Many years ago, I received a phone call from someone who complained that a priest had been removed from her parish because of an allegation of sexual abuse of a child. (We have had very few such cases in our diocese, thanks be to God and the vigilance of our bishops and diocesan leaders.)
The caller said to me, “He was such a wonderful priest. I can’t imagine that he would harm a child.”
To the editor:
In his inspiring Holy Thursday homily, Pope Francis declared, “I ask the Lord Jesus to confirm the priestly joy of those who have already ministered for some years.” He prayed that God gives them a “second wind” to help them faithfully serve.
Our 77-year-young pope continued, “I ask the Lord Jesus to make better known the joy of elderly priests, whether healthy or infirm. It is the joy of the cross, which springs from knowledge that we possess an imperishable treasure in perishable earthen vessels. May these priests find happiness wherever they are.”
BARABOO — With the theme of “Finding Grace through Faith, Trust, and Patience,” the Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW) will celebrate its 60th birthday at its annual gathering Tuesday and Wednesday, May 20 and 21, at the Clarion Hotel here.
MDCCW calls women of the diocese together to share their faith through service, leadership, learning, prayer, and socializing.
In a sign that Easter was only a few days away, St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison was filled with people the evening of April 15 for the annual Chrism Mass.
The December 9 observance of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception was a special one for three men.
MADISON — All of us have been blessed to receive the sacraments in our lifetime by a faithful priest serving in our parish. The impact our parish priest has on our lives has shaped us into the Catholics we are today.
The Bless Our Priests collection gives us the opportunity to give back to those priests for all they have done for us throughout our lives.
As more and more of our diocesan priests reach retirement age, the need for support continues to grow. Not only do they need your continued prayers, but your financial support of the Bless Our Priests collection.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino encouraged everyone to appreciate the “beauty” of the priesthood as he prepared to ordain Deacons Vincent Bryan Brewer, Garrett Buchanan Kau, and Stephen Christopher Petrica to the priesthood for the Diocese of Madison on May 24 at St. Maria Goretti Church.
Our three new priests in the Diocese of Madison seem to be following trends, according to a survey of priests being ordained in the United States this year.
Fr. Vincent Brewer, one of our newly ordained priests, has a degree in technical communication management and worked in the telecommunications industry before he entered the seminary. He attended Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass., which prepares candidates for the priesthood between the ages of 30 and 60.
Another of our new priests, Fr. Stephen Petrica, was ordained an Anglican priest and decided to enter the Catholic Church. He then sought to become a Catholic priest and was accepted by the Diocese of Madison. He studied at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Our third newest priest, Fr. Garrett Kau, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He did not follow the later vocation path, since he became involved at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center at the university. He attended a men’s retreat featuring a panel of priests speaking about their vocations. After that, he looked into Church vocations and “decided to take the plunge” and apply for seminary studies.
By and large, the age of men feeling the call to the priesthood is gradually increasing, as reported in a new study released by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and reported in an article by Catholic News Service.
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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,
I have in my hands a vocation pamphlet from 1965, and on the cover we have Bishop O’Connor ordaining a priest, and the overall title of the pamphlet is, “The Hands of Christ.” The truth on the cover of the pamphlet is stated simply this way: “Christ works today through His bishops, whose hands are those of the priests’.”
Thank you so much, dear brother priests, for coming out in such good numbers, so that we can celebrate and manifest the bond of the priesthood. God knows we don’t all have to be alike, but we all have to be bonded together by the mystery of the Holy Spirit’s seal on our soul, forging us together in an alliance that — as long as we’re open to grace — no human reality can obstruct.
So, the alliance of the priest with his bishop is like the alliance of the bishop with his own hands, as that pamphlet from 1965 says it so well, and it hasn’t changed. That’s the way it was, that’s the way it is, that’s the way it’s been since the time of Jesus. So, dear priests, thank you so very much for doing your best to be the hands of the bishop. Thank you so very much for doing your very best to allow the Holy Spirit to forge among all of us that unbreakable alliance which has as its root none other than that priestly seal of the Holy Spirit upon our souls. So, I’d invite all of us to offer our expression of gratitude to our priests.
WISCONSIN DELLS — Priests of the Diocese of Madison will be gathering for their annual Presbyteral Assembly from Sunday evening, Sept. 23, to Wednesday, Sept. 26, at Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
