WISCONSIN DELLS — Alice Heinzen, who along with her husband Jeff was a delegate to the Synod on the Family in Rome, will speak to priests of the Diocese of Madison when they gather for their annual Presbyteral Assembly from Sunday evening, Sept. 20, to Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
The assembly is an opportunity for prayer and fellowship among priests of the diocese, as well as time for education and reflection.
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| Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, talks with Jeff and Alice Heinzen of Menomonie, Wis., as they leave the morning session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican October 13. The couple are auditors at the synod. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) |
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholic couples who ignore Church teaching on contraception “don’t know what they are missing,” said a U.S. couple invited to address the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family.
Alice and Jeff Heinzen, family life leaders in the Diocese of La Crosse, spoke at the synod October 7, urging efforts to find new ways to share its teaching about the beauty of family life.
Although the couple has practiced Natural Family Planning (NFP) for 27 years and taught NFP — Alice is a member of the NFP advisory board for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — they did not speak specifically about family planning in their presentation to the synod.
MENOMONIE — Alice and Jeff Heinzen will not only be serving as auditors for the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family that Pope Francis has called for October 5 to 19 at the Vatican but also they will make a presentation before the general assembly at the historic event.
In their main role as one of 14 married couples from around the world selected to serve as auditors for the synod, the Heinzens will observe all of the general assembly sessions and participate in group discussions with the English-speaking delegates.
Sister Mary James (Alice Margaret Mary) Geenen entered Eternal Life February 20, 2012, the third child of Henry R. Geenen and Gladys Catherine (McCormick) Geenen. She was born March 31, 1919 in Freedom. She attended Saint Nicholas Elementary School. After graduating from high school she attended Saint Norbert College and Silver Lake College where she earned a BA Degree in Elementary Education with majors in Philosophy and English. She attended the University of Dayton earning a MS Degree in Elementary Education.
