Day: September 4, 2014

On
Chris Lee

Lecture focuses on Pope Francis

Alejandro Bermúdez

MADISON — “Who Is Pope Francis? What Is His mind?” is the topic of the next St. Thérèse Lecture to be presented on Friday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd.

It will be presented by Alejandro Bermúdez, author of Pope Francis: Our Brother, Our Friend: Personal Recollections about the Man Who Became Pope.

Bermúdez will reveal little-known insights into the pope’s personality, his interior world, his human abilities, his work habits, his devotions, his concerns, and his friendships.

Bermúdez will open a fascinating door to better understanding the man whom the Holy Spirit called to lead the Church at this time.

Bermúdez is director of ACI-Prensa, the world’s largest Catholic news agency in Spanish, as well as the executive director of Catholic News Agency and the Portuguese agency ACI digital.

Bermúdez is a frequent contributor to the National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor, and he hosts several Spanish programs on EWTN, including Criterios on Radio Católica Mundial.

He was a participant in the pivotal Fifth Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) at Aparecida in 2007, where Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) was elected to draft the final document.

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On
Fr. Robert Barron

Arguing about moral matters

In his classic text After Virtue, the philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre lamented, not so much the immorality that runs rampant in our contemporary society, but something more fundamental and in the long run more dangerous; namely, that we are no longer even capable of having a real argument about moral matters.

The assumptions that once undergirded any coherent conversation about ethics, he said, are no longer taken for granted or universally shared. The result is that, in regard to questions of what is right and wrong, we simply talk past one another, or more often, scream at each other.

Red flags go up

I thought of MacIntyre’s observation when I read an article on the Supreme Court’s consideration of the much-vexed issue of gay marriage.

It was reported that, in the wake of the oral arguments, Justice Elena Kagan remarked, “Whenever someone expresses moral disapproval in a legal context, the red flag of discrimination goes up for me.”

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On
Tony Magliano

Revisiting the just war theory

Is there such a thing as a just war? Can the massive death and destruction of armed conflict ever be morally justified by followers of the Prince of Peace?

For the first disciples of Christ the answer was a resounding “No!”

Following Jesus’ command

During the first 300 years of Christianity, it was unthinkable for followers of the nonviolent Jesus to kill a human being.

They took most seriously Jesus’ command: “But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other as well. . . . Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

Typical of early Church teaching on nonviolence, St. Clement of Alexandria said to wealthy Christians, “Contrary to the rest of men, enlist for yourself an army without weapons, without war, without bloodshed, without wrath, without stain — pious old men, orphans dear to God, widows armed with gentleness, men adorned with love.”

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

St. Paul’s celebrates Masses for Facebook followers

MADISON — On Monday, July 21, the St. Paul University Catholic Center Facebook page was sitting with a strong following of 900 followers.

After the page’s administrator had a short conversation with Fr. Mark Miller — the recently arrived new director of student ministries at St. Paul’s — the following was posted on the page:

“If we reach 1,000 Facebook page ‘likes’ by the end of the week, Fr. Mark will say a Mass for just our Facebook followers:) Please click on our page and on the left hand side, click to invite your friends to like our page!”

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Is artificial insemination wrong? Even among married couples?

Editor’s note: This column contains some information that might not be suitable for younger readers.

Artificial insemination introduces sperm into a woman’s body by use of a thin tube (cannula) or other instrument to bring about a pregnancy.

Artificial insemination can be either homologous (using sperm from a woman’s husband) or heterologous (using sperm from a man she is not married to). Both forms of artificial insemination raise significant moral concerns.

Treating people as objects

Bringing about a pregnancy by introducing a cannula through the reproductive tract of a woman and injecting sperm into her body raises concerns about reducing her to a kind of conduit for the purposes of obtaining a child.

These actions fail to respect the most personal and intimate aspects of a woman’s relational femininity and her sexuality. She ends up being treated or treating herself as an “object” for the pursuit of ulterior ends.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

‘Fire On the Hill’ for teens at Holy Hill

HUBERTUS — On Saturday, Oct. 4, come out for the 14th annual “Fire On the Hill!” Find out why it’s the single largest youth event in the state.

Last year, 1,800 youth poured onto the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, popularly known as “Holy Hill.”

This beautiful fall event includes bonfire, speakers, sports, and sacraments.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Pregnancy Helpline promotes diaper collection

MADISON — Through the effort of Pregnancy Helpline of Madison and the National Diaper Bank Network, the week of September 8 to 14 has been proclaimed Diaper Need Awareness Week in Wisconsin as a result of the great amount of needed support.

People are encouraged to aid this critical issue by donating funds or diapers during Diaper Need Awareness Week. Diapers can be dropped off at three Madison Shopko stores September 8 to 14. Diapers can also be brought to the Lil Badger Consignment Sale in Monona September 11 to 13.

Donations can be made online at www.pregnancyhelpline.net

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