Tag: marriage

On
Audrey Mettel Fixmer

Following the recipe for a good life

grand mom

During the holidays I love hearing from old friends, voices from my past; Charlotte, a “mother’s helper” who lived with us for her senior year of high school and now has grandchildren of her own; Tom and Betty, who taught with Bob in the ’50’s and shared our laughter and tears.

They were the short term relationships, the layers of love that add flavor and richness to our lives. The long term relationships were the foundation.

I thought of the analogy as I was making my seven layer taco dip for a New Year’s Eve party.

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

To give or not to give: The marital question

In a recent column, David O’Brien, the associate director of religious education for lay ministry in the Archdiocese of Mobile, Ala., recounts the story of Agnes and Jake, devout Catholics who conceived and delivered four children during the first five years of their marriage.Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Agnes described how Jake, “wanted to be a good father and husband, and he couldn’t see how that could happen if we continued to have more children. In short, he was getting a vasectomy.”

Spouse no longer open to life

Agnes had a strong Catholic formation, and understood that married couples should not engage in sexual acts that have been intentionally blocked or “rendered infecund.” She struggled with Jake’s new stance, and dug her heels in.

She wondered how she could possibly be an authentic witness to the Gospel “if within my marriage, I was no longer open to life? How could I minister to other women and encourage them to be bold in their faith if I wasn’t living it myself? And what do I teach my children about marriage and sex when their father and I weren’t aligned?”

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Vaccinating our children for sexually transmitted diseases

Last month, an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta recommended that nine- to 12-year-old boys be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus transmitted through sexual contact. The goal of the recommendations was to prevent cancers caused by HPV, such as certain cancers of the digestive tract.

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

The same committee had already recommended, back in March of 2007, that girls and young women between the ages of nine and 26 be vaccinated against HPV, to help prevent various cancers of the reproductive tract, such as cervical cancer.

Raises ethical concerns

While the motivation to prevent cancer and diseases is clearly good, a universal recommendation of this type raises ethical concerns. Because the recommendations of the committee relate to important aspects of human behavior and sexuality at formative ages for children and adolescents, parents need to look at the psychological and social messages they might be conveying by choosing to vaccinate their children against HPV.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Christ gives the grace of the sacrament

A small church once had an inspiring wedding tradition. After the wedding, the pastor would invite the newly married couple to pull on the rope that rang the church bells and share the good news of their wedding with the town.

First the bride pulled on the rope with her beautiful hands, but the bell did not ring. Next the muscular groom tugged mightily, but the bell did not ring. Then the bride and groom pulled together and, lo and behold, the bells rang out the good news of their marriage.

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On
Jim Holden

Apply faith to voting

To the editor:

It is necessary that we vote according to our properly formed consciences as Catholic Christians. We have to stand up for what we believe and cannot check our Catholic faith outside the voting booth.

The right to life of every human person from conception to natural death is the primary and thus the most essential of all human rights. We should remember that the poorest of the poor is the human person in the womb that is menaced with abortion.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Survival: a victory truly worth celebrating

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino
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 Friday evening I was privileged to celebrate the Eucharist for the International Retrouvaille gathering here in Madison. It is always an honor to welcome others to our diocese, particularly when the community gathered has an international flavor.

Many of you know that Retrouvaille is an excellent movement in the Catholic Church which calls for husbands and wives whose marriage is, to some degree, in trouble, to the kind of conversion-of-heart that enables them to rediscover the sacramental grace that they receive for the first time on their wedding day and that they are called to renew in the Lord every blessed day. The members of Retrouvaille are very seasoned people as husbands and wives, though not necessarily seasoned in the sense of “older,” and they are very strong in their faith. It is always an energizing experience to be among them.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Survival: a victory truly worth celebrating

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino
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 Friday evening I was privileged to celebrate the Eucharist for the International Retrouvaille gathering here in Madison. It is always an honor to welcome others to our diocese, particularly when the community gathered has an international flavor.

Many of you know that Retrouvaille is an excellent movement in the Catholic Church which calls for husbands and wives whose marriage is, to some degree, in trouble, to the kind of conversion-of-heart that enables them to rediscover the sacramental grace that they receive for the first time on their wedding day and that they are called to renew in the Lord every blessed day. The members of Retrouvaille are very seasoned people as husbands and wives, though not necessarily seasoned in the sense of “older,” and they are very strong in their faith. It is always an energizing experience to be among them.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, editor

Are we marriage friendly? Strengthening marriage personally and in our parishes

Editorial logo

Marriage and family are the foundation of society and the Catholic Church, yet it seems as if marriage and family life are being threatened in today’s world.

In our country, we see many couples cohabitating or having sexual relationships and bearing children outside of marriage. For those who do marry, husbands and wives are dealing with stress, infidelity, and discontent often leading to separation and divorce.

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On
Kat Wagner, Catholic Herald Staff

Rally defends truth of one man, one woman

A protester silently holds a sign defending marriage during a rally July 27 in front of the State Capitol in Madison as counter-protesters marched loudly up State Street. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) Click here for more photos of the rally.

MADISON — In terms of sheer numbers, if not volume, the counter-protestors won.

Hundreds marched up State St. towards the State Capitol where no more than 30 people stood waiting for the “One Man, One Woman” rally to begin at noon July 27. Standing on the Capitol steps, it was impossible not to hear them coming, shouting slogans as they went.

An overheard comment on the steps of the Capitol between two members of the media likened the scene to that in Lord of the Rings as the horde marches to battle, suggesting cutting shots of the protesters with shots from the movie.

But through it all, even when the crowd reached the Capitol and began shouting from the other side of the thin barrier of police tape, those people within the yellow-taped area stood firmly, silently. Some held signs; others held rosaries or children.

“Thank you to those with the courage to stand up for marriage,” Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), said to the crowd, which some estimates put at 50 rally supporters. “It takes courage to stand in the public square and say it takes a man and a woman to make marriage.”

 

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