relief – Page 2 – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

Every person who has enough nutritious food to eat and cares about the one billion people who do not, should be paying attention to the 2012 Farm Bill.

At stake are deep, heartless congressional monetary cuts to national and international food assistance programs, environmentally protective farm and ranch conservation projects, and safety net programs designed to help struggling small and mid-sized family farmers and rural communities.

Proposed cuts to Farm Bill

Bob Gronski, policy coordinator, for the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (www.ncrlc.com) explained to me that Congress is poised to cut between $23 billion and $34 billion from current funding levels of the Farm Bill.

Lenten alms: A rice bowl for all

When I first heard about Operation Rice Bowl at my parish in America, I thought they were talking about something I knew so well from Chinese culture.

I don’t have to tell you that the Chinese people eat a lot of rice — you have been to enough Chinese restaurants and seen enough Chinese landscapes with rice paddies to know that. But “rice bowl” was a term I heard all the time, and not just at mealtimes.

Aid in Haiti — the beginning to a Lent of love

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 in Christ,

As was mentioned last week, you, your parishes, and your pastors are to be highly commended in general! We as a diocesan family have come together in an incredible show of our love of neighbor and our unity as a diocese by raising a remarkable $508,130.02 for our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

Very soon after the devastating earthquake, Pope Benedict XVI promised the people of Haiti of the prayers and concrete support of Catholics around the world. And even before the Holy Father made these promises, Catholic Relief Services was there in Haiti helping those injured and dying; you and your parishes were asking “what can we do?” and our diocesan offices were organizing how we could respond.