Category: State News

On
Denis Downey, La Crosse Catholic Times Staff

La Crosse couple presenters at synod

MENOMONIE — Alice and Jeff Heinzen will not only be serving as auditors for the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family that Pope Francis has called for October 5 to 19 at the Vatican but also they will make a presentation before the general assembly at the historic event.

In their main role as one of 14 married couples from around the world selected to serve as auditors for the synod, the Heinzens will observe all of the general assembly sessions and participate in group discussions with the English-speaking delegates.

Read More
On
Chris Lee

Resources for voters prepared

MADISON — The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), the public policy voice of Wisconsin’s bishops, is distributing a series of resources to help Catholics reflect on their duties as faithful citizens.

The series is designed for parish bulletins, but it can also be reproduced on a parish website or as a series of posters.

John Huebscher, executive director of the WCC, explained that the bishops are “modeling the Catholic duty to engage in public life in an informed, consistent, and respectful manner.”

 

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
On
Chris Lee

Bishops revise advance care forms

MADISON — Earlier this year, the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin published a form aimed at helping individuals convey their desires regarding advance care planning in a manner that aligns with Catholic principles.

The form, which was published in one version for those who are Catholic and in another version for those who are not, is designed as an addendum to the State of Wisconsin’s Power of Attorney for Health Care (POAHC) document.

The newly revised edition of the form provides greater clarity for users regarding the Church’s teaching on nutrition and hydration.

 

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash

State proposals would curb human trafficking

MADISON — The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) is supporting two bills that would strengthen Wisconsin’s human trafficking laws.

The proposals — Senate Bill 492 and Assembly Bill 620 — were considered in separate legislative hearings.

Constitutes grave offense

WCC Associate Director Barbara Sella offered written testimony in support of SB 492 to the Senate Committee on Transportation, Public Safety, and Veterans and Military Affairs on January 21 and to the Assembly Committee on Corrections on January 23.

Read More
On
Chris Lee

Federal judge extends preliminary injunction blocking part of new Wisconsin abortion law

MADISON — A federal judge in Madison has extended a preliminary injunction blocking part of a new Wisconsin law, Wisconsin Act 37, that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of an abortion clinic.

The order, issued August 2 by U.S. District Judge William Conley, stems from a lawsuit that Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services filed last month. The groups claim the law would shut two of the state’s four abortion clinics because providers at those facilities, in Appleton and Milwaukee, lack admitting privileges.

Conley issued a temporary restraining order July 8. This injunction blocks the requirement through a trial about the law’s constitutionality, which is set to begin November 25. Until Conley’s final ruling, the two clinics currently without admitting privileges can remain open.

Read More
On
Chris Lee

Judge rules in favor of Milwaukee Archdiocese regarding cemetery trust funds

MILWAUKEE — An important decision on the separation of church and state was issued July 30, 2013, by United States District Court Judge Rudolph Randa. Randa ruled that the decades old practice of putting a portion of the money received from cemetery lot and mausoleum sales into trust for the perpetual care of those cemetery sites could not be undone for the benefit of claimants in bankruptcy proceedings.

Because these funds were held in trust as prescribed by Canon Law, they were independent of the general assets and could only be used for their intended and pledged purpose — to care for the resting places of the departed as sacred places under Canon law. As the judge said, “removing some or all of these funds from the trust and placing them in the bankruptcy estate would undoubtedly put “substantial pressure” on Archbishop [Jerome] Listecki to “modify [his] behavior” and “violate [his] beliefs”.

 

Read More
On
Chris Lee

Judge freezes law’s mandate abortion doctors have hospital privileges

MADISON (CNS) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker July 5 signed into law a bill that requires women who want an abortion to get an ultrasound of their unborn child and doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of an abortion clinic.

The law “will empower women to make truly informed decisions regarding how they will proceed with their pregnancies and will protect the lives of women who experience complications after their abortions,” Susan Armacost, legislative director of Wisconsin Right to Life, said in a statement.

Read More