Wisconsin’s public policy makers have increasingly focused on education reform. They do so for good reason.
Significant improvement in our education system could help alleviate many of the problems currently plaguing our state, such as skilled labor shortages and the high cost of incarceration. With “Catholic Schools Week” upon us, it’s fitting to reflect upon the Church’s approach to education reform and the unique role Catholic schools play in our community.
Catholic Schools Week begins on Sunday, Jan. 29, and ends on Sunday, Feb. 5. Catholic schools typically celebrate Catholic Schools Week with Masses, open houses, and activities for students, families, parishioners, and the wider community.
The Catholic school builds upon the relationship with God, knowledge, values, and community that the student experiences at home. In no. 2204 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it says, “the Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial communion and for this reason it can and should be called a domestic Church.” Good families teach us to respect God and each other.
“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1:18).
Beginning in early November 2011 and extending through much of 2012, the ad limina visits by United States bishops will constitute the most comprehensive review of Church life in the United States since Pope Benedict XVI was elected in 2005.
To the editor:
As we ponder the ramifications of the January 22 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion 39 years ago, I would like to comment on the closing of the Rockford abortion mill.
This closing would not have been possible without the presence of many faithful pro-life Christians. For over two decades, these valiant pro-lifers have been there praying, witnessing, and pleading with the mothers who walked into the killing center.
To the editor:
The Affordable Care Act, funded by half the Medicare budget, offers free condoms, free birth control, and free abortion for all ages. The right of conscience is not protected as it was before the legislation.
Medicare defunding will not be felt until after 2012. The Independent Advisory Board of 15 appointed by our president makes all decisions about who gets what and at what age without input from seniors or politicians. The board is also delegated to defund Medicare by another $200 billion in the next decade.
It was so nice to hear the new Miss America talking about the impact of her Catholic school education on her life and the development of her faith.
“My Catholic education has been so important in reach my goals. It gave me my foundation for my faith,” Laura Kaeppeler said in an interview with the Milwaukee Catholic Herald. “I praise God in how he’s rewarded me.”
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Miss Wisconsin, Laura Kaeppeler, talks to second-grade students at Blessed Sacrament School in Milwaukee Oct. 6, 2011. The 23-year-old Catholic was crowned Miss America 2012 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas Jan. 14. (CNS photo/Ernie Mastroianni ) |
MILWAUKEE (CNS) — All smiles, Susan Kaeppeler, fourth-grade teacher at Kenosha’s St. Joseph Academy’s lower campus, was greeted with the red-carpet treatment when she arrived to class Jan. 16 after a whirlwind weekend where she saw her oldest daughter, Laura, crowned Miss America.
The 23-year-old brunette, a Kenosha native, won the Miss America title at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas Jan. 14.
“Some of the parents decorated her classroom, and made some posters and put them up in the gym as the school day began,” Pauline McTernan, St. Joseph development director, said in a telephone interview with the Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Milwaukee Archdiocese.
“We rolled out a red carpet, presented her with a crown, bouquet of flowers, and balloons and led her to the gym as the school day began. The teachers all wore T-shirts that said, ‘I teach with Miss America’s Mom.’ It was so exciting!”
Particularly touching to McTernan was Susan’s impromptu speech as she reminded students what her daughter had said to them when she visited the school last October, as Miss Wisconsin, a title she won last June.
Comfortable chairs, bins of children’s books, and beautiful pictures of women and children — these are some of the things that greet visitors at the new Women’s Care Center-Madison (WCCM) located at 3711 Orin Rd. on Madison’s east side.
MADISON — His brother knew he wanted to be a priest at a very early age.
Bob Dolan recalls, “At age five, Tim visited our grandparents. At Mass Tim was fixated on the priest.”
MADISON — Over the past couple of months, Catholics in the diocese and throughout the country have adjusted to using the new translation of the Roman Missal.
