St. Peter's Church, Ashton, WI - celebrates 150th anniversary

St. Peter Parish is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year and held a Mass and dinner November 5 to mark the occasion.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino came to the parish, located in rural Dane County about 10 miles outside Madison, to celebrate Mass. Concelebrants included Fr. Brian Dulli, pastor of the parish, Fr. Laverne Meier, Fr. John Meinholz, and Fr. Henry Kalscheuer.

The parish has grown considerably since it was founded by 20 families as a mission church of Cross Plains and Martinsville. It currently has over 300 registered families.

“Many other people have been positively impacted by the Holy Spirit’s generous outpouring in Ashton,” said Father Dulli in his homily during the Saturday evening Mass which packed the church’s pews.

continue at MadCatHerald

more photos at madisoncatholicherald.smugmug.com

Bp. Morlino to lead pilgrimage to Rome, Fr. Z may be joining

I was alerted about pilgrimage being arranged by Bishop Morlino of Madison.

12-23 February.   Ash Wednesday is 22 February, this year.  A chance to be in Rome and maybe even catch part of the Holy Father’s walk (or glide?) from Sant’Anselmo to Santa Sabina?  22 February is also the Feast of the Chair of Peter, when the Vatican Basilica is all jazzed up.  I don’t know about how that will work with Ash Wednesday.  I am digging.

Trips like these are sometimes planned by dioceses to coincide with a bishop’s ad limina visit to Rome. The late scheduling of the spring ad limina visits for US dioceses resulted in a tight turnaround.

I’ve heard that the Diocese of Madison and organizers extended the sign-up period for a few days beyond their original deadline. Essentially, I think they need more people to sign up.

It seems to be a pretty good trip.  They did not bite off too much to chew.  They also included Orievto, which is always a treat.

You would meet the great Bp. Morlino, about whom I have written many times.  Of course it is also a working trip for him, but there will certainly be occasions.

Short notice, but if enough of WDTPRS readers sign-up, I will probably go too.

Call Toll Free: 1-800 515-2632

FatherZ

Madison Diocese Office of Worship issues correction on Communion

Don’t stop ordering sacramental wine or sell your common chalices! Bishop Morlino has not “outlawed” Communion under both kinds and he has stated that he never will. Currently there is no diocesan plan or timetable regarding the Communion Rite.

The reports from the Phoenix Diocese concerning the expiration of an indult regarding Communion under both kinds seem to have been mistaken. I have contacted the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship regarding this. While there was permission granted to the US Bishops for Communion under both kinds on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation (October 13, 1984), there was no time limit noted in the decree on file in the USCCB. My assumption is that this somehow was confused with another indult (regarding the purification of sacred vessels by EMHC) that expired and was not renewed around that same time. Unfortunately the internet has perpetuated this to the point that it is considered to be true, even though there is evidence to the contrary.

The current law (GIRM no. 283) is clear. The pertinent part says:

The Diocesan Bishop may establish norms for Communion under both kinds for his own diocese, which are also to be observed in churches of religious and at celebrations with small groups. The Diocesan Bishop is also given the faculty to permit Communion under both kinds whenever it may seem appropriate to the Priest to whom a community has been entrusted as its own shepherd, provided that the faithful have been well instructed and that there is no danger of profanation of the Sacrament or of the rite’s becoming difficult because of the large number of participants or for some other cause.

We tend to focus on the faculty “to permit whenever appropriate” and pass over “provided that the faithful have been well instructed and that there is no danger of profanation of the Sacrament…” The U. S. Norms (no. 24), which are the particular law for our nation, further state that the excessive use of EMHC, if it obscures the role of priest/deacon as ordinary minister of Holy Communion, may be a reason to limit Communion under both kinds.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal is available online at http://usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/roman-missal/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/ . The Norms for the United States are online at http://nccbuscc.org/liturgy/current/norms.shtml . Both also are published in the front matter of the Roman Missal, third edition.

I am hoping to outline some questions for reflection for pastors and liturgical leaders to reflect and evaluate on some of the “conditions” mentioned above (as well as some other items). This won’t be done immediately, but will be a priority. In the meantime, you are free to move on this as you wish. If you are not prepared to give a serious catechesis on this, my suggestion would be to hold off a bit until this first becomes clearer in your mind (through study and prayer). I am certain that the Bishop wishes to move in this direction. I am equally certain that he is desirous that it is done well so that it deepens, rather than harms, the faith of your people and the unity of the Church. 

the entire letter at Madison Diocese 

more details at Fr. Z's

Madison clinic offers free primary care for uninsured

MADISON (WKOW) -- A local clinic is offering free care for those without insurance.

Our Lady of Hope clinic holds walk-in hours for uninsured patients at least twice a week.

It's a unique approach called concierge medicine. Benefactors pay a set amount for healthcare year-round, which in turn, pays for the uninsured.

Doctors say they saw a need in the Madison-area. According to the latest statistics from the 2009 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, 9.4% of people in Wisconsin are uninsured.

In Dane County, the number is 6.8%. In Rock County, it's 9.8%. In Milwaukee, it's 12.9%.

Dr. Michael Kloess, who established the clinic along with Dr. Anne Volk Johnson, said, "The problem you run into, is they don't receive primary care. Then they end up in the ER, with a stroke, or a heart attack, which could have been easily prevented."

Kenneth Waites heads to Our Lady of Hope Clinic while he looks for a job. He said he lost his job last October, and along with that, his family's health insurance.

Waites said, "Without this place.. I don't know what I would have done. It's a god-send."

Bobby Peterson works for ABC for Health Inc, in Madison, a non profit public interest law firm that guides people through the healthcare system.

He says he's also seen the impact being uninsured can have on people.

Peterson said, "You delay going to see the doctor, and that leads to expensive care... We're still feeling the effects of the great recession.... so its tough out there."

Our Lady of Hope Clinic holds walk-in hours every Monday, Tuesday, every Thursday afternoon, and every other Friday morning.

Costs vary to be a benefactor, but it costs the average person about $1200 dollars. Costs are different for families and also depend on age.

There are other clinics in the Madison area that provide this care, and hospitals have programs for those who need help as well.

WKOW 27

Bp. Morlino to lead 40 Days prayer vigil Oct 18th at PP Madison

40 Days Midpoint Vigil with Bishop Robert Morlino
Tuesday, October 18 at 6:00 p.m.

As a firm supporter of 40 Days for Life, Bishop Robert Morlino will offer us some spiritual encouragement and lead us in prayer during our candlelight midpoint vigil at the vigil site on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood (3706 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704). On Tuesday, we will be halfway through our 40 Days for Life campaign. Now is the time to refuel spiritually for the second half of the campaign. Join us and Bishop Morlino in prayer.

Bp Morlino continues local managment of CCHD funds

Each year, parishes take up a special collection, in November, for the Catholic Campaign Human Development (CCHD). CCHD is the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic bishops.

CCHD works to break the cycle of poverty by helping low-income people participate in decisions that affect their lives, families, and communities. Half of the funds collected for CCHD stay in the diocese for programs in the diocese and the other half is dedicated to national projects/programs.

While many seek out answers to questions arising with regard to organizations previously assisted through the CCHD collection, Bishop Morlino has assured the Diocese of Madison that until he is personally confident that funds collected from the faithful of the Diocese of Madison will not be used to fund groups which violate the teaching of the Church by their policies, and he will continue to seek out other helpful ways to assist those in need.

• In 2008, Bishop Morlino dedicated the national portion toward the assistance of the victims of Hurricane Ike, through the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

• In 2009, Bishop Morlino dedicated the national portion to support the work of the Little Sisters of the Poor and their international outreach to the elderly.

• In 2010, prior to the full body of the USCCB discussing the funds and future of CCHD, Bishop Morlino decided that the national portion of the collection would go to benefit the work of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR), led by Fr. Benedict Groeschel. Central to the CFR mission is to serve the materially poor, most especially the destitute and homeless. “We know Fr. Benedict and the CFRs to be unreproachable,” said a statement from the diocese.

It is the bishop’s hope that this coming year will find an even greater number of the faithful prepare to give generously to the local CCHD collection, as well as a greater outreach of service in love to those in need.

details at MadCatHerald

NCReg: Unions and the Church: Lessons Learned From Wisconsin Battle

MADISON, Wis. — The recall contests in Wisconsin this summer set a national record — an indication of how deep feelings run in the state.

The last recall elections ended Aug. 16 with Republicans still holding the state Legislature. But the partisan battle over the fate of pensions, benefits and collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions created painful divisions even among Catholics — and that still needs pastoral and catechetical attention.

Wisconsin’s Catholic bishops say it’s time to set aside the political divisions that have divided parish communities and even some families.

Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison has invited his flock to reconcile their differences. But he also suggested that the lingering tensions marked an unsettling truth: For many of the faithful, partisan loyalties trump Catholic teaching.

“This is a profound pastoral problem,” he said. “When the objective truth of faith is subordinated to political concerns, I am not free to teach the faith and instead get categorized as a Republican or a Democrat.”

While “the bishops of Wisconsin took a neutral position on the issue, Archbishop [Jerome] Listecki of Milwaukee rightly chose to emphasize workers’ rights in his own statement, while I chose to emphasize the principle of fairness. The media and local politicians decided he was pro-union and I was anti-union,” recalled Bishop Morlino. “In other words, politics wins the day.”

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/unions-and-the-church-lessons-learned-from-wisconsin-battle/#ixzz1VaW2VzaK

The divide amongst Catholic was there before the public union debate and it will be there afterwards as well.  It's too bad the left was unable to present a reasonable argument on the matter because I was listening. 

Bishop Morlino: gauging ‘quality of life’ an excuse to ‘pull up the hearse’

Although framed as compassion, determining end-of-life procedures by evaluating “quality of life” merely discourages vulnerable persons, making them more likely to submit to a hastened death, according to the Catholic bishop of Madison.

“When we start evaluating the quality of somebody else’s life, that means we’re asking them to pull up the hearse. Get the hearse ready,” said Bishop Robert Morlino at a bioethics conference at Christendom College this month.

“So often people want to die because as they see what’s going on around them they see everybody as rather anxious for the hearse, and they figure maybe I’d better get out of everybody’s way.

“If every human person has irreducible, unrepeatable human dignity, then no human life could ever be a burden.”

The Wisconsin bishop criticized the premise, championed by the “right to die” movement, that assisted suicide represents a victory for personal autonomy.

“Why do they feel like a burden? Everyone is telling them how wonderful they are and how precious they are, but that’s not the action ... the sick person might hear somebody whisper, ‘What’s the number of that funeral director? - You are so precious!’ Those kinds of things happen,” he said.

The rest at LifeSite

Photo

St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church, ora pro nobis!

 "Know also that you will probably gain more by praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than by all the other spiritual exercises of the day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, 'Ask, and you shall receive,' but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace."

"Certainly amongst all devotions, after that of receiving the sacraments, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds first place, is most pleasing to God, and most useful to ourselves. Do not then, O devout soul, refuse to begin this devotion; and forsaking the conversation of men, dwell each day, from this time forward, for at least half or quarter of an hour, in some church, in the presence of Jesus Christ under the sacramental species. Taste and see how sweet is the Lord."

"The sovereigns of the earth do not always grant audience readily; on the contrary, the King of Heaven, hidden under the eucharistic veils, is ready to receive anyone…"

- St. Alphonsus Liguori

It also happens to be the 8th anniversary of Bishop Morlino’s installation as 4th bishop of Madison.

PS> Is anybody else worried Bp. Morlino might go to the vacancy in Denver?

US Catholic: In defense of Wisconsin public sector unions

The question in Wisconsin was whether public employees should have the same right to collective bargaining as employees at private companies. The 1935 U.S. National Labor Relations Act officially recognized the right to collective bargaining for private-sector workers. Critics argue that public employees inherently have more leverage than employees of private businesses. Public employees can elect their own bosses. What’s more, public-sector workers won’t moderate their demands for fear that their employer—the government—will go bankrupt in the same way that private-sector employees must do.

“One has to make a distinction between unions as they were conceived in social teaching and unions that exist on the basis of taxpayer funding,” says Patrick Carey, professor of theology at Milwaukee’s Marquette University.

.....

The following day, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison issued a clarifying letter. Listecki and the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, Morlino wrote, had taken a neutral position, neither supporting the governor nor supporting the unions. He quoted Pope John Paul II’s Laborem Exercens: “Just efforts to secure the rights of workers who are united by the same profession should always take into account the limitations imposed by the general economic situation of the country.”

Right-wing bloggers praised Morlino for reining in the Wisconsin Catholic Conference’s support for the unions. The media cited his comments as evidence of divisions within the hierarchy.

“People may say the bishops cherry-picked from the encyclicals,” says John Huebscher, executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference. “The answer is to urge people to go read the encyclicals for themselves.”  [Isn't the bishops' office a teaching office?]

“As Catholics have become more affluent, the church’s teachings sometimes bump up against a Catholic’s economic self-interest,” says Huebscher of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference. “So the church has a greater challenge in teaching.”

Huebscher thinks the church is teaching the social encyclicals, but the evidence is sketchy. “How many laypeople have ever been taught anything about the Catholic encyclicals?” asks Marquette’s Carey.[We know all Marquette grads have Humane Vitae memorized] “It doesn’t surprise me that Catholic laypeople don’t necessarily support unions. The culture can teach more easily by osmosis than the church can.”

“When I talk with priests around the country, they say the church’s social teaching is the subject they feel least comfortable addressing,” says Father Bryan Massingale, associate professor of theology at Marquette.[Less comfortable than gay marriage apparently] “They tell me their two weakest courses in seminary were homiletics and social justice.”

entire article at US Catholic

US Catholic = NC Reporter.  Liberalism is their religion.  It is very telling that they are still trying to spin Listecki as unconditionally supporting unlimited bargaining for public sector unions, despite the fact Listecki clarified his own statement as neutral.  Count how many times Rerum Novarum is referenced without ever quoting it. 

Want to "get" Catholic Social Teaching? Read Regnum Novum, and check out Mr. Gutierrez' section on Catholic Social Teaching at Discerning Hearts.

Not discussed in the article was the public sector union's firm support of abortion, same-sex marriage, contraception without parental consent, and pornographic sex education beginning at early as kindergarten.

You think politics in Washington is bad?  Try politics within the Church!