ESf :
Monday, March 25,1996 Page 4
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
Univarsity of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Haiti..........; Editor, 472-1766
Doug Kouma.. . .^...r........, . Managing Editor
Doug Peters. .. Opinion Page Editor
Sarah Scale t....Associate News Editor
Matt Waite. .Associate News Editor
Michelle Garner.Wire Editor
Jennifer Mapes...Columnist
Jason Gildow/DN
Ultimatum
Lincoln diocese should promote dialogue
Roman Catholics jn the staunchly conservative Diocese of Lin
coln have been given a choice by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz.
Discontinue membership in 12 groups deemed incompatible with
the Catholic faith, or face excommunication from the church.
In the March 22 edition of the Southern Nebraska Register, the
diocesan newspaper, the bishop said membership in the groups —
including Planned Parenthood, Catholics for a Free Choice, the
Hemlock Society, Freemasons and Call to Action — is “always
perilous to the Catholic Faith and most often is totally incompatible
with the Catholic Faith.”
A spokesman for Bruskewitz said the warning was partly in re
sponse to Call to Action’s plan to establish a chapter in Nebraska.
The liberal organization promotes dialogue among Catholics on is
sues such as women in the priesthood and clerical celibacy.
Those who continue membership in such oiganizations after April
15, the bishop said, arc “under interdiction and absolutely forbid
den to receive Holy Communion.” Those who maintain member
ship for one month after that will be excommunicated.
His spokesman said Bruskewitz had been approached by many
people asking for clarification of the church’s position on such or
ganizations.
They certainly got it, but more in the form of an ultimatum than
a clarification.
The bishop’s spokesman said the warning was intended to “call
persons back to the faith rather than to punish.”
It is a bishop’s duty to lead his diocese as he sees fit, but in this
case, Bruskcwitz’s actions seem excessive.
Would not an open, healthy dialogue with these groups be more
in the interest of the church and its members?
Would it not give the bishop and the church a chance to explain
and reinforce Catholic Cachings?
And would it not allow Catholics in the Lincoln dioccsc to focus
on their shared faith while wrangling over their differences?
Bishop Bruskewitz is undoubtedly strong enough to lead such a
discussion without caving in to any group he opposes.
If enough Catholics in the Lincoln diocese have joined these
groups to warrant the bishop’s drastic action, such a discussion would
be a breath of fresh air in a dioccsc often seen as stuffy and stale.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent the official
policy of the Spring 19% Daily Ne
braskan. Policy is set by the Daily
Nebraskan Editorial Boaid. Editorials
do not necessarily reflect the views of
the university, its employees, the stu
dents or the NU Board of Regents.
Editorial columns represent the opin
ion of the author. The regents publish
the Daily Nebraskan. They establish
the UNL Publications Board to super
vise the daily production of the paper.
According to policy set by the regents,
responsibility for the editorial content
of the newspaper lies solely in the
hands of its students.
Letter policy
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the
editor from all readers and interested others. Letters
will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity,
originality, timeliness and space available. The Daily
Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material
submitted. Readers also are welcome to submit mate
rial as guest opinions. The editor decides whether
material should run as a guest opinion. Letters and
guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the
property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be re
turned. Anonymous submissions will not be pub
lished. Letters should include the author’s name, year
in school, major and group affiliation, if any. Re
quests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit
material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union,
1400 R St. Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
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Parking cons
In response to the many articles
about the parking sen’ce pros and
cons, I have yet to sec any pros for
this UNL organization. I have been
attending UNL for two years now,
and I have had many unpleasant
interactions with this kind of
“vermin.” From spending 80-somc
dollars on a parking permit that
allowed me to park off campus
bemuse there was no room, to
ny vehicle damaged by
.King service meter maids in an
attempt to slop me from getting
away, I have had my fill with the so
called “helpful” parking services. I
am by no means innocent of parking
where I should not be, but the
situations that I have been in were
caused by the lack of parking area
knowledge. This is the fault of the
parking services. I believe that from
day one, the parking areas should be
explained and focused on more
intensely, maybe in student orienta
tion or printed in the DN. But with
the lack of knowledge that most
students have about the parking
areas, the higher the bonuses arc
down at the parking services.
Ironic, isn’t it?
Ashley Moore
sophomore
pre-nursing
Act endangered
Last spring, members of Congress
placed a moratorium on listing
species under the Endangered
Species Act. This moratorium was to
expire in December with the signing
of a new budget in 1996. The current
budget bill contains language to
extend the listing moratorium
throughout the next year. And
Congress made sure that language
was added to the continuing resolu
Aaron Steckeiberg/DN
tion to extend the moratorium on
listing species until the signing of a
new budget deal.
Unfortunately, the battle over
protecting endangered species has
become polarized by radicals on
both sides. It has turned into a
shouting match of jobs vs. spotted
owls that ignores the original goals
of the Endangered Species Act. One
aspect that is drowned out is the
quiet fact that most of our medicines
come from plants, some of which arc
threatened with extinction. In this
era of deadly plagues and diseases
that arc increasingly resistant to
existing antibiotics, human survival
may well depend on bio-diversity.
Continuing this moratorium is
also irresponsible economically. The
cost of bringing a species back from
the brink of extinction is many times
greater than protecting species early.
Recently, Rep. Morelia (R-Md.)
wrote a letter to Newt Gingrich
urging an end to the moratorium and
invited her colleagues to sign on in
support. Even though several dozen
Republicans signed on to the letter,
■
our representative, Doug Bereuter,
has not yet done so. Rep. Bereuter
should recognize that this morato
rium does not solve our problems; it
is simply a tool by anti-environmen
talists in Congress to weaken the
Endangered Species Act.
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^twe morctia -retiw jfiRl uaCR up uu^
idea that “conservation is a conser
vative ideal.”
Janee Gagner
sophomore
psychology
Voting booths
accessible to all
I am writing in response to David
Williams’ comments about ASUN
elections (March 13). The statements
Williams wrote were incorrect.
For one, it is very inaccurate to
write that most freshmen don’t know
about the elections. I, and other
freshmen, did vote at this year’s
election.
The next statement I read was
absolutely ludicrous. Why should the
Harpcr/Schramm/Smith residence
hall get voting booths when every
other student, greck or non-greck,
has to vole at one of the unions, the
rcc center or the Abel/Sandoz
complex? If you take classes at
UNL, you are at some point in the
day fairly close to one of these
locations. So when is it that these
places became greck-run?
While the HSS complex houses
about 1,500 students, greck member
ship is around 5,000 and we do not
have a “greek only” voting booth.
So before you decide to make
statements, you had better find a way
to back them up. And maybe next
year you would like to come over
and use the voting booth in our
house (Alpha Xi Delta)?
Kerry Kuenning
freshman
psychology
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