Tag: Washington

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Life and legacy of Blessed Frederic Ozanam

Bishop Hying blesses mosaic
Bishop Donald J. Hying blesses a mosaic of Blessed Frederic Ozanam at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on January 26. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

Last week, I was honored to celebrate Mass in the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and to bless a newly-installed mosaic of Blessed Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Society’s presence in the United States.

I have been involved with the Vincentians for 20 years as a chaplain, serving for the last two years on the national level. In preparing my homily for the Mass, I dug deeper into the life and legacy of Frederic Ozanam, realizing with greater clarity his inestimable contribution to Catholic thought and the wisdom of the Church in addressing the social issues of the day.

Visionary founder

As a visionary founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, Frederic has helped millions of Catholics to live the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in a practical and generous manner. He was a journalist, scholar, professor, social activist, husband, and father. He taught literature, history, and law, deeply engaged in the intellectual problems and social challenges of his day. Ozanam has much to say to our present age.

Frederic was born in Milan in 1813, going to Paris to study law, where he suffered a deep loneliness but also was befriended by André Ampère, a scientist exploring the wonders of electricity, in whose home Ozanam became a boarder.

Simultaneously a sophisticated scientist and a devout Catholic, Ampère showed his young charge that there was no inherent dichotomy between Christianity and science or between Catholicism and the social ills of workers and the poor.

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Patrick Delaney, For the Catholic Herald

St. Ambrose Academy juniors and seniors attend march in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty years ago, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., St. John Paul II affirmed the validity of absolute moral norms including prohibitions against sins such as perjury, adultery, and in this case, abortion.

Only six years after the intrinsically unjust Roe v. Wade decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, St. John Paul addressed not only the decriminalizing of abortion but implicitly warned against the cascading moral relativism it helps to engender.

He stated: “If a person’s right to life is violated at the moment in which he is first conceived in his mother’s womb, an indirect blow is struck also at the whole of the moral order, which serves to ensure the inviolable goods of man.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Area veteran takes part in Badger Honor Flight

Since its inception in 2010, the Badger Honor Flight has flown more than 2,000 veterans to Washington, D.C., on what is called the “trip of a lifetime.”

Badger Honor Flight is a regional affiliate of the national Honor Flight Network.

The purpose of the network is to ensure that World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and terminally ill veterans from any war have the opportunity to see the memorials that have been erected in their honor in the nation’s capital.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dorothy Bollant, 81, recently got her chance at said “trip of a lifetime.”

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Very Rev. Paul U. Arinze, For the Catholic Herald

Fr. Paul Arinze gives prayer before opening of 115th Congress

Editor’s note: Fr. Paul Arinze, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville, gave the prayer before the opening of the 115th Congress on January 3. Following are his reflections on the experience.

I was really surprised when Speaker Paul Ryan asked me if I would be available to give the opening benediction at his swearing-in ceremony and the opening of the 115th Congress.

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George Weigel

The best nuncio we’ve had thus far

The announcement that Archbishop Christophe Pierre will succeed Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States is an opportunity to pay tribute to a courageous churchman who has served Catholicism, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis in an exemplary way during his tenure in Washington.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with each of the nuncios in Washington since full diplomatic relations were established between this country and the Holy See under President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.

And at the risk of embarrassing him, I have to say that I consider Archbishop Viganò to have been the best of them all thus far.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Holy Father proclaims the joy of the Gospel

Dear friends,

What a blessing it has been this amazing and eventful week as we’ve enjoyed the visit of our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

I had the privilege to be in Washington, D.C., for the activities of last Wednesday, including of course, the meeting of the Holy Father with the Bishops of the United States.

The loving support of the Holy Father for his bishops and of us for him, is altogether more than refreshing.

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