Dear Friends,
By now you’ve surely heard the startling (if not shocking) news of last week — the mass media, celebrities, bloggers, and even pro-abortion groups have reported their decision to aid the Church in our evangelization of the world and in preaching Jesus Christ! Thanks be to God!
Of course, that’s not actually what happened, not even in the slightest. However, I can be left to hope, and here’s why:
People everywhere are talking about the interview with Pope Francis published in the Italian Jesuit journal, La Civiltà Cattolica, and reprinted in other Jesuit publications.
Rather than relying on media reports about the article, I printed a copy of the article from America magazine and read it myself. It is a wonderful article and gave me much more insight into Pope Francis — not only as our Holy Father, but as a person.
What struck me most was his humility. Here he is, the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church, the successor of St. Peter. Yet at the beginning of the article, Fr. Antonio Spadaro, S.J., who conducted the interview, asks Pope Francis, “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” His answer is, “I am a sinner.”
The pope goes on to say, “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.” Pope Francis then talks about his motto, Miserando atque Eligendo (By Having Mercy and By Choosing Him). This motto refers to the Gospel story when Jesus called St. Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him.
MADISON — In May of 2012, the Diocese of Madison announced that Fr. John Putzer had been selected to serve the Holy Father and the Church by training for future service in the Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See, an assignment that has required him to leave the Diocese of Madison to pursue his studies and assume his new role.
Father Putzer returned to the Diocese of Madison in July of this year at the conclusion of his first year of studies.
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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,
This past Saturday, along with so many of you I’m sure, I took up Pope Francis’ worldwide call to offer a day of prayer and of fasting for peace — especially for peace in Syria. As I write this column, the gears are turning, and we shall see what comes in terms of action in Syria, and all of the Middle East.
There is already suffering, no doubt! The situation in Syria and all around that part of the world is terrible. But the need for peace extends far beyond the Middle East, and peace is needed at a much deeper level for all of us.
Regardless the outcome of the current deliberations with regard to Syria, our work for peace should continue. If we desire peace, we must make an examination of conscience and work for peace within our own lives first, to seek a peace that cannot be disturbed. There is more on that below.
I cannot fail to mention that this week we come upon the anniversary of September 11, 2001, when so many Americans came to know the Prince of Peace and, we continue to pray, to reside with Him.
Of course, the violence of terrorism is intended as a direct attempt to rob a large number of people of their peace — not only those immediately affected, but those who continue to live in fear, in terror. May the Lord continue to remove fear from our lives, replacing it with hope — the hope that only He can bring.
In the September 12, 2002, issue of the Catholic Herald, I wrote an editorial called “Iraq war: President has not made the case.” At that time, I didn’t think President George W. Bush had succeeded in mounting a convincing argument in favor of invading Iraq.
I agreed that Saddam Hussein was a dangerous dictator who had sacrificed his own people’s well-being to become a military power. However, it wasn’t proven that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Later, we learned here weren’t any such weapons in Iraq.
Yet on March 20, 2003, the United States led an invasion into Iraq. At the same time we were also committed to a war in Afghanistan.
It has been more than 10 years, and we’re still involved in both of those countries. Fortunately U.S. involvement is lessening, but we’ve spent a great deal of money and resources — and most importantly lost many lives — in these past 10 years.
Now we’re contemplating military action in Syria. Haven’t we learned our lesson yet?
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| Pope Francis waves as he leads the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican September 1. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters) |
MADISON — At his Angelus address on Sunday, Sept. 1, Pope Francis called upon the faithful worldwide to join in a day of prayer and fasting on Saturday, Sept. 7, for peace, particularly in Syria, but also in the Middle East and throughout the world.
The pope also announced that the day of prayer and fasting will conclude with a vigil in St. Peter’s Square in Rome from 7 p.m. until midnight, local time. He asked local dioceses to arrange similar gatherings. The pope also called on fellow Christians, followers of other religions, and all men of good will to participate in whatever way they can in this initiative.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino has asked clergy in the Diocese of Madison to arrange for parish Holy Hours of Eucharistic Adoration for the particular intention of the Holy Father for this coming Saturday, Sept. 7, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., concluding appropriately a half hour before the typical anticipatory Mass at 5 p.m. (with applicable time modifications based on local parish Mass and Confession schedules).
“You are welcome to do additional items in conjunction with the Holy Father’s request, but this coordinated effort throughout parishes in the diocese at the direction of Bishop Morlino will show our solidarity with Pope Francis during the same time of the pope’s vigil prayer in Rome,” said Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general of the Diocese of Madison, in notifying priests of the diocese about the day of prayer and fasting.
Many children and adults in Wisconsin (myself included) have admired Ryan Braun during his years playing with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Whenever I went to a Brewers’ game, I saw plenty of fans wearing T-shirts with Braun’s name and the number eight. The fans applauded when Braun came up to bat, knowing that he would do his best to get a hit (his career batting average through July was .312).
Braun also seemed to be a nice guy. He accepted his many baseball awards modestly, including the National League’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2011 season.
It was therefore painful for me and other Brewers’ fans to accept the news that Braun might have taken performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). At first we thought it must be a mistake. However, this summer Major League Baseball suspended Braun for the rest of the season and the postseason due to his involvement with the Biogenesis clinic in Florida.
Now we know that Braun lied to us. We wonder why he and other successful athletes took PEDs. Were they greedy for more money and fame? Were they worried about sustaining their athletic prowess? Did they think they would never get caught?
Today, most of us take for granted that people of all races will worship in church together, eat in the same parts of restaurants, and use the same public restrooms.
But that wasn’t true in many parts of our country just 50 years ago. People of color didn’t have the freedom to do many of the things white people did.
As we observe the 50th anniversary of the famous March on Washington, D.C., on August 28, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on how much progress we’ve made in guaranteeing civil rights for all people who live in our country.
In Wisconsin, I think that the rights of people of all races have been respected better than in some other parts of the country. Our churches, restaurants, and schools have been integrated ever since I can remember.
However, statistics show that non-white people are put in jails and prisons in our state at a higher number than white people. It seems as if minorities have higher rates of unemployment and have a greater chance of living in poverty.
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| Encouraging vocations to the priesthood has been one of Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s priorities in his 10 years as Bishop of Madison. Here he greets Fr. David Johannes after ordaining him to the priesthood in 2012. Bishop Morlino has ordained 20 priests for the Diocese of Madison. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) |
MADISON — Bishop Robert C. Morlino is “grateful to God” for the many blessings he has experienced in his 10 years as Bishop of Madison.
In an interview, Bishop Morlino said “the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit get the credit” for whatever growth the Diocese of Madison has experienced in the past 10 years.
“I have invited people to grow in faith,” he said, pointing to an increase in such things as Eucharistic Adoration throughout the diocese.
Prayer, he said, is the “key” to more Church vocations. “We’re richly blessed with vocations — and with quality vocations — but we still need more.”
Encouraging more vocations to the priesthood — and to consecrated life and sacramental marriage — was one of his three priorities as Bishop of Madison. The others are strengthening liturgy and catechesis.
| Bishop Morlino comments about his 10 years in Madison in his column this week. He calls on Catholics to invite others to know Christ in a life-changing way. | |
Since he came to Madison in 2003, Bishop Morlino has been doing everything he can to increase the number of seminarians studying to become priests.
When he came here, there were six seminarians. His goal was to grow the number to 30.
In 2012, the diocese hit that mark with 32 seminarians. This fall there will be 34, with three men ordained to the priesthood in 2013.
Bishop Morlino considers the seminarians and priests he ordains “his spiritual sons.” With his past experiences living with college students, he feels he has a greater rapport with young men.
“They really are like my sons,” he said. “Our efforts are bearing fruit. The quality of our men is very evident.”
Having a full-time vocation director has also helped bring more attention to the efforts to recruit more seminarians.
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Even though most of us can’t be in Rio De Janeiro this week, we can still join Pope Francis and hundreds of thousands of young people in prayer as they gather for World Youth Day (WYD).
As a “friend” of WYD on Facebook, I’ve been receiving updates and countdowns to the big event for many months. I almost feel like I’m making the trip myself!
I would encourage interested persons to follow WYD on its Facebook Page (World Youth Day Rio 2013). Of course, the Catholic Herald’s own Facebook Page (Madison Catholic Herald) as well as our website (www.madisoncatholicherald.org) and Twitter (@CHMadison) will be carrying coverage of WYD. Our website will include updates from Catholic News Service in English as well as in Spanish.
