Year: 2012

On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Recall rules: Issues involved in Wisconsin’s first statewide recall primary

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

On Tuesday, May 8, Wisconsin will be experiencing its first statewide recall primary. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, the recall election is happening and state citizens should be paying attention.

Faithful citizenship resources

The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) encourages  Catholic voters to visit its Faithful Citizenship voter education page for resources on Catholic teaching (www.wisconsincatholic.org/faithful_citizenship.cfm).

There you will find  a letter from the bishops of Wisconsin written prior to the 2010 elections. In that letter, the bishops admit that “being a faithful citizen is never easy.” Yet, they encourage Catholics to “remain engaged, not just politically but also culturally,” since there is “so much good that we will contribute to our nation and to our world.”

The WCC Web site also includes the latest edition of its Guidelines for Church Involvement in Electoral Politics as well as a question card voters can use when questioning candidates running for state office.

Information for state voters

Also helpful is information provided by the state’s Government Accountability Board (GAB), which issued a press release with information for state voters about the primary recall rules (http://gab.wi.gov/elections-voting/recall).

Read More
On
Fr. Donald Lange

We thank God for our mothers

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes, by Fr. Don Lange

Some mothers claim that they would do anything for their children. Stephanie Decker, a 37-year-old Indiana mother, demonstrated this in a heroic way.

On March 2, as a tornado crushed her family home, Stephanie covered her children with her body to protect them. Debris from the tornado caused her to lose part of both legs while saving her children from the deadly 175 mph tornado.

Enduring maternal bond

Someone wrote that a mother carries her child in her womb for nine months and in her heart for the rest of her life. Conceiving, carrying, and giving birth to a human being is as close as any person can come to the act of creation. After birth, motherhood continues through nurturing, sacrificing, loving, and ultimately letting go.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

Protecting our daily bread

Making a Difference column logo

Every person who has enough nutritious food to eat and cares about the one billion people who do not, should be paying attention to the 2012 Farm Bill.

At stake are deep, heartless congressional monetary cuts to national and international food assistance programs, environmentally protective farm and ranch conservation projects, and safety net programs designed to help struggling small and mid-sized family farmers and rural communities.

Proposed cuts to Farm Bill

Bob Gronski, policy coordinator, for the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (www.ncrlc.com) explained to me that Congress is poised to cut between $23 billion and $34 billion from current funding levels of the Farm Bill.

Read More
On
Jeff Kurowski, The Compass

UW student is Biking for Babies

KAUKAUNA — Biking from Louisiana to Illinois last summer was mentally grueling and oftentimes physically painful for Kevin Biese, but he is ready to do it again.

Biese and nine other cyclists will trek 1,124.25 miles from New Orleans to Chicago, May 21 to 29, as part of Biking for Babies 2012. The mission of the ride is to collect $40,000 for eight pro-life charities and raise awareness in the fight against abortion.

The new Women’s Care Center of Madison was one of the charities supported by last year’s ride, which raised more than $21,000. Biese, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, recently visited the facility, which provides services ranging from free ultrasounds to parenting classes.

Read More
On
Obispo Robert C. Morlino

Buscar la paz de Dios a través del arrepentimiento

Queridos amigos:

En los pasajes del Evangelio de las últimas semanas, hemos escuchado varias veces cuán real es la Resurrección. Jesús resucitó, no con el mismo cuerpo físico que tenía antes, sino con un cuerpo real que podía ser tocado. Su cuerpo real y glorificado que podía ser tocado de algún modo, con las marcas de los clavos en las manos y los pies, y la herida en el costado de la lanza del soldado. Todas esas heridas eran visibles y tangibles en el cuerpo glorioso de Jesús.

Eso es algo bueno por qué rezar: las heridas de Jesús que no habían sido sanadas en Su cuerpo resucitado. No desaparecieron, pero al mismo tiempo, no eran vistas como algo que lo desfiguraría. Sus heridas estaban allí para ser glorificadas en un cuerpo real e inmortal, uno que nunca muriera nuevamente, pero que de hecho pudiera ser tocado, y que al mismo tiempo traspasara puertas y que al mismo tiempo pudiera compartir la comida con los Apóstoles. Así de real es la Resurrección.

Read More
On
Brent King, Office of Communications, Diocese of Madison

Bishop accepts recommendation to close Platteville school

St. Mary School in Platteville, founded in 1935, will close at the end of the current school year. (Contributed photo)

PLATTEVILLE — Bishop Robert C. Morlino delivered his decision regarding the closure of St. Mary School in Platteville to Fr. Faustino Ruiz, pastor of St. Mary Parish, on Wednesday, April 25, after the scheduled regional celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation in Platteville.

In his letter to the parishioners of St. Mary Parish, the bishop accepted “with tremendous sadness” the recommendation of Father Ruiz and the majority vote of the parish finance and pastoral councils to close St. Mary School.

The bishop’s letter reviewed some of the history leading up to the closure of the parish school at the end of this school year, as well as some of the steps taken by the bishop to attempt to keep this from happening, including guaranteeing the school would remain open last year, his offering of weekly prayer and fasting for the school, and assistance from the diocesan Office of Finance. He thankfully acknowledged all who worked so hard to keep St. Mary School open, if possible.

Read More
On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Seeking peace of God through repentance

Dear Friends,
In the Gospel passages of the last few weeks, we have heard time and again how real the Resurrection is. Jesus rose, not with the same physical body He had before, but He rose with a real body that could be touched. His real glorified body could somehow be touched, with the nail marks in the hands and the feet, and the wound in the side from the soldier’s lance. All those wounds were visible and tangible in Jesus’ glorified body.

Read More