MADISON — Pope Francis has encouraged Catholic churches to become “islands of mercy in the midst of a sea of indifference.”
On Saturday, Oct. 23, representatives from more than 17 parishes answered his call by participating in the Diocese of Madison’s first training session for the Walking with Moms in Need (WWMiN) program.
It took place at Holy Name Heights in Madison.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison joined the session to share his steadfast support and later offered a Mass for program participants.
“This is a tremendous initiative on the national level and will foster a sense of welcoming and a spirit of service at every parish in the diocese,” said Bishop Hying.
“It’s a beautiful way to live out the Gospel of Life and honor the vision of the Church, which so robustly embraces the dignity of the human person and the beauty of life from conception to natural death.”
Parishes helping moms
WWMiN was launched by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a way for Catholic parishes to walk alongside vulnerable pregnant and parenting women in need.
The program doesn’t ask parishes to become counselors, community centers, or crisis pregnancy centers.
Instead, it gives Catholic parishes the tools to become reliable connectors to local resources and partners in filling service gaps.
“The ultimate goal of Walking with Moms is for Catholic parishes to be seen as a place where a pregnant or parenting woman could turn for help,” said Susanna Herro, a volunteer who’s played a key role in bringing the program to the Diocese of Madison.
Often, this will mean knowing how to connect a woman to local resources; other times it could mean stepping in and filling a gap.
Herro stressed there is no “right” way to be part of these efforts and parishes might respond in a variety of ways, depending on the needs of their community and the resources available.
More than one-third of U.S. dioceses are part of this critical effort and more than 15 percent of parishes in the Diocese of Madison have already signed on to bring WWMiN to their communities.
At the parish level, WWMiN begins with an inventory of parish resources available to pregnant or parenting women.
This information will then be incorporated into a diocesan-wide website, which will include both parish-based resources and those offered through secular groups, such as non-profits and government agencies.
Parishes that join the WWMiN effort will also be invited to future brainstorming sessions to find ways for the diocese to meet service gaps in the community.
“Our goal is to empower our parishes to provide women in need with loving community,” said Herro.
“We’re incredibly excited by the response to date and look forward to having more parishes join us.”
Future trainings
Future trainings will be held later this year and the core group — which also includes Julie Bennett, Barbara Sella, Katherine Higgins, and Vicky Franchino — hopes to introduce a diocesan-wide website by spring, 2022.
To learn more, contact the group at [email protected]