I join my prayers to those of millions around the world, as we mourn the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. We are all grateful for his generous service to the Church, as a priest, theologian, professor, bishop, cardinal, and for his leadership of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith during the pontificate of Pope Saint John Paul II, and his fruitful years as our Holy Father, the pope. His leadership of the Church at the time of Pope Saint John Paul II’s death, the funeral, and the days leading up to the papal conclave particularly stands out.
Tag: Pope Benedict
Pray to Saint Michael the Archangel
Bishop Robert C. Morlino has asked that people in the Diocese of Madison pray for the triumph of good in our world and the overcoming of evil by praying the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel at all Sunday and Solemnity Masses in our diocese.
In doing some research (see www.catholic.org), I learned that Saint Michael the Archangel is the leader of all angels and the army of God. He has four main responsibilities, according to Scripture and tradition:
• To combat Satan.
• To escort the faithful to heaven at their hour of death.
• To be a champion of all Christians and the Church itself.
• To call men from life on Earth to their heavenly judgment.
Pray to Saint Michael the Archangel
Bishop Robert C. Morlino has asked that people in the Diocese of Madison pray for the triumph of good in our world and the overcoming of evil by praying the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel at all Sunday and Solemnity Masses in our diocese.
In doing some research (see www.catholic.org), I learned that Saint Michael the Archangel is the leader of all angels and the army of God. He has four main responsibilities, according to Scripture and tradition:
• To combat Satan.
• To escort the faithful to heaven at their hour of death.
• To be a champion of all Christians and the Church itself.
• To call men from life on Earth to their heavenly judgment.
We the people DO have a voice in protecting all life
To the editor:
I participated in the People’s Climate March in New York City on September 21 and was grateful to return to Madison to see the Voices page in the September 25th issue of the Catholic Herald.
Tony Magliano’s piece “The truth about climate change” cites Pope Benedict’s powerful and urgent statements re: the Church’s teaching on climate change.
Stephen Kent’s article “Why not us?” urges every Christian to be a light to the world despite the failures of our government and the UN to act on global issues.
Adjusting to the empty chair
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Dear Friends,
Last Thursday morning, as I was leaving Rome to return to Madison, Pope Benedict was still the Bishop of Rome and the Pope of the Universal Church; by the time I arrived in the United States in midafternoon, the Chair of Peter was empty.
Seminarian reflects on the final days of Benedict XVI
Editor’s note: This is the first of a series of reflections on recent events happening at the Vatican by Diocese of Madison seminarians studying in Rome.
As a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison, studying in Rome, the unexpected news of the pope’s resignation has dramatically impacted the life of the seminary and the spiritual life of each seminarian as we pray for His Holiness Benedict XVI, Roman pontiff emeritus, and the cardinals as they prepare to enter conclave.
From the moment we heard the announcement, the North American College seminarians were in abuzz talking about the Holy Father’s decision while trying to concentrate on studying and completing final exams which we were in the midst of taking.
Bishop’s statement on Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation
As news reports have indicated, Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign at the end of February. Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, has offered the following statement in regards to this development:
With the rest of you, I woke this morning to learn of the shocking, but not altogether surprising, news that our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, is resigning his service as the successor of St. Peter, Bishop of Rome. His announcement brings me sadness personally, as he is a hero to me and a great shepherd for the Church. I first met the Holy Father as Cardinal Ratzinger in 1983.
Popes talk about new approaches to the economy
To the editor:
Tony Magliano’s reflections on Pope Benedict’s Day of Peace message in the January 10 Catholic Herald is relevant to this time and place. As noted by the pope, inequality has been increasing for decades as a result of selfish and individualistic deregulation of financial markets.
Deregulation caused the financial crisis of 2008 and recession. Millions lost their jobs, families lost their homes, and $16 trillion in household wealth evaporated. But since then, 93 percent of new wealth has accrued to the richest one percent.
A week later followed the economic column in the Catholic Herald by Anthony Esolen about some of Pope Leo XIII’s views on socialism in his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. The pope denounced socialism because it deprives working people of the gains of their wages in the form of private property.
A call to study Vatican II
The Year of Faith was called for by our Holy Father to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council.
In the years following Vatican II, the council’s purpose and the documents it promulgated were poorly understood, leading to a vast range of interpretation and division. It is important to note that the “spirit” of Vatican II that is often referenced is none other than the Holy Spirit who has maintained unity and guidance to the Church and our Sacred Tradition both before and after Vatican II.
It is only fitting that our current Holy Father has called for this year as a year to revisit the Council and her documents and, as a result, grow in faith and in unity with one another under the guidance of the Holy See.
Decree Designating a Place of Pilgrimage for the Year of Faith and Determining Certain Days for Obtaining a Plenary Indulgence
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Whereas our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in the hope of arousing in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, of intensifying the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, and of encouraging the faithful to rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived, and prayed, has proclaimed a Year of Faith from October 11, 2012, to November 24, 2013;
Whereas the Apostolic Penitentiary has opened the spiritual treasury of the Church by granting a plenary indulgence to those who make a pilgrimage during the Year of Faith to a papal basilica, a Christian catacomb, or a sacred place designated by the local ordinary and there take part in some sacred function or at least pause in recollection for a suitable length of time with devout meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary or, depending on the case, to the Holy Apostles or Patrons;
Whereas the year of faith coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the erection and dedication of the Schoenstatt Shrine in Madison, where the faith of countless pilgrims has been nourished and deepened;
Now, therefore, I, the undersigned Bishop of Madison, hereby designate the Schoenstatt Founder Shrine at Schoenstatt Heights in Madison (5901 Cottage Grove Road, Madison) as a place of pilgrimage for the Year of Faith, and I exhort all of the faithful to make a devout pilgrimage there and to perform the devotional acts prescribed by the Apostolic Penitentiary.