PINE BLUFF — […]
Year: 2018
Breakdown of family, social media to blame
To the editor:
Again, in the wake of the terrible Florida school shooting, Mary Uhler talks about “common sense gun control.” I hear this phrase a lot, whether it’s TV, online, or print, but never hear any answers other than taking away Second Amendment rights.
Let’s take this a step further and start talking about controlling First Amendment rights; there is a lot of anger and hate on the Internet and social media these days, and our young people are exposed to it 24/7. How about the latest video games, that turn human lives into points for the participants?
Time to set aside politics and protect our children
They were looking for answers, not just platitudes, as a group of students and parents affected by school gun violence met with President Donald Trump on February 21.
Faced with the personal anguish wrought by the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead, President Trump pledged action, saying, “We don’t want others to go through the kind of pain you’ve been through.”
2018 Annual Catholic Appeal: ‘We Dare to Hope’
“In daring to hope, we express our faith and love in the Lord, and in daring to hope, we will find ourselves loving and caring for the spiritual needs of those in our diocese and elsewhere.”
Bishop Robert C. Morlino has chosen “We Dare to Hope” as the theme of the 2018 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA). …
America’s survey of women in the Church
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Last month, America magazine published a fascinating survey regarding the attitudes of women in the Church. They were kind enough to publish a few of my reactions to the study, but I would like, in this article, to offer a fuller response to their findings.
One of the most disturbing conclusions from the survey is that women are increasingly disengaging from the life of the Church. The America editors themselves observed that this does not bode well for evangelization, for women have traditionally played a crucial role in the passing on of the faith.
Merger of Catholic health care systems is off to a good start
MADISON — The merger of Catholic health care systems in Wisconsin and northern Illinois is off to a good start. “We are getting to know one another,” said Damond Boatwright, regional president of operations for SSM Health in Wisconsin.
In an interview, Boatwright discussed the recent transfer of the sponsorship of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Agnes (CSA) health care ministries to SSM Health. Agnesian HealthCare, based in Fond du Lac, and Monroe Clinic, based in Monroe, are now part of SSM Health.
Wisconsin is becoming battle ready!
If you’re looking to go deeper and grow stronger in your faith, to know more about your purpose and call to action as a Christian, or if you’re struggling to connect with your spouse, friend, or loved one about the faith, then you need to experience the BATTLE READY Rally!
A BATTLE READY Rally is a 90-minute talk on what spiritual battle actually looks like, how to identify it and prepare for it, and how to engage in it. These three components are key for those of us who are here on earth as the Church Militant.
Active shooter training held for diocesan staff
MADISON — With stories of workplace and school shootings making up the latest news headlines, the task of learning how to protect one’s self and save lives is gaining importance.
Staff members from the Diocese of Madison and other organizations in the Holy Name Heights building recently took part in active shooter training in order to be prepared to react to an event, if it should happen.
Make sure the devil has one hell of a Lent
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
And so, we begin Lent. It strikes me as though yesterday was Labor Day and yet, here we are. There was the possibility that Ash Wednesday might be overshadowed for some by the blissful celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.
However, a far more sinister overshadowing overtook them both. Once again, wonderful young people, with their whole lives ahead of them, were meaninglessly and horrendously slaughtered and injured. So many family lives were changed forever, and not for the better.
Sadness really hung around this St. Valentine’s Day. Deep sadness. And, if any good was to come from this sadness, I hope that it awakened our consciousness to Lent and to our own mortality and need for both repentance and salvation.
Confrontation with the devil
This past Sunday we heard that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, to be tempted by the devil (Mk 1:12-15). He drove Jesus out, into a face-to-face confrontation with him who is pure evil. This confrontation was therefore necessary for the sinless, only begotten Son of God.
And as we begin Lent, that tells us, in a way, that this confrontation with the devil is what Lent is all about. For while Jesus has the ultimate victory over the devil in the life to come, in this world the devil maintains his camp, and so we too must confront him.
A Lenten response to violence
It was interesting to see people with crosses on their foreheads in the crowds shown after the school shootings in Parkland, Fla.
Of course, the shootings occurred on Ash Wednesday, so some of the parents and other family members had gone to Mass during the day.
Is there a message for us? The more I thought about it, I think there is.