Month: August 2014

On
Lillian Quinones

POLST: A Catholic moral dilemma (part two)

Author’s note:  “God is the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end, each one of us and humanity in its entirety. His Kingdom is not an imaginary hereafter, situated in a future that will never arrive; his Kingdom is present wherever he is loved and wherever his love reaches us. His love alone gives us the possibility of soberly persevering day by day, without ceasing to be spurred on by hope, in a world which by its very nature is imperfect” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Spei Salvi).

The words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI articulate the unique aspect of hope in the Catholic paradigm. In Part II of POLST: A Catholic Moral Dilemma, Dr. Franklin Smith contrasts POLST to the Catholic approach to end-of-life decision-making.

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On
Fr. Robert Barron

Why I love my invisible friend

One of the favorite taunts of the New Atheists is that religious people believe in an “invisible friend.”

They are implying, of course, that religion is little more than a pathetic exercise in wishful thinking, a reversion to childish patterns of projection and self-protection. It is well past time, they say, for believers to grow up, leave their cherished fantasies behind, and face the real world.

In offering this characterization, the New Atheists are showing themselves to be disciples of the old atheists such as Feuerbach, Marx, Comte, and Freud, all of whom made more or less similar observations.

I’m writing here to let atheists know that I think they’re right, at least about God being an invisible friend. Where they’re wrong is in supposing that surrendering to this unseen reality is de-humanizing or infantilizing.

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On
Jeff Kurowski, For the Catholic Herald

Catholic musician to sing at Bishop’s Charities Game

ALLOUEZ — The lyrics for “In Real Life,” the opening song on Amanda Vernon’s 2013 CD entitled Interior Gaze, include: “More than my favorite football team, I want you to see the real me.”

Occasionally when performing the song, Vernon adds the name of her favorite team, the Green Bay Packers.

“My parents are both from Wisconsin,” said Vernon, a singer, pianist, and composer. “We had two rules in our house. You have to be Catholic and be a Packers fan. I’m a legitimate cheesehead. I was born in La Crosse. My family then moved to Grand Rapids (Mich.).”

Vernon will get a close look at the Packers when she performs the National Anthem at the 2014 Bishop’s Charities Game, on Thursday, Aug. 28.

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On
Chris Lee

Bishops affirm support for marriage

MADISON — As lawyers argue the legality of Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin reaffirmed their support for that provision and the voters who approved it.

“In approving the long understood truth that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, the voters were not establishing a religious understanding of marriage as an institution,” the bishops said in a statement August 26. “Rather they were recognizing a truth about human relationships and the nurturing of generations.”

Wisconsin’s voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage in a 2006 referendum that garnered 59 percent of the vote. The amendment has since been challenged in federal court, and a judge for the Western District of Wisconsin held the measure to violate the U.S. Constitution.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Bishop ordains diocesan permanent deacon

BOSCOBEL — On Sunday, July 20, Bishop Robert C. Morlino presided at the diaconal ordination Mass of Larry Schmitt.

Deacon Schmitt’s ordination to the permanent diaconate is the first to take place in the Diocese of Madison since 2004. As Deacon Schmitt marks the beginning of his diaconal ministry, fellow permanent deacons in the diocese celebrated 10 years of service to their parish communities and ministries.

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