Day: August 7, 2014

On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer retires after 46 years in mission office

Fr. Delbert Schmelzer meets Pope John Paul II in 1981 at a meeting of diocesan directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies held in Rome, just two weeks before the Holy Father was shot by Mehmet Ali Agca. (Contributed photo)

MADISON — Jesus told his disciples before he ascended into heaven, “As the Father has sent me, so I also send you” (John 20:21).

Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer believes all baptized Christians have that same mission. “We, too, are sent to bring good news to the poor to the ends of the earth,” he emphasizes.

Monsignor Schmelzer has been encouraging people in the Diocese of Madison to support the missionary work of the Church for over 46 years.

He retired in July from his position as diocesan director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Fr. Chad Droessler, pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish in Lodi and Dane, has assumed the position.

Vital work of the Church

In an interview, Monsignor Schmelzer discussed the vital missionary work of the Catholic Church led by the Holy Father. “The Holy See has the obligation to extend the Church to the whole world. We are doing the Holy Father’s work throughout the world in over 1,150 mission dioceses. They couldn’t exist without our support,” said Monsignor Schmelzer.

Began work in 1968

Back in 1968, Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnell asked then Father Schmelzer to assist Msgr. Edward Auchter with the Pontifical Mission Societies work in the diocese.

“I was his associate director for 13 years,” noted Monsignor Schmelzer. “In 1981, I became the director. It’s an honor to be given this job.”

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On
Chris Lee

Bishop Morlino to visit St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo

BARABOO — St. Clare of Assisi, the patron saint after whom St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo was named, has been described in history as “full of light” or “radiant.”

Her guiding light continues to be a beacon that illuminates the exceptional health care ministry practiced throughout the community as part of the SSM Health Care mission at the St. Clare Hospital campus in Baraboo and its clinic facilities in the Wisconsin Dells/Lake Delton area.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

The state of our unions: We should be concerned about marriage in our country

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

In cleaning my office, I came across an article I saved from a magazine published in 2007. I admit I’m a packrat, but sometimes I’m glad that I keep things that give me a historical perspective on important issues.

This article was part of a series in the AFA Journal of the American Family Association. Its title is “End of Marria%e? Indicators All Point Down.” The percentage sign (%) in the title is not a mistake, because the story points to a key fact: In October of 2006, for the first time in the history of the United States, the percentage of American households that includes a married couple had slipped into the minority.

That discouraging fact was revealed by the American Community Service, released by the U.S. Census Bureau. It showed that 49.7 percent of more than 111 million households contained a married couple. That percentage was down from the 52 percent of households with a married couple in the year 2000.

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On
Fr. Robert Barron

Hercules, N.T. Wright, and the modern meta-narrative

On the first day of my recent vacation, I perused N.T. Wright’s latest book, a collection of essays on contemporary issues in light of the Bible.

A point that Wright makes in a number of the articles is that modernity and Christianity propose fundamentally different meta-narratives in regard to the meaning and trajectory of history.

The emergence of modernity

Modernity — at least in its Western form– is predicated on the assumption that history came to its climax in the mid- to late-18th century, with the definitive victory of empirical science in the epistemological arena and liberal democracy in the political arena.

Basic to this telling of the story is that modernity emerged victorious after a long twilight struggle against the forces of obscurantism and tyranny. The matrix for these negative states of affairs was none other than the Christian religion, which enforced a blind dogmatism on the one hand and an oppressive political arrangement on the other.

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Clearing the air around marijuana use

A June 2014 article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), written by researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institutes of Health, points out that marijuana is not the harmless drug that many imagine.

Rather, it is associated with “substantial adverse effects, some of which have been determined with a high level of confidence.”

Negative outcomes

These negative outcomes include the risk of addiction, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, an elevated incidence of fatal and non-fatal motor vehicle accidents, and diminished lifetime achievement and school performance in cases of long-term use, especially beginning in adolescence.

 

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On
John Huebscher

Children at borders provide opportunity for pro-life witness

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

The plight of over 60,000 unaccompanied children from Central America who are at our borders seeking refuge from the unspeakable horrors afflicting their homelands has stirred controversy, outrage, and no end of political posturing in our country.

But this situation, tragic as it is, provides an opportunity to witness what it means to be pro-life. The Catholic Church in the United States and here in Wisconsin is rising to that challenge.

The children arriving at our southern borders with Mexico are fleeing lives of danger and privation in search of something better, a life of peace and hope that is the birthright of every child.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Grief camp for kids scheduled for August

JANESVILLE — Rock County Council on Aging will be offering “Powerful Tools for Caregivers®”, a nationally recognized education program to help family and friends caring for older adults and anyone who cares for someone with chronic health concerns.

“Taking Care of You — Powerful Tools for Caregivers” is designed to help family caregivers take care of themselves. This class teaches the caregiver necessary emotional tools to reduce guilt, anger, and depression; how to deal with difficult feelings; take care of yourself; help you relax; set goals; solve problems; and effective communication with family members and health service providers.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Mazzuchelli memorial Mass and dinner planned

BENTON — The annual Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli memorial Mass and dinner will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24, at St. Patrick Church in Benton.

The public is invited to attend the day’s events sponsored by the Father Mazzuchelli Assembly 1202 Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, Lancaster.

Prior to the Mass, the public is invited to visit St. Augustine Church, New Diggings. Tours will be given from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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