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News Briefs:
First fruits: Donate garden produce to St. Vincent de Paul
MADISON -- Consider reserving a row in your garden - or maybe a few - for your neighbors in need. This can be an offering of "first fruits" to be given to the food pantry of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Planting, nurturing, and donating these future gifts of the earth can serve as a way of expressing appreciation to the Lord for your own bounty.
The yield of several tomato, pepper, or bean plants or some rows of leafy greens will be much appreciated by the 60 to 100 families per day who visit the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Madison. Potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables provide a welcome nutritional boost for the families who turn to the pantry to help stave off hunger.
Donors are welcome to bring their gifts of fresh produce directly to the St. Vincent de Paul Service Center, which houses the food pantry, during the center's hours of operation: Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. The center is located at 1309 Culmen St., off Fish Hatchery Rd. Contact Pantry Manager Chris Kane at 608-257-0919, ext. 301, with any questions.
Wedding anniversary celebration
MADISON -- Celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary in 2006? Join Bishop Robert C. Morlino and the Office of Justice and Pastoral Outreach/Family Ministry Office as they again celebrate 50th anniversaries with couples from around the diocese at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center on October 29.
The event will feature a Mass, beginning at 2 p.m., followed by a cake, coffee, and punch reception.
This is an invitation-only event. To register, notify your parish office or pastor by July 3 that you will be celebrating your 50th anniversary in the calendar year of 2006 and that you would like to participate in the anniversary celebration. They will then submit your names to the bishop.
Peer support groups
MADISON -- Peer support groups for those hurting from separation, divorce, or loss of a significant relationship will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 6 and 20, at Our Lady Queen of Peace, 401 S. Owen Dr., and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 13 and 27, at St. Dennis Parish Center, 413 Dempsey Rd. For details, call 608-824-0014.
Catholic counselors
MADISON -- The Madison Diocesan Office of Justice and Pastoral Outreach/Family Ministry is seeking Catholic therapists and counselors who do marriage and family counseling. If you are interested in being a referral to Catholic couples and individuals seeking help, call 608-821-3175.
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Bishops: Write letters on death penalty and marriage
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Full text of the letters:
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MADISON -- Wisconsin's Roman Catholic Bishops have written pastoral letters on the death penalty and marriage, both topics of referendum questions on the November ballot. The letters are directed to Catholics across the five dioceses of Wisconsin.
The letters are educational in tone, explaining Catholic teaching on the subjects of marriage and the death penalty. They are signed by all five of Wisconsin's diocesan bishops, who issued the letters through the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC).
"These two referenda provide an opportunity for Catholics to bear witness to our teaching," explained WCC Executive Director John Huebscher. "The coming months provide a 'teachable moment' on two important issues. The bishops want to make the most of it."
Huebscher added, "The Catholic tradition has something valuable to contribute to these debates. In affirming marriage and Wisconsin's long-standing rejection of the death penalty, the bishops are asking Catholics to support policies that serve the common good. And they are urging them to do so with courage, compassion, and civility."
Copies of the letters, which are printed below, can also be found on the Wisconsin Catholic Conference Web site at www.wisconsincatholic.org
A Letter to Catholics in Wisconsin
on the Death Penalty
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. We are writing to ask that you affirm Wisconsin's 153-year commitment to human life by voting "NO" on the upcoming advisory referendum to restore the death penalty.
2. We oppose the death penalty because we value human life, even when that life might seem unworthy to us. For Catholics, being "pro-life" means protecting life at all stages, from conception to natural death. A selective approach that values human life only in certain circumstances is inconsistent with who we are as a people of faith.
3. It is true that in the past the Church accepted the death penalty. But such use of lethal force by the state was strictly conditioned and limited. The Catechism of the Catholic Church now states that if "non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person." (# 2267) That was the point Pope John Paul II made in his 1995 letter, The Gospel of Life (# 56). "Today," the Pope concluded, "as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent."
4. Significantly, the Wisconsin legislature made a similar judgment in 1853, when it abolished the death penalty after the construction of our first state prison. Our state has not executed anyone in 155 years, the longest any state has gone without doing so. During this time, Wisconsin's crime rate has consistently remained below the national average and far below many of the states that execute people most frequently. Also, Wisconsin has strengthened its sentencing practices in recent years. Increasingly, for first-degree intentional homicide, life means life.
5. While the presence of DNA evidence can help guard against the wrongful conviction of innocent individuals, it has no bearing on a defendant's moral culpability. Moreover, even with DNA evidence, the serious problem of unequal treatment under the law remains. Even in states with tight restrictions on the death penalty's use, a disproportionate number of people executed are poor and/or members of racial and ethnic minorities.
6. Any opposition to the death penalty is incomplete without a commitment to remember the
victims. No one can observe the death of innocent people and the suffering of those who mourn them and not be moved to outrage. However, killing the criminal neither restores life to the dead nor heals the living. We honor the dead more eloquently by rejecting the barbarism that caused their deaths. We honor those who have suffered loss through violence and violation by ministering to those who mourn. We applaud those Catholics and others who help survivors grieve, heal and renew their lives.
7. Instead of extending the "culture of death" further across our society, we urge our fellow citizens to heed the words of Jesus, who ordered his follower to return his sword to its sheath (Jn. 18:12). Please join us in voting for life by opposing the advisory referendum on
November 7th. |
The Most Rev.
Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of Milwaukee
The Most Rev.
Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison |
The Most Rev.
David A. Zubik
Bishop of Green Bay
The Most Rev.
Jerome E. Listecki
Bishop of La Crosse |
The Most Rev. Raphael M. Fliss
Bishop of Superior |
A Letter to Catholics in Wisconsin
on Defining Marriage in Our State Constitution
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. On November 7, we in Wisconsin will vote on a proposed amendment to our state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. We support this amendment and we urge you to join us in doing so.
2. Although Wisconsin law already defines marriage in a way consistent with our Catholic tradition, we believe that an amendment to our state constitution is the prudent thing to do in light of judicial and legislative actions in other states.
3. The witness of scripture and our Catholic tradition teach that marriage, as instituted by God, is between one man and one woman. It is within this unique bond of mutual and reciprocal marital love that a man and a woman become one. This reciprocal love reflects the natural "complementarity" between men and women. This complementarity blends the differences between men and women and enables them to cooperate physically, emotionally and psychologically. Complementarity is truly the gift through which a married couple becomes more than the sum of its parts.
4. We Catholics are not unique in our view of marriage. People of other religions and those who profess no religion have long held the same view. The laws of many nations favor or grant special status to unions between one man and one woman. This reflects a widely shared understanding grounded in the natural law that marriage and family life are fundamental to the moral and social well being of the community.
5. It is true that many children are deeply loved, nurtured and effectively raised in households that differ from the traditional married union. But long experience tells us that families in which a mother and father complement each other provide a uniquely helpful environment for nurturing children to adulthood.
6. Support for this amendment does not imply or justify animosity towards any individual or group. Church teaching regarding the dignity of homosexual persons is clear: "They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in this regard should be avoided." (Catechism of Catholic Church #2358) Even as we ask Catholics to support this amendment, we also urge them to repudiate words and deeds that demean individuals with a homosexual orientation. Our support of this amendment has as its only motive the strengthening and defense of marriage, and should not be interpreted as hostility to any group.
7. We urge Catholics to support this proposed amendment to our Wisconsin Constitution when you go to the polls on November 7. As you do so, remember that we are about persuasion, not coercion. Catholics claim no right to force society to heed our teachings on marriage. But we do claim the same right due any citizen to proclaim our values, which contribute to the well being of society and to urge society to affirm them in our public policy. Let us do so with courage, compassion and civility. |
The Most Rev. Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of Milwaukee
The Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison |
The Most Rev. David A. Zubik
Bishop of Green Bay
The Most Rev. Jerome E. Listecki
Bishop of La Crosse |
The Most Rev. Raphael M. Fliss
Bishop of Superior |
Relevant Radio:
Remodels new studio in Madison
By Kathleen Bushman
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF
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Local listening
Listen to local coverage of news and events on Relevant Radio's Relevant 2U, airing 9 a.m. Fridays, with encores at 12 noon Saturdays and 9 a.m. Sundays. Also listen to the mid-week update on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., a five-minute update of local news.
In addition to being broadcast on the 1240 AM dial, listeners can also go to www.relavantradio.com for streaming audio of the local station. Go to the Madison 1240AM Web page via the local stations page and then click on the "Listen Now" link at the top.
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MADISON -- The first thing you notice when walking into the new Relevant Radio studio is that the entrance isn't quite done. The walls are stripped and pieces of foam lean haphazardly against the wall.
But that faint scent of newness still pervades the air, and just inside the next door and down the short hallway are clean walls and smooth floors, new furniture and high-tech gadgetry. And once those black microphones on their long, spidery arms come into view, you know you're in the right place.
This is the new Relevant Radio studio on Madison's west side, where the local angle of the national network gets taped, produced, and sent out to be broadcast to your radio or streamed to your computer. It took two weeks to convert the studio from its former purpose of serving the Madison Media Institute - and later, housing boxes - and it's still being completed, but it has already become a radio home for the three men who make the local station happen.
Getting the studio
"It was a blessing in disguise," said Brian Kelly, Relevant Radio diocesan partnership liaison, of the new studio.
Kelly, along with Matt Beardsley, the station manager, and Joe Stadele, the development coordinator, are the heart and soul of this local branch of the national radio network. Kelly does the reporting and recording, among other things. Beardsley produces the local shows and keeps the broadcast smooth when it breaks from national to local. Stadele coordinates fundraising and plans events, as well as updates the local Web page.
The three moved out of their old offices - which were across the hall from the new studio - when the company there started expanding. The move and remodeling was helped by the support pledge of $1 million offered by Bishop Robert C. Morlino and the Diocese of Madison earlier this year.
The new studio was originally designed for the Madison Media Institute, but after it stood empty for a while, the owner at the time, Kurt Welton, suggested it to Relevant Radio as a better option. Kelly said that Welton was key in getting the new studio for the radio station.
Relevant Radio moved into the new studio after about two weeks of work by Beardsley, Stadele, and a volunteer. Much of the wiring had to be done, as well as stripping the walls and repainting, but some of the core acoustic structures in the booth, such as the slanted glass and ceiling and the raised floor, were already in place. This saved a great deal of money and makes the reasonably spacious studio professional-looking and higher quality.
Broadcasting live
One of the goals with this new studio is to soon be able to do live shows from Madison, with local guests and a call-in format. Already the station has local shows, but they are mostly pre-taped by Kelly, who hosts the local show Relevant 2U. At present, all of the call-in shows aired on Relevant Radio, even locally broadcast, are produced elsewhere.
Beardsley says that occasionally they get calls from listeners wanting to speak to Drew Mariani or Sean Herriott, who host their shows in studios outside this diocese.
"That's cool - it means we're doing our job," he said.
"We want it to sound like it's from here," Beardsley said. "We want to be community-oriented; our job is to support the Diocese of Madison and to support Bishop Morlino."
But with the new studio they can offer shows that will engage the listener on the local level. "We hope to take the local show into more live stuff," Beardsley said. "More interaction with the community. Field calls."
Eventually they would even like to bring in the bishop for a live talk show, he said.
The only things that are standing in their way are technical logistics, according to Beardsley. They project having those sorted out by the end of the summer. At which point, as Kelly said, they can "press on a button, turn the mic on, and go live without worrying about anything."
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