EditorialJoe Towalski

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are once again reminded of all the blessings we enjoy. One of those blessings is the freedom to worship God without fear. Recent world events, however, remind us that this is a blessing that not every person — particularly not every Christian — enjoys throughout the world.

Many people are still grieving in the wake of a terrorist attack Oct. 31 that killed 58 people and left some 75 wounded at a Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad. It’s not the first time Christians in Iraq have been targeted by militants, who have killed a local bishop, priests and lay people in previous attacks. And it likely won’t be the last.

Following the cathedral incident, Christian leaders met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss security problems at their churches. Pope Benedict XVI called on the international community to work together to end the “heinous episodes of violence that continue to ravage the people of the Middle East.”

And Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the outgoing president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,

urged the U.S. government to “redouble its efforts to assist Iraqis,” particularly religious minorities.

Such public calls for action are welcome, of course. But will they make a significant difference?

EditorialJoe Towalski

Bullying is never OK.

Period.

It is never acceptable to call someone names, harass them or demean them because of what they look like, how they act or what they say.

We know bullying is wrong; our children know it, too. But we also know that it happens all too often in school hallways, on playgrounds and on computers, where cyberbullying is a growing problem.

Studies have indicated that 15 to 25 percent of students are bullied with some frequency. And, one survey of high school youth found that 4 percent missed at least one day of school in the previous month because they were frightened or intimidated by someone.

EditorialJoe Towalski

The decision by Minnesota’s bishops to send a letter and DVD on marriage to Catholic households in Minnesota has generated a substantial amount of media coverage and accompanying commentary in newspapers around the state.
While people — Catholic and otherwise — are certainly entitled to their opinions, some characterizations of the bishops’ initiative have been inaccurate and unfair.

First, the bishops’ effort is not rooted in hate of homosexuals, as some critics have claimed; rather, it is rooted in church teaching about marriage and sexuality. Homosexual persons have the same God-given human dignity as heterosexual persons and deserve our Christian love and respect. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states no less.

But the church teaches that sex is something to be reserved for a lifelong union between a man and woman who are open to having children and are committed to raising strong families for the common good of society. Everyone else — whether they are gay or “straight” — is called to abstinence. The church realizes this call can be a struggle, particularly in today’s sex-saturated society, and so it offers information, resources and programs as a means of help and support. The bishops’ opposition to same-sex marriage is rooted in this teaching, nothing else.

EditorialJoe Towalski

It has been the long-time policy of The Visitor during election years to accept paid political advertising from candidates, their official committees and other organizations. 

That policy, however, is now changing: The newspaper no longer accepts such advertising.

Why the change?

The Visitor’s policy had been something of an exception among Catholic diocesan newspapers — it was among a very small number in the country still accepting paid political ads. The intention was to give candidates and their supporters an opportunity to communicate directly to readers on a wide range of issues.