MADISON — Fr. John Thomas Fitzgerald, a retired priest of the Diocese of Madison, died on Saturday, Aug. 21.
Tag: priest
Local men sponsor six seminarians at World Youth Day
The ways in which we act out our Christian charity in the Church, for the love of God and neighbor, is evident in a number of ways throughout a given year.
Often it is through volunteering at our parishes or parish-related projects — things we feel attached to and with which we want to assist in a specific way. Other times it is through monetary donations to similar local campaigns, projects, or funds, benefiting things that we know, in faith, we need to support. Always, it includes our prayers!
Two men to be ordained to the priesthood
With praise and thanksgiving to God, our Father, the Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, announces with joy the ordination to the priesthood of Jesus Christ of Rev. Mr. David Carrano and Rev. Mr. Gregory Ihm.
They make us proud!
This week two men will be ordained as deacons and in June, two others will be ordained as new priests for the Diocese of Madison.
Having met all four of these fine men, I can tell people that we are indeed fortunate to have such fine men willing to serve our diocese as priests. They make us proud!
On Friday, May 28, Bishop Robert C. Morlino will ordain Jorge Miramontes and Timothy Renz to the Order of Deacon. They will be ordained as transitional deacons, meaning that they plan to be ordained to the priesthood in the following year. On June 25, Deacons David Carrano and Gregory Ihm will be ordained to the priesthood.
Diocese celebrates priests
A diocesan celebration to mark the close of this Year for Priests will be held Sunday, June 20, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd., in Madison.
Priests: Chosen by Holy Spirit, working with Christ
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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,
Despite the continued focus on the horrendous crimes of a relatively few priests within the Church, we move forward, a people of faith, cognizant of the fact that our Church is made up of sinners — our priests and bishops included — but that each of us has faith that it is Jesus Christ Himself who founded this Church, for our Salvation, and that He has sent the Holy Spirit to protect His Church from “the gates of hell.”
No matter the sins of Her members, even the terrible sins of a few of Her ministers, the Holy Spirit remains with the Bride of Christ, to care for Her, to reconcile all Her members to Christ, and to grant us everlasting life.
As one Body, each member of the Church is affected when another causes injury. We all feel profoundly the wounds inflicted by a few, and we must do all that we can to bring healing to those wounded. I don’t know that I’ve experienced that empathetic pain in anyone more than in our good priests and bishops. And that brings me to the point of this column.
Finding hope, healing in the Resurrection
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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. |
On behalf of all the priests of the Diocese of Madison, and behalf of all my staff, I want to promise our sincere and continued Easter prayers, in this Resurrection season. Each one of you has our prayers for health, safety, and above all, deeper union with Christ. I beg you, too, to offer your Easter prayers for us, because each of us and our Church certainly always stand in need of prayer. I wanted to share with you here a few of the thoughts I offered at the Easter Vigil this year.
We celebrated Easter Sunday this year on April 4th — that day on which Christ was raised from the dead, the day which changed history forever. In some ways I had hoped to see some large signs and advertisements on Easter Sunday about how the Resurrection of Jesus Christ had happened and how we celebrated our new life on April 4. Instead, all the signs told me that April 3 was the launch of iPad! That tells me — and it should tell you — something significant about the mission that Jesus Christ places in our hands this Easter and everyday.
Thirty-five years a priest, 10 years a bishop
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Dear Friends,
2009 is a very special year for me personally, as, on June 1st I celebrated 35 years as a priest and, just this week, on September 21, I celebrate 10 years as a bishop. I was ordained the Bishop of Helena, Montana, in the Cathedral Church of St. Helena on September 21, 1999, the Feast of St. Matthew.
Priest’s abuse case being sent to Vatican
MADISON — The members of the Diocese of Madison’s Sexual Abuse Review Board have, after a preliminary investigation into the testimonies and facts surrounding an allegation of child-sexual abuse made against Fr. Joseph Gibbs Clauder, found the allegation to be credible.
Considering the Review Board’s findings, Bishop Robert C. Morlino has agreed with their evaluation and has referred this case to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), in Rome, for judgment.