Recently, there has been media attention regarding a private and confidential communication to the priests of the Diocese of Madison regarding funeral rites and those in homosexual civil or otherwise notorious unions. The answers below are an attempt to correct misinterpretations of the communication and provide explanation so there is greater clarity. To all those who try or hope to try to live the challenge of following the natural law and thereby the Church’s teaching while struggling with same-sex attraction and perhaps many times faltering, please know you are loved and respected, and always welcome in the Catholic Church and invited to the truth of the Gospel. Jesus Christ loves you and wants your joy.
Tag: communication
Keeping elders socially connected is a Work of Mercy
During a recent family reunion, my elderly mother and I were the only ones at the table without smartphones. We felt left out.
A few days later I read that Pope Francis advised parents to ban mobile devices from the dinner table to help restore the quality of family relationships.
These two occurrences reminded me of the life of our foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan.
Navigating a complicated health system
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Q I am trying to be an advocate for my mother who has some health issues and I feel as though we are getting lost in this complicated health care system.
I have permission to be with her during the frequent visits to the numerous specialists she must see. It seems when I bring up a concern, all we get is another series of tests, a trial for a different medication, or a referral to yet another specialist.
My mother does not want to keep seeing new physicians and repeating the same information all over again. She does not understand all of this “fussing” and would just like to be comfortable.
All that is visible and invisible
Anthony Doerr’s All […]
Surprising lessons from YouTube viewers
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Just last month, my media ministry Word on Fire marked a milestone: 10,000,000 views on our YouTube channel.
This achievement fills me with gratitude both to God and to the many people who watched one or more of the videos I’ve produced. It also provides the occasion for me to reflect a bit on both the pitfalls and advantages of evangelizing through the new media.
An experiment
When we commenced our outreach through YouTube seven years ago, we did so in the manner of an experiment. YouTube had just come into being at that time, and it largely featured crude, homemade videos of cats jumping off the roof and babies gurgling for their mother’s camcorder.
I thought we should try to invade this space with the Gospel, and so I resolved to make short video commentaries on movies, music, current affairs, cultural happenings, etc.
Why convert?
Q:Why are parishes required to eventually convert to ParishSOFT and QuickBooks? We like our current program.
A: Parishes are currently using dozens of different software programs. Each program has different fields and different reports and it’s like we’re speaking different languages between us. It’s very important for all the parishes in the diocese to be using the same programs so the data is predictable and consistent. For instance, coding a parishioner as Active in one parish does not mean the same thing to another but our goal is that in the future, it will. We need to speak the same language with the data and terms so we both can use it to communicate with parishioners.
Marriage enrichment opportunities offered
Upcoming marriage enrichment opportunities in the Madison area: