O Mother of God, Immaculate Mary, to thee do I dedicate my body and soul, all my prayers and deeds, my joys and sufferings, all that I am and all that I have.
Dear Friends in Christ,
May is the month that we celebrate mothers. In particular, we hold up our blessed Mother Mary, mother to all. As a role model, we see in Mary the perfect grace-filled embodiment of the strength and dignity of all women.
Unfortunately, in our great city, we are confronted with a culture of strip clubs that is antithetical to the inherent dignity of women. The great momentum of positive growth is sullied by this affront to women.
Karol Wojtyła (St. John Paul II) taught that the opposite of love is not hate, but rather, using a person as if he or she were an object. Strip clubs serve to objectify our sisters in Christ.
In the shadows, Milwaukee is already dealing with the huge problem of human trafficking. This added affront of strip clubs only compounds the tragedy of human trafficking, because strip clubs are “gateways” to this systemic evil. The debasement of the great gift of human sexuality tears at the fabric of our community and demeans who we are as God’s children created in His image and likeness.
Together, we are charged with upholding the dignity of all human persons in the city of Milwaukee and we cannot remain silent. We need to raise our voices against profiting off the exploitation of women. Our first step, as in all things we do, is to lift our voices in prayer.
Our next step is for people in the City to contact their Milwaukee Common Council members and express our deep discontent with locating strip clubs in Milwaukee and ask for zoning restrictions to prevent any further expansion.
Finally, we need to be a people of hope as we continue our prayers and act as visible witnesses to a Gospel message that teaches a profound respect for the life and dignity of all human persons. Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us.
Most Rev. Jerome E. Listecki, Archbishop of Milwaukee
Fr. Tim Kitzke, Vicar General of Urban Ministry
Anne Haines, Respect Life Director for Urban Ministry