Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Sunday, October 9 - Friday, October 14, 2005 Chairman, Apostolic Visitation of Seminaries, St. John Vianney, Redemptoris Mater Mission, and Fraternidad San Antonio Seminaries, Denver, Colo. Saturday, October 15, 2005 4:45 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Patrick Church, Janesville Sunday, October 16, 2005 3:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Eucharist, Closing of the Year of the Eucharist, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Monona Tuesday, October 18, 2005 7:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Mary of the Nativity Church, Marshall Wednesday, October 19, 2005 7:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Jerome Church, Columbus Thursday, October 20, 2005 12:10 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Eucharist, St. Patrick Church, Madison Thursday, October 20, 2005 Priest Fellowship Day, Bishop O'Connor Pastoral Center, Madison Bishop William H. Bullock Sunday, October 16, 2005 Preside at the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. John the Baptist Church, Waunakee Thursday, October 20, 2005 Priest Fellowship Day, Bishop O'Connor Pastoral Center, Madison Bishop George O. Wirz Sunday, October 16, 2005 3:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate at the Celebration of the Eucharist, Closing of the Year of the Eucharist, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Monona Thursday, October 20, 2005 Priest Fellowship Day, Bishop O'Connor Pastoral Center, Madison

October:
Marks Respect Life Month

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Dear Friends,

The month of October has a multiplicity of meanings attached to it for you and for me in this Year of our Lord 2005.

It is Respect Life Month which takes on a special tone in the wake of the Stoughton tornado and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We have seen again and again the caring heart of America reach out to assist the victims. In that sense, we are a good and Godly people. But at the same time we saw that, in New Orleans especially, it was the poor, the elderly, and the African-American population who were most severely afflicted and victimized.

We do need to get to the point where a minimum standard of education is both required and available for all of our citizens, and we do need to get to a point where a secure safety net is placed so that the most vulnerable in our society do not fall through the cracks. We want to be both a just and loving society and in so many ways we are, but much remains to be done.

Uphold dignity of life

In this time frame the Supreme Court with the new Chief Justice will be considering whether the law that permits physician-assisted suicide in the state of Oregon is constitutional. The consistent ethic of life certainly demands that the life of those who are suffering be respected so that they can die a natural death with dignity. Freedom over life and death belongs to the Creator Who gives life and Who calls us to Himself. It is the same tendency in the American culture to usurp the prerogatives of the Creator that endangers all those who are vulnerable, and of course the most vulnerable of all, the absolutely defenseless pre-born.

The Supreme Court should uphold the absolute dignity of every human person from conception until natural death because human reason, that is the natural law, requires it. If every single one of us is not safe in his or her dignity, then ultimately no one of us is, and it will be given to human beings rather than God to judge the worth of the life of others. And so, during Respect Life Month, let us pray for a consistent ethic of life so that our intention to be a just and loving people will be put into action and not remain simply at the level of a good intention.

Faith in Real Presence of Christ

Secondly, October marks the end of the Year of the Eucharist for the Universal Church. I am so grateful to all of you, and especially our priests and deacons, for the promotion of reverence and devotion to the Eucharist which has occurred during the past year in our diocese. As we implement the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) and see Eucharistic Adoration outside of Mass, including Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration on the rise, we can not help but become a holier, happier people.

Because of our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ under the signs of bread and wine, Eucharistic Devotion can never be seen as a personal preference or as optional for Catholics. If Christ, risen from the dead, is truly present under the signs of bread and wine, there can be no doubt about what our response to that Real Presence should be - we must enjoy that Real Presence and be caught up in the Love of the Heart of Christ beyond the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass. That is why the notion of Eucharistic Devotion outside of Mass as optional simply makes no sense. If Christ is really present through these physical signs then we must go to him there and be caught up in His loving embrace.

I hope that reverence in the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass will continue to grow and I hope and pray, deeply, that Eucharistic Adoration, apart from Mass, and especially Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist will be more and more deeply embedded in our diocesan family life. And I am certain that if we move in this direction, the Lord will bless us even more generously with abundant vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life.

Please examine your conscience regularly about Eucharistic reverence, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our Solemn Eucharistic Celebration to close the Eucharistic Year at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 16, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Monona. We will prolong the Year of the Eucharist in the Diocese of Madison by celebrating special Eucharistic Adoration at the time of the Feast of Christ the King when a monstrance, blessed by Pope John Paul the Great, will make its way to several locations within our diocese.

Month of the Holy Rosary

Last, certainly not least, October is the month of the Holy Rosary, as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7. The new "mysteries of light" or "luminous mysteries," given us by John Paul the Great, have as their culmination the institution of the Holy Eucharist. So as we celebrate the month of the rosary and conclude the Year of the Eucharist, please take advantage of the opportunity frequently to pray these new mysteries of light or luminous mysteries. Please make every effort to have them memorized and more importantly, understood. I would urge especially our religion teachers, both in the Catholic schools and in the parish religious education programs, to make sure that our students have memorized all of the mysteries of the rosary, especially these new luminous mysteries, and have a basic understanding of them.

The intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, Mother of Priests, is especially important for priests, seminarians, and those considering the call to priesthood during these days when so many priests are called to the suffering which accompanies the sexual misconduct scandal. Please offer your family rosary for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, the consecrated life, or at least offer the recitation of that decade, which is the fifth luminous mystery, for this intention and pray to Mary for our priests, seminarians, and priesthood candidates that each day we will find more confidence in her love as she points us toward her Risen Son and repeats her last words as recorded by the scriptures, "Do whatever he tells you."

Thank you very much for reading this, and God bless each one of you. Praised be Jesus Christ!

Respect Life Letter from Bishop Morlino

Editor's note: This is the third in a series of weekly letters written by Bishop Robert C. Morlino during October, which is observed as Respect Life Month.

Dear Sisters and Brothers, All in the Lord,

My subject this week is stem cell research. There is much confusion, much lack of understanding of what the Church teaches on this very vital subject.

Today's Gospel says, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man . . ." Indeed, the Church strives to teach the truth, lovingly, but firmly.

Stem cells can come from many sources, including placental or umbilical cord blood, fat, bone marrow, liver, epidermis, and the only source that the church is morally opposed to, embryos.

Let's look at embryonic stem cell research first.

"Embryonic stem cells" are extracted from the five-to-six-day-old embryo which kills the embryo. Those who favor embryonic stem cell research argue that killing the human embryo for research so that possibly someone else will be benefited at some time in the future is a good thing. The Catholic Church goes to the heart of the matter and says it is immoral to kill vulnerable people to benefit the more powerful.

The teaching is clear, as stated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

"No objective, even though noble in itself, such as a foreseeable advantage to science, to other human beings, or to society, can in any way justify experimentation on living human embryos or fetuses, whether viable or not, either inside or outside the mother's body."

And, as of July 30, 2005, NO embryonic stem cell therapies have been successful in humans. None. Not one.

But now, let us turn to adult stem cell research and the surprising news of its success. Yes, the adult stem cell research, the morally acceptable method, is currently in use, providing help to people with leukemia, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injury, immune deficiency, and corneal damage. And other new therapies are being developed.

Looking at this set of facts, where embryonic research kills the five-to-six-day old embryo and has not been successfully used in humans and where adult stem cells are available without destroying life and have been successful in therapies for many diseases, does it not make sense to utilize our resources in the most successful and morally acceptable line of research?

The Church supports and encourages medical advances, scientific research, technological breakthroughs. But the Church is vigilant to protect the vulnerable members of our human family, including that very young embryo. Each of you hearing this message today was once that small, that powerless, that vulnerable. I call on you today, to look at this closely, seriously, and with an open mind, because when the strong oppress, kill, or dehumanize the vulnerable, our society is threatened.

Keep these three points in mind this week:

The Church protects the vulnerable, including the five-day-old embryo.

Embryonic stem cell research is morally offensive because the life of one human is taken for the potential benefit of others.

Adult stem cell research causes no harm to the donor, has already been effectively used in therapies, and should be supported.

We will witness many incredible medical advances in the months and years to come. Let us hope that they are won, not by destroying the vulnerable, but by utilizing our gifts of reason, and moral and ethical understanding, leading to acceptable research methods.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison

Bishop Robert C. Morlino issues clarification regarding appointment

"In response to two most welcome inquires regarding my appointment to the Board of Visitors of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security, I would note that the Board is an organism of the Department of Defense and not an organism of WHINSEC itself. It is a review board external to WHINSEC appointed to assure morality and justice in all of the policies and practices of WHINSEC.

"The Board has strong congressional and other civilian representation, including Fr. Cletus Kiley of our Bishops' Conference. All of my conversations concerning this appointment involved officials of the Military Archdiocese and of the Pentagon, not of WHINSEC.

"Members of the Board of Visitors of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security include:

"Victor Bonilla; U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss; Gen. Bantz Craddock, U.S. Army, Commander, U.S. Southern Command; Maria Dominguez, Esq.; Daniel Fisk, deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs; U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey; Benny Hand, Jr.; Ltg. Anthony Jones, U.S. Army, acting commander for headquarters, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command; Fr. J. Cletus Kiley; U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, Senate Ranking Minority Member, Senate Armed Services; Dr. Charles Risher; U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez; Ambassador (Ret.) José Sorzando."