Editorial

Bishop William H. Bullock of Madison will celebrate his 75th birthday this Saturday, April 13. On that same date nine years ago, he was named Bishop of Madison.

Meeting him at the airport when he came to Madison in 1993, I was impressed with his energy and enthusiasm. Here was a bishop accepting the challenge of a new diocese at the age of 66, a time when many people are already retired!

Yet Bishop Bullock came, he saw, and he met the challenges of shepherding the Diocese of Madison with vision and vigor. His goals, I recall from my first interview with him, were to "pray, plan, and party."

Prayer. Most priests and bishops are committed to prayer. For Bishop Bullock, prayer is not a burden, however, but a joy. He seems to love his role as leader of prayer in the diocese in everything from solemn Masses to quiet evening prayer.

The remodeling of the chapel in the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center has enhanced private and communal prayer. The bishop started a 12 noon daily Mass open to the public in 1998 and initiated monthly Midday Prayer for Vocations with priests last year.

Planning. Planning may not seem to be a "hot" topic, but solid planning is really the key to action. Bishop Bullock realized the importance of planning for the future. With input from people at the grassroots level throughout the diocese, he launched a Strategic Plan dealing with many key issues facing the Catholic Church.

One of the main challenges is dealing with the lower number of priests available to serve the diocese. He tackled this problem head-on by developing a plan for the linking, clustering, and merging of parishes. This plan is already being implemented.

He also promoted efforts to encourage more vocations to the ordained ministry and consecrated life, initiated a permanent diaconate formation program, and increased lay ministry education efforts. Eleven priests have been ordained since 1993 with three more expected to be ordained this spring.

Planning also led to the consolidation of diocesan offices at the Bishop O'Connor Center with more communication and collaboration among agencies. Offices and staff were started or expanded in such areas as communications, Hispanic ministry, justice/peace, stewardship, and worship.

Partying. Last but surely not least, Bishop Bullock has encouraged people in the diocese to party. He wants us to celebrate as a church family.

One of his goals in coming to Madison was to mingle with the people. This included regular visits to parishes for Confirmations and special events. But the friendly bishop also went to parishes to install pastors, attend festivals, and just celebrate Mass. He has visited all but one of the diocese's original137 parishes with the last trip to Glen Haven scheduled for June 8.

It's amazing how much Bishop Bullock has accomplished in nine years! We congratulate him on his achievements and wish him a very Happy Birthday and many more years of service to God and his church.

Mary C. Uhler, editor

Mailbag

To the editor:

	Mailbag policy We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Limit letters to 200 words or less. All letters must be signed. Send letters to: Mailbag The Catholic Herald P.O. Box 44985 Madison, WI 53744-4985 Fax: 608-821-3071 E-mail: info@madisoncatholicherald.org

Your editorial in the April 4 edition of The Catholic Herald is undoubtedly the best explanation of the pedophilia problem I have heard to date from any source. I wish to commend you for your insight.

Your editorial should silence the doubting Thomases in the church. My own feeling is that the church has been a cash cow for those lawyers of the ambulance-chasing variety and so-called victims of 20 years hence who could have done more to protect themselves at their age. Their cash settlements are not justified.

Charles A. Woehrl, Madison

Nice coverage of parish dedication

To the editor:

The Catholic Herald did a super job covering the dedication of the renovation at St. Patrick Parish in Madison. The photos were great - especially the beautiful colored photo on the front page. The parishioners truly deserve credit for planning a beautiful addition.

Mona Fuszard, Madison