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Letters to the editor – May 12, 2011

Religious grateful for contributions

The National Religious Retire­ment Office sent a letter of appreciation to Archbishop John Nienstedt, thanking the archdiocese for its generous collection to the 2010 annual Retirement Fund for Religious, which amounted to $470,238.66.

Sister Janice Bader, executive dir­ec­tor, wrote, “Your generosity surely helps religious address the many challenges religious face as they retire.”

Many religious work until the age of 75 and beyond. Just check the religious working in your parish and you will find they remain ever faithful to also helping support the care of their retired religious.

“Even as [retired religious] age, their commitment to the ministry of their community, their prayer and spiritual life are vibrant testimony to the faithfulness they promised so many years ago. All religious, young and old, are grateful for your support. You can surely rely on the prayers of 34,000 religious over the age of 70 and the ever increasing number of religious who will be retiring very soon,” Bader said.

If you missed the opportunity to address this need, call the Retirement Fund for Religious Office at (651) 290-1603 for information on how you can still contribute.

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Sister Midge Breiter, SSND
Coordinator of the archdiocesan
Retirement Fund for Religious

Would Jesus have killed bin Laden?

Would Jesus have pulled the trigger on Osama bin Laden, or at least supported the act?

If Jesus is our ultimate model of what it means to be human, this is a vital question.

I believe the answer would be “no.” Jesus taught followers to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” If we as human beings were truly committed to loving our enemies over the long haul (and with great cost, no doubt, for look what happened to Jesus for doing so), then a new way of being in relationship would grow. Trust would replace mistrust. Understanding would replace accusation. Respect would replace demonization.

We could have avoided the devastating wars against Iraq and Afghanistan had we opted to pursue the genuine question that we as a nation (including President Bush) asked ever so briefly: “Why do they hate us?” But instead of seriously grappling with the question, which might have led to building bridges with the Muslim world and undermining the appeal of radical movements, we quickly resorted to what was most comfortable: war.

Jesus taught followers to grow peace through acting peacefully. What a concept! On the other hand, most Christians believe that we grow peace through violence, which Jesus never taught. In the long term, growing peace through violence does not work. How could it?

It is time to try something few have done: follow Jesus’ example.

Paul Krenzelok
Holy Name, Minneapolis

Tax-funded abortions are the wrong choice

Thanks to Dave Hrbacek for his story about Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood Employee of the Year who is now pro-life and the author of “un­PLANNED.”

The Government Accountability Office reported that from 2002-2009 pro-abortion groups spent over $1 billion from the federal government, including $657.1 million to Planned Parenthood over seven years.

Our taxes should not support an organization that destroys thousands of vulnerable lives each day and harms women and couples. We don’t solve social problems by killing the children of the poor.

Many women and couples regret their abortions. Spiritually, abortion is like a tsunami. Relationships are torn apart and lives are devastated. Pressured into “choosing” abortion, women live with deep emotional, psychological and spiritual wounds — anger, anxiety, unabated grief and depression. Some abortion survivors never have more children.

Please contact your senator in Washington today to support the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, a bipartisan bill that creates a government-wide statutory prohibition on abortion funding, including problematic provisions in the health care bill. The vote could come soon.

Sharon Soderlund
Client advocate at Highland Life Care Center in St. Paul

To our readersMaterial printed on the Opinion and Letters page of This Catholic Life does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit or the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
 


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