PORTAGE — A young man on a spiritual mission, biking across the state of Wisconsin for a higher cause, is undeterred by his cerebral palsy.
Christopher Pundzak is biking from the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill near Milwaukee to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, a distance of over 190 miles. He is on a mission is to raise awareness that the soul is stronger than the body and that we can do great things for God and others when motivated by love.
By 3 p.m., as the first Parish Mobile Food Pantry held at St. Mary of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Pardeeville began, the queue of people holding their empty bags and boxes already snaked around the parking lot.
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| Bishop Robert C. Morlino, surrounded by pro-life advocates, stands outside the Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin building in Portage to pray a Rosary. The Peace and Justice Committee at Immaculate Conception Parish in Portage has included pro-life efforts in its agenda for years. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) For more pictures click here. |
PORTAGE — Several dozen people, many from the Portage area and others who had come more of a distance to be present, gathered on the sidewalk in front of the local Planned Parenthood clinic on a main street here recently.
The April 26 prayer gathering, which featured a Rosary led by Bishop Robert C. Morlino, was one of the many pro-life efforts engaged in by members of the local parish. In fact, the St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish’s Peace and Justice Committee invites people of all faiths and denominations to gather outside the Planned Parenthood every second Tuesday of the month from 5 to 6 p.m. for prayer to end abortion.
This focus on the protection of the unborn is only a part of the parish’s broader acknowledgement of the importance of social justice in Catholic teaching.
“Social justice begins in the womb, and we start from there,” said Eileen Knecht, a member of the Peace and Justice Committee.
The belief human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society is the foundation of all the principles of Catholic social teaching, the U.S. bishops have said.
“It’s earthly pride that causes hatred and earthly pride that makes people feel that they are in charge of human life from conception to natural death — and we know by reason alone that God is in charge,” Bishop Morlino said during the prayer gathering.
Dominican Sister Theresa Ann Palmisano (Augustino), died Feb. 5, 2011, at the Dominican Motherhouse, Sinsinawa, Wis.
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish celebrated its 175th anniversary of parish life on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and though the snowstorm that dropped about 6.5 inches by the following afternoon kept some from attending, including Bishop Robert C. Morlino and the parish’s oldest parishioner, the event was well-attended according to reports.
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish began a year-long celebration of its 175th anniversary with a logo of the cross with the wording, “Our Legacy — Our Future.”
