|
 |
|
News Briefs:
All Souls Day Mass
MADISON -- All are invited to attend a Diocese of Madison All Souls Day Mass at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at Resurrection Cemetery Chapel, 2705 Regent St., Madison. Celebrant will be Bishop George O. Wirz.
Elected to Board of Governors
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Jay M. Conzemius, director of the Tribunal of the Diocese of Madison since 2002, was elected to the Board of Governors of the Canon Law Society of America at the organization's annual convention held in Pittsburgh.
Conzemius was elected to a two-year term as a consultor on the Board of Governors. He will serve as one of six elected consultors on the board.
In an effort to promote a better understanding of church law and its pastoral application, the Canon Law Society convenes an annual convention and other symposia. Collaboration with other professional church organizations is another area of the society's involvement.
Conzemius earned a licentiate in canon law from Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1997.
He worked for the Diocese of Sioux Falls in South Dakota before coming to the Diocese of Madison as director of the Office of Stewardship and Development in 2001. He served in that post while also taking over as director of the Tribunal in 2002. This summer he relinquished his stewardship role to concentrate on his position as director of the Tribunal.
Day of reflection
for liturgical ministers
DEFOREST -- The Office of Worship and St. Olaf Parish in DeForest are co-sponsoring a morning of reflection for liturgical ministers on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at St. Olaf Parish.
Dr. Patrick Gorman, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, will be the facilitator.
The title of the day is "To Serve as Jesus Served." Service lies at the heart of ministry. This is a time of reflection on the Eucharist, ministry, and how we can serve Christ and our neighbor more completely through liturgical ministry.
All are invited. Registration is free. Register by Nov. 1 with Stephen Johnson, St. Olaf Parish, 623 Jefferson St., De Forest 53532-0446, phone 608-846-5726, ext. 11.
Priest to speak on justice
MADISON -- The St. Paul's Peace and Social Justice Council announces the Lewis Lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 18, at St. Paul's University Catholic Center, 723 State St.
The lecture is entitled "A Sustainable Future for All: Justice in the Global Economy" and will be given by Fr. Seamus Finn. The talk will give a Catholic response to the globalized economy and its connection to world poverty and development.
Father Finn is on the boards of JubileeUSA, Washington Office on Latin America, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and the Missionary Oblates Office for Justice and Peace and the Integrity of Creation.
For more information, call St. Paul's at 608-258-3140.
Peer support groups
MADISON -- Peer support groups for those hurting from separation, divorce, or loss of a significant relationship are open to all ages/faiths at two Madison parishes.
New Directions will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at St. Dennis Parish Center, 413 Dempsey Rd., top floor. For information, call 608-821-3170.
Friends on a Journey will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, at Our Lady Queen of Peace nursery, 401 S. Owen Dr. For information, call Paul at 608-862-3613.
Small groups for young adults
Cemetery Walk Nov. 7
TRUMAN -- At Immaculate Conception Parish here, parishioners have been working with Pastor Fr. Monte Robinson on composing a history of the parish cemetery begun in 1858. The history booklet will list all those buried in the parish cemetery.
As part of the celebration of All Souls Day, a Cemetery Walk will be held in the parish cemetery on Sunday, Nov. 7, at 12 noon. "The Cemetery Walk will provide an opportunity to better know 'who's who' at our cemetery," said Father Robinson.
The experience will end with Father Robinson celebrating the Order of Visiting a Cemetery. Individuals will then visit family gravesites.
All are welcome to attend the Cemetery Walk on Nov. 7.
|
|
|
Nominate someone
for "Profiles
from the pew"
To nominate someone to be featured in "Profiles from the pew," download a nomination form (PDF file).
"Profiles from the pew" runs in the Catholic Herald print edition
NOTE: The nomination form is 269 KB in size and may take a long time to download on a dial-up Internet connection. It is a Portable Document Format file, also called a PDF, which can be viewed using the freely available Adobe® Reader® software. Many computers already have this software and will automatically open the document when you click the nomination form link, above.
Adobe Reader is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
|
|
|
Theology-On-Tap: Panel examines priest shortage, scandal,
and celibacy
By Julianne Nornberg
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF
MADISON -- The priest shortage, scandal, and celibacy were the topics a panel of young clergy addressed at a recent Theology-On-Tap presentation at Club Majestic in Madison.
Theology-On-Tap is a four-week speaker series designed for people in their 20s and 30s. This year Theology-On-Tap was held in Janesville, Madison, Platteville, and Watertown.
The panel included Fr. Jim Bartylla, vocations director; Fr. Tait Schroeder, parochial vicar, St. Dennis Parish, Madison; and Rev. Mr. Eric Sternberg, seminarian for the Diocese of Madison.
Priest shortage
Addressing the priest shortage, Father Bartylla gave some U.S. statistics on Catholics and vocations. From 1965 to 2000, the Catholic population increased by 35 percent, but diocesan priests decreased 16 percent and religious orders decreased 33 percent. The number of those graduating from seminaries has decreased by 58 percent, but increased by 10 percent since 1995.
In the rest of the world, the total number of priests has decreased by six percent since 1970. A look at seminarians worldwide shows an increase of 73 percent since 1978 because of Pope John Paul II, he said.
The priest shortage seems to be a problem mainly in North America and Europe, he said.
The pope says the reason for the shortage is the secularization and de-Christianization of the western world, said Father Bartylla.
How do we increase vocations?
The Holy Father says because vocations flow from God, the first commitment for vocations cannot be anything but prayer," said Father Bartylla, pointing out that other dioceses have shown that Eucharistic Adoration plays a large part in increasing vocations.
As a result, Eucharistic Adoration has begun at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center in Madison during the week.
"In the end, what vocation is about is a personal encounter with the Lord," said Father Schroeder.
"We always look at this with eyes of faith," said Sternberg.
Addressing scandal
Father Schroeder addressed the scandal of clergy who have committed sexual abuse against children.
"The first thing is this is in the realm of grave sin. It is an offense against God and the people who were violated in a terrible way," he said. "When you're in the realm of sin, you're also in the realm of mercy, forgiveness, and conversion."
The Holy Father in the midst of the scandal said the Lord was calling us to conversion to experience his mercy but also to be a model to society, he said. "Through evil God can bring good and some measure of progress."
The scandal of child sexual abuse is not limited to the priesthood but is a real societal issue and the church has been under scrutiny, he said. But through that hopefully the church can give an example of how to correct the problem, to take measures to make sure children are protected, he said.
'Celibacy is a gift'
Sternberg talked about the issue of celibacy.
In the American culture, one thing that is dangerous about the way we identify ourselves is that Americans do not have a framework for celibacy, he said.
Celibacy has more to do with being than doing and the culture does not know about being rather than doing, he said.
In the church, St. Paul says when you're celibate, it is a sign of utter dedication to the Lord, he said, pointing out that in a married vocation, you focus also on your spouse. In celibacy, you always focus on Christ, living not for yourself but always for others.
Secondly, celibacy is a witness to the sake of the Kingdom of God, to something greater in the world, he said.
"Celibacy requires a certain grace," said Sternberg. "Christ gives that grace."
Jesus knows what a great good marriage is, so he will give the graces to live a celibate life; likewise with the marriage vocation, he said.
"This is something Christ calls us to," he said.
Father Bartylla said that celibacy allows priests and religious to devote themselves
completely to serving everyone. "On another level, it's just plain mysterious," he said. "It's a sign of the Kingdom - there's something more" than what we see here in this world.
What supports me in celibacy the most is being with families with lots of children, he said. "To see a family fulfills my mission. It's like a great symphony. And they feel fulfilled having a priest around their children. I never consider celibacy a burden. It's always a gift."
|
