Day: March 27, 2014

On
Chris Lee

Dr. Carolyn Woo to present St. Thérèse Lecture

Dr. Carolyn Woo

MADISON — Inspired by Pope Francis’ emphasis on charity and social justice, the Diocese of Madison’s Office of Evangelization and Catechesis has initiated several activities.

One is the sponsorship of two courses on Catholic Social Doctrine taught by Dr. Constance Nielsen throughout the year in different locations.

Another is a special event welcoming Dr. Carolyn Woo of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to be the guest lecturer at this spring’s St. Thérèse Lecture.

Dr. Woo will address the topic “The One-Handed Gospel: You Did It for Me” (taken from the words of Blessed Mother Teresa)” on Friday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bishop O’Connor Center, 702 S. High Point Rd.

Dr. Woo assumed the position of CEO and president of CRS in January of 2012. CRS was founded in 1943 by the Catholic bishops of the United States to serve World War II survivors in Europe. Since then, it has expanded in size to reach more than 100 million people in nearly 100 countries on five continents.

Representing CRS, Dr. Woo was featured in Foreign Policy (May/June, 2013) as one of the 500 most powerful people on the planet and one of only 33 in the category of “a force for good.”

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Lumen house seeks residents for fall

MADISON — In August of this year, Lumen House will open its doors to residents in the downtown area near the UW-Madison campus.

The Lumen House project allows Catholic students actively involved in the ministries of St. Paul’s University Catholic Center or the Cathedral Parish to pay rent at a reduced rate. It also offers a $100 a month, per person, rent scholarship to students actively involved with St. Paul’s.

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On
George Weigel

The John Paul II difference: why the Revolution of 1989 was not a re-run of 1789

The Catholic Difference column by George WeigelTwenty-five years ago, on January 27, 1989, a joint statement from the communist government of Poland, the Solidarity trade union, and the Catholic Church announced a national “Roundtable” to discuss the country’s future, including major structural issues of political and economic reform.

The Roundtable began the following month; basic agreements were reached in April; partially-free elections, swept by Solidarity candidates, were held in June; and in September a Solidarity leader, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, became Poland’s first non-communist prime minister since World War II.

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On
Kristin Van Spankeren, For the Catholic Herald

Apostolate to Handicapped provides funding for CMC

MADISON — This past fall, the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) received a grant from the Apostolate to the Handicapped, Inc., of the Diocese of Madison to implement programs to aid its Latino community with special needs.

Specifically, the $8,940 grant provides funding for a Latino support program called Familias Unidas con Niños con Necesidades Especiales (FUNNE), or Families United with Children with Special Needs.

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On
Chris Lee

Sister Christopher Krell, OP, dies

SINSINAWA — Sister Christopher Krell, OP, died March 27, 2014, at St. Dominic Villa. The funeral Mass was held in Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa March 31, 2014, followed by burial in the Motherhouse Cemetery.

Sister Christopher made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican Jan. 26, 1937, and her final profession Aug. 5, 1940. She served as a culinary artist for 60 years in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.

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On
Brenda Brown

Brain injuries represent ‘silent epidemic’ in U.S.

To the editor:

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Of those individuals, 52,000 die, 275,000 are hospitalized, and 1.4 million are treated and released from an emergency department.

Despite the staggering numbers, brain injury is called the “silent epidemic” because public recognition and understanding remains extremely low. Consequently, the individuals who have sustained a brain injury are oftentimes misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and under-funded.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Crucial cases: Pray for justices to support freedom of conscience

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

This week the United State Supreme Court will be taking up some crucial cases involving freedom of conscience of employers in our country.

As Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, points out in his guest column in this week’s Catholic Herald, the court’s justices will be considering whether employers must provide health insurance for drugs and services they find morally objectionable under the Affordable Care Act.

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On
Audrey Mettel Fixmer

Antiques of years past are blessings of today

It’s hard for me to believe it now, but in my younger years I cared nothing about antiques. I foolishly figured that anyone who furnished a home with them simply couldn’t afford new stuff.

Now, although I still don’t have them in my home, I find myself fascinated by anything with a “history.”

I can’t wait each week to watch public television’s Antiques Roadshow. I guess you could say I didn’t care for antiques until I became one.

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On
Jean Mueller

Power of Attorney for Health Care: what it means

Q My brother and I are hoping you can shed some light on this.

Our 89-year-old mother lives in an assisted living facility in Dane County. Although it is expensive, I think she is getting good care and this is the best option for her.

She has been there for the last six months and has made some friends, but mostly it is the care we were looking for, as there are no options for her to live with either of my two brothers or me and she can not live independently.

The issue is my older brother, who is her Power of Attorney for Health Care. He frequently asks the staff to do things for mom that she can do on her own. He feels she is paying for care and that means the staff should do everything for her. I think mom needs to continue to do things for herself that she can do — that this will give her some purpose. But, as the Power of Attorney, does he “hold the power” over everything related to mom’s care? (from a son in Portage)

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