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February 1, 2007 Edition • Volume 137, No. 4 • Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A. |
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Silent No More: Women reveal abortion's hidden legacyMADISON -- "No one told me." It was a phrase repeated often by the many women who took the microphone at the Silent No More Awareness gathering at the state Capitol building January 16 to tell their stories of abortion. But with each story, these women were hoping that their words would reach another woman who might be considering abortion, that she might not have to say the same thing. Destructive legacyIn the weeks surrounding the 34th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, which legalized abortion in the United States, hundreds of post-abortive women at Silent No More Awareness Campaign events around the country gave testimony, whether vocal or silent, to the destructive legacy of the practice. Here in Wisconsin, the local branch of the national project backed by Priests for Life arranged a day of activities at the Capitol building and later outside the University of Wisconsin Hospital. Women and men stood outside the Capitol as well as inside the rotunda bearing signs reading "I regret my abortion," and "Women need love, not abortion." And before ascending to a committee room to give their testimonies, they prayed in the Capitol rotunda, holding hands as lawmakers and other people walked past. Guided by the Spirit: Cluster planning and parish modelsLast week we talked about the groupings of parishes, known as clusters, which are beginning to meet around the diocese to prepare their first recommendation to the Planning Commission due March 9.
Each parish brings to their cluster a unique set of activities, strengths, concerns, and history that the cluster needs to take into account by open discussion. Each parish's self-evaluation, presented in their completed Long or Short Criteria Evaluation Form, should be an honest and accurate picture of life in the parish that the members of the cluster core team will consider. Looking at 'big' pictureIt is expected that the cluster core team will combine each parish picture into a larger picture of the entire cluster. This cluster "big" picture is the starting point for the cluster core team, the present reality that exists in the form of the sacramental life, the programs - catechetical, educational, and outreach, and the administration - resources and persons, of the cluster, all set against the backdrop of the current diocesan priest shortage. This step alone will take some time but it is very important, as, with any process, the end results will be directly impacted by the integrity of the starting assumptions. Once this "big" picture is acquired, the cluster needs to ask itself, "What stands out in this picture, good, bad, or indifferent?" |
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