Tag: Bishop Robert C. Morlino

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Same-sex marriage: Why it should not be considered a ‘civil right’

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

In 2006, citizens in Wisconsin approved a “Marriage Protection Amendment” to the state Constitution by a “yes” vote of 59.4 percent of the voters.

Wisconsin voters upheld the definition of marriage as “one man and one woman.” The state’s Catholic bishops had encouraged citizens to protect this definition of marriage.  John Huebscher, executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, commented in 2006, “In their votes . . . the people of Wisconsin reaffirmed their intention to preserve the one man, one woman institution of marriage in our state.”

Same-sex couples bring lawsuits

Now, over seven years later, there are four same-sex couples suing our governor and other public officials in an attempt to overturn Wisconsin’s amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Annual Catholic Appeal

Dear Friends in Christ,

What better place to look for the theme of this year’s diocesan appeal than to the witness of our new Holy Father, Pope Francis? His powerful example of charity will be our focus as we approach our 2014 Annual Catholic Appeal and its theme: “Beacon of Faith; Fire of Charity.”

Brothers and sisters, we are each chosen to be a Beacon of Faith to our friends, family, co-workers — a beacon radiating the light of Christ to all with whom we come into contact. Pope Francis has made clear that as the world grows darker, we must continue to strengthen our own faith; allow ourselves to be evangelized anew; to become part of the New Evangelization; and work together as one with the mission of Christ and His Church.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Church needs ‘dynamic’ fraternal correction

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,

Last week in my column I talked a lot about conscience, and I’d like to pick the theme back up, as our Gospel from this past Sunday touches on that very same message.

Conscience should always drive us toward perfection. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48),” is the parting exhortation from our Lord in this past Sunday’s Gospel. A correctly formed conscience never says to you, “How little can I do and still call myself a Catholic?”

Conscience doesn’t make us minimalistic

Conscience does not open the door to be a minimalist. It is not a tool for our saying, “How can I give myself permission to do the minimum?”

Conscience opens the door to perfection, to the heroic, to the maximum, because the well-formed conscience serves as that truth-seeking radar, by which we choose to follow the law of the Lord.

As I said, we very much need to spread the word about conscience, and the readings of this past Sunday really help us with one detail of how to do that.

If we’re going to spread the good word about conscience, that means we’re going to have to correct others, especially our brothers and sisters who are Catholic. We know that this is not easy.

What is easy, when we seek to inform the consciences of others, is to seem as if we are judging the person themselves. We have to avoid that judgment of the individual, but we must not hesitate to help them, by offering the truth about their actions.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Our suffering brings us closer to Christ

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,

You’ve been right at the heart of my prayers in the recent days and weeks. In addition to my usual prayers for your growth in the virtues of faith, hope, and love have been prayers for your warmth and safety, as well as for your joy in these frigid days!

I have been very fortunate to take some time for rest and renewal in warmer climes, as I’m blessed most always to do in January. (There are a number of things for which I am grateful to my predecessor, Bishop Bullock, but on a personal level, I’ll always remain grateful for his wise advice — and precedent — that I take my time for vacation in January, and not in the summer!)

I don’t take for granted for a moment the blessings that I’ve received. I’m grateful and I’m hopeful that such moments of leisure can prepare me all the more for my service.

And so it is with only the slightest sense of irony that the Lord has drawn to my mind the following three words and phrases from our readings this past Sunday: purification, suffering, and a sign of contradiction. And each of those words accompanies the readings, in order. Purification is spoken of in the first reading — Mal 3:1-4; suffering in the second reading — Heb 2:14-18, and a “sign of contradiction” in the Gospel reading — Lk 2:22-40.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Be more than ‘nice’ during Advent

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,

Already Advent is upon us. We have concluded our Year of Faith with gusto, and now we are called to undertake, once again, the journey of a liturgical year.

This journey begins, as always, with our preparation for entering into the most pivotal moment of human history — the moment that God became man.

That the eternal Creator of the universe should have come amongst us, not only to dwell, but to call us to a life with and like Him, means a complete reordering of everything — every single thing.

The profound reality of the Incarnation and its implications for our lives is why we have a season of Advent each year; we take the time to consider how each of us responds to the presence of God in our lives, and what that means for us.

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