Tag: Bishop Robert C. Morlino

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Inviting others to know Christ in a life-changing way

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,

I suppose (after all the coverage here, as well as a very fair and good piece by Doug Erickson in the State Journal) it will come as no surprise to you that this past week I marked 10 years as Bishop of Madison.

I’m so grateful to God for having given me the blessing of these 10 years of service to this local Church and I’m so very grateful to you all. Thank you for your prayers, your faith, your encouragement, and, yes, your constructive criticism through the past years. God willing, I’ll have almost 10 more with you, and I hope we can continue to do great things together — always with His grace and help.

Communicating with the people of the diocese

Over the past 10 years I’ve had many a good person come to me — whether through letters or in person, at Masses and events around the diocese — to say basically, “Bishop we want to help, but we’re not really sure where you’re going. What are you trying to do?”

It seems, from speaking to them, that much of the confusion comes from my taking a different style than that to which they may be accustomed — I speak rather loudly and in a straightforward manner, in a culture which has become obsessed with an idea of “tolerance” (which equates to never making Truth claims,) and never saying anything that may make people uncomfortable.

 

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

BLT still on the menu: Bishop Morlino continues to badger us lovingly with the truth

On August 1, 2003, Bishop Robert C. Morlino was installed as the fourth Bishop of Madison during a Mass at St. Raphael Cathedral.

During his homily at that Mass, Bishop Morlino focused on the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd. He called that image “one of the richest in the Gospel.”

Just as a shepherd feeds his flock, he noted that priests and bishops nourish people with spiritual food, most notably Christ himself in the Eucharist.

“To enter into that full communion, we have to listen to the word of truth and respond with a profession of faith that we are ready to be nourished by his Body and Blood in the Eucharist,” said Bishop Morlino in that 2003 homily.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Catholic priests: Answering the call to priesthood at many ages

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Our three new priests in the Diocese of Madison seem to be following trends, according to a survey of priests being ordained in the United States this year.

Fr. Vincent Brewer, one of our newly ordained priests, has a degree in technical communication management and worked in the telecommunications industry before he entered the seminary. He attended Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass., which prepares candidates for the priesthood between the ages of 30 and 60.

Another of our new priests, Fr. Stephen Petrica, was ordained an Anglican priest and decided to enter the  Catholic Church. He then sought to become a Catholic priest and was accepted by the Diocese of Madison. He studied at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.

Our third newest priest, Fr. Garrett Kau, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He did not follow the later vocation path, since he became involved at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center at the university. He attended a men’s retreat featuring a panel of priests speaking about their vocations. After that, he looked into Church vocations and “decided to take the plunge” and apply for seminary studies.

Called at later ages

By and large, the age of men feeling the call to the priesthood is gradually increasing, as reported in a new study released by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and reported in an article by Catholic News Service.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Holy Week and protecting true marriage

Dear friends,

As we make our way through Holy Week to Easter, one of the most remarkable things we encounter is a startling oxymoron, a seeming contradiction, in terms of Jesus’ death on the Cross as ugly and tortuous, and yet beautiful.

It’s one of the most tremendous mysteries of our faith — horrible ugliness and tortuousness, behind which is concealed the most beautiful Truth in all of human history.

Holy Week itself maintains the juxtaposition of these two realities. Our liturgies for Holy Week open with beauty on Palm Sunday, with the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

We have a pope! Habemus Papam!

This column is the bishop’s communation with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

We have a pope! Habemus Papam! Last week, even as the Catholic Herald was finding its way to your homes, the Holy Spirit, working through the College of Cardinals, gave to us a new Holy Father, Pope Francis.

He is, as you have surely noticed on your own and through even the secular media reports, a “Pope of firsts” — he is the first Pope from the “new world” — an Argentinian, the first Pope who was trained as a Jesuit priest, the first Pope to take the name Francis — taking that name especially in honor of the much beloved (though often misunderstood) St. Francis of Assisi.

We are just getting to know our Holy Father, but already there is a great deal that sets him apart and helps us to know who he is.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Spreading the truth about the papacy

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,

We are right in the midst of our Year of Faith and at the heart of an attempt to undertake what both Blessed John Paul the Great and Pope Emeritus Benedict have called us to — that is, a “New Evangelization.” And not only that, but we find ourselves in the era of a new pope. As I write this column the Conclave has yet to begin, but by the time you are reading it, it is quite possible that we will have a new Pope.

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Elizabeth Durack

Holy Wisdom Monastery is not in communion with the Catholic Church

To the editor:

Local Catholics need to know that the former Saint Benedict Center, now renamed Holy Wisdom Monastery (HWM), makes no proper distinction between Holy Mass with the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and a protestant service. It’s not at all in keeping with a Catholic understanding of authentic ecumenism.

The Sisters, who left their vows in 2006, now lead something like a pseudo-parish, not in communion with the Catholic Church, and host various activist dissent groups and so-called “womenpriests.”

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Annual Catholic Appeal: Why it’s vital to support diocesan ministries and services

This weekend, March 2 and 3, Catholics throughout the Diocese of Madison will be asked to contribute to the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA).

Members of parishes have already received a letter from Bishop Robert C. Morlino with information on the ACA. It was an opportunity to pledge support for the ACA even before the public process started. We have already sent in our family’s pledge to the ACA. People can pay in one lump sum or give a pledge to be paid over a five-month period.

I believe it is vital to support the ministries and services in our diocese funded by the ACA. (Please note that I am giving an objective opinion, since the Catholic Herald does not receive support from the appeal; our paper is supported only by subscriptions and advertising.)

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

St. Paul’s University Catholic Center membership clarified

MADISON — Bishop Robert C. Morlino has issued a decree clarifying the status of the “community of faithful” constituting the “personal parish” at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center in Madison.

Bishop Morlino notes that in 1967, Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnell erected the personal parish of St. Paul, indicating who would be considered members of the parish and further stipulating that registration would be required for parish membership.

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