University of Wisconsin Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics and Badger Catholic debated the purpose of wealth and where rights are derived from through the differing prisms of Christianity and secularism Wednesday night in their annual debate.continue at Badger Herald
Ben Adams and Melissa Lyman represented AHA and Geoffrey Ludvik and Tom Dobbins represented BC. Wisconsin Union Directorate Society and Politics moderated the debate.
...Dobbins, however, argued that people’s rights in society comes from natural law, the idea that certain rights are inherently good or bad. Natural law allows the right to pursue the common good and allows one’s own flourishing.
Showing posts with label UW Badger Catholic Student Org. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UW Badger Catholic Student Org. Show all posts
Atheists debate Catholics on charity, human rights in annual debate
Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics debate UW Badger Catholic on science, religion among other topics
Two groups healthily discussed relationship of religion to issues such as feminism, sciencecontinue at BadgerHerald
In an effort to spur healthy debate between students of different beliefs, University of Wisconsin’s Badger Catholic organization and the Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics club battled it out Tuesday on topics like science and feminism.
Among the prompts was whether science can be compatible with religion. Both Badger Catholic and AHA agreed the two are compatible, but with certain conditions.
Davis Pratt, a UW mathematics graduate student and a member of AHA, said religion and science “butt heads” when there’s contradiction.
But, Tom Dobbins, a Badger Catholic representative and engineering graduate student, said religion has greatly helped science in the past.
UW Debate: UW Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics VS UW Badger Catholic - Feb 16
Is science the only way of knowing?UW
Can you be moral without God?
What is our moral obligation to the environment?
"I heard you calling out and had to come over," she said. "I go to Tulane..."
This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans.
One of the deadliest hurricane's ever, Katrina left a trail of destruction in its wake--both literally and figuratively. Beyond the loss of life, the hurricane became the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, with damage topping $100 billion. There was also a political price to be paid. Katrina effectively ended George W. Bush's presidency just seven months after he was inaugurated to his second term. A decade later, New Orleans still hasn't fully recovered from the hurricane. The city's population is down nearly 25 percent from before the storm.
Somehow, it's simultaneously hard to believe that it's already been ten years and that it's only been ten years. I haven't given the storm much--if any thought--in recent years. But the coverage of this week's anniversary takes me back.
When Hurricane Katrina made landfall, I was just days away from starting my senior year at the UW-Madison . The storm had already caused damage throughout the Caribbean and in Florida, but the question on everybody's mind that last week of August was whether Katrina would make a direct hit on New Orleans. When it became increasingly clear that it would, the world watched and waited to see how severe the impact would be on a city already situated below sea level.
When Katrina reached the Louisiana Coast, I spent most of the night glued to cable news coverage with my roommate Jay. As the storm drew near, it was amusing to watch reporters kill time or conduct interviews with stubborn, sometimes crazy residents who refused to leave town.
The amusement, of course, wouldn't last long. When the storm finally passed, daylight revealed that the city had suffered massive damage. The levees failed, and 80 percent of the Big Easy was under water. Countless houses were destroyed. Refugees scattered about the country found themselves without homes to which they could return.
And they were the lucky ones. Around 1,500 people who tried to ride out the storm didn't make it--their bodies strewn about the city.
UW Badger Catholic and Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics debate over several topics
The two arguments in the debate could not be more different, but Badger Catholic and the Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics student group showed respect for each other while debating several topics on Tuesday evening.
The event, organized by the Wisconsin Union Directorate Society and Politics Committee, drew about 350 people at Memorial Union.
Jack Comeau, a UW junior and director of the WUD Society and Politics Committee, said planning for the event started last spring and the planning involved ensuring each side was comfortable with questions so they “didn’t feel like any side was being targeted.”
Sam Erickson, a UW junior and president of the Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics said instead of believing anything, we should use critical thinking to challenge certain myths and beliefs.
“For example, the myth that we eat spiders in our sleep is a myth,” Erickson said. “It is a myth that came about 20 years ago when someone was trying to see how gullible humans were to information on the Internet. It shows that we believe anything we want to.”
Joey DeGuire, a Badger Catholic peer mentor, said faith isn’t blind acceptance nor is it superstition.
Instead, he said faith is a gift from God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived and goes beyond scientific principles.
“The apparent contradiction between faith and reason is not because faith stops short of reason but because faith goes beyond reason,” DeGuire said. “True faith embraces reason but recognizes the limitations that reason has.”
Responding to a question on whether there is “such a thing as universal morality,” Badger Catholic board member Kevin Mauer rephrased the question as whether there are questions with universal answers.
Mauer emphasized the need for a universal standard for morality.
“For example, you cannot defend a woman’s right to have an abortion without referring to some universal moral principle,” Mauer said. “Appeals to rights are not relativistic. They are universalist.”
Good stuff!
UW Badger Catholic Honored for Efforts in Conservation
The University of Wisconsin campus is home to dozens of student organizations whose focus is geared specifically to sustainable practices. You can imagine what a pleasant surprise it has been for Badger Catholics after learning that our organization has been chosen by the Office of Sustainability for the Bucky Award for Conservation and Sustainability, the first Bucky Award in our history!continue at UW Badger Catholic
I am convinced that we won this award not because we have done more than all of those sustainably-minded organizations have done to promote conservation and sustainability, but because our efforts are the fruit of what all of these organizations have been working toward for years: the widespread acknowledgment of the reality that sustainability is not to be relegated to a certain class of students who take certain courses and are a part of a certain campus subculture, but that it is for everybody. In other words, responsible use of resources is just common sense. We owe a huge debt to those other student organizations for educating the student body all of these years in order to make good sense more commonplace!
Of course, as Catholics, we believe that while sustainable practices are certainly a matter of common sense, they are also much more than that. They are a mandate upon our consciences from our Creator. In the face of a consumerist culture of waste, He asks us to live simply—to master the fleeting appetites and comforts of the flesh for the sake of the lasting gifts he has given us. He asks us to share in the process of creation’s redemption and restoration, through Christ.
Lenten reflections from UW-Madison Badger Catholics
Hi Matt,I just signed up.
We are frequent readers of your blog and thought your followers might appreciate our lenten reflection daily email. The program sends subscribers a daily email with a reflection on that day's readings, written by a UW-Madison student, the priests at St. Pauls and even Bishop Morlino! It's free to sign up at: www.badgercatholic.org/lent
We know that many parishes (at-least the one's we've spoken to) simply do not have the technology for a lenten reflection email program so we wanted to share it with anyone who could benefit from it!
--
Sean P. McNally
President, Badger Catholic
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Blanchard: Badger Catholic’s Valentine kindness adulterated by Podger’s response
Shaun Blanchard (blanchard.shaun@gmail.
Read the whole article, a must read, and then go back and read where he is studying for his PhD in Theology. Impressive! Utterly destroys Podger. Seriously, you MUST read his closing! I have a new favorite saint quote.
HT AS
In responding to Michael Podger’s “Badger Catholic campaign reinforces gender stereotypes,” one feels a bit like Hercules before the Augean Stables. No matter how big your shovel is, there is just so much horseshit. Where does one begin? Perhaps I have already started off on the wrong foot by mentioning Hercules — which Michael could deftly cast as a sexist, heteronormative, Eurocentric, patriarchal, violent reference (did I miss anything, Michael?). Throughout his nauseatingly puerile rant, he employed a confusing type of satirical mudslinging that made it difficult for me to follow what exactly he was “thanking” Badger Catholic for and why. I must say, however, that despite the near impenetrability of his reasoning, I admire Michael’s unparalleled ability to peer into the hearts, minds and intentions of an organization he is not a member of and to name and denounce with frightening clarity the hideous, repressive fascism of Badger Catholic. Who knew UW-Madison (full of educated people?!) could harbor so many little Eichmanns!continue at The Badger Herald
I will say a brief word concerning Michael’s theological claims about Catholicism, and then move on to issues that concern the entire UW-Madison community, irrespective of religion. Michael’s rhetoric is reminiscent less of an informed liberal Catholic and more of a priggish neo-atheist (Hitchens, Dawkins) who is not even cursorily acquainted with the faith he denounces. The notably progressive former Archbishop of Chicago, Joseph Bernardin, famously applied the phrase “seamless garment of life” to the Catholic Church’s holistic concern for the human person — their physical, emotional, spiritual and sexual health. These issues cannot and must not be separated. Does Mother Theresa love the poor or does she hold to the Catholic view of sex? To Michael, she cannot do both. Can Pope Francis genuinely love and welcome all while denouncing uncommitted sex, fornication and divorce? Is his love of the poor, the homeless and the immigrant compromised by his views on sexuality? No fair, thinking person could say yes. Even the Huffington Post does not deny this. Speaking of that illustrious periodical, Michael’s knowledge of Catholicism strikes me as on the level of the angry 16-year-old who learns his Catholicism through Jezebel, Buzzfeed and HuffPost, and then loudly denounces the straw man he has built to other drones on a Reddit feed. His reading of Pope Francis’ theology typifies this ignorance — why would Pope Francis tell his followers to never talk about sex and continue doing so himself (Francis rightly said not to be obsessed with it, not to be silent)? Is he senile? Michael’s position is not a historically informed or intellectually serious position and should be dismissed.
Read the whole article, a must read, and then go back and read where he is studying for his PhD in Theology. Impressive! Utterly destroys Podger. Seriously, you MUST read his closing! I have a new favorite saint quote.
HT AS
City of Madison cracks down on pro-life speech; lawsuit filed
Last night the City of Madison passed a buffer zone ordinance designed to crack down on free speech of pro-life prayer volunteers and sidewalk counselors. From the Wisconsin State Journal:
The ordinance from Ald. Lisa Subeck, 1st District, is a response to continued protests at Planned Parenthood’s East Side clinic....It creates a protective zone within 160 feet of health clinics to allow patients and others to enter and exit without obstruction. It also bans protesters from being within 8 feet of a person — unless the person consents — to engage in oral protest, education, counseling, passing leaflets or handbills, or displaying signs if on a public way or sidewalk within the 160-foot-protective zone.Subeck previously worked for NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. Her ties to the abortion industry have largely been downplayed in the Madison media.
This morning, the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction on behalf of local pro-lifers. The list of plaintiffs features a "who's who" of state and local pro-life advocates including Madison Vigil for Life, Inc. (and two of its volunteers), Jennifer Dunnett of the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Theresa Klinkhammer and Connie Nielsen of St. Ambrose Academy's Guardians for Life, Students for Life of Madison, the "other" Badger Catholic (the University of Wisconsin-Madison Catholic organization), Fr. Rick Heilman of the Knights of Divine Mercy and others.
Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defending Freedom successfully represented local pro-life medical professionals and pro-life advocates in 2009-10 when the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics attempted to install a late-term abortion facility near the UW-Madison campus. Bowman and the ADF also represented the UW Badger Catholic student group when UW-Madison violated the organization's free speech rights, ultimately collecting nearly half a million dollars in attorney's fees.
Update: Obligatory--
UW's Sex Out Loud attacks UW Badger Catholic for hosting chastity talk
Utterly ridiculous, but thanks for the publicity. Goes on to claim he's a member of the Liberal Catholic Church and we should all obey him in his rigorously dogmatic institution. Really, he's angry because men were passing out roses to women(well later admits the chastity talk is attacking Sex Out Loud and that's why he's really mad). Mad, because men want to respect women. And he is ranting and raving that Catholics are permitted to teach their religion to their own members. If we are not all Cultural Marxists then apparently we are "blatantly sexist." We are supposed to promote "judgment-free sex" which of course the writer does not actually believe, since that would include incest, bestiality, and rape. Maybe he is a Darren Sharper fan? Ooooh, but it has to be consensual - well then you just passed judgement then, didn't cha? The writer even invokes Pope Francis - who has apparently supplanted the "bigoted members of the hierarchy." There's several straw men hanging out in here, and he gets so lost in the utopia of his mind that his closing is barely coherent. No friend, your ideas are the old, stale traditions that you hope to resurrect, our ideas have all the freshness, progress, and longing of a Wisconsin Spring.
BUT, this does give me an idea for a Catholic drinking game..... for a later post ...."hierarchy" "bigoted" "sexist"... I'm thinking when the drink words appear in the same sentence, that the number of drinks doubles....
FYI, Jason Evert gave a talk at UW recently.
Some may have noticed that a group of men were passing roses out to women passing by the St. Paul University Catholic Center on Library Mall. These individuals were taking part in a small campaign being spearheaded by Badger Catholic, a spirituality and faith organization on campus according to their website, called Roses in Library Mall.Read more: http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/opinion/badger-catholic-campaign-reinforces-gender-stereotypes/article_f79ee8b2-97a1-11e3-b338-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz2tgrPErEn
Perhaps Badger Catholic had good intentions with this, but it was nonetheless a deeply inherently sexist, backwards and utterly ridiculous effort on their part. According to the event’s Facebook page, the goal was to offer Badgers “another viewpoint on love!” Roses were sold to men who would add notes to them with messages to give to passing women telling them they have “inherent dignity and beauty.”
What Badger Catholic offers though is a reminder to the UW-Madison community that sexism and patriarchal social expectations are alive and well in our society and even well educated people can still adhere to such ideas.
The assertion by Badger Catholic with this campaign is 1) only men have the authority to tell women they have dignity and beauty, they offer no opportunity for women to decide this for themselves 2) it ignores that not all people base their definition of dignity and beauty in the same way as Badger Catholic 3) it works to reinforce gender roles and the expectation that all sex is heterosexual while ignoring female sexuality.
BUT, this does give me an idea for a Catholic drinking game..... for a later post ...."hierarchy" "bigoted" "sexist"... I'm thinking when the drink words appear in the same sentence, that the number of drinks doubles....
FYI, Jason Evert gave a talk at UW recently.
Jason Evert to speak on chastity at UW-Madison Feb 6th
http://www.badgercatholic.org/event/jason-evert/
Like what's going on in Madison? Support St. Paul's Catholic Center!
Free, Total, Faithful, Fruitful
From one Badger Catholic to the other, Diocese of Madison NFP Coordinator Alison Hetue gives an excellent talk to University of Wisconsin-Madison students at the St. Paul's Catholic Center on contraception and openness to life. Alison's talk begins at the 5:35 mark (although the introduction is interesting as well).
UW Badger Catholic granted eligibility for funding from UW SSFC
Badger HeraldSSFC also heard an eligibility presentation from Badger Catholic.
Badger Catholic is a student organization that seeks to help connect students to a faith that will inspire them to better their lives and those around them and are dedicated to inspiring and maintaining a campus-wide discussion of faith, Sean McNally, President of Badger Catholic said.
Badger Catholic’s direct services include faith mentoring, which is available to all students, McNally said. The mentoring can be tailored to students in any aspect of faith regardless of religious tradition, he said.
McNally said other direct services include faith-based service trips and service meetings.
SSFC Rep. Justin Bloesch asked about the relationship between St. Paul’s Catholic Church and Badger Catholic.
Badger Catholic is an independent organization and interacts with St. Paul’s as it would with any other organization, McNally said. There is no relationship between the two, but the church does provide Badger Catholic with space to use, he said.
SSFC Chair David Vines said he met with MCSC representatives and has allowed the group to appeal their eligibility decision.Badger Herald
Members of University of Wisconsin’s student government unanimously voted to grant Badger Catholic eligibility for student segregated fees in their Monday meeting.
In a vote of 12-0, the Associated Students of Madison’s Student Service Finance Committee concluded Badger Catholic met all eligibility criteria to receive General Student Services Funding.
SSFC Vice Chair Ian Malmstadt said Badger Catholic, a religious student organization which looks to connect students through faith, reaches the majority of the student body with direct services for the student population.
Badger Catholic President Sean McNally said a broad perspective of world religions is an “essential part of the liberal arts education promoted by the university,” and added he would like to see improvements in religious engagement on campus.
Bp. Morlino: "analogous to the ‘spirit of Vatican II,’ a distorted ‘spirit of Pope Francis’ is being concocted"
[Morlino:] “Given the confusion about Pope Francis' statements that has emerged from the media coverage to date, I think it inopportune to offer extensive observations which will probably be subjected to like misinterpretation,” he said. “I think that, analogous to the ‘spirit of Vatican II,’ a distorted ‘spirit of Pope Francis’ is being concocted which is equally, if not more misleading.”
Sean McNally, president of Badger Catholic, the UW organization for Catholic students, said he interpreted the pope’s remarks as a different approach to bringing new members to the Church, rather than a change of position on controversial social issues.
“Those key issues on abortion and homosexuality, those are important,” he said. “But when you’re evangelizing to people, that’s not necessarily what you lead with.”
McNally says that although students “don’t sit around and obsess” about the hot social issues, he hinted there was still a strong commitment among young Catholics in the student community to traditional rules of Catholic morality.
“I think you’d be surprised by the number of students on campus who don’t support contraception,” he said.
UW-Madison religious advocates encourage increased faith awareness
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| Sean McNally |
Although the University of Wisconsin-Madison funds organizations of a variety of religious backgrounds, some campus religious leaders believe understanding different faiths should play a more prominent role.
Sean McNally, president of Badger Catholic, said a broad perspective of world religions is an “essential” part of the liberal arts education promoted by the university, and he would like to see improvements in campus religious engagement.
“There are completely different worlds for how you live out your faith on campus,” McNally said. “If we’re going to do diversity, let’s do it big and embrace that and have discussions.”
Additionally, McNally said he would like to see an increased emphasis on religion from the university, such as including it in the ethnic studies requirement.
“I’d like to see large group discussions in a respectful and open space,” McNally said. “Highlighting religious diversity more would be something easy to do and give a lot of students a much broader perspective on differences.”
Professor of history and religious studies Charles Cohen also said religious understanding should play a bigger role, adding he believes the university’s religious diversity efforts are “feeble and lacking.”
Fr. Rick Heilman to speak at UW St. Paul Catholic Center 7pm tonight
This week's theme for Alpha Omega is "Live Hard and Die Free," (reminiscent of the Bruce Willis movie "Live Free or Die Hard"). [I like that!]St. Paul's
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” – Mark 12:30
Fr. Rick Heilman, who will be speaking, is an expert on "living hard." He recently wrote "The Church Militant Field Manual," along with a companion pocket prayer book and journal book, developed a 26-part video series, and created a brand new website (http://www.churchmilitant.com/), which is based on the Field Manual.
Fr. Rick's resources can be summarized as follows:
“For the courageous faithful in the trenches of the Church Militant who seek the basic training that is vital for awakening faith, battling evil and rescuing souls."
As always, Newman Dinner will be served at 5:45 PM in Newman Hall in the basement of St. Paul University Catholic Center.
Rumor has it that they are serving lemon rosemary chicken, mushroom rice pilaf, green beans, and a beautiful strawberry shortcake for dessert!
This might sound stupid on my part, but I didn't know Father was doing a video series on the Field Manual. I should probably do a post on that!
UW atheist group likely to get $67,000 in student fees
An atheist group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seems on track to receive nearly $70,000 in student fees for staffing and programming next year, in what appears to be a first for the university and student atheist groups nationally.continue at JS
The Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics, or AHA as it's called, said it will provide support services for students struggling with doubts about their faiths and offer a safe place where they can discuss religious issues without fear of recrimination.
"Religious groups have been receiving this type of funding for years," said Chris Calvey, president of the organization, which helped stage a three-day Freethought Festival that drew hundreds of nonbelievers and skeptics from around the country to Madison this year.
"It's about time that secular students got the support we deserve," Calvey said.
The university's Student Services Finance Committee, which allocates student group budgets out of the $39 million in student fees annually, unanimously approved about $67,400 for AHA for the 2013-'14 academic year last week. The allocation must still be approved by the student council, chancellor and board of regents. David Gardner, spokesman for the Associated Students of Madison, said committee recommendations are rarely if ever overturned.
The allocation marks the first time that an atheist group has qualified for funding beyond the small, event-specific grants most student-run organizations receive. And it appears to be the largest ever awarded to any campus group of its kind in the country, according to the Columbus-based Secular Student Alliance.
If you continue, you will see that UW-Badger Catholic doesn't actually oppose the funding.
Fassino: Why I hate bad church music
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| Nico Fassino |
Recently, the Catholic Herald published two excellent articles by the incredibly well-educated and well-formed Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, entitled “Rebuilding Catholic Culture.”continue at MadCatHerald
In these essays, Sister Roccasalvo vigorously defends the teachings of the popes and the Second Vatican Council concerning what music is proper for use during the sacred liturgies of the Church, while simultaneously arguing against the use of modern folk-style music commonly found in many parishes.
Response to letter writers
I decided to write this piece after reading several letters-to-the-editor written by people who were very unhappy with her columns.
I actually wanted to title this column “In Defense of Sacred Music: Why the Celebration of Christ’s Death and Resurrection at the All-Holy Mass Deserves Something Better Than Low-Brow Tripe,” but that was obviously too long and I figured that “Why I hate bad Church music” would still draw the eyes of those I wanted to reach.
Some people are upset that Sister Roccasalvo condemns the use of songs that have very little value as actual music (i.e., songs that are shoddily composed, use inappropriate or heretical text, call for the use of multiple tambourines as accompaniment, etc).
Her comments have been interpreted by some as an attack on the ability of the congregation to actively participate in the liturgy. Others are offended because they believe that any music that makes them feel good is proper for use at the Mass. I’ll be honest: when I hear comments like this, I want to beat my head repeatedly against my desk.
Like!
UW Badger Catholic hosts Baylor philosophy and church-state studies professor
continue at The Badger HeraldA student organization welcomed a philosopher of religion to campus who applied ethics and politics to address the question: “Can you be moral without religion?”
Baylor University professor of philosophy and church-state studies Francis Beckwith spoke to Badger Catholic Thursday night on his view of morality and said it is founded upon a “divine source, which is God.” Beckwith described the Natural Moral Law with five key attributes of what morality seems to be.
He said these are defined by becoming non-physical through non-inferential acts of understanding, forms of communications and forces people can feel prior to any behavior or compulsion. He added that violating moral rules makes people feel guilty, and morals are unable to be explained by something else. Beckwith also said there are three main options of where morality is founded.
The first, he said, includes the idea that some view morality as “an illusion.” He said morals may not be obeyed if there is no jurisdiction provided.
He said the second option includes how morality is founded by possibly the naturalist evolution. He said in this view, moral meaning comes from “past traits of our ancestors.”
The third option, which he said includes his own view, is that morality is created by God or divine inspiration. From a meta-ethical standpoint, Beckwith also said morality makes most sense when viewed through a religious perspective. “Without religion or a divine source, there is no meaning,” he said
University of Wisconsin; the one legitimate place to send your Catholic children to college.... that just sounds weird, but it is true.
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