Year: 2011

On
Beatrice Peyer

Hardline politics doesn’t work, may affect charities

To the editor:
I can understand Bishop Morlino’s neutral position on the issues now facing the state of Wisconsin, but there are many repercussions should the governor’s budget bill pass.

Mr. McCluskey (Catholic Herald Mailbag, March 10) touched briefly on a decline in healthcare. To add to that, nurses and other hospital staff can be forced to work double shifts even though they have family at home to attend to or if they have plane reservations for the same time-frame.

My daughter faced this situation at UW Hospital. If she hadn’t been protected by the union, she would have been out the money for her plane ticket and if she refused to work another shift, she would have faced the possible loss of her job.

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On
James Finkel

Catholic War Veterans of USA look for new members

To the editor:

The Catholic War Veterans of the USA is looking for new members to continue our work for God, country, and home. Would you allow some space in the Catholic Herald to publish our letter to parish pastors to locate Catholic veterans to start posts in your diocese? You can learn more about us through our Web site www.cwv.org

Here’s the letter and God bless you!

Dear Reverend Father:

Our Bishop Protector, Rev. Richard B. Higgins, of the Archdiocese of the Military Services, recently told us the Catholic War Veterans of the USA must continue our work for God, country, and home to face the challenges of this new century.

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On
Mary C. Uhler

Make your voice heard to protect the poor and vulnerable at state, federal levels

editor's view by Mary C. Uhler

We have been hearing so much about the fiscal challenges facing our state and national governments. Sometimes we may feel so frustrated that we don’t do anything.

But now is not the time to stand back. It is time to make your voice heard with your elected representatives at the state and federal levels. In this week’s Catholic Herald, we have published some suggestions on how to contact your legislators effectively. Many of these suggestions come from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), the public policy arm of our state’s Catholic bishops.

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On
Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer

This Lent: Helping hope live in the missions

Propagation of Faith by Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” is the familiar cry of Jesus on the cross.

In our own lives, we may also sometimes feel abandoned, with hope seeming to disappear. As we cope with the serious illness of someone close to us. As we face economic challenges, perhaps even the loss of our job. In the gray loneliness that follows the death of a beloved wife or husband.

God does not abandon us

And yet, in the midst of our darkness, we remember that God did not abandon His beloved Son and the suffering of Good Friday transformed into the hope of our Lord’s Resurrection. God does not abandon us.

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On
Kat Wagner, Catholic Herald Staff

Rite of Election calls forward those seeking to ‘join the team’

Bishop Robert C. Morlino receives candidate Kimberly Kazort during the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee on March 13.  (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) For more Rite of Election pictures click here.

WAUNAKEE — Bishop Robert C. Morlino has often likened being a member of the Catholic Church to being on a battleship headed towards heaven. Unlike a cruise ship, the journey will be rough and will get stuck on the rock of Calvary before it gets there — but it will get a better reception when it does arrive.

Like the crew on the battleship — or the players on a team, as the bishop said at the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion March 13 at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee — it is important for Catholics to be unified in the fight.

Joining the team

The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion is an annual event traditionally held in the Diocese of Madison on the first Sunday of the Lenten season. It brings together the catechumens — those who are as yet unbaptized — and candidates — those baptized Christian and now seeking the Sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist in the Catholic Church — from parishes around the diocese. In ceremonies at their home parishes, they were sent forth to declare at the rite their intention of receiving the Sacraments of Initiation and full reception into the Church.

 

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On
John Huebscher

Common good must be focal point of budget debate

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

Now that the governor has presented his state budget to the Legislature, fiscal issues and spending priorities will dominate the legislative agenda for the next several months.

First, the Joint Committee on Finance will hold hearings on the proposals. Then some of the standing committees may hold “subject matter” hearings on aspects of the budget related to their areas of expertise.

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On
Mary C. Uhler

Victory for freedom of speech, religion: Supreme Court lets ruling stand on funding of Catholic student group

editor's view by Mary C. Uhler

As a graduate student in the 1970s, I attended Mass and was involved in activities at St. Paul University Catholic Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For many Catholic students like me, St. Paul’s was a “home away from home” in the spiritual sense. It kept students tethered to their faith amid the challenges of life on campus.

St. Paul’s is the oldest Newman Center established on a secular university in the United States. The first chapel was completed in 1909 on State St. in the heart of the UW campus. Over the years, St. Paul’s has continued to provide Catholic students — who number over 25 percent of the student body by some estimates — with the opportunity for growth in their faith in an increasingly secular culture.

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