The Badger Catholic: February 2011

New Gamaliel Foundation director says "I'm too Catholic to be liberal"

In January, Garcia-Ashley was promoted to executive director of the Chicago-based Gamaliel Foundation. She's only the second person to hold that job in the 25-year history of the organization that once served as a training ground for a young Chicago community organizer named Barack Obama.

The job has put her organization on the radar screen of conservative critics of Obama, one of whom recently referred to Gamaliel as a "radical left-wing" foundation that "uses the tactics espoused by community organizing guru Saul Alinsky to incite church members to agitate for socialism."

She calls the socialism claim "very misguided, defamatory and untrue."

"We talk about social justice, not socialism," she says.

As for herself, she says she's not even a liberal. "I'm too Catholic to be liberal," she says.

In the face of such criticism, she's tasked with carrying out the new strategic plan for the group - getting networks going in all 19 states where the foundation operates. There's one already in operation, called WISDOM, in Wisconsin - that she helped create.

The rest at JSOnline

HT V

It just so happens that Gamaliel is also supporting pro-abort public sector unions in Wisconsin and their unlimited entitlement to bargain for benefits that are bankrupting the state. And of course they support taxpayer funded abortions of Obamacare.

NCRegister: Unions and the Church

Catholic auto workers listening to lecture
by priest in 1945 in Detriot, MI

This week, as union protests spread from Wisconsin to Ohio and Indiana — and, possibly, Oklahoma and Tennessee — Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, also issued a statement of “support for and solidarity” with the Wisconsin bishops’ statement on the rights of workers.

Bishop Blaire’s letter, released on Feb. 23, seemed to give additional weight to the rights of workers, within the framework of Catholic social teaching.

But the day after his letter was released, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison also issued a statement that made a point to describe the Wisconsin bishops’ position as “neutral.”

“Should one support or oppose the legislation which regulates union procedures? The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) has chosen a neutral stance because the present dilemma comes down to either a choice for the common good, of sacrifice on the part of all, at times that pose immense economic threats, both present and future on the one hand, and on the other hand, a choice for the rights of workers to a just compensation for services rendered, and to the upholding of contracts legally made,” wrote Bishop Morlino in a Feb. 24 column in his diocesan paper, The Catholic Herald.

“As Catholics, we see both of these horns of the dilemma as good, and yet the current situation calls many of us to choose between these two goods. Thus the WCC [Wisconsin Catholic Conference] has taken a neutral stance, and this is the point of Archbishop Listecki’s recent statement, which I have echoed,” said Bishop Morlino.

Union activists had embraced Archbishop Listecki’s statement as an endorsement of their cause. That view was echoed by The New York Times, which characterized the statement as a rebuke to Republican lawmakers, who contend that the partisan alliance of Democratic legislators and public-employee unions has resulted in untenable contracts that have busted state budgets during an era of declining tax revenues.

Last year, the Pew Center on the States underscored the scope of the problem: As of 2008, there was a $1 trillion shortfall between promised payouts by state governments to public employees and the funds actually available to cover pensions and benefits.

Julie Wolf, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, disputed the notion that the archbishop had taken sides in the standoff, describing his statement as non-partisan and “balanced. It reiterated Catholic social teaching on the rights of workers and asks for everyone to work for the common good.” But Wolf noted that her office had been fielding angry calls from “both sides” of the political divide.

A good writeup. The whole thing at NCRegister

Photo

Anyone who reads the WCC statement can see it clearly takes a neutral stance.

....... Okay, one possible scenario how this played out. WCC comes to Listecki with the statement minus the bit about labor unions are not always in the right. WCC spreads the word about the bishops are coming out supporting the rights of the public labor union in play in Wisconsin right now. Listecki properly interpreting Church teaching inserts the bit that "rights" of unions must be in accord with the common good. Statement goes to press and nobody in the main street media ever takes the time to actually read the statement. ..... that's one possibility. I'm not sayin that's the way it definitely went down. But it might have.

St Joseph Institute featured in Eau Claire paper

The Cor Jesu Oratory, also known as the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, is undergoing a makeover, and part of the building constructed in the 1860s will be used as a monastery for monks and nuns. The inside of the church is well-preserved. Above: The interior of the church remains much as it was when built, with hand-carved altars and other intricate woodwork.

Eau Claire LT

The Leader-Telegraph is charging for content? It's not exactly the Wall Street Journal. Time will tell if the model succeeds.

Nazareth Priest had one correction:

The sisters will live in the former school convent and the monks will live in the former rectory.

Nice, I see the Institute of St Joseph has spiffed up their website. I've met good and knowledgeable folks that belong to their lay movement. I still have yet to meet the infamous Nazareth Priest though.

Chicago Pro-Life Flash Mob

An email sent to Fr. Z

CHICAGO – A pro-abortion “Walk for Choice” rally was held in
downtown Chicago’s Daley Plaza on Saturday, February 26, 2011.
Participants of the “Walk for Choice” were protesting HR Bill 3
which limits taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.

As a response to the “Walk for Choice,” anonymous teens and young adults organized a “Pro-Life Flash Mob” over the span of a few
days. The goal of the event was not to counter-protest, but to give a
positive message of joy and life to Chicago.

The youth assembled inconspicuously around the plaza before the rally
hiding their giant yellow balloons in black trash bags. When the
“Walk for Choice” had assembled, the youth prompted by music
coming from a backpack sound system then proceeded to unveil the helium balloons imprinted with the word “LIFE.”

These exclusive videos shows the “Pro-Life Flash Mob” taking the
“pro-choicers” by surprise with Life, Spirit, and Truth!
As participants of the “Walk for Choice” were asked to wear orange for
the event, so the Pro-Life flash mob jovially asks in their sign:
“ORANGE YOU GLAD TO SEE US???”

Which side has more joy?

FANTASTIC! CHEWEY!!!

The full video is over at WDTPRS

Minnesota birth rate lowest in decades

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The tough economy may be tied to a sharp decline in the number of babies born in Minnesota.

State demographer Tom Gillaspy says the birth rate is close to being the lowest it has been in 100 years. He says people are saving their money and not spending on big ticket items - and what could be bigger than having a child.

There were about 67,000 births in Minnesota hospitals in 2009, a decline of more than 3,000 from 2007. Admissions at Children's Hospital was off by 10 percent last year, in part because of the low birth rate. The University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital also saw a significant decline in pediatric admissions.

Gillapsy tells the Pioneer Press the birth rate in Minnesota should start to grow in the second half of this year.

Winona Daily News

Pioneer Press says it's the economy

Photo

HT The wife

Elm Grove priest removed after molestation claim made

An Elm Grove priest has been removed from active ministry while authorities investigate an allegation that he sexually molested a minor in the 1970s.

Father Laurin J. Wenig, who denied the allegation, announced the move in a letter to parishioners at St. Mary's Visitation Catholic Church on Saturday.

The allegation was made to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's Victim Assistance office last week and turned over to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office to determine whether charges should be filed. If not, the archdiocese will mount its own investigation, said spokesman Jerry Topczewski.

The sex abuse claim is among a number of old allegations to emerge in recent weeks, likely in response to the archdiocese's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. Bankruptcy acts as a last call for claims against a debtor.

Earlier this month, the archdiocese restricted a retired priest from ministry after he was accused of abusing a minor years ago. The other cases filed with the archdiocese involved clerics already on its list of priests with credible allegations against them.

Attorneys for the victims say they have received dozens of new complaints since the bankruptcy filing.

JSOnline

When the goin get's weird.... it's time for Polka Friday!

I think it's time Polka Friday's make a comeback!

Friday Photo: Father Wild lookalikes

Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., is famous for his gold sweater vest, black coat and Roman collar — a sight familiar to any regular Marquette game-goer. And so he was dressed to the delight of cheering Marquetters on Feb. 19 for Father Wild Celebration Night at the Bradley Center. This time, the stands were filled with his trademark game-day look. Fans were also given Father Wild bobbleheads.

Marquette Mag

I think it's pretty funny. Female's wearing the collar, a little disturbing, but hey, it is Marquette. Better than burning popes in effigy over contraception or something.

Historical context of labor unions in Wisconsin

Wisconsin National Guardsmen at the
E.P. Allis Steel Works during the strikes of 1886

Our state's current dispute over public sector labor unions is only the most recent controversy in a series stretching back more than 150 years. The Milwaukee Ship Carpenters and Caulkers Association called one of Wisconsin's first successful strikes in 1848. Most early labor conflicts were over issues such as low wages, the withholding of pay, and hiring unskilled labor to replace craftsmen.

In 1863, for example, Milwaukee printers went on strike when women were hired as compositors at the Milwaukee Sentinel. The strike was unsuccessful and the women kept their jobs, though at wages only slightly more than half what their male predecessors had received. Workers, male and female, both lost.

During the 1880s, as talk of reducing the length of the workday intensified across the nation, workers in Milwaukee formed the Milwaukee Labor Reform Association to agitate for the eight-hour day. A two-year campaign to get employers to adopt a standard eight-hour day culminated on May 1st, 1886, when all workers not yet on the system were urged to cease work until their employers agreed.

Over the next five days, striking workers shut down industrial plants in Milwaukee with one exception -- the North Chicago Railroad Rolling Mills Steel Foundry in Bay View. On May 5th, a crowd of demonstrators outside the factory was attacked by troops called out by Governor Jeremiah Rusk. Five people were killed and four wounded.

While the massacre at Bay View did not end the agitation, it dampened momentum toward the eight-hour day. It also enabled the press to cast Governor Rusk as a national hero who had saved Milwaukee from anarchy.

Such simplistic caricatures often follow emotionally charged events. At times like this, it's helpful to remember that there are always more than two sides to any issue, even those that seem to quickly fall into "good guys vs. bad guys." Most policy questions are not two-sided but are irregular polyhedrons, and they change shape like amoebas as they unfold over time.

You can view more photos of historic Wisconsin labor actions at Wisconsin Historical Images.

Wisconsin Historical Society

The Catholic Time: Trusses fall, but Mosinee parishioners’ faith stands

MOSINEE – Sometime between 8 and 10 p.m. on Feb. 14 the recently erected trusses for the St. Paul Parish’s new church – which was expected to be completed by next fall – collapsed into a heap of twisted steel. “People are dealing with it pretty well,” said Father Don Przybylski, who has led the Catholic parish in this paper mill community along the Wisconsin River between Stevens Point and Wausau for the last 10 years. “They know that sometimes things happen like this with building projects; they’re rolling with the punches.”

Though the trusses have fallen, the cause of their collapse is still up in the air. Father Przybylski said significant gusts of wind were recorded at the Central Wisconsin Airport just outside of Mosinee that night, so the collapse might be due to severe weather. If inclement weather caused the collapse, St. St. Paul’s church building project would be covered through the diocese’s Catholic Mutual Group insurance plan, according to Sondra Rieder, diocesan finance officer. But if it was caused by faulty construction, then the contractor’s own insurance would kick in.

Rieder said a Catholic Mutual adjustor was assigned to the incident the day after it happened. “An engineer is also going to do a more thorough examination of the site,” she added. “Until that happens, we won’t be able to determine what caused the collapse.”

Travis Simpson, director of the diocesan Buildings and Grounds Office, has been guiding St. Paul’s through its building project from the start and said he expects the insurance matter to work itself out.

“The new trusses have already been ordered,” Simpson said. “This is probably going to set them back a month or more, but it will go forward and hopefully they’ll be happy in their new church. It’s a bump in the carpet; that’s about it.” Father Przybylski said he hopes Simpson is right. The new church has been a long time coming for St. Paul’s. Parishioners were already debating whether to build or remodel the old structure when he arrived at the parish a decade ago. The first fundraiser netted $1.7 million, and an anonymous donor kicked in another $1 million.

The “We Belong to Christ” capital campaign gave St. Paul’s 90 percent of the funds needed to complete the project – a requirement for diocesan building projects before they can break ground – and Bishop Callahan gave the go-ahead for the project last September.

St. Paul’s new church will seat 640 people with overflow seating for about 200 more and will incorporate many pieces of the old church, Father Przybylski said.
The Catholic Times

Time for a nap

I feel like I've been on the run for the last two weeks. Let's see what's on this Badger's mind.

I still have yet to write on my experience at Milwaukee's Men of Christ Conference(it was great). I also got to meet Dad29 who is neither as old or nasty as advertised. In fact I quite enjoyed the conversation. Weird Al Yankovic was involved.

Believe it or not, The Badger Catholic will soon have it's first sponsor. Well, besides the Friars of the Immaculate but their sponsorship is spiritual. Speaking of, Fr. Peter Fehlner, FI is now having his homilies recorded for viewing on AirMaria. What can I say, the man has a gift. I keep trying to make the MIM meetings, and something always comes up. I guess that's what perseverance is for. I still have yet to make a solemn consecration to Our Lady and I want to.

Planning on taking my infirmed grandma to Our Lady of Good Help this summer. She's suffered from Huntington's disease for 15-20 years. There's nothing but a miracle of the most impossible kind to see a turnaround. Praying for Sister Adele's intersession. If so inclined, please pray for us.

I'm thinking of creating a weekly digest of the news on the weekend. Either just posting on the blog with links to the big articles of the week or maybe via email. I usually don't post on the weekends anyway. Of course I think people prefer their anonymity... being associated with a vermin like me could do damage to their career.

"I'm a beast, I am, and a Badger what's more. We don't change. We hold on."- Trufflehunter in Prince Caspian, CS Lewis

Did you know Bucky Badger's full name is Buckingham U. Badger?

I was thinking of writing for CatholicTechTalk.com on techie kinds of stuff. Although, there's just so many hours in the day. I don't think there's too many here that care about Ubuntu or database programming.

I've got a massive project of rebuilding the La Crosse Cathedral website. The Cathedral parish's 150 anniversary is coming up soon... it's going to be a year long thing, I think we might be starting it in January of 2012. Maybe God will grant us a nice restoration of the church interior....

Baby number three coming soon. Maybe having a traditional Baptism.. but I'm reading up on the rite and it doesn't look like there is a litany of the saints? Maybe I'm missing it.

May God bless us all with a with a holy Lenten season.

Hard to believe Chesterton is not taught in public schools

"[No society can survive the socialist] fallacy that there is an absolutely unlimited number of inspired officials and an absolutely unlimited amount of money to pay them." - The Debate with Bertrand Russell, BBC Magazine, 11/27/35

HT Rita

It's going to be cold. Dress for the weather!

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has billboards up all around promoting its Titian exhibition. Somebody in Long Lake, near Wayzata, noting the nude portrayed in the ad, and the weather outside this month, decided to clothe the model and add an observation from her:

HT Stella Borealis

Did Adele Brise belong to a religious community?

While she was called 'Sister,' Brise was actually member of secular third order

While they were known as the Sisters of Good Help, were addressed as "Sister" and wore a modified habit, these women were not a religious community. They were instead a secular third order: non-vowed lay women who had chosen to live together, following, by most accounts, the Franciscan way of life.

(Adele called the Chapel, La Chapelle. The words Notre Dame de bon Secours, priez pour nous — "Our Lady of Good Help, pray for us" — were inscribed above the door of the 1861 chapel. Some translated secours as "health" and called the women the "Sisters of Good Health.)

In 1867, the women opened a school alongside the chapel. Two years later, they were advertising their boarding school, "St. Mary's Academy." They soon had many students, some of whom were orphans.

"Sister" Adele never took vows in a religious community, though some of her companions later did. The final two members of her group — Celina Londo and Cecilia Frisque — joined the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross at Bay Settlement in 1903.

The Bay Settlement Sisters took responsibility for the chapel and its school in 1902. They did so six years after Adele's death, at the request of Bishop Sebastian Messmer. They served there until 1992.

"Sr." Adele and her companions lived as a third order community. Third orders, sometimes called tertiaries, are lay people linked to a specific religious order, such as the Franciscans or Dominicans. When discussing religious communities, those in the "first order" are priests; "second order" are those who are cloistered; and "third order" members live "in the world."

More details at The Compass

She's still Sister Adele to me.

Rachel Campos-Duffy's New Real World

Though Rachel Campos-Duffy began her career in the public eye on MTV's reality series "The Real World: San Francisco" in 1994, she admits the network and media in general have traveled down a troublesome road during the intervening years. "There is a war, especially on young girls," said the mother of six children during a recent interview on the Christopher Closeup radio show. "There is a cultural pattern that is basically removing girlhood and pushing these kids into adolescence at a rapid rate. What's interesting about having an 11-year-old girl is being able to compare the cultural forces I was dealing with versus now."

Currently a stay-at-home mom and parenting blogger who recently wrote the book Stay Home, Stay Happy: 10 Secrets to Loving At-Home Motherhood, Campos-Duffy certainly doesn't believe in isolating yourself from popular culture. In fact, she's a frequent guest host on the ABC series "The View" where she freely voices her Catholic, pro-life beliefs. She also looks for positive elements in media, citing as an example some strong pro-life moments on the MTV series "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom." Campos-Duffy goes on to acknowledge that the program also has its down side because the featured teens "are basically shacking up in each other's homes in front of their parents."

Patheos

As you may know, she is Catholic from the Diocese of Superior.

HT Creative Minority Report

Signs, Signs, everywhere there's signs

The good guys are definitely winning the sign contest.

My favorite

Democrats, encouraging a culture of hatred since 1960.

Hahahaha, I thought you'd really like that last one.

Rape, Nazis, and Bambi? Wow, you guys got it goin on. It's just this reason that common people cannot support these hacks. They cant present themselves or their arguments respectfully. Anybody who disagrees is a Nazi. Yeah yeah yeah.

Source

HT Jeanne

Priests, seminarians renew rivalry of 'The Game' on ice

When nearly 200 priests and seminarians get together, an ice rink isn’t the most logical meeting place. But once a year in Winona, that’s exactly what takes place. In what is simply known as “The Game,” seminarians from St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona[That is SSPX btw] take on the priests from across the United States and Canada who studied at the very same institution.

It all happens at Bud King Ice Arena and is radically different from any high school, college or youth game that usually occupies the ice.

Since 1988, “The Game” has been the biggest rivalry no one really knows about in Minnesota — yes, the State of Hockey.

Let me tell you, it is a hockey game unlike any other. I witnessed “The Game” on Wednesday at Bud King Ice Arena and it left me, well, smiling.

“The game is pretty well known throughout our society of priests,” said Father Arnaud Rostand, who is stationed in Kansas City.

Every February, priests are summoned to Winona for annual meetings.

Back in 1988, Father Charles Ward wanted to add something extra to the meetings and came up with an idea that has turned into a tradition.

Ward decided to start an annual hockey game between the priests and the seminarians.

After arranging it with the District Superior, his dream came to fruition.

“The seminary was originally based in Richfield, Conn., and a lot of the seminarians out there played hockey,” said Ward, who now is stationed in Los Angeles. “When we moved here we found a way to keep playing.”

While some priests — their team is known as the “Flyin’ Fathers” — wear traditional hockey equipment, many are on the ice in their robes. Yes, robes.[Nope not robes, cassocks] Let your mind wander free for a moment and imagine that.

Robes are not likely going to turn into the latest hockey uniform craze, but hey, that’s not what this is all about.

It’s about fun, although both teams play to win.

“We just try to play a noble game with good sportsmanship,” Ward said. “We play because we love the game and for the rivalry.”

The rest at Winona Daily News

Can you imagine a German paper running a SSPX friendly article like this?

Marquette College and Gesu Church 1910

Wisconsin Historical Society

Bishop Morlino: Clarifying the fairness issue

Dear Friends,

Believe it or not, I frequently try to avoid weighing in-on certain situations. However, the recent happenings in our state capital with regard to legislation about labor union practices beg for a comment. In this column, I simply want to point out how a well-informed conscience might work through the dilemma which the situation poses.

Should one support or oppose the legislation which regulates union procedures? The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) has chosen a neutral stance because the present dilemma comes down to either a choice for the common good, of sacrifice on the part of all, at times that pose immense economic threats, both present and future on the one hand, and on the other hand, a choice for the rights of workers to a just compensation for services rendered, and to the upholding of contracts legally made. As Catholics, we see both of these horns of the dilemma as good, and yet the current situation calls many of us to choose between these two goods. Thus the WCC has taken a neutral stance, and this is the point of Archbishop Listecki’s recent statement, which I have echoed.

Full statement at Madison Catholic Herald

Fr Z also picked this up

Wisconsin Right to Life opposition to Personhood: full statement

WRLPersonhood

Forsythe slideshow

St. Polycarp, "Angel" of Smryna, ora pro nobis!

Polycarp was a disciple of St. John and was martyred in 155 at the age of 86. The account of his martyrdom is one of the earliest genuine lives of the saints. When, on account of his age he was encouraged to deny Christ and live, he said, "I have served my Lord for 86 years and He has done me no harm. How can I deny my King who saved me?"

This was his prayer at the stake as recorded in the Lightfoot translation of The Martyrdom of Polycarp:

O Lord God Almighty, the Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the knowledge of Thee, the God of angels and powers and of all creation and of the whole race of the righteous, who live in Thy presence; I bless Thee for that Thou hast granted me this day and hour, that I might receive a portion amongst the number of martyrs in the cup of [Thy] Christ unto resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and of body, in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. May I be received among these in Thy presence this day, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as Thou didst prepare and reveal it beforehand, and hast accomplished it, Thou that art the faithful and true God. For this cause, yea and for all things, I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, through the eternal and heavenly High-priest, Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, through whom with Him and the Holy Spirit be glory both now [and ever] and for the ages to come. Amen.

Sub Tuum

UK paper: the Catholic archbishop of Wis. has spoken out in support of trade union rights

While the US Catholic church traditionally sides with Republican interests in promoting a pro-life agenda, the archdiocese of Milwaukee threw its support behind the unions in the ongoing Wisconsin-based protests against the erosion of workers' bargaining rights.

While Archbishop Listecki acknowledges that not every claim made by a worker or their union is valid, he affirms the validity of unions by quoting Pope John Paul II, who wrote in 1981: "[A] union remains a constructive factor of social order and solidarity, and it is impossible to ignore it."

According to John Huebscher, executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, this statement does not represent a shift in Catholic teaching. "The bishops are merely reminding everybody of the teaching of the church, over the last century or more, of the dignity of work and the appropriate place for unions without giving them carte blanche to have everything they want."

Schultz observes: "Contrary to what you might be seeing on the nightly news, ordinary people here are not bitterly divided over the situation. We don't all agree, but hey, this is Wisconsin. We don't get too excited about it." Rabbi Bauer agrees there's unity around this cause. She proclaims, "The amount of support and effort that people have expended into this cause tells me that something is happening bigger than the bill."

During the 1960s, the University of Wisconsin-Madison gained a reputation as one of the nation's most radical campuses. But time will tell if this spiritual capital will morph into a bona fide grassroots movement that like the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 60s will actually bring about lasting social change.

The Guardian

Confessions of a Catholic Teacher in a Public School

Signs carried by pro-union Leftists
at Madison, WI rally advocated rape
of conservative women

At a very young age, I used to go to school with him[his father, a public school teacher] - sit in the back of his class and do puzzles, color pictures, etc. In hind sight, I don’t know whether it was on my own days off of school (I was in Catholic school at the time) or what; but I distinctly remember going. One winter morning, I asked if I could go, and for the first time he said, “No. It isn’t safe.” My mom tried to explain to me later what a “strike” meant; none of it made sense to a five-year-old. In the end, she resorted to telling me what was “not safe” about going in. You see, my father was one of a handful of teachers that crossed the line. Every day when he went to school, they would shout, often profanity - things a five-year-old should not have to hear. It was not uncommon to have things thrown at the car - things a five-year-old should not have to see.

At the hight of the strike, a friend of the family drove up our driveway and blew out a tire on bent nails that had appeared overnight. Every morning, my father would go out and make sure there weren’t any more. Mom was afraid that us kids would find and get hurt playing with them. I don’t know if my parents tried to hide these things from us, but we knew. At least, I knew. Before we left for Florida on spring break, my parents received an anonymous phone call threatening: “We know you’re going to be away for a while. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of your house.”

After the strike was over, there were those who continued to yell, telling my father that he would “never be anything in this district,” and that they hope he “enjoys the raise they got him.” The raise amounted to a couple hundred dollars a year. Year later, there were people who wouldn’t look him in the eye. When our family finally moved into the district and we kids attended the schools, there were teachers who were deliberately unfair to me - even at a young age I knew it.

During the entire course of events, my father never spoke much. I asked him years later why he crossed the line. I wan’t questioning, mind you; somehow I knew what he did was the right thing. I simply wanted to hear what he had to say. He told me in no uncertain terms. “I thought we made enough money, and I didn’t think my students should be without their teacher.”

full article at Roma locuta est

HT Kim

Bp Morlino to clarify bishop's position on unions in tomorrow's Madison Catholic Herald

My Emphasis

Clarifying the fairness issue

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.

...

The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) has chosen a neutral stance because the present dilemma comes down to either a choice for the common good, of sacrifice on the part of all, at times that pose immense economic threats, both present and future on the one hand, and on the other hand, a choice for the rights of workers to a just compensation for services rendered, and to the upholding of contracts legally made. As Catholics, we see both of these horns of the dilemma as good, and yet the current situation calls many of us to choose between these two goods. Thus the WCC has taken a neutral stance, and this is the point of Archbishop Listecki’s recent statement, which I have echoed.

...

I believe that the final question boils down to: is the sacrifice which teachers and other labor union members are called to make fair?

The problem with responding to that question, of course, is that there appears to be no common ground in terms of what the word “fair” actually means among various individuals. Some believe that “a fair solution” would require sacrifice from everyone but self. The relativism of our culture and society once again does us grave harm, because the cultural response to the question of the meaning of “fair” is, “well, what’s fair for you is fair for you and what’s fair for me is fair for me,” leaving us no common ground for reasonable and civil discourse. We are left with our emotions about the word “fair.” This, then, is a moment in our state and in our nation when the terrible effects of relativism on a culture are being blatantly displayed.

The article in full will appear in tomorrows Madison Catholic Herald

Bravo Bishop Morlino. With all the spin and confusion this was a fantastic clarification. Make sure to check out the entire article tomorrow.

Gwen "Ramen Noodles" Moore is Marquette alumnus

Let's see, who did they bring into their Law School to promote a common sense comeback?

....

Oh yeah, that's right.

AoftheA

Pres Wild to decide whether to extend Marquette U benefits to gay & lesbian partners

Mother Theresa at Marquette U in 1981

In its monthly meeting yesterday, the University Academic Senate voted on important motions concerning the extension of benefits to domestic partners of university employees and the inclusion of senate members in meetings held by university higher-ups.

The first motion concerned “legally domiciled adults,” the domestic partners of Marquette faculty, staff and administrators, and their university-funded benefits.
Marquette currently extends benefits to spouses, dependent children and those “faculty and staff who reside in domestic partnership arrangements not defined by marriage are therefore not eligible for benefits,” according to a report done by Lisa Hanson, an associate professor of nursing.

While there was some discussion over the definition of “legally domiciled adults” and the overall cost to the university of extending more benefits, the motion passed.

The motion asks University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild to put such measures in place by the start of the 2011-’12 academic year.

Senate chair Christine Kreuger, an associate professor of English, clarified concerns of some senate members about the wording of the motion and whether it was intended as an order to Wild.

“What comes out of the UAS is not a command,” Kreuger said. “The UAS is an advisory body.”

Marquette Tribune

The Deaon's Bench rips Cardinal Burke?

I know that mine didn’t.

Uber-traditionalist Cardinal Raymond Burke ordained three new deacons for the Institute of Christ the King at their seminary near Florence on January 30th.

You can see more snapshots and learn more at the New Liturgical Movement website. A cappa magna was there, too!

Meantime, want to sample something 180 degrees from the above? To get an idea of just how wide-ranging our Catholic liturgy can be, check out this report from CNS, with an audio dispatch from Barb Fraze, sharing some of the jubilant bongo-banging mass of Kenya.

Further proof, if any were needed, that it’s a big church.

The Deacons Bench

He didn't clarify in the comments if he intended it to be an "insult" or not(or maybe just a jab). The Institute requested he do the ordinations in the old rite and provided for him vestments. Should he have said no? I think the term "uber-traditionalist" would be in the same spirit as calling the opposite a "liturgical hippie." Of course I do call people liturgical hippies(and don't necessarily see anything wrong with jabbing those we disagree with), but the point is I didn't know Deacon Kandra was against tradition.

... Kandra also encourages us to pray for the devil?

This day in history....

Today is the Feast of the Chair of Peter. On this date in 1995 Raymond Leo Burke became the Bishop of La Crosse Wisconsin. Would you please keep this prince of the Church and all Catholic priests in your prayers?

~ From Catholic Word

HT SB

Milwaukee born Dominican devoted to Catholic education dies

A truly great teacher, Fr. Kurt Pritzl, O.P., died last night. Born in Milwaukee, he was a product of Catholic schools there and dedicated his life as a Dominican priest to just that — Catholic education.

I was blessed to have him as a professor while I was a student at the Catholic University of America, where he would become dean of the School of Philosophy, and he has been a kind influence in the years since.

Besides his dedication to the Church and learning, Fr. Pritzl was a man so full of life. Even in the midst of illness, whenever I encountered him or corresponded with him, he seemed to be running on the Holy Spirit — his energy and presence was beyond anything of this world.

Fr. Pritzl continues to inspire, as he, I pray, is in the warm embrace of the Father he so loved and brought so many closer to through knowledge, faith, and love. Most especially love. Everyone was his brother and sister in Christ and it was probably hard not to notice that — in his presence, in his words, in his thoughtfulness. In the faith he lived and exuded.

Fr. Pritzl leaves us this with this, from a homily to a gathering of CUA in that beautiful crypt church next door, on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas last year:

Saint Thomas Aquinas’ life in its holiness shows us that love, real love, divine, unconditional love, actually happens in human lives. God grant that it happen in our lives, even in our lives here together in this university, for as long as we are granted to stay here.
I’m confident I saw a similar display in another teacher, who died last night …

Rest in peace, Fr. Pritzl.

Heaven is what he lived for.

CatholicVote: Kathryn Lopez

I guess for some, education is more than the money, more than self centered interest.

Virgin cures 3 year old boy of leukemia in Nov 2010

CHAMPION — Patti Nguyen said she wept for joy Dec. 8 when Bishop David Ricken declared the apparitions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help as worthy of belief. She was one of some 250 people attending the Mass.

"I was so delighted because it was so long overdue," she told The Compass. "I just knew all along it was sacred ground and that Mary had appeared there. I always believed that."

Her belief was only reaffirmed last November when her 3-year-old grandson, Joe Anderson, was miraculously cured of leukemia.

According to Nguyen, Joe was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia on July 20, 2010. "Jennie (Nguyen's daughter) came home from work one day and (discovered that) both of his legs were black and blue," she said. "She took him to the doctor right away and asked that he be tested for leukemia."

Joe was immediately admitted into St. Vincent Hospital, where he spent most of the next seven months being monitored and receiving chemotherapy.

"Towards the end of the summer, the doctors thought he might need a bone marrow transplant," said Nguyen. Tests were administered in Green Bay and the family drove to Milwaukee to meet with specialists to discuss possible procedures. "The doctor drew diagrams on a blackboard to tell us what would be done," she said. "It was a dangerous procedure."

According to Jennie Anderson, she and husband Kelsey agreed to have Joe undergo one more test, called a bone marrow aspiration. That test would determine "whether or not to move forward on a transplant," she said.

On Nov. 13, one day before Joe was to undergo the bone marrow aspiration, Nguyen decided it was time to make a trip to the shrine. "I said, 'Let's take Joe to Our Lady of Good Help.'"

Up until then, a visit to the shrine was impossible, said his mother, because Joe's immune system was compromised due to the chemotherapy.

Nguyen said her grandson has always displayed a belief in God.

"From when he was little he knew how to pray," she said. "When he prayed, his eyes looked like he was putting his heart into it. He'd walk around carrying a little cross and he slept with the little cross at night."

She noted that Joe was born on May 13, the anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.

Nguyen drove to the shrine with her daughter Jennie, son-in-law Kelsey, and grandchildren Joe, Krista and Kayla. "Because it was near bedtime, we only said one decade of the rosary" in the crypt, she said. "We also went up to the main (chapel) altar and I showed Joe the statue of the Blessed Mother.

"Down in the crypt, Jennie said to Joe, 'Ask Jesus to help you get better,' and Joe said, 'Dear Jesus, please make me get better.' I know he had all of the faith he needed for that prayer.'"

The following day, Joe underwent tests at St. Vincent Hospital. The results came back the next day.

"Dr. Jon Brandt called Jennie with the results and said, 'There are no leukemic cells in this boy's body,'" said Nguyen. "Then we were all crying tears of joy. Every time we tell anybody this story I get goose bumps all over again."

"They were saying he had no leukemia left" in his body, added Anderson. "Basically he received his miracle."

Before leaving the hospital that day, Joe's mother noticed her son next to a statue of the Infant of Prague located on the hospital's 10th floor. "His mom asked him, 'What are you doing? And he said, 'I'm sitting by Jesus.' Then he smiled and he said. 'He healed me.'"

Nguyen said Joe left many people at St. Vincent Hospital astounded and happy. "There were a lot of people whose faith was strengthened through all of it, including all of us," she said.

Nguyen reports that Joe is "doing wonderfully well. His hair is starting to grow back a little." He completed his final chemotherapy session in early February.

"They continue with treatment even though they can't visually see cancer," said Anderson. "They just want to make sure they are getting all of it in the body.

"Joe's leukemia, the kind he had, was extremely aggressive," she added. "Typically it's found in like 65-year-old men or older. He was given a 50/50 percent chance of survival. ... We know that God healed him. We were totally confident that God would give Joe his miracle and that's what happened."

The Compass

HT http://goodhelppilgrimage.com/

Have to admit even the BC got misty eyed. That was only 3 months ago. .... uh, strange that they continued the chemo.... I mean, he was miraculously cured right? Even after that their doctor didn't believe? ....Um, science didn't cure this boy, Jesus did at his mother's Shrine. I can just hear the doctor... "well, let's just make sure." Obviously the parent have to trust the doctors advice, but did doc not get it? Maybe I don't understand leukemia. Are the tests done not conclusive?

Pro-Life Wisconsin statement on Personhood

Pro-Life Wisconsin is deeply saddened by Wisconsin Right to Life’s February 15 position paper vowing to oppose any effort to grant Wisconsin’s pre-born babies full constitutional rights as persons. The pro-life movement is founded on the bedrock principle that all human beings, at all stages of their biological development, deserve full protection under the law. WRL admits that their legal reasoning for opposing a state personhood amendment is speculative. Not knowing how the courts will react to a state personhood amendment, and with abortion on demand the legal status quo in Wisconsin, why oppose proactive people of good will endeavoring to provide full and lasting legal protection for preborn children?

We remain committed to constitutionally protecting Wisconsin’s preborn children, regardless of opposition from the abortion industry or from within the right to life movement. If you have further questions, please contact Pro-Life Wisconsin at 262-796-1111.

HT SK

I do have those WRTL docs, I'll have to just post them on one of my websites. Maybe I can do it via Google docs....

WDTPRS Spiritual Bouquet for Pope Benedict for St. Joseph’s Day (19 March)

Think of the great cares the Holy Father bears in his heavy mandate as Vicar of Christ. He has need of our prayers to help him be strong and to guard him from his enemies.

I propose to all readers here a Spiritual Bouquet for Pope Benedict with a ending date of 19 March, the Feast of St. Joseph, which is the Holy Father’s baptismal “name day”. Since we are beginning on 19 February we have about a month.

Many of these works also gain an indulgence under the usual conditions.

If some of the options don’t seem exact enough for what you have done, that’s okay. This isn’t a scientific poll. It is a spiritual bouquet. Just find the option that best describes what you did to participate.

WDTPRS SPIRITUAL BOUQUET FOR POPE BENEDICT XVI (ending 19 March - St. Joseph's Day) - You can choose more than one. Once per 24 hour period (since the last time you chose).

Go to Father Z's if you would like to participate.

Marquette to provide domestic partner benefits for gay and lesbian faculty

At 4:15 today, the University Academic Senate is scheduled to take up a committee proposal to provide gay and lesbian "partners" of Marquette faculty and staff the same benefits and married spouses.

We won't be there, unfortunately, since Political Science is hiring and our candidate is doing a job talk.

It's virtually certain that the proposal will be approved.

Not only is the Marquette faculty generally liberal and rather secular, the faculty politicians in the Academic Senate are even more so.

A committee considering the issue voted 7-2 in favor of domestic partner benefits.

The vote will be a show of hands, so expect any members of the Senate who have reservations to be very reticent to show opposition.

The gay lobby on campus has shown itself willing to attack and demean those who oppose its agenda. It will be a real show of courage if even a substantial minority of members vote against the proposal.

Marquette Warrior

It has yet to be seen if any Catholic with veto power will speak up.

HT V

SupCathHerald: 588 miles, 3 sacraments, 2 days

The head of an organization or company is bound to busy, but two days with Bishop Peter Christensen reveals the variety of pastoral, liturgical and administrative aspects to the job of shepherding the Diocese of Superior. The bishop celebrated two Masses, administered three sacraments and covered 588 miles of road — all in the space of 36 hours.

4:30 p.m. Arrive in Medford.

5:25 p.m. Baptism at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary parish in Medford.

As the tenth child of Karl and Ann Mahner and the 50th grandchild of Lee Mahner, Markus Peter Mahner has the honor of being baptized by Bishop Christensen.

6:23 p.m. Following the baptism of Markus, Bishop Christensen surprises the evening religious education classes at Holy Rosary with a visit.

In each class, the bishop gives an impromptu lesson based on the theme of the evening from the Beatitudes to miracles to the Eucharist.

In one class, the bishop asks, “Do you believe in miracles?” Most of the classes answers in the affirmative, while one eighth-grade In one class, the bishop asks, “Do you believe in miracles?” Most of the classes answers in the affirmative, while one eighth-grade boy says, “No.”

Bishop Christensen is not deterred: “You know what’s going to happen? God’s going to get you in some way, and then you’ll say, ‘Oh yes, I get it.’”

In another eighth-grade class, Bishop Christensen asks, “You know what I think about eight-graders?”

“We’re cool,” a teenager girl responds.

“You’re the coolest people in the world, and if you can match that coolness with faith, you’ll amaze the world,” Bishop Christensen says.

The whole thing at Sup Cath Herald

Photo: Mary Gibson

.....cool!

Madison Knights of Divine Mercy Mens Retreat March 4-5

The Office of Evangelization and Catechesis and the Knights of Divine Mercy invite all Catholic men to join their brothers in Christ for the sixth annual diocesan men’s Lenten retreat. This short retreat promises an opportunity to pursue your Lenten journey through spiritual talks and time for reflection and prayer.

“Only those who do not fight are never wounded;
those who charge the enemy with the greatest spirit
are the ones who receive the most blows.”
St. John Chrysostom

* $30 - Commuter
* $50 - Includes shared overnight accomodations

Details at Madison Diocese

Canadian abortion priest suing LifeSiteNews

It is with great concern that we have to inform our readers that LifeSiteNews (LSN) Canada has been hit with a lawsuit – by a Catholic priest of all things!

Regular readers of LSN will need no introduction to Fr. Raymond Gravel – he’s the Quebec priest and former Member of Canada’s Parliament who stated on a radio interview in 2004: “I am pro-choice and there is not a bishop on earth that will prevent me from receiving Communion, not even the Pope.”

Then, in 2008, he defended the awarding of Canada’s highest civilian award to the country’s ‘father of abortion’ – arch-abortionist Henry Morgentaler! During his political career he was rated as ‘pro-abortion’ by the political arm of the pro-life movement. He has also repeatedly and publicly criticized his church’s teachings on homosexuality and abortion.

Even though LifeSiteNews reports have overwhelmingly reported on what Fr. Gravel himself has publicly said, he is suing us for libel. Among other things, he argues that he isn’t pro-abortion, but he has said in the past that he is “pro-choice.”

He’s demanding $500,000 in damages – which, coincidentally, is a full year’s budget for us. That would put LifeSiteNews out of business!

LifeSiteNews

Google map of US Anglican parishes entering the Ordinariate

The Google Map of the groups of Anglicans seeking full communion through the Anglican Ordinariate

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Did you know there is a Google Map that is tracking Anglican parishes entering the Ordinariate? You can visit it the Ordinariate Google Map anytime to look at the latest statistics.

According to the recent count, the United States leads with 36 groups, Canada has 30 and the United Kingdom has 18. The originator, Shane Schaetzel, is currently looking for collaborators in Australia and the United Kingdom to help him keep track of those coming in.

Br. Stephen Treat, O.Cist., a monk of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank in Wisconsin provided an interesting statistical comparison of American Ordinariate parishes with the current Episcopal Church (TEC) in the United States.

A frequent contributor for The Anglo-Catholic which is moderated by Christian Campbell, Brother Stephen posted the following observations based on the number of parishes remaining stable at 36 with an Average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 2500 - a very modest estimate.

This would make the current Ordinariate larger than 21 of the domestic dioceses in The Episcopal Church. Should the American Ordinariate were to grow to an ASA of 5000, it would be either larger than or roughly the same size as 59 of the domestic dioceses of The Episcopal Church.

While this may seem like small numbers when compared to Catholic parishes, these figures are significant with regard to the Anglican world.

Like many others, Brother Stephen Treat found his path leading from evangelicalism to Anglicanism and and finally into the Roman Catholic Church, where he became a Cistercian monk. Our Lady of Spring Bank is a small Abbey of the Order of Cistercians, generally known as the Common Cistercians, located on 600 acres near La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Details at Catholic.org

There's zero in Wisconsin, one in Minnesota, and one in Iowa. We're not exactly Anglican around here though, much more of a Lutheran area.

Bad company....

The liberal group MoveOn.org asked its members to show their support for Wisconsin public employees on Facebook. Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki is backing the unions, and Green Bay Catholic Bishop David Ricken signed on to his statement on Friday. Even President Barack Obama has said he opposes rolling back the rights of unions to negotiate collectively.

Fond du Lac Reporter

As expected the media continues to run with this.

In case you missed it, leaders of the Catholic Church in Wisconsin are out in support of the moral right of labor to organize as Gov. Scott Walker leads a charge to dismantle collective bargaining rights for public workers.

Madison Diocese Bishop Robert Morlino "echoes" a statement by Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki to members of the Joint Committee on Finance, according to a post Wednesday on the Madison Diocese website.

Listecki, president of the lobbying Wisconsin Catholic Conference, told legislators that it is "a mistake to marginalize or dismiss unions as impediments to economic growth." Despite economic hard times and the hard choices they demand.

Catholics United,[pro-abortion] a national social justice advocacy group, on Thursday called on Wisconsin legislators to suspend their "attacks on workers."

The archbishop in his message quotes Pope John Paul II, who wrote in 1981 that unions remain "a constructive factor of social order and solidarity" and are impossible to ignore. More recently, current Pope Benedict wrote that the traditional call within Catholic social doctrine for the promotion of workers' associations "must be honored today even more than in the past."

Listecki asked legislators to carefully consider the implications of Walker's budget repair bill provision on collective bargaining, and "evaluate it in terms of its impact on the common good."

He also appealed to lawmakers, citizens, workers and labor unions to move beyond divisiveness and work together towards a humane recovery from the economic crisis.

So, there's the Catholic Church's official stance on labor.

What does your faith — or your conscience — say about workers' rights?

Cap Times

If the Wisconsin Catholic Conference does not issue a clarification, then the statement was intended to be interpreted in this way.

Bp Ricken decides to restore CCHD funding

Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay has announced that he has lifted his moratorium, imposed in 2010, on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development collection in his diocese.

Bishop Ricken had issued the moratorium, he said in a recent statement, because “a few of the organizations that received CCHD funds had acted in conflict with Catholic teaching or had direct connections to coalitions that are not in harmony with Catholic principles of social justice ministry,” and because of “the appearance of partisan political positions taken by some of these organizations.”

“The new application process for grants announced by the USCCB will be much more thorough and will give increased consideration to Catholic social justice entities,” Bishop Ricken says. “According to the guidelines, this application/grant process is first done at the local diocesan level and then proceeds to the national level at the Bishops’ Conference.”

Catholic Culture

This seems to conflict with last weeks announcement that parishes could no longer belong to pro-abort JOSHUA and ESTER. Perhaps the assumption is that the USCCB is cutting ties with pro-abortion social "justice" groups. We all hope that would be the case but had we not had watchdogs outside the USCCB bureaucracy checking this, it would have kept going on indefinitely.

Catholic Priests/Nuns support pro-abortion WI unions

Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin, Inc.
2300 South Park Street, Suite 109, Madison, WI 53713, 608-255-0376

As people of faith, we oppose Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s plan to deny collective bargaining rights for public employees. Our religious traditions are very clear that workers, as human beings that have inherent dignity, have the right to form associations to improve their conditions at work. Statements issued by the following Christian denominations-- Roman Catholic, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, American Baptist, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church-- along with the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Union of Reform Judaism, Council on American Islamic Relations, Muslim American Freedom Foundation, the Unitarian Universalist Church and others, support the right of workers to organize and bargain with their employers over wages, benefits, and a voice on the job.

Teachers, public health workers, county/municipal employees and all people who provide vital services to our communities are under attack, falsely blamed for budget problems caused by the unemployment crisis and the drop in state revenues as businesses have closed, fewer people pay taxes, and consumers spend less. Wholesale attacks on public servants will only worsen this situation. Therefore we urge our legislators and Governor Walker to stop this bill and stand for genuine efforts to create jobs, improve standards, and respect all people who work and contribute to their families and communities.

NAME & TITLE ORGANIZATION/ AFFILIATION ZIP CODE E-MAIL

17. Sister Barbara Pfarr, SSND, School Sisters of Notre Dame,53235, bpfarr@ssnd-milw.org
18. Sister Mary Catherine Jarema, SSND School Sisters of Notre Dame, 53235
19. Rev. Gregory J. O’Meara, S.J. 53203 gregory.omeara@marquette.edu
21. Sister Janet Gregorcich, SSND Director, Global Partners Program, School Sisters of Notre Dame, 53235, jgregorc@ssnd-milw.org
28. Fr. Mike Berthram, St. Francis of Assisi, 53212, BerthramM@ArchMil.Org
29. Fr. Art Hei, St James, 53051, heinzea@archmil.org
30. Jim Zalinski OFM, Capuchin Justice Peace and Ecology, 53233, Zelito@Juno.Com
38. Rev.Jerry Schroeder, St. Benedict the Moor Parish, 53233, benspastor@sbcglobal.net
39. Rev. Bryan N. Massingale, Associate Professor/ Marquette University, 53201, bryan.massingale@marquette.edu
40. Fr. Mike Michaeliski, Catholic Priest on the East Side of Milwaukee, michalskim@archmil.org.
44. Sister Ruth Poochigian, O.P. Dominican Sister (Sinsinawa),53716, RuthOP@aol.com
51. Rev. Msgr. Thomas F. Baxter, St. James and St. Joseph Catholic Parishes, 53715 and 53713, tbaxter@straphael.org

IC
HT Jeanne

I see some archdiocesan email accounts being used here....

Marquette U students can get their fill of XXX-content live action.

The Monologues favorably describes lesbian activity, masturbation, and what CNS describes as “the reduction of sexuality to selfish pleasure.”

According to the Cardinal Newman Society, MU will be hosting a production this year.

How nice.

Dad29

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