Jessica* was a sophomore in college. Naïve about sex, she thought she was in love.
But when Jessica became pregnant, her boyfriend coerced her into having an abortion. Jessica went along with a “choice” that seemed largely out of her control.
Shelly’s* pregnancy was unplanned and unwelcome. After her abortion, her immediate reaction was relief — she just wanted to move on.
 |
|
On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion in the Roe v. Wade decision.
Justice Byron White, who dissented, stated, “The court apparently values the convenience of a pregnant mother more than the continued existence and development of the life or potential life she carries.”
Since Roe v. Wade, 58 million abortions have occurred in our country. This is roughly the population of the United States around 1869.
 |
|
Daniel Dennett, one of the “four horsemen” of contemporary atheism, proposed in 2003 that those who espouse a naturalist, atheist worldview should call themselves “the brights,” thereby distinguishing themselves rather clearly from the dim benighted masses who hold on to supernaturalist convictions.
In the wake of Dennett’s suggestion, many atheists have brought forward what they take to be evidence that the smartest people in society do subscribe to anti-theist views. By “smartest” they usually mean practitioners of the physical sciences, and they point to surveys that indicate only small percentages of scientists subscribe to religious belief.
MADISON — The […]
|
|
Ridley Scott’s new film Exodus: Gods and Kings features Moses, the Pharaoh, hundreds of thousands of slaves making their way across the floor of the Red Sea, all 10 plagues, the burning bush, and even the angel of Yahweh in the form of a petulant 11-year-old boy with a British accent.
And yet, the movie is spiritually flat, as though its makers had read the biblical story but understood precious little of its theological poetry.
 |
|
QUESTION: While everyone else seems joyful, I often feel depressed around the holidays. Could you suggest some ways to cope with the holiday blues?
RESPONSE: By William McKenna, M.S., clinical extern at the IPS Center for Psychological Services
We so often hear Christmas songs with lines such as, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” and “Christmas time is here. Happiness and cheer!”
MT. HOREB — A brunch for women sponsored by the St. Michael Council of Catholic Women to be held on Saturday, Jan. 17, at St. Ignatius Church Hall, 109 S. 6th St., will feature Kelly Wahlquist, a Catholic author and speaker.
Wahlquist will speak on “The Supreme Role of Women in the New Evangelization: Living ‘The Joy of the Gospel.'”
BARABOO — On Saturday, Jan. 24, St. Joseph Parish will host a one-day men’s retreat titled, “Living Supernaturally.”
Featured speakers include Fr. Rick Heilman and Scott Hackl. Father Heilman is the founder of the Catholic men’s apostolate Knights of Divine Mercy, founder of the Holy League, and regular on Relevant Radio.
Hackl is the father of six and advancement director working on a $24 million campaign to rebuild St. Paul’s University Catholic Center in Madison.
A few weeks ago I learned that my lung cancer had crept into my bones and is likely to take my life within six months. That’s the bad news.
 |
|
| 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,
Please let me first wish you every blessing of Christmas, and abundant blessings for the year to come — blessings of joy, health, and above all, always deeper faith.
I hope that you are continuing to live in the glow of the Christmas season, for we should remember that Christmas is not something that begins at Thanksgiving (or even as soon as Halloween has ended) and ends when presents are returned on December 26.
Our commemoration of Christmas should start on Christmas Eve and carry forward through the Epiphany and beyond. For indeed, Christmas should serve as an annual reminder of the tremendous gift and mystery of the Incarnation.
Christmas is a mystery, and there is a danger, between the commercialism and the outwardness of Christmas (all of the arguments about if and where you can put a Nativity Scene, and how you greet people), that the fact that Christmas is a mystery gets lost.
Christmas is a time when budgets get challenged, when people get defensive about their beliefs or lack of beliefs, and now where people have all kinds of parties as an excuse to eat and drink too much! (Not that I am immune from the fault of eating too much!) But Christmas is so much more!
