WisSJ: Madison Diocese mandates all parish tabernacles move to center of sanctuary by 2018

This is another example of my point that Doug Erickson is the best secular religion reporter in the state.  Heck, he's a better reporter than most reporters for Catholic publications.  People complain when he covers some apostates at Holy Wisdom Monastery, but this is not a diocesan paper.  He should cover it all, good, bad, and ugly.  As another aside, did you see that Annysa Johnson no longer covers religion at the Journal Sentinel?

So here's the scoop.

Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino has directed priests to move the tabernacle to a prominent spot at the center of the sanctuary at all diocesan churches.

The directive was announced at an annual gathering of priests in September and could affect about half of the 134 worship sites in the diocese, although no exact count is available, said Patrick Gorman, director of the diocesan office of worship, which coordinates liturgical matters for the bishop and will be leading the effort. At these churches, the tabernacle may be off to one side of the sanctuary or in a separate side chapel altogether.

Because church law requires that a tabernacle be immovable and made of solid material, the directive will require some cost and effort at some parishes, Gorman said. The bishop is giving priests three years to accomplish the goal, until October 2018.

full article at Wisconsin State Journal

Like a blooming flower, the Diocese of Madison continues to exhibit that it is flourishing in every way.  This kind of solid thinking followed by concrete action will not only ensure their continued vocation boom, but that the faithful will be again permitted to attend their local parish with a orientation toward Catholic worship(as opposed to either a Protestant non-sacramental oriented worship, or an orientation according to an erroneous "Spirit of Vatican II").  It is both a relatively minor change since the movement of a small object in a church, and yet an enormous change because it's dealing with the essential character of a Catholic church.  Even moderates, and left of centers would not necessarily disagree with this move.

Frequently I am emailed about recommendations of places to live in this state.  I always recommend the Diocese of Madison first.  There are places like Platteville that have seen their share of painful controversies, yet overall the diocese is positioning itself as a Catholic destination.  That's not to say there are not other solid pockets in the state, but to have a bishop and diocesan bureaucracy(not necessarily a bad word) moving forward together in a positive direction after many years of confusion and turmoil, it's near unprecedented.  Even the good curiae seem to sit on their hands in hope of maintaining some artificial peace or a paranoia about being perceived as a "hard-liner like .insert Catholic boogeyman."  In this day and age, parents are willing to up and move to a good place to raise their children in relative peace.  They need good parishes, schools (or for lack of solid schools, a homeschooling community), colleges, hospitals, and most importantly, good pubs....  Well, we've got the beer down, but in many areas the rest needs work.  

Also FatherZ, Deacon's Bench