be taken, too.
What’s wrong with this point of view? Quite a bit, if we start to look at it carefully.
A wake-up call: we are our brother’s keeper
After the tragic shooting in Las Vegas, one question kept surfacing in my mind: Are we still our brother’s keeper?
We know the phrase “my brother’s keeper” from the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-9. Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. After the murder, God asked Cain where Abel was. Cain’s answer was, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
We are surely not responsible for everyone’s safety at all times. However, we should not allow people to do violence if we can prevent it.
Keep the dream alive at Camp Gray
It all started with a parish priest’s simple dream in 1953, recounts the history of Camp Gray.
Msgr. Francis Gray was pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo. He dreamed of a place “where youths would be free and away from the temptations of the streets; where they could enjoy nature and become acquainted with it firsthand . . . a place where they could commune, under supervision, with their Creator and away from paths so frequently leading to delinquency.”
Dream becomes reality
So, Monsignor Gray scouted out potential sites but became enamored of an unoccupied, uncultivated 100-acre wooded site about eight miles northwest of Baraboo.
Health bill must be amended to protect poor
Here we go again. The U.S. Senate may be voting on another health care bill this week designed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.
The Senate hasn’t given much opportunity for the public to weigh in on the Graham-Cassidy proposal. There was only one public hearing scheduled on the measure, to my knowledge.
The U.S. Catholic bishops have apparently studied the proposed legislation, co-sponsored by Republican Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Why the Church loves immigrants
Some people seem to feel the Catholic Church’s love of immigrants comes from a selfish point of view.
This opinion came to light in an interview airing on September 10 on the CBS-TV program 60 Minutes. Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist for President Donald Trump and now executive chairman of Breitbart News, said on the program that the Catholic bishops of the United States have “an economic interest in illegal immigration” as “they need illegal aliens to fill the pews.”
I beg to disagree. The Catholic Church’s love of immigrants is certainly not based on an economic interest. It is true that many immigrants do contribute of their time, talent, and treasure to Catholic parishes. But many of them start out living in poverty, and it may take years for them to be able to give anything back to the Church as they get settled in their communities here.