CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Catholic Herald-Diocese of Madison won three awards in the 2014 Catholic Press Awards competition sponsored by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.
The awards were announced during the Catholic Media Conference held in Charlotte, N.C., June 17 to 20.
On February 25 of this year, the Madison city council passed a new ordinance requiring a 160-foot “buffer zone” around any healthcare clinic in the city.
A modified version of the ordinance was passed in March, narrowing the zone to 100 feet from a medical facility’s entrance and 30 feet from its driveway.
This ordinance was proposed primarily in response to the presence of pro-life “sidewalk counselors” who have kept up a regular presence outside the Planned Parenthood Clinic on Madison’s east side for 10 years.
The Madison ordinance could now be in jeopardy after the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on June 26 that struck down buffer zones at abortion clinics. The Supreme Court decision reversed an appellate court decision upholding a 2007 Massachusetts law that made it a crime for anyone other than clinic workers to stand within 35 feet from the entrances of Planned Parenthood clinics in Boston, Springfield, and Worcester, Mass.
Pope Francis has again surprised the world by inviting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to join him at the Vatican to pray together for peace. The event has been scheduled for Sunday, June 8.
The pope announced his invitation to Abbas on May 25 at the end of the Mass that Abbas attended in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Later the same day, Pope Francis repeated his invitation — using the same words — to Peres after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
Pope Francis has urged the two leaders to stay on the path of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace. There is “simply no other way,” the Holy Father said.
Pope Francis has again surprised the world by inviting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to join him at the Vatican to pray together for peace. The event has been scheduled for Sunday, June 8.
The pope announced his invitation to Abbas on May 25 at the end of the Mass that Abbas attended in Manger Square in Bethlehem. Later the same day, Pope Francis repeated his invitation — using the same words — to Peres after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
Pope Francis has urged the two leaders to stay on the path of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace. There is “simply no other way,” the Holy Father said.
“I would not trade my Catholic education for a million dollars!” That’s what Ashley Hornung, soon to be a graduate of St. Peter Catholic School in Ashton, says in her reflection in the Graduation section published in this week’s Catholic Herald.
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Our two newest saints — St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II — have been inspirations in my life and the lives of many people in the last 50+ years. Their canonizations should help bring more attention to their lives and their influence on the Church and the world.
Pope John XXIII (now St. John XXIII) died in 1963, the year I entered Aquinas High School in La Crosse. Despite his death, he had a profound impact on my high school years. That’s because during my daily religion classes we talked about what was happening at the Second Vatican Council called by Pope John XXIII. We also studied the documents of the council, hot off the presses.
The one I remember most is Gaudium et Spes (“Joy and Hope”), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. This document touches on many of the challenges facing people in the modern world which we continue to face today: rapid change, an abundance of wealth and resources, discoveries in science and technology, advances in biology and psychology . . . the list goes on. This document is available in its entirety on the Vatican website (www.vatican.va) and is certainly worth reading today.
In our fast-paced world, it seems as if one holiday is barely done and we’re starting to get ready for the next one on the horizon.
This is especially true in the greeting card sections of our stores. The Mother’s Day cards have been on display for a few weeks (even though Mother’s Day was a month away at the time), and the graduation cards are on the racks. Before we know it, the Halloween cards will be making their appearance!
We should have time to savor each special day in our lives and not be rushing past any of the religious or secular holidays.
However, Easter should be the definite exception to our quick celebrations. That’s because Easter is more than just one day, as Pope Francis reminded thousands of visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Monday. In fact, he told them to celebrate Easter all through the week — and beyond.
It always makes me sad to read the Scripture passages telling how the apostles fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane just before Jesus’ arrest — not only once, but three times!
Jesus says to them, “Could you not watch one hour with me” (Mt. 26:40)? It doesn’t seem like much to ask of his disciples — who had traveled with him and were the primary teachers of his message — to stay awake by his side. However, the apostles were human. Jesus recognized their humanity when he added, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Unfortunately many of us aren’t always being vigilant about what is happening around us, especially when it comes to things that are impacting our faith and our Church.
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.”
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.
This week the United State Supreme Court will be taking up some crucial cases involving freedom of conscience of employers in our country.
As Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, points out in his guest column in this week’s Catholic Herald, the court’s justices will be considering whether employers must provide health insurance for drugs and services they find morally objectionable under the Affordable Care Act.
