Day: February 18, 2010

On
Kat Wagner, Catholic Herald Staff

Defend Life Rally held in Madison

Defend Life Rally goers bear signs outside the Madison Surgery Center at 1 S. Park St. on February 6 following a march from State St. in downtown Madison. The rally and march included peaceful confrontations with screaming pro-abortion advocates at the rally and later at the clinic. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) To see more pictures, click here.

MADISON — Close to 500 pro-life advocates from around Wisconsin attended the Defend Life Rally on State Street’s Library Mall in downtown Madison February 6 and marched peacefully to the Madison Surgery Center (MSC) despite screaming pro-abortion advocates at both locations.

The rally, organized by Pro-Life Wisconsin and Vigil for Life of Madison, featured various pro-life speakers and served as both a recognition of successful efforts put forth by local pro-life advocates to prevent abortions at the Madison Surgery Center and as impetus for the 40 Days for Life vigil expected to begin Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, and for other pro-life events in the area.

The first Defend Life Rally in 2009 drew more than 800 people to protest the MSC board’s decision to begin performing abortions. Since that time, pro-life groups and demonstrators have maintained a persistent presence outside the site at 1 S. Park St. The MSC is jointly operated by Meriter Hospital, University Hospitals and Clinics, and the UW Medical Foundation.

“They thought we’d lose interest. They thought we’d forget. They thought we’d go away. My friends — have you lost interest? Have you forgotten? Do you plan on going away?” asked Steve Karlen, co-director of Vigil for Life. He received a resounding “no” from the crowd to each question.

 

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Lent prepares us to renew our baptismal promises

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes by Fr. Donald Lange

Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, good works, and penance. Lent prepares us to renew our baptismal promises with deep faith at Easter when we celebrate the paschal mystery, the heart of our faith.

In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy it says “Lent disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the Word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the Paschal mystery.”

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On
Obispo Robert C. Morlino

Ayuda a Haití: El inicio de una Cuaresma de Amor

Bajo el libro del evangelio por Obispo Robert C. Morlino
Esta columna está dirigida a los fieles de la Diócesis de Madison. Cualquier circulación más amplia transgrede la intención del Obispo.

Queridos hermanos en Cristo:

Como dije la semana pasada, ¡ustedes, sus parroquias y sus pastores tienen que ser altamente encomendados en general! Como familia diocesana, hemos demostrado mucho amor por el prójimo al recaudar en nuestra diócesis la cantidad nada despreciable de 508 130.02 dólares para nuestros hermanos y hermanas de Haití.

Muy poco después del devastador terremoto, el Papa Benedicto XVI prometió al pueblo de Haití las oraciones y el apoyo concreto de los católicos en todo el mundo. Incluso antes de que el Santo Padre hiciera estas promesas, Catholic Relief Services ya estaba en Haití con los heridos y los fallecidos. Ustedes y sus parroquias preguntaban “¿qué podemos hacer?” y nuestras oficinas diocesanas estaban organizando la manera en que podíamos responder.

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On
Jeanne Breunig, Middleton

Pro-life message is about conversion of hearts

To the editor:

Thank you for the front page article on Pope Benedict’s Lenten message about conversion (Catholic Herald, February 11 issue). This ties in exactly with Chris Slattery’s message at the February 6, 2010, pro-life rally at the UW Library Mall. Chris said the pro-life message is about conversion.

So, put them together and you get this: Our Lenten journey is converting hearts to receive, and pass on, God’s love. We want UW’s abortionist, Dr. Caryn Dutton, and all of Madison’s OB-GYN doctors who commit abortions, to have a conversion of heart to receive, and pass on, God’s love.

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On
David Kuhle, Hazel Green

Law encourages children to become sexually active

To the editor:

What in the darkness of Hades has possessed the Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature to pass the falsely-named Healthy Youth Act (AB 458/SB 324)? This bill requires teachers of human growth and development to make our children proficient in contraception.

I do not want our 12-year-old children handed a cucumber and a condom to prove they know how to engage in sexual activity. Condoms do not eliminate venereal disease and pregnancy, but do invite sexual activity.

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On
Jacek M. Cianciara, Madison

Tridentine Masses gaining popularity in Madison area

To the editor:

With great interest I read a reprint of the “Latin Mass Appeal” op-ed originally published in the New York Times on November 29, 2009. The op-ed discussed some developments underlying the construction of the Novus Ordo Mass, specifically liturgical changes forced by Cardinal Annibale Bugnini that were not called for by Vatican II, bringing liturgical “chaos and banality” to the Sacrifice of the New Law “in which Christ, through the ministry of the Priest, offers Himself to God.”

In addition, the op-ed pointed out an ongoing counterrevolution fueled by Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum with its liberation of the Tridentine Mass or the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

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