Tag: truth

On
John Huebscher

Human beings are not commodities

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

The cornerstone of Catholic social teaching is that human life is sacred. As such the Catholic Conference evaluates any law, policy, or program in terms of its impact on the life and dignity of the human person.

Teaching on the economy

Catholic teaching on the economy reflects this emphasis on the human person. Pope John Paul II put it quite directly in his 1981 encyclical letter, Laborem exercens. He recalled that the error of early capitalism can be repeated wherever humans are treated as mere instruments or means of production and not as ends in themselves.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

What the future really means

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino
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,

It is wonderful to be back in Wisconsin, though I am very grateful to have had a bit of time for vacation — where the weather was a bit different from our weather here and now. Nevertheless, it is good to be home!

I’d like to bring up here a very interesting phrase that has come to the fore in recent weeks in our national life.

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On
John Huebscher

WCC positions bring a nonpartisan view of hope

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

For those who engage the policies by which we govern ourselves, the beginning of an odd-numbered year is a time for defining a vision.

Governors set their vision with their state of the state message and their budget address. Legislators do it by their “priority bills.” The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) does so by sharing its Policy Positions for the new session.

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Clear ethical thinking and the tyranny of relativism

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

I once asked a young physician whether he had received any training in medical ethics during medical school. I wondered whether he had been taught how to handle some of the complex moral questions that can arise when practicing medicine.

It turned out that he had taken only one ethics class during his four years of medical school, and it was a rather loose-knit affair. For the first part of each class, he told me, students were presented with medical cases that raised ethical questions.

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On
John Huebscher

A Christmas gift: civility in public discourse

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

Anyone familiar with the recent election campaign or with the “reader comments” that accompany editorials and news articles knows that civility is often the first casualty in debates today.

Nearly anyone who makes a public argument finds his intelligence questioned, his motives impugned, or his basic decency assaulted. Some critics will even doubt the patriotism or Americanism of their opponents. Others call their opponents bigots or racists.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

We find Jesus in a concrete way in the Church

I hope each of you enjoyed a very blessed Feast of the Ascension this past weekend, and with you I continue to look forward to the Feast of Pentecost! I noted last week that we, as a Church, are already turned in our hearts and in our minds toward Pentecost and, certainly, with the Ascension of the Lord, we become even more alert in our anticipation of the descent of the Holy Spirit.

As we look at St. Luke’s description of the Ascension, we notice that, interestingly, the “two men clothed in white” who appeared to the apostles after Jesus ascended say to them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here, staring up into the heavens? This Jesus, whom you see, going up into heaven will return the same way as you just saw Him go into the heavens.” What does it mean that Jesus will return “in the same way?”

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Finding hope, healing in the Resurrection
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.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Speaking, hearing truth in health care reform

Dear Friends,

Two weeks ago I was very fortunate to be back on campus at the University of Notre Dame. Once and a while I take advantage of returning to that campus, where I spent a few years teaching philosophy and serving on the staff at Moreau Seminary (I always recall so very fondly the 11 years I spent on the college campuses, at Notre Dame and elsewhere.)

The following are the words I chose for the occasion, in celebrating the 10 a.m. Liturgy at the Sacred Heart Basilica on campus:

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