News Briefs: St. John Vianney Parish groundbreaking JANESVILLE -- A groundbreaking ceremony for an expansion and renovation project at St. John Vianney Parish here took place March 17. "Building on the past, looking to the future" is the theme for this project, which includes a $5 million addition and renovation to the existing church and school. The addition to the church and school will be approximately 18,400 square feet; the remainder of the project will include approximately 26,400 square feet of renovations. The general contractor is JP Cullen and Sons, Inc. and the architect is Angus Young Associates. Construction was scheduled to begin March 25 and is scheduled for completion by Sept. 3. Those gathering at the groundbreaking included: parishioners, representatives from the parish council, finance council, parish staff, school staff, building committee, and representatives of the architect and general contractor. Pastor Fr. Michael J. Doro offered a prayer during the groundbreaking ceremony. Serra Club anniversary MADISON -- The Serra Club of Madison will observe its 50th charter anniversary on Monday, April 15. A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated by Bishop William H. Bullock at 6 p.m. at St. Raphael Cathedral. Social, dinner, and program will follow at the Madison Club, 5 E. Wilson St. Members, former members and chaplains, and spouses/guests are invited to attend. RSVP by April 1 by sending a check payable to Serra Club of Madison for $30 each to: LaVern P. Breunig, 603 Nichols Rd., Monona, WI 53716. Family Easter party at cathedral MADISON -- A family Easter party will be held at St. Raphael Cathedral Parish on Monday, April 1, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Featured will be a visit from the Easter Bunny, a kite making workshop, tricks and fun from Janine the Clown, an Easter egg hunt, refreshments, and games. All activities take place in the basement of the cathedral, 222 W. Main St. The parking lot located off Fairchild St. is available for party participants. Registration is necessary. Contact the parish office at 608-256-5614. Give number of adults, children, and their ages. A donation of $1 per person will cover the expenses. Support groups meet MADISON -- Peer support and understanding are provided to those hurting from separation, divorce, or other loss of a relationship in groups meeting at two local parishes open to all. New Directions is held at St. Dennis Church, 505 Dempsey Rd., the second and fourth Thursday of every month from 7 to 9 p.m. in the parish center. Social time follows. For information call Ron, 608-849-5004, or Deb, 608-245-0829. If childcare is needed, call three days in advance of meeting. Friends on a Journey is held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, 401 S. Owen Dr., from 7 to 9 p.m. the first and third Thursday of the month in the parish center. For information or if childcare is needed, call Paul at 608-862-3613 a few days in advance of meeting. Labyrinth at parish MADISON -- A labyrinth -- a spiritual tool for prayer and meditation -- will be provided at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish during Holy Week. The schedule in the church auditorium is Thursday, March 28 -- opening program at 8:15 a.m., labyrinth open until 6:30 p.m.; Friday, March 29 -- 8:15 to noon and after Good Friday service until 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 30 -- 8:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. All are welcome. Speaker at health center MADISON -- St. Marys Adult Day Health Center will host speaker Carol O. Smart on Thursday, April 4, at 1:30 p.m. She brings to life the memories of her grandmother, Dr. Rosa Minoka-Hill, the first woman doctor honored with a lifetime membership to the state medical society. Minoka-Hill's life reveals the struggles faced by the Native Americans of Wisconsin and America. The presentation is open to the public. St. Marys Adult Day Health Center is located at 2440 Atwood Ave. Call Jim at 608-249-4450 for more information. Life Line Screening WISCONSIN DELLS -- St. Cecilia Parish here will sponsor a Life Line Screening Event on Saturday, April 13. Life Line Screening will offer three primary health screenings to detect the risk of stroke and vascular disease. These tests include a Carotid Artery Screening test, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) test, and an Ankle Brachial Index (ABI). A bone density screening which tests for the early detection of osteoporosis will also be offered. Individuals whose screenings suggest further evaluation are encouraged to seek appropriate follow-up care with their own physician. Anyone interested in either the vascular or osteoporosis screenings must register in advance. Call 1-800-407-4557 to schedule an appointment. West Dane Deanery CROSS PLAINS -- "Let Go -- Let God" is the theme of the spring meeting of the West Dane Deanery Council of Catholic Women Thursday, April 11, at St. Francis Xavier Parish here. Registration is at 8:15 a.m., followed by a business meeting at 9. Featured speaker at 10 a.m. is Sr. Felissa Zander, principal of St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission School. A Mass will be offered at 11 with Fr. Lorin Bowens, Lime Ridge, diocesan moderator, as homilist. A luncheon is at noon. Attendees are asked to bring toiletry articles for Hope Haven in Madison. Reservations are due April 4 to Mary Barman, 1806 Saeman St., Cross Plains, WI 53528. Madison Deanery MADISON -- The Madison Deanery Council of Catholic Women spring meeting will be held Tuesday, April 16, at St. Peter Church, 5001 N. Sherman Ave. here. Mass will be celebrated at 5:15 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and program at 7:30 p.m. Speaker is Kate Wiskus, director of pastoral services and associate vocation director of the Diocese of Madison. Cost is $8. All checks should be made payable to the Madison Deanery. Mail reservations and payments to: Pat Fisher, 217 Buckingham Ln., Madison, WI 53714. Deadline for reservations is April 9. 'Between Fathers and Sons' REEDSBURG -- Sacred Heart Parish here is sponsoring "Between Fathers and Sons," a program for adolescent males and their fathers, April 19 through 21 at Merrimac Lodge in Merrimac. Call Jessica Brey, coordinator of youth and family ministry, at 608-524-2412. Registrations will be taken until April 5. A briefing meeting for fathers and sons will be held Saturday, April 13, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church.

Clergy sexual abuse:

MADISON -- At a Day of Sanctification for priests of the Diocese of Madison held March 21 at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Bishop William H. Bullock addressed the issue of clergy sexual abuse.

The bishop noted that stories about priest pedophiles are frequently seen on the pages of newspapers and television screens. "Cartoons abound, generalizing from the case of a few," said Bullock.

He noted that Pope John Paul II has said that these cases have cast "a dark shadow of suspicion . . . over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice."

Continued Bullock, "Most importantly the church must continue to show concern for the victims of molestation and respond in truth and justice to these painful situations."

Dealing with sin

"If any group of person understands and is acquainted with sin, it is the priest," said the bishop. "As confessors, as ministers of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as counselors, healers, and spiritual fathers, and our own sinful selves, we know and deal with sin, hurt, anger, and devastation.

"As we do, our reaction to the pedophile priest can be one of anger and blame or embarrassment and denial. Logic and reason, grace and spiritual law tell us to stay the course of reason and solid spirituality," he advised.

"We wish to be neither angered nor undone but deal with the reality facing it head on and with faith," said the bishop. "We must not condemn the press for reporting, but we can question their sometimes generalizations because of a few priests. This will create the balance.

"Not only are we as priests acquainted with sin but parish situations where someone gets upset, hurt, and angered by a decision a priest may make -- and therefore Father ____ is unfair, has no heart; they quickly move from one instance to full generalizations.

"We have to handle it gracefully, deftly, and stay the course. Reassure the parishioners that Christ is still in charge of the church," he said.

Address problem

"Finally, borrowing from the Scriptures of the adulterous woman being stoned after being caught, 'Let those without sin cast the first stone,'" said Bullock.

"It's all too easy to place blame on screening committees, seminaries, general laxness in the church, to indifferent bishops whose interests are only the church and not the victims.

"I encourage you to address these issues with your people in a parish setting or from the pulpit.

"We disappoint the expectations of one another in our sins, but Christ is our good shepherd and He never disappoints us," said Bullock. "He is our high priest in whose priesthood we share. We work for Him."

Auxiliary Bishop Robert F. Morneau of Green Bay facilitated the Day of Sanctification addressing the theme, "Priestly Identity: Preacher, Evangelist, Steward."

Rachel's Vineyard retreat:

By Beverly Hartberg
OFFICE OF FAMILY MINISTRY

MADISON -- On one hand, society says that one has a "right" to choose to have an abortion. On the other, the Catholic Church considers it a grave moral wrong to terminate a life at any time following the moment of conception.

When one has chosen to have an abortion and comes to recognize the wrong one has committed, where does one go for compassion and understanding? When the guilt and shame of the decision are gnawing at one's emotional and physical well-being, while remorse and sorrow and grief are eating at one's spirit and soul, where does one go to heal? Where does one go to deal with one's loss and begin to experience God's mercy?

An answer is Rachel's Vineyard.

Journey of healing

Rachel's Vineyard, a weekend retreat designated for men and women who have experienced an abortion (or abortions), is designed to facilitate a journey of healing. Through scriptural exercises and communal sharing, participants are given the opportunity to acknowledge the burden of guilt and grief they continue to carry, to recognize the destruction their shame and regret has wrought on themselves and on those close to them, to be in touch with the child (or children) they have lost, and to seek forgiveness from God, from the child (or children) they have lost, and from themselves.

Through lived exercises and sharing, through an environment of communal support and acceptance, and through the sacraments of reconciliation and Eucharist, retreat participants are invited: to acknowledge that despite their wrongs, God is with them in the sorrow; to recognize that God's mercy is greater than their sin; and to discover the ability to receive God's forgiveness and to forgive themselves.

A transformation

Although abortion is not a part of my personal experience, in anticipation of my role as coordinator and facilitator of Rachel's Vineyard retreats in the Diocese of Madison, I was invited to attend and participate in a recent Rachel's Vineyard retreat, which appropriately concluded on "Transfiguration Sunday," the second Sunday of Lent.

What I witnessed throughout the weekend was beautiful, mysterious, and awesome, not unlike the response of the apostles to what they envisioned on the mountain. I saw a transformation -- of broken, hurting, regretful, and pain-filled lives -- to lives open to the possibility of being accepted, forgiven, understood, and loved by the facilitating team, by each other, and by God.

On the Rachel's Vineyard retreat, I believe I (and 11 other participants) found the answer to "where does one go?"

Upcoming retreat

In the Diocese of Madison, Rachel's Vineyard will be added to Project Rachel, a post-abortive referral ministry provided by the Office of Family Ministry.

A Rachel's Vineyard weekend will be held at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center on Friday, April 12, through Sunday, April 14. The retreat will be facilitated by a counselor, a priest, and other peer ministers who have participated in previous Rachel's Vineyard retreats and have received training in the spiritual and psychological needs of the retreat participants.

For more information, call 608-821-3177. Those interested in attending the retreat should register by Wednesday, April 10.

Beverly Hartberg is associate director of the Office of Family Ministry, Diocese of Madison.

Divine Mercy Sunday:

By Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer
FOR THE CATHOLIC HERALD

MADISON -- Our blessed Lord appeared to Sr. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, many times during the 1930s.

He asked her to spread devotion to the Divine Mercy. The core message is that a soul must trust totally in God's love and mercy.

God is love. Jesus proved God's infinite love by his death on the cross.

He will never reject a trusting soul. But He wants a covenant relationship with each one of us. One must be totally open to God's will.

In the diary of Sr. Faustina, she quotes Our Lord, "On the Feast of Mercy, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment."

All invited to attend special observance The local observances of Divine Mercy Sunday will take place on Sunday, April 7, at St. Raphael Cathedral. Confessions will be heard by several priests from 1 until 1:50 p.m. Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m., followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Msgr. Daniel Ganshert, cathedral rector, will be the celebrant. Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer, episcopal vicar (bishop's delegate) for Divine Mercy observance, will give the homily. Several priests will concelebrate. A brief social will be held in the cathedral undercroft following the ceremony. Everyone is invited to attend this special event.

Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical "Rich in Mercy" speaks of Sr. Faustina and her promotion of Divine Mercy devotion. He reminds us to see Jesus as the inexhaustible source of mercy.

Our Holy Father beatified Sr. Faustina on Divine Mercy Sunday in 1993. He canonized her on Divine Mercy Sunday in the year 2000. At that time, he proclaimed the Second Sunday of Easter as the Feast of Divine Mercy for the entire Catholic Church.

The Ordo for the Divine Office for April 7, 2002 says: "Throughout the world, the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that humankind will experience in the years to come."

Our Lord also asked for a special novena from Good Friday until Divine Mercy Sunday. This includes special intentions and use of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Intentions recommended are:

• For all mankind, especially all sinners.

• For all the souls of priests and religious.

• For all devout and faithful souls.

• For those who do not believe in God.

• For those who have separated from the Church.

• For meek and humble souls, souls of little children.

• For souls who venerate and glorify my mercy.

• For souls who are detained in Purgatory.

• For souls who have become lukewarm.

Our response must be to ask for God's mercy, be merciful in our love toward others, and have complete trust in approaching the sea of God's mercy. Our Lord also asked for special prayer and meditation on His Passion each afternoon at 3, the hour that recalls His death on the cross.

Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer is episcopal vicar (bishop's delegate) for the Divine Mercy observance.