Category: News

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Kat Wagner, Catholic Herald Staff

Apostolate summer outing brings friends together

Barbara Nelson, left, from the Wisconsin Veterans Home, and Marcella Canniff from Hustisford share a laugh together. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner)

WISCONSIN DELLS — From his smile to the story of persistence despite the struggles, it’s easy to see why Zachary Reetz is a champion.

In March 2007, at 14 years old, Reetz became infected with meningococcemia, a rare disease caused by a type of bacterial meningitis. He spent 161 days in the hospital and due to the infection lost both legs, all of his right hand, and a good portion of his left hand and suffered hearing loss.

But Reetz survived and became an example to others — those with and without disabilities. With prosthetic limbs, he rides a specially made bike, walks, hunts with his grandfather, goes camping, and attends school.

He was named by the Children’s Miracle Network as the 2009 Champion of Wisconsin and traveled to Walt Disney World and met President Barack Obama in March. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he was able to travel to Las Vegas and ride with his favorite NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon.

 

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald staff

New program for kids, by kids on Relevant Radio

MADISON — How many times do you hear teenagers talking about monstrances on the radio?

I don’t think this topic would come up on most radio shows for young people. But it was one of the topics discussed on an episode of USA Young Catholic, a brand new show airing on Relevant Radio 1240.

USA Young Catholic is a program for Catholic kids, by Catholic kids being produced at the Madison Catholic radio station. It’s a 30-minute show, airing Saturday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. It’s also currently playing in several other Wisconsin markets.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Focusing on rural life: Listening sessions planned

St. Lawrence Church, Jefferson
St. Lawrence Church in Jefferson is the site of one of the rural life listening sessions. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner)

MADISON — Catholic Charities’ new Rural Life Office will be holding listening sessions throughout the 11 counties of the Diocese of Madison.

“It will be an opportunity to help address the needs with rural pastors and work shoulder-to-shoulder with the farm community,” said Brian Cain, executive director of Catholic Charities (CC).

Tom Nelson, coordinator of the CC Rural Life Office, said there is a great need “to listen across the 11 counties to the many concerns and challenges of farmers and farm families and all those who are impacted by the financial crisis across all segments of agriculture in our area.”

Need for food

With an ever-increasing worldwide need for food, Nelson said “it is alarming to watch the continuous eroding of our farming base across the bread/corn basket of our nation as farmers lose their family farms to financial failure, all the while being more productive than ever before.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Prayer and action urged on health care reform

MADISON — A group of concerned citizens in the Diocese of Madison is urging prayer and action to assure that national health care reform legislation respects the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.

“For the sake of babies, the chronically ill, the developmentally disabled, the frail elderly, and the American people if life-ending measures are included in governmental policies, we are urging people to pray for the Precious Blood of Jesus to pour over our nation and this effort,” said Deacon Jack Fernan of Madison, one of the organizers of the effort.

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Bishops respond to contraception provision

Wisconsin’s bishops have called a provision in the recently enacted state budget that mandates health insurance policies cover contraceptive services as “blatantly insensitive” to the moral values of Catholics. The bishops commented on the provision in a letter to Catholics. The letter is being distributed to the state’s diocesan newspapers.

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