JOHNSON CREEK — Women from across the diocese came together in mid-June on the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua for the annual convention of the Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW). Hosted by the Jefferson Deanery, MDCCW President Carol Brennan, Berlin, presided at the event.
Year: 2012
Family should step up
Q My dad has been living with me for the past three years and while I love him and have entered into this arrangement willingly, I am feeling more and more resentful of my siblings. I have a brother and a sister, both live close to me and neither one of them offer to give me a break. I don’t understand how they can just go on with their lives and leave me here to do all of the caregiving. I am afraid I will unintentionally take out my frustration on dad. What should I do? (From a daughter in Janesville).
‘Vision’ becomes better with age
One of the benefits of aging is that our vision improves so much.
What? You say you have more trouble reading the fine print on prescription bottles? And you need stronger light bulbs and magnifying glasses?
Oh, sure, but that’s not the kind of vision I’m thinking about. I’m thinking of hindsight. You know, they always say that hindsight is 20-20.
So here’s what’s so great about it. We have perspective now. We can look back at the things that drove us crazy with worry, like a messy house when guests arrived. But now we know that it was never the picture-perfect house that mattered, but the warmth of our hospitality.
West Africa desperately needs your help
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Imagine being very hungry nearly all the time. Imagine telling your children to wait until the end of the day to eat a very small meal. Imagine eating every other day. Imagine not eating at all.
Very sadly, over 18 million people in West Africa’s Sahel region — an area between the Sahara Desert and the African tropics — do not have to imagine severe hunger; they are either experiencing it, or getting very close to it.
Crises have grown
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Food and nutrition crises in the region have grown in frequency and severity in recent years, mostly driven by sporadic rainfall, insufficient local harvests, high food prices, and insecurity.
Ethical Use of Ventilators
The use of ventilators can pose particularly challenging problems during end of life situations for families.
When should we place a loved one on a ventilator? If somebody is on a ventilator, can we ever “pull the plug?”
Understanding our moral duty depends upon whether the use of a ventilator in a particular case can be considered “ordinary” or “extraordinary.”
Ordinary treatment
Ordinary interventions can be understood as those medicines, operations, and treatments that offer a reasonable hope of benefit for the patient and that can be obtained and used without excessive pain, expense, or other significant burden. Use of a ventilator will sometimes satisfy these criteria, and other times it will not, depending on the specifics of the patient’s situation.
St. Michael, Dane and St. Patrick, Lodi merger
St. Michael Parish, Dane, and St. Patrick Parish, Lodi, are merged into Blessed Trinity Parish.
Continue efforts to protect life and defend marriage
To the editor:
Sometimes it is easy to grow weary as we battle for the rights of unborn children, the elderly, the handicapped, and to defend the institution of marriage in a culture that advocates for abortion rights, euthanasia, and same sex marriage.
We need to focus on the words of St. Paul to the Christian community at Galatia, “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6: 9).
Protecting children: In learning from its mistakes, Catholic Church can be role model
Ten years ago in Dallas, Texas, in June of 2002, the United States Catholic bishops passed their Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. It was a bold move to deal with the sexual abuse of minors by priests and prevent such abuse from happening again.
As we learn more about the sex abuse scandal at Penn State and reports of incidents involving pornography, rape, and sexual abuse at other colleges and universities, it might be wise for our society to pay attention to how the Catholic bishops have dealt with these issues.
Catholic Charities acquires Adult Day Center
MADISON — CareWisconsin and Catholic Charities-Madison jointly announce the transition of Care Wisconsin’s Adult Day Center to Catholic Charities-Madison, effective July 1, 2012.