At one time, the Catholic Herald newspaper shared offices with Catholic Social Service (now Catholic Charities). Our offices were located in the rectory building at St. Patrick Church in downtown Madison.
Because of our proximity, I was able to witness first-hand many of the programs and services provided. In fact, sometimes when the Catholic Social Service staff were too busy, I got to hold babies brought in for adoption. I can still remember the cute outfits one of the foster mothers made for these babies, including a little witch costume for Halloween one year.
Pope Benedict XVI’s social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), is a complex and occasionally obscure document, replete with possible implications for the future development of Catholic social doctrine.