Category: Columns

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Jean Mueller

How much information can be shared?

Q A while back there was a question related to how much information an agency can share with family members about the care they were providing for the mother.

I would like a bit more information about that, because I really don’t understand what the big deal is. If we, as family members, aren’t told about things that are not going well for our parents, how will we know?

(From a daughter in De Forest)

A I really appreciate these kinds of questions, because I think there is a lot of confusion about the roles different entities play in regard to elder support.

I also acknowledge the variety of interpretations of “privacy matters” within the various supportive organizations. So let’s try and break this down and give you some rationale behind these actions.

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Jacqueline von Zwehl

Finding the one . . . just ‘let it go’

Gifts for Your Soul column by Jacqueline von Zwehl

One of my rituals I always look forward to is girl’s night out. A group of four of us have been meeting for dinner about once a month for years now.

Over the years, two of us have gotten married and had kids, one member of our group has been in a steady relationship for a year, and one friend is currently single. We love each other like sisters and look forward to this evening with great anticipation.

After we finished dinner and had dessert served, my single girlfriend blurted out, “I don’t think God is listening to my prayers.” I immediately dropped my fork, forsaking my tiramisu. She continued with a heavy heart, “I’ve been praying and praying. I volunteer, pray for others, go to mass, everything,” exasperation entered her voice, “but I’m still single and can’t seem to meet the right person to share my life with. I just don’t know what to do anymore, and I’m afraid I’m losing my faith in my prayers.”

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Fr. Robert Barron

Bill Maher doesn’t understand faith

I don’t know what possesses me to watch Real Time With Bill Maher, for Maher is, without a doubt, the most annoying anti-religionist on the scene today.

Though his show is purportedly about politics, it almost invariably includes some attack on religion, especially Christianity. Even during a recent interview with former President Jimmy Carter, whom Maher very much admires, the host managed to get in a sharp attack on Carter’s faith.

Recently, his program included a brief conversation with Ralph Reed, the articulate gentleman who used to run the Christian Coalition and who is now a lobbyist and activist on behalf of faith-related causes.

For the first three or four minutes, Reed and Maher discussed the social science concerning children raised in stable versus unstable families. Reed was scoring points in favor of the traditional understanding of marriage.

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John Huebscher

Polarization: Can Catholics narrow the divide?

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

One doesn’t have to try very hard these days to read or hear media accounts of how polarized our politics have become. The topic has been studied and commented upon at length in recent months.

Some of this commentary notes that Wisconsin is among the most polarized places in the country, where the chasm between liberals and conservatives and Democrats and Republicans is especially wide.

Why is our politics so divisive?

For one thing, as was noted recently in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story on the topic, voters are more ideological. That is, they rarely blend conservative and liberal positions. Instead, they are more likely to embrace either a liberal or a conservative view across the board.

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Tony Magliano

Holy Land Principles: Powerful tool for justice and peace

During his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the pope of surprises gave the world an unexpected powerful message.

On his way to celebrate Mass in Bethlehem, Pope Francis suddenly got out of his popemobile and walked toward the towering concrete Israeli-built barrier that divides Israel from the Israeli occupied territory of the West Bank.

Pope prays for world without walls

In a highly symbolic scene, with Israeli soldiers in a tower above him, Pope Francis touched the separation wall and prayed with head bowed at precisely the spot where spray-painted messages cry out, “Pope we need some 1 to speak about Justice Bethlehem look like Warsaw ghetto” and “Free Palestine.” Then he touched his forehead to the wall.

“This wall is a sign of division, that something is not functioning right,” said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. And Pope Francis’ prayer there “signifies for me his desire for peace, for a world without walls.”

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Fr. Robert Barron

Film looks at sin and salvation

There were a number of reasons why I liked World War Z, the film based on Max Brooks’ book of the same name.

First, it was a competently made thriller and not simply a stringing together of whiz-bang CGI effects. Secondly, it presented a positive image of a father.

In a time when Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin are the norm for fatherhood in the popular culture, Brad Pitt’s character, Gerry Lane, is actually a man of intelligence, deep compassion, and self-sacrificing courage.

About sin and salvation

But what intrigued me the most about World War Z is how it provides a template for thinking seriously about sin and salvation.

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Jean Mueller

Living a meaningful life

Q I am concerned about my mother. She is in her mid 80s and recently moved to an apartment for older adults — at the strong suggestion of her children. The reason is we thought that she would love to make new friends, get involved in some of the activities they hold, go on some of the outings, and in general be more active and involved. So far, she has not ventured out of her apartment without a family member with her. I wonder if this was a mistake.

(From a daughter in Madison)

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Tony Magliano

Poverty, inequality, and Pope Francis

Just think about it. According to the United Nations, approximately 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty throughout the world.

Clean water and sanitation, adequate nutritious food, a safe job with fair pay, an education, medical care, and a decent place to call home are unfulfilled dreams to these brothers and sisters of ours.

Every day they must somehow find a way to survive on less than $1.25. Even in the poorest countries, it is almost impossible to live on this meager amount. And in fact, many do not make it.

Affects of extreme poverty

Every day approximately 21,000 fellow human beings die from hunger and hunger related diseases. And according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, some 300 million children go to bed hungry every night.

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Fr. Robert Barron

Your life is not about you

Time Magazine’s cover story “The Childfree Life” has generated a good deal of controversy and commentary.

The photo that graced the cover of the edition sums up the argument: a young, fit couple lounge languidly on a beach and gaze up at the camera with blissful smiles — and no child anywhere in sight.

What the editors want us to accept is that this scenario is not just increasingly a fact in our country, but that it is morally acceptable as well, a lifestyle choice that some people legitimately make.

Whereas in one phase of the feminist movement, “having it all” meant that a woman should be able to both pursue a career and raise a family, now it apparently means a relationship and a career without the crushing encumbrance of annoying, expensive, and demanding children.

Childlessness on the rise

Childlessness is on the rise in the United States. Our birthrate is the lowest in recorded history, surpassing even the crash in reproduction that followed the economic crash of the 1930s.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Responsible fathers are compassionate and good examples for their children

After Bubba Watson won the 2014 Masters, his two-year-old adopted son, Caleb, waddled onto the green to be embraced by his father.

He reminded me of John F. Kennedy Jr., saluting his father’s casket. Bubba Watson’s wife followed Caleb, and the entire family basked in the moment of glory.

Bubba Watson’s dad nicknamed him “Bubba” after former NFL player Bubba Smith, who was a good role model.

He said that his son Caleb is teaching him how precious life is. “He puts life in perspective,” he said. “Golf is a game. When I play bad, he doesn’t care. When I play great, he doesn’t care. All he cares about is, ‘Daddy give me a hug. Daddy pick me up.'”

Besides his family, another influence on Watson’s game is his faith. “Looking at my son, I want to be as Christ-like as possible,” Watson said. “I’ll never be perfect. I’m always going to mess up, but my whole goal is to be the role model for my son.”

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