Each year, the Catholic Church in the United States kicks off its Respect Life Program on the first Sunday of October, which is observed as Respect Life Month.
As we know, respecting human life should be something we do all year, day in and day out. However, setting aside a month to focus on respect for life gives all Catholics an opportunity to study, reflect, pray, and take action in a special way during October.
At one time, the Catholic Herald newspaper shared offices with Catholic Social Service (now Catholic Charities). Our offices were located in the rectory building at St. Patrick Church in downtown Madison.
Because of our proximity, I was able to witness first-hand many of the programs and services provided. In fact, sometimes when the Catholic Social Service staff were too busy, I got to hold babies brought in for adoption. I can still remember the cute outfits one of the foster mothers made for these babies, including a little witch costume for Halloween one year.
At one time, the Catholic Herald newspaper shared offices with Catholic Social Service (now Catholic Charities). Our offices were located in the rectory building at St. Patrick Church in downtown Madison.
Because of our proximity, I was able to witness first-hand many of the programs and services provided. In fact, sometimes when the Catholic Social Service staff were too busy, I got to hold babies brought in for adoption. I can still remember the cute outfits one of the foster mothers made for these babies, including a little witch costume for Halloween one year.
Marriage and family are the foundation of society and the Catholic Church, yet it seems as if marriage and family life are being threatened in today’s world.
In our country, we see many couples cohabitating or having sexual relationships and bearing children outside of marriage. For those who do marry, husbands and wives are dealing with stress, infidelity, and discontent often leading to separation and divorce.
Some of us have made calls to a business and encountered a person with an Indian accent on the other end of the phone. That person might be working at a call center in India.
It’s just one example of the many changes we’ve been experiencing recently in the way we work. We can barely keep pace with innovations in technology and communications in a truly global economy.
If she were alive today, Blessed Mother Teresa would have celebrated her 100th birthday this week. She is someone who will never really die.
She will be remembered for what she said and did while on this earth. But she will especially remain with us in the caring ministry of the Missionaries of Charity she founded and all the orphanages, AIDS hospices, and centers for the disabled and refugees she established throughout the world.
In August of 2009, the Catholic bishops of all five dioceses in Wisconsin wrote a letter sharing their “deep concern” about a provision in the new state budget that would require providers of health insurance to include contraceptive services as a “mandated benefit.”
The bishops were concerned because this mandate would “compel Catholic dioceses, parishes, and other agencies that buy health insurance to pay for a medical service that Catholic teaching holds to be gravely immoral.”
Can one federal judge overturn God’s natural law and the votes of nearly seven million citizens of California regarding the definition of marriage? No, I don’t think so!
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled recently that California’s voter initiative, known as Proposition 8, was unconstitutional. Voters approved this proposition in 2008 by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. It defines marriage as between a man and a woman, thus banning same-sex marriage.
We all need food to survive, but do we really think about the food we’re eating: where it came from, who grew it, how it was prepared?
There are many aspects of food production that have moral and even spiritual dimensions, points out Tom Nelson, coordinator of the Rural Life Office for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Madison. Nelson’s reflections on “the sacred act of eating” can be found in this week’s Catholic Herald. He points out that we humans serve as stewards of creation and we must take care of the resources God has provided.
The topic of vacations may not seem weighty enough for an editorial. However, I figure if Pope Benedict XVI can talk about vacations, it’s worthy of discussion.
Recently the Holy Father has mentioned vacations several times. Of course, he himself is spending time at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, which he said offers him a chance to rest and relax.
