Dear Friends,
For those who are willing to see, it doesn’t take much looking to notice the evil that surrounds us. Lies and deceit, violence and murder, hatred and malice, and more and more often, vice treated as virtue.
Tag: evangelization
We have a pope! Habemus Papam!
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| This column is the bishop’s communation with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
We have a pope! Habemus Papam! Last week, even as the Catholic Herald was finding its way to your homes, the Holy Spirit, working through the College of Cardinals, gave to us a new Holy Father, Pope Francis.
He is, as you have surely noticed on your own and through even the secular media reports, a “Pope of firsts” — he is the first Pope from the “new world” — an Argentinian, the first Pope who was trained as a Jesuit priest, the first Pope to take the name Francis — taking that name especially in honor of the much beloved (though often misunderstood) St. Francis of Assisi.
We are just getting to know our Holy Father, but already there is a great deal that sets him apart and helps us to know who he is.
Spreading the truth about the papacy
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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,
We are right in the midst of our Year of Faith and at the heart of an attempt to undertake what both Blessed John Paul the Great and Pope Emeritus Benedict have called us to — that is, a “New Evangelization.” And not only that, but we find ourselves in the era of a new pope. As I write this column the Conclave has yet to begin, but by the time you are reading it, it is quite possible that we will have a new Pope.
Prayers encouraged for Schoenstatt Sister of Mary declared ‘Venerable’
On May 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated the decree of heroic virtues of Sr. Emilie Engel, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary from Germany.
Engaging in work on the new and the old evangelization
This is the first in a series of articles to be published on the topic of engaging in the work of evangelization — old and new — and how to live out the Year of Faith by engaging in this most important task. Keep reading in the weeks to come!
We are three months in. This Year of Faith was called for with the hope of transforming our world and the lives of those living in it. What has happened?
- A synod of bishops and lay leaders in the Church met in Rome for a month to talk about the New Evangelization last October
- A few hundred people in the Diocese of Madison came out to hear Tom Peterson, founder of Catholics Come Home, speak in Madison this past November.
- A couple parishes in the area have invited back those who had fallen away from the practice of their faith.
- Catholic churches were packed on Christmas and were less than half full the following Sunday.
Vicariates Forane created in the Madison Diocese
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What is a Vicar Forane?
A vicar forane, sometimes called a dean, is a priest appointed by the bishop in order to promote a common pastoral activity in a region of the diocese and to provide spiritual and pastoral counsel to the other priests in that region.
History of Vicars Forane
The term “vicar forane” comes from Latin, meaning a representative (vicarius) who is outside (foras), because these priests were considered representatives of the bishop outside of the cathedral city. The office of vicar forane probably dates back to the fourth century when Christianity began to spread beyond the major cities to rural areas. Seeing the need to send representatives to these communities which had embraced the faith, bishops would send an “archpriest” with special delegation and responsibilities to act as a kind of overseer in the region who also was in charge of communication between the bishop and the local priests.
The 1917 Code of Canon Law mandated the establishment of vicars forane in every diocese. However, the understanding of this office experienced a pastoral renewal in the period following the Second Vatican Council. The fathers of the Second Vatican Council saw the vicar forane as a preeminently pastoral office, as a way to bring presbyters together in order to promote and direct a common pastoral activity in their territory. The 1973 directory for bishops likewise affirms the pastoral nature of the office and speaks of the vicar forane as one who animates and enlivens the local presbytery in pastoral action.
Facing the challenge of learning your faith
Dear Friends,
The week of Labor Day now having come and gone, schools everywhere are kicking into “high gear,” and thus it’s important that we remember to pray for all of our students. It’s also a good time for Catholic parents to remember to reapply themselves to educating and forming their children in the faith, and for all of us to support them! It is a large task, but one which will bear fruit for all of eternity.
Facing the challenge of learning your faith
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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,
The week of Labor Day now having come and gone, schools everywhere are kicking into “high gear,” and thus it’s important that we remember to pray for all of our students. It’s also a good time for Catholic parents to remember to reapply themselves to educating and forming their children in the faith, and for all of us to support them! It is a large task, but one which will bear fruit for all of eternity.
Next week I’ll be blessed to celebrate two Masses with students, one with students at the UW-Madison, and another which will gather together students from all of the Catholic schools in our diocese. I can’t wait to be with all of these young, energetic young people. Next week’s issue of the Catholic Herald will also focus on the 32 men who I call “my sons” in a particular way. In recent weeks I’ve also seen almost all of the seminarians head back to school — and I can certainly identify with those parents who are missing students, who are back in the dorms!
Bringing ‘drop-outs’ back: Everyone in the Church can make a difference
We hear these days that more people — especially young adults — are “dropping out” of organized religion. They say they are still “spiritual,” but they don’t want to belong to a particular church.
In the past, young people sometimes took time off from regular church attendance. There were those who shopped around at different churches to see what they were all about, but many of them ended up returning to the denomination of their youth.
Can’t have one without the other: Faith and good works are both essential
Over the years, Christians have had discussions — sometimes very heated arguments — about the primacy of faith or good works.
For Catholics, it’s really not one or the other that takes precedence. It’s both. In fact, according to Scripture and Church teaching, you can’t have one without the other.
As we begin the season of Lent, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the connection between faith and good works. Traditionally Lent is a time when prayer, fasting, and almsgiving take centerstage.