Month: September 2013

On
Alissa Hirscher, For the Catholic Herald

Pregnancy Helpline seeks new volunteers

MADISON — Need a purpose? Want to impress your mom? Looking to make a difference in your community?

We know people volunteer for a variety of reasons. This fall, consider doing all that with the Pregnancy Helpline (PH).

Answer calls from home

PH is looking to increase the number of volunteers who staff its phones.

“The nice thing about answering calls on our Helpline is that you can answer all calls from home,” says Jessica Vinson, Pregnancy Helpline phone volunteer coordinator and member of St. Ann Parish in Stoughton.

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Edgewood College president plans to retire

MADISON — As a crowded Anderson Auditorium on the Edgewood College campus waited on September 10 for the day’s “major announcement,” school President Dr. Dan Carey stepped behind the podium.

With a tone of gratitude to the entire college, Carey announced he will retire from his position at the end of the 2013-2014 school year.

Carey said it is a time to “transition to meaningful work” at an age when he is still healthy.

He thanked the Sinsinawa Dominicans, Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and students for all their help in the successes of Edgewood College during his time there.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Finding real peace in the face of conflict

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

This past Saturday, along with so many of you I’m sure, I took up Pope Francis’ worldwide call to offer a day of prayer and of fasting for peace — especially for peace in Syria. As I write this column, the gears are turning, and we shall see what comes in terms of action in Syria, and all of the Middle East.

There is already suffering, no doubt! The situation in Syria and all around that part of the world is terrible. But the need for peace extends far beyond the Middle East, and peace is needed at a much deeper level for all of us.

Regardless the outcome of the current deliberations with regard to Syria, our work for peace should continue. If we desire peace, we must make an examination of conscience and work for peace within our own lives first, to seek a peace that cannot be disturbed. There is more on that below.

Remembering 9/11

I cannot fail to mention that this week we come upon the anniversary of September 11, 2001, when so many Americans came to know the Prince of Peace and, we continue to pray, to reside with Him.

Of course, the violence of terrorism is intended as a direct attempt to rob a large number of people of their peace — not only those immediately affected, but those who continue to live in fear, in terror. May the Lord continue to remove fear from our lives, replacing it with hope — the hope that only He can bring.

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On
Fr. Frank Pavone

National Day of Remembrance

Guest Column

The National Day of Remembrance (AbortionMemorials.com) is an effort of prayer and education focused on the approximately 35 locations throughout the United States in which the bodies of children killed by abortion are buried.

By telling the stories of these burials and having memorial services at each of these sites, the public is brought to a deeper awareness of the humanity of the unborn and the inhumanity of abortion. Moreover, this occasion can lead those who have lost children to abortion to a greater measure of healing.

This initiative is sponsored by three national pro-life groups: Priests for Life, Pro-life Action League, and Citizens for a Pro-life Society.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Destroyers of peace: Connection between abortion and other kinds of violence

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child — a direct killing of the innocent child — murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?”

The world was shocked to learn that hundreds of people — many of them women and children — were killed in Syria on August 21 reportedly by the use of sarin gas. In the past two years, it has been reported that over 70,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war — and that might be an underestimate.

Millions of babies aborted

However, in comparison, there have been over 56 million unborn babies killed in the United States by induced abortions since 1973, when the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion in this country.

So far in 2013, there have been over 828,000 abortions performed in the U.S., including almost 44,000 after 16 weeks of gestation (www.numberofabortions.com). According to the Guttmacher Institute’s report as of July 2013, about four in 10 pregnancies have been terminated by abortion in our country.

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

The most prayerful experience of my life

As I follow people on Twitter and help to put together the issue of the Catholic Herald each week, I read about a lot of Catholics taking pilgrimages to the three approved Marian Shines in Wisconsin: the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians at Holy Hill, near Milwaukee; the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, in Champion, near Green Bay; and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near La Crosse.

I have been to two of the three sites, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe being the only one I have yet to visit. I would now like to reflect on the first time I visited one of these shrines.

A chance to go

Back in May of 2012, I went on a one-day bus trip with parishioners from St. Christopher Parish in Verona to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion (formally known as Robinsonville).

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On
The Wisconsin State Council, Knights of Columbus, For the Catholic Herald

Knights of Columbus ‘Culture of Life’ essay contest calls for entries

MADISON — Many of us know that life is becoming increasingly chaotic in America, and there is a growing opinion that elements of our culture and even our government no longer regards life as valued or sacred.

Many people who are pro-life consider it very difficult or even impossible to change our culture and our government on their own.

Importance of the Eucharist

The Most Holy Eucharist — as the source and summit of the Christian life — separates us from sin, strengthens us, and unites us more closely to Christ. We receive sacramental graces from the Eucharist that help us work with God in the salvation of other people for the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. As members of the Church, strengthened by grace, we are able to call people to conversion on developing a culture of life in America.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Al Ringling Theatre, Baraboo, announces Lively Arts Series

BARABOO — The historic Al Ringling Theatre, 136 4th Ave., Baraboo, announces its lineup of shows for the 2013-14 Lively Arts Series. The series features a variety of artists in different performance genres, including some regional favorites.

  • The series opens on Friday, Oct. 4, with the down-home sounds and sweet harmonies of Robin and Linda Williams and their group.
  • Singer and playwright Lisa Rock and her six-piece band are keeping the Carpenters’ holiday traditions alive with spot-on renditions of the unforgettable Christmas tunes on Friday, Dec. 13.
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