Category: Editorial

Rather than writing an editorial on one topic this week, I am going to comment on several current matters of interest to Catholics.

Co-workers, students, family members, and friends of Steve Bolser filled Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Madison on March 20 for his Mass of Christian Burial.

In the past, we used to hear about the DSA — the Diocesan Services Appeal. But this year, parishioners in the Diocese of Madison will be hearing some new letters: ACA.  They stand for the Annual Catholic Appeal.

On March 9, President Barack Obama issued an executive order reversing the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. On that same day I received a news release from John Rogers, who calls himself a Wisconsin-based “political advisor” for actor Michael J. Fox.

Many of us are aware of the term “conscientious objector” as it applies to armed service. During the Vietnam War, for example, some men subject to the draft declared themselves conscientious objectors. They performed alternate kinds of service rather than fight as soldiers.

This week we begin the 40-day season of Lent, a time in which Catholics focus our attention on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation for Holy Week and Easter.

The economic downturn has affected many people in our state and nation. People have lost their jobs, benefits have been cut, and investment income has taken a nose dive. Gasoline and food prices continue on a roller-coaster ride, mostly rising.

Only if I serve my neighbour can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me. The saints — consider the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta —  constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbour from their encounter with the Eucharistic Lord, and conversely this encounter acquired its real-ism and depth in their service to others. Love of God and love of neighbour are thus inseparable, they form a single commandment. But both live from the love of God who has loved us first. No longer is it a question, then, of a “commandment” imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a freely-bestowed experience of love from within, a love which by its very nature must then be shared with others. Love grows through love.

From Deus Caritas Est, “God Is Love,” Pope Benedict XVI, 2005

As our nation and world face challenging economic times, I think it is important to remember that all of us — each one of us — impacts what happens in our society.

Since the beginning of 2009, the topic of abortion seems to be the topic of discussion at the local, state, and national levels.

During the past two weeks, I’ve talked informally with both employees and patients of the University of Wisconsin and Meriter Hospital about the proposal to offer second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center at 1 S. Park St.