In September, Pope Francis celebrated “the blessing of long life” with thousands of senior citizens and their families.
In his homily that day, he spoke about the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, calling it “a Gospel of encounter.”
The pope encouraged those present — and through them, all of us — to follow Mary’s example and re-establish a covenant between the young and the old.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After several days of animated debate over its official midterm report, the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family agreed on a final document more clearly grounded in traditional Catholic teaching. Yet the assembly failed to reach consensus on some controversial issues.
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Talk about good timing: we just watched the conclusion of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family and this weekend we will observe Catholic Charities Sunday in the Diocese of Madison.
The bishops and Pope Francis — along with a number of married couples and other observers — spent two weeks in Rome discussing pastoral challenges facing the family in the context of evangelization. They talked openly about many issues involving families today.
In their final message at the conclusion of the synod, the bishops said that we must remember to practice charity by being near “to those who are last, marginalized, poor, lonely, sick, strangers, and families in crisis.”
They reminded us of the Lord’s words, “It is more blessed to give them to receive” (Acts 20:35). They mentioned that Christians should give gifts of goods, fellowship, love, and mercy and be witnesses “to the truth, to light, and to the meaning of life.”
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It’s happened again. The number of abortions in Wisconsin has dropped for the fifth straight year. Nine of the last 10 years have seen a decline in abortions in our state, making Wisconsin one of the most pro-life states in the nation, according to some commentators.
The state Department of Health Services reported that 6,462 abortions were performed last year, down from 6,927 the previous year and about 2,000 less than the 8,500 Wisconsin had in 2009.
“Today is a fantastic news day for Wisconsin women and children,” said Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life, when the report was released.
“Our steep abortion decline continues with the release of 2013 abortion numbers which reveal there were 465 fewer abortions in 2013 than in 2012. This represents a 6.7 percent decrease in one year.”
Weininger added, “We are extremely grateful for each and every woman who gives life to her child and each unborn child saved from the violence of abortion. Wisconsin Right to Life will vigorously continue its multi-faceted programs which work to fuel the decline.”
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| Alejandro Bermúdez, the speaker at this fall’s St. Thérèse of Lisieux Lecture at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison, speaks on “Who is Pope Francis? What is his mind?” on September 19. Bermúdez is the director of ACI-Prensa, the world’s largest Catholic news agency in Spanish, as well as the executive director of Catholic News Agency. (Catholic Herald photos/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — On a near-autumn Friday evening in Madison, hundreds of people arrived at the Bishop O’Connor Center’s auditorium to learn more about current successor to St. Peter — Pope Francis.
It was the second of 2014’s St. Thérèse Lectures presented by the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Diocese of Madison.
The topic on September 19 was “Who is Pope Francis? What is his mind?” The speaker was Alejandro Bermúdez, director of ACI-Prensa, the world’s largest Catholic news agency in Spanish, as well as the executive director of Catholic News Agency and the Portuguese agency ACI digital.
Bermúdez, who spent part of his life in Argentina, met and interviewed Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) on several occasions. Bermúdez recently compiled a book of interviews regarding Pope Francis shortly after his election titled Pope Francis: Our Brother, Our Friend: Personal Recollections about the Man Who Became Pope, which has since been adapted into a show on EWTN.
As Bermúdez began his talk, he said Pope Francis is the next pope in a streak of “incredibly virtuous human beings at the head of the Catholic Church.”
Bermúdez outlined what he called “three crucial factors” to understanding Pope Francis: his background as an Argentinian, his background as a Jesuit, and understanding his intellectual mentors.
Bermúdez said Argentina has a major Catholic culture with a great number of Catholic theologians and writers. He said this creates of culture of “very lively debates” among Catholics.
MENOMONIE — Alice and Jeff Heinzen will not only be serving as auditors for the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family that Pope Francis has called for October 5 to 19 at the Vatican but also they will make a presentation before the general assembly at the historic event.
In their main role as one of 14 married couples from around the world selected to serve as auditors for the synod, the Heinzens will observe all of the general assembly sessions and participate in group discussions with the English-speaking delegates.
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Pope Francis has called a special session of the Synod of Bishops, which will meet from October 5 to 19 and prepare the agenda for the ordinary session of the synod that is scheduled for the fall of 2015; both sessions will focus on the family.
In my view, the synod should focus on two related themes: marriage culture is in crisis throughout the world; the answer to that crisis is the Christian view of marriage as a covenant between man and woman in a communion of love, fidelity, and fruitfulness.
To focus the conversation elsewhere is to ignore a hard fact and a great opportunity.
The collapse of marriage culture throughout the world is indisputable. More and more marriages end in divorce, even as increasing numbers of couples simply ignore marriage, cohabit, and procreate.
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Perhaps one of the saddest things I’ve heard in recent memory is what atheist Richard Dawkins said about children with Down syndrome.
On Twitter in August, Dawkins said that an unborn baby with Down syndrome should be aborted and that it would be “immoral to bring it into the world.”
Dawkins was debating this issue with some of his one million Twitter followers. When one of his followers tweeted, “I honestly don’t know what I would do if I were pregnant with a kid with Down’s syndrome. Real ethical dilemma,” Dawkins replied, “Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.”
I first heard about Dawkins’ remarks on Facebook from someone I know who has a son with Down syndrome. She was horrified by what Dawkins said, since her son is a wonderful person and an important part of her family.
After delving into this matter further, I found some information about Down syndrome and what has been happening with the screening of pregnant women. I feel more people should be aware of these issues and talk about them with their family members and friends.
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| Alejandro Bermúdez |
MADISON — “Who Is Pope Francis? What Is His mind?” is the topic of the next St. Thérèse Lecture to be presented on Friday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd.
It will be presented by Alejandro Bermúdez, author of Pope Francis: Our Brother, Our Friend: Personal Recollections about the Man Who Became Pope.
Bermúdez will reveal little-known insights into the pope’s personality, his interior world, his human abilities, his work habits, his devotions, his concerns, and his friendships.
Bermúdez will open a fascinating door to better understanding the man whom the Holy Spirit called to lead the Church at this time.
Bermúdez is director of ACI-Prensa, the world’s largest Catholic news agency in Spanish, as well as the executive director of Catholic News Agency and the Portuguese agency ACI digital.
Bermúdez is a frequent contributor to the National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor, and he hosts several Spanish programs on EWTN, including Criterios on Radio Católica Mundial.
He was a participant in the pivotal Fifth Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) at Aparecida in 2007, where Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) was elected to draft the final document.
In cleaning my office, I came across an article I saved from a magazine published in 2007. I admit I’m a packrat, but sometimes I’m glad that I keep things that give me a historical perspective on important issues.
This article was part of a series in the AFA Journal of the American Family Association. Its title is “End of Marria%e? Indicators All Point Down.” The percentage sign (%) in the title is not a mistake, because the story points to a key fact: In October of 2006, for the first time in the history of the United States, the percentage of American households that includes a married couple had slipped into the minority.
That discouraging fact was revealed by the American Community Service, released by the U.S. Census Bureau. It showed that 49.7 percent of more than 111 million households contained a married couple. That percentage was down from the 52 percent of households with a married couple in the year 2000.
