Month: September 2015

On
Michael Lancaster

The school year is a time of new beginnings

We are a people of new beginnings! In our faith, this is manifest most directly in the sacraments.

In Baptism, we are reborn in Christ, washed clean of the stain of original sin, beginning anew in him. When we confess our sins in Reconciliation, we are forgiven, washed clean of sin, and begin anew in Christ. When we present ourselves humbly before the Lord and receive his body in Holy Eucharist, He enters our very being and creates us anew in him (2 Cor 5:17, Rev. 21:5). We are a people of new beginnings!

Read More
On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Chancellor Kevin Phelan retires, prompts changes in chancery

Kevin Phelan
Kevin Phelan Eric Schiedermayer William Yallaly

MADISON — Effective August 28, Kevin Phelan retired as chancellor of the Diocese of Madison, a position he has held since 2004.

Before he came to Madison, Phelan served as chancellor of the Diocese of Helena, Mont., for two years. In both dioceses he served as the sexual abuse victim assistance coordinator.

While thanking Phelan for his “faithful lay service,” Bishop Robert C. Morlino said “his departure both necessitates and allows for other changes at the diocesan level.”

The bishop said, “In order to address some of our current needs, as well as to bring our office in closer alignment with the curial structure provided in the Code of Canon Law, two major changes will take place at this time”:

Read More
On
Bishop-elect Robert Barron

Stephen Colbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Henry Newman, and the providence of God

Recently, Stephen Colbert gave an interview in which the depth of his Catholic faith was on pretty clear display.

Discussing the trauma that he experienced as a young man — the deaths of his father and two of his brothers in a plane crash — he told the interviewer how, through the ministrations of his mother, he had learned not only to accept what had happened but actually to rejoice in it: “Boy, did I have a bomb when I was 10; that was quite an explosion . . . It’s that I love the thing that I wish most had not happened.”

Read More
On
Ask IPS

Healing from an abortion takes time

Ask IPS

QUESTION: “I had an abortion some years ago. While I’ve been to therapy and looked to Project Rachel* for help, with all of the media hype about Planned Parenthood I’ve been having nightmares, flashbacks, and I’m just angry all the time. Will I ever find healing?”

RESPONSE: William McKenna, M.S., Clinical Extern at the IPS Center for Psychological Services

Read More
On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Witnessing to our faith through work

Work is part of everyone’s life, whether it’s paid or unpaid. Yet how often do we think about how we witness to our faith through our work?

As the editor of a Catholic newspaper, I have more opportunity than others to integrate my work with my faith. But it is still a challenge to keep a faith perspective in every aspect of my work.

For some insights on this topic, I recalled a statement made by the state’s bishops in 2001. It is called Making Wisconsin Work Well: A Labor Day Challenge by Wisconsin’s Roman Catholic Bishops (still available on the Wisconsin Catholic Conference website at www.wisconsincatholic.org and well worth another look).

Read More
On
Cathy Lins, For the Catholic Herald

Midwest Call to Chivalry camp held at Durward’s Glen

BARABOO — The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) is an organization of lay Catholic Americans concerned about the moral crisis shaking the remnants of Christian civilization.

Its origins date back to January 1971, when the first TFP members started to group around the publication Crusade for a Christian Civilization.

Today, with over 120,000 active members, volunteers, and donors, the TFP is on the front lines of the “Culture War,” peacefully defending the values of tradition, family, and private ownership.

Read More
On
Fr. Donald Lange

Labor Day reminds us that work is holy

Bill Droel, a Labor Day historian, wrote that Labor Day began in 1882 when machinist Matthew Maguire and carpenter Peter Maguire organized a worker’s parade in New York City.

Both were Catholic laymen who were active in the Knights of Labor, the first successful national union in our country. In 1894, Congress voted that Labor Day be a national holiday.

Read More