What are the most important characteristics of priests in the world today? Bishop Robert C. Morlino asked during his homily of the three young men shortly to be ordained.
Day: August 13, 2009
Happy reopening of Catholic Multicultural Center
MADISON — Monday, Aug. 3, was a jubilant day for the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC), 1862 Beld St., in Madison. After being closed by the Diocese of Madison since May 27, the center reopened its doors to serve the basic needs of people in Madison and the surrounding 11 counties of the Madison Diocese.
With the permission of Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison spearheaded the effort to reopen the center.
Patrick Madrid to speak in Madison
MADISON — On Friday, Sept. 4, Patrick Madrid will speak at the Bishop O’Connor Center on the topic of moral relativism.
Sponsored by the Knights of Divine Mercy (KDM), in association with the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, Madrid’s dynamic talk begins at 7 p.m. and ends at approximately 9:30 p.m. It includes an intermission, Q&A, and an opportunity to purchase his books with a book-signing.
Catholic schools planning: the next steps
Over the last several weeks, the Office of Catholic Schools has been busy moving forward with Catholic Schools Planning.
Between May and July, over 300 people attended one of 12 task force meetings conducted at locations throughout the diocese. Each meeting began with prayer, a brief history of the process, and an explanation of our goal: to find ways to strengthen our Catholic schools throughout the diocese and ensure that they are “available, affordable, accessible,” and that they offer both an unparalleled faith formation and academic education to all students now and for generations to come.
Once the planning process was underway, participants considered the various challenges currently facing Catholic schools, shared opinions and experiences, brainstormed ideas, and discussed possible courses of action as we look for ways to strengthen our schools.
Priest’s abuse case being sent to Vatican
MADISON — The members of the Diocese of Madison’s Sexual Abuse Review Board have, after a preliminary investigation into the testimonies and facts surrounding an allegation of child-sexual abuse made against Fr. Joseph Gibbs Clauder, found the allegation to be credible.
Considering the Review Board’s findings, Bishop Robert C. Morlino has agreed with their evaluation and has referred this case to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), in Rome, for judgment.
Economy drives demand for health care reform
In 1919, the U.S. bishops endorsed the idea that all Americans should have access to affordable health care. Ninety years later we are still waiting for that idea to be realized and our nation is engaged in a serious debate as to whether the vision of 1919 will finally come to pass.
In the short term, the outcome of the debate is in doubt. Thoughtful people have raised legitimate concerns about the cost of the program and the proper balance between the public and private sectors. And no plan can include abortion in any package of mandated benefits and issues.
But in the long term, the realities of the economic upheaval currently underway will make reform inevitable. For the trends in our society that make universal access to health care attractive are not going away.
Marriage and NFP conference held in Milwaukee
A marriage and natural family planning conference will be held in conjunction with Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital on Saturday, Aug. 29, at the St. Joseph Center, 1501 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee.
Assumption inspires us to follow Mary’s example
A priest asked a class of second graders, “How many of you want to go to Heaven?” Every little hand went up.
The priest responded, “How many of you want to be a saint?”
The children glanced at each other with puzzled looks. Most of them put their hands down.
“Well, boys and girls,” the priest said, “Since no one wants to be a saint, we have a problem. To get to Heaven, you must be saintly or Christ-like. So let me ask again, ‘How many of you want to be a saint?'”
Every hand quickly went up! The priest’s hand joined their hands.
End-of-life options should be offered
To the editor:
I want to comment on the end-of-life options provision in the House bill H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.
Grant supports parish nurse health fairs
Monroe Clinic received a grant from the Monroe Fund, a component of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, Inc., to support parish nurse health fairs.