Women "priests" in the Milwaukee Catholic Herald?

From Milwaukee Catholic Herald's Letters to the editor

Church should have other priorities

It occurred to me that the years spent by the international committees in Rome on the new translation of the Roman Missal might have been better spent addressing addressing the systemic problems facing the Catholic Church.  What comes to mind is the expansion of the clergy by women and married priests, the decline in church attendance worldwide, bringing the youth and young families back into the fold, and the debilitating sex scandal in the church.   These are real problems and issues facing the church today. 

Universal terminology at Mass seems such a wast of time in light of these pressing issues.

-Bernadyne J. Langer
Elm Grove

I will first admit that women "priests" is an incredibly boring topic to me.   But I suppose there are some who could be scandalized by this.  Did the Herald explain why the Church (not will not but) cannot ordain women?  It doesn't sound like it.  For a nice explanation check out this article from the Star Tribune.  Are everyday faithful Catholics expected to defend the faith not only in secular newspapers but now their own diocesan papers as well? 

A few thoughts on this letter itself.  Why aren't women religious addressing the fact that their own vocation numbers have been obliterated?  Why haven't they taken corrective action?  There are now no sister teachers, no sister nurses, too few sisters who still worship Jesus, and apparently we should funnel the few women religious we still have out of that life.  I would also not recommend casting stones in the sex abuse scandal.  As we have seen with the horrible Penn State scandal, the Church is not alone.  In fact, we know that the Leadership Council of Women Religious has actively engaged in covering up sexual abuse of children by nuns.  And finally, having a beautiful liturgy should be an obvious strategy to bring people back to practice their faith.  To some it would seem apparent that forcing the liturgy into a small banal box might actually be unattractive.  Bringing back beauty is a necessity to bringing back folks to a life as a practicing Catholic. 

Back to the Herald.  They need to do a better job.  A 2008 letter to the editor from a pro-abortion nun claimed “God is pro-choice”; most recently, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a pro-abortion Catholic endorsed by both NARAL and Planned Parenthood, was given a forum in the Milwaukee Catholic Herald in which he discussed violence and the right to self-defense (omitting his views on dismembering those in the womb).  I think the point is that people should be allowed to express their opinions, but then the Herald needs to help us grow in the faith at the same time.  Not addressing such obvious errors gives the impression that they can be valid positions held by Catholics.