JS Part II on Fr. Alfred Kunz murder: Instruct the Ignorant

For several months before his death, Father Alfred Kunz co-hosted a radio show called "Our Catholic Family."

Some would later say Kunz planned to expose sexually deviant priests by reading their names on the program.

Back then, in the late 1990s, such a move would have been almost unheard of. While a few isolated complaints had come to light, neither the extent of abuse by American clergy nor the hierarchy’s efforts to keep it secret would be revealed until the Boston Globe published an investigative report in 2002.

And so, in publicizing a list of pedophile priests, Kunz and his best friend Father Charles Fiore would have been defying their superiors’ orders to let church officials handle such complaints.

continue at JS

This project is being extremely well done.

Journal Sentinel posts first article in a ten part series on the murder of Fr. Alfred Kunz

Deputy David Cattanach was on his way to check on a wounded cat when a more pressing call came over the radio: Someone had suffered an injury at St. Michael School. A fall maybe. Or an accident. The dispatcher mentioned blood on the floor.

The kitten would have to wait.

Cattanach turned onto the winding road that led to the rural Wisconsin town of Dane, population 621, give or take a few. It was a sunny March morning in 1998, more spring than winter, and the roads were clear.

A few minutes into his 10-mile drive, another radio call came through: The man on the floor of the school wasn’t just injured; he was dead.

continue at JS

Retired Detective Linda Pederson Honer said in an interview that she personally interviewed two women who admitted having sexual relationships with Kunz, but she would not give their names.

Now it could be that there were romantic relationships... but if these were proven to be false, it seems to indicate a larger conspiracy is in play....

JS promotes tiny petition against non-author Bp. Morlino in Madison Diocese leaked funeral directive case

But first, if you want a reasonable explanation on the matter first (which unfortunately the JS article doesn't seem to be interested in), we quote in full from Magna Peters.

One might be willing to have an informed and dispassionate discussion (that pretty much rules out the internet) about whether Canon 1184, (which in mildly obtuse terms denies ecclesiastical funeral rites to “manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful”) reflects a good understanding of what ecclesiastical funerals do and don’t accomplish for the dead and their familiars*, or about whether these points are generally correctly understood by the faithful, but about whether persons who enter civil “same-sex marriage” qualify as “manifest sinners” under canon law, no, that is simply not a question.

Analysis of the terms used in Canon 1184 essentially tracks that used to understand Canon 915 and, as has been demonstrated many times, persons who enter “same-sex marriage” plainly manifest their opposition to crucial and infallible Church teaching that restricts marriage to one man and one woman. The positions taken by Springfield IL Bp. Paprocki and by the Diocese of Madison restricting funerals in such cases and outlining possible exceptions to those restrictions are thoroughly consistent with the canon law of the Catholic Church. + + +

* “I should like to interject a comforting remark at this stage. It should not be forgotten that [even] an error in this matter of denying Christian burial has none of the consequences that could arise from a refusal to grant the sacraments. This law is purely of the external forum, and the external state of the soul is in no way determined by it. Where the reception of the sacraments may mean the difference between salvation and damnation, Christian burial cannot decide the eternal status of a soul which is already before God, and beyond the power of the Church either to save or to condemn.” Charles Kerin, “Christian Burial Problems” The Jurist 15 (1955) 252-282, at 262.

Annysa should be embarrassed for pushing this.
JS: Petition asks pope to remove Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison for his views on gay Catholics

Journal Sentinel Shrinks Further Plummeting circulation, shrinking news coverage, closing government pressrooms

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has informed Milwaukee County it will no longer rent a press office at the courthouse. So there will no longer be a beat reporter on the scene covering county government.

Back in 2001, when the newspaper was scooped on the county pension scandal (by yours truly), the editors vowed they would never be caught not covering the county again. They assigned one of their best reporters, Dave Umhoefer, to cover the county, and he won a Pulitzer Prize for a smaller follow-up story on the pension problems I had first reported.

But by 2014 the paper’s county coverage again fell off the map after Umhoefer’s full-time successor on the beat, Steve Schultze, left the paper. In the last year or so Don Behm has covered the county, but rarely does more than a couple stories a month. It’s become a part-time beat.

continue at Urban Milwaukee

Or as Terry Berres succinctly posted: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel endorses capital punishment

Journal-Sentinel’s Bizarre “Bullying” Attack on Warrior Blogger

It was a screaming headline: “MU report suggests pattern of bullying by suspended McAdams.”

Written by education reporter Karen Herzog, it claims to be based on the Report of the Faculty Hearing Committee, which heard our case last September. Unfortunately, there are two massive problem with the story.

In the first place, Herzog has taken the claims of the Faculty Hearing Committee absolutely at face value, and never asked us or our lawyers for our side of the story.

In the second place, she mischaracterizes the Report. It nowhere in the 123 pages ever claims we were responsible for bullying anybody. [Whoops!]  So where did Herzog get that? Our guess is that it came either from leftist faculty at Marquette, or from Marquette administrators who have been flailing around in a sea of bad publicity, and are desperately trying to discredit us.

continue at Marquette Warrior

If you are fed up with these liberal elite shaming methods, consider supporting Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.  I just did.

Journal Sentinel mental health reporter guided by faith

She’s an award-winning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter known for health and welfare investigations, and more specifically, for her reporting on mental health issues.

It’s something that is near and dear to Meg Kissinger’s heart.

She was just 19 years old when her sister Nancy, who struggled with bipolar disorder – known as manic depression in the ‘70s, threw herself in front of a train.

Her brother Danny, who also struggled with bipolar disorder, hanged himself in their father’s basement in the ‘90s.

Her family couldn’t believe it.

With everything they knew, they wondered if they could have done more.

“Worst of all, we had kind of a warning. A week before he died, Danny sent us all letters telling us how sorry he was for all the commotion that he caused. ‘Only love and understanding can conquer this disease,’ he said. I wrote that sentence down and I taped it to the side of my computer in the newsroom. Danny and Nancy weren’t around for me to love them anymore, but I vowed that from that day forward, I was going to do what I could to try to understand what killed them; maybe I could help others understand, too,” Kissinger said during a talk she gave last Sept. 18 at the Sisters of the Divine Savior Community House where she received the 2014 Woman of Faith Award.

It’s the deep-seated faith that has guided the St. Eugene, Fox Point, parishioner through her personal life struggles and her oftentimes depressing work, that’s not as well known.

continue at MkeCathHerald 

What would you ask Archbishop Jerome Listecki?

Annysa asks, send questions to her or join her.

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JS features new Maronite Catholic church in Milwaukee

Sturtevant — Monsignor Sharbel Maroun stands at the altar, holds the host in his outstretched arms and speaks in an ancient tongue.

"Ho-no den ee-taow fagh-ro deal," Maroun chants in Aramaic.

"Take this all of you and eat it."

"Dah-lo-fai-koon wah-lof sa-gee-yeh|meh-teq-seh oo-meh-tee-heb|lhoo-so-yod haow-beh wal-ha-yeh|dal-'o-lam 'ol-meen."

"For this is my body, which is broken and given for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life."

The Eucharistic prayer is the heart and the essence of the Maronite Catholic Mass, an Eastern rite that dates to the earliest days of Christianity.

It speaks to the transcendence and mystery of a savior who is both man and God. And no matter where one worships in the world — in the Middle East or Europe, in Asia or Wisconsin — it is same: chanted as it has been for centuries in the language of Jesus himself.

"This is the language of Christ," said an emotional Vera Maalouf, one of the founding members of a nascent Maronite congregation — the first of its kind in Wisconsin — founded last fall in the Racine suburb of Sturtevant.

"I tell my children, this is the closest to Christ you will ever be in this life."

The Maronite Catholic Mission of Milwaukee, which is celebrating its first Easter season on Sunday, is among 10 fledgling congregations planted over the last five years by the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon in St. Louis.

Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/religion/easter-message-rings-true-as-new-maronite-church-grows-b99250725z1-255883521.html#ixzz2zcpO3e50
Follow us: @JournalSentinel on Twitter

Nice work!

Also Video: A look inside a Maronite Good Friday service

Reaction to Journal Sentinel's new editor shows liberal bias

It's almost as if somebody left the barn door at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel open and the horses have wandered out to the field for everyone to see.

There is an itty-bitty flap brewing that by itself might not seem like much. But if you look closely, it tells us a lot about the biggest source of news in the state of Wisconsin. Not only the biggest, but the slowest, least dynamic and, perhaps, even least relevant to people’s lives.

The Journal Sentinel just hired someone named David Paulsen to be Breaking News Editor. Using breaking news and Journal Sentinel in the same sentence is something that occurs less frequently as each month passes. Paulsen comes to the paper after stints as a reporter in Wausau and Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and two years at Fox News.

Well, when the announcement was made the cries from staffers in the newsroom in Downtown Milwaukee could be heard throughout the civilized world.

The first was that here was another case of a white man getting a management job. Staffers complained there were no women in leadership positions. Probably a legitimate gripe, although the publisher of the newspaper is a woman.

But the most revealing complaint came when the staff b**ched about this guy coming from Fox News. Everybody knows about Fox News. Right wing. Ultra-conservative. The home of Bill O’Reilly.

How could a "real" newspaper hire someone like this? That was the refrain. Over and over again. More pandering to the right wing.

continue at OnMilwaukee

21 newspapers including the Wisconsin State Journal switch to Romney

In the final hours of the presidential campaign, the largest endorsing newspaper in the swing state of Wisconsin has thrown its support to GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

In an editorial published Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal said:

This is not an easy endorsement to make.

Obama is the more likeable candidate and inspiring speaker. Obama inherited a mess from his predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush, who was even more disappointing than Obama has been.

Obama got us out of Iraq. He pressured public schools to reform. He gave the final order that got Osama bin Laden.

But this election is about jobs, the slow economy and Washington’s dysfunction. Our leaders can’t even pass a budget, much less stabilize soaring debt that’s burdening our children and grandchildren.

continue at Poynter

Also Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is no longer endorsing candidates, which probably means that they were going to endorse Romney and there was a civil war.  For the record, I don't think Romney will win Wisconsin, but I'd love to be proven wrong. 

Abp. Listeck blasts Lassa-Pasch coalition, sloppy MJS reporting, sets the record straight

My emphasis:

Since my return from Rome last week, I have been catching up on all the things that happened while I was away for the ad limina trip and the consistory where my friend and predecessor Timothy M. Dolan was elevated to the office of Cardinal.

The first thing that confronted me was the media coverage of the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 proceeding and statements made about the number of abuse claims filed and the safety of children in the Church today.
Any instance of sexual abuse of a minor is a disgusting sin and a horrible crime. My heartfelt apology goes out to anyone who has been harmed. When Pope Benedict visited the United States in April 2008, he rightly referred to the sexual abuse of children by priests as “evil” and a “sin,” acknowledging that the crisis was “sometimes very badly handled by Church leaders.”

However, statements reported as facts in the media, go beyond the adversarial rhetoric we have come to expect in this proceeding. On top of that, several state legislators, without having access to factual information regarding any of the claims, compounded the issue by calling for the state attorney general to investigate, unaware that both old and new claims have been turned over to and been reviewed by district attorneys for more than a decade.

The combination of these two actions is, to me, the equivalent of shouting “fire” in a crowded movie theater and it set off a number of anxious inquiries from our people to which I feel compelled to respond. Here are the facts about the archdiocese’s policies and protocols that have been rigorously followed since 2002.

First, of all the claims filed in the archdiocesan bankruptcy only one (1) claim alleges sexual abuse occurring since 2000. That means the vast majority of claims allege incidents of abuse that date back decades, in some cases more than 70 years.[the Lassa-Pasch coalition and MJS support prosecution of dead priests] This means the Safe Environment education and protocols implemented by the archdiocese in the mid-1990s are working. As a point of comparison, there have been more than 40 cases of sexual abuse in our state involving public school personnel since 2000 -- and those are just the cases where a person was convicted in court.

Second, it is true that some new names of diocesan priests did surface in the claims process. In those instances, if the accused is still alive, the claim has been sent to the appropriate district attorney’s office for review. If the district attorney chooses not to pursue the case, the archdiocese follows its policies and conducts an independent investigation. During that time, the priest is restricted from public ministry. In addition, any claim against a religious order priest is sent to the religious order with a copy of the allegation sent to the district attorney. This has been diocesan policy for years and it was at my insistence that we worked with the claimants’ attorneys to ensure we could continue this investigative process in Chapter 11. We encourage anyone making a claim involving a lay person to also follow our lead and report the claim to the district attorney.

Third, and just as important, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has listed the names of diocesan priests with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor on its website since 2004. When Cardinal Dolan made the decision to list these names, he faced a tremendous amount of criticism since the majority of those listed were never convicted of a crime. No other organization that I am aware of has taken such a drastic step to publicly identify perpetrators within its own organization. Our state legislators should demand public school districts to do the same for teachers and school employees who have been charged with sexual abuse.

Fourth, claimants’ attorneys said there are 75 new priests named in claims who are not listed on the archdiocesan website. What they neglected to say is that all of these priests are either dead or have been reported to the district attorney.

Fifth, claims filed in the Chapter 11 totaled approximately 570 claims. Attorneys representing abuse survivors have attempted to make the pool of claims as large as possible, including at least three tort attorneys who purchased television advertising to solicit clients. In a claims process, anyone can say anything about anybody. Now the system will evaluate those claims.

There is no excuse for what happened within the Church. But there is also no excuse for public officials or media to hold the Church to a different standard than other institutions in society.

As a Church, WE voluntarily hold ourselves to a higher standard. I wish each perpetrator could be punished under criminal law, but as the district attorneys tell us, that is not possible. Instead, the Church has imposed its own rigorous standards and consequences, as proven by the 44 priest-perpetrators listed on the archdiocesan website who either are no longer priests or can no longer serve in any public ministry. We exercise this degree of accountability regardless of the criminal statutes of limitations and it goes beyond what civil authorities can impose.

Since 2004, the archdiocese voluntarily implemented a mediation system that allowed abuse survivors to seek the resolution the criminal courts would not allow, namely, a way to receive assurance their perpetrator was held accountable and that they themselves received pastoral, spiritual, therapeutic and financial considerations. We fought to try and continue this mediation system in the bankruptcy proceeding, but claimants’ attorneys said “no.”

Our Safe Environment initiatives have trained more than 30,000 people who work with children; conducted criminal background checks on staff and volunteers; and provided tools and training for people to recognize suspicious behavior.

These continued attacks on the Church are to be expected. They’ve been happening in different forms for centuries. They have been elevated during this past decade when the Church has admittedly been humbled by the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Reporters, editorial writers and some legislators will use this opportunity to try and weaken the Church’s teaching authority, especially on social issues such as marriage, abortion, workers’ rights, health care and religious freedom. I will not allow that to happen.

In the Chapter 11 proceeding, our goals remain the same. The archdiocese wants to reach resolution with abuse survivors and continue its essential ministries for those who rely upon the Church for assistance.

During this penitential season of Lent, we must humble ourselves in front of our Lord, asking forgiveness for our sins and demonstrating our resolve to ensure nothing like this can ever happen again. As the leader of this Catholic community, I must also call for all involved in this proceeding to act justly and speak truthfully as we continue to reach out and attempt to bring healing through the mandate of Christ to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

In His Name,

Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki

Arch Milwaukee

Wow!
 
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Milwaukee Journal Sentinal endorses Lassa-Pasch bill - cites "religious leaders" opposition

Past efforts to pass a child victims bill ran into opposition from religious leaders in Wisconsin and their insurers. Concerns that small churches, in particular, might have to go bankrupt and close their doors because of financial claims from past victims have some merit and deserve consideration.

But Pasch argued that closing doors has not been the experience in other states where such laws have been passed, California and Delaware. The Lassa-Pasch bill is modeled on those laws, and there is no reason to expect a different outcome here.  [Better worded legislation is what will convince me, not, nobody has used the loopholes yet - it will be fine]

And in the case of the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese, that boat has sailed. The archdiocese is already in a bankruptcy proceeding as a result of claims from victims of clergy abuse but has assured parishioners that church doors won't be closed as a result.  [Bankrupting the dioceses of Wisconsin is the goal here??  Why don't they take a look at Milwaukee's pastoral plan.  Parishes are already being consolidated.]

The partisan divide in Madison is deep and bitter, but the Child Victims Act is not a partisan measure. It's a measure aimed at helping past and future victims of abuse. Even though it is being introduced by two Democrats, all legislators should see beyond the divide and support this bill.  [Not discussed, how much money each victim should be awarded(not to mention where that money comes from), or the ongoing work that the Milwaukee Archdiocese is already doing with victims.  Nobody can undo the past, only to help victims with their grief and work to put safeguards in place so that it never happens again.  This bill doesn't put any safeguards in place, and it doesn't put predators behind bars.]

MJS

Nobody's quoting Jeff Anderson anymore which makes me think his motives have become a little too transparent.  His fake rallies do a disservice to victims really.  It makes it look staged - like there aren't really victims out there hurting, and treat Catholic Dioceses like cigarette companies adding arsenic to tobacco.  Do they want to take money away from our orphanage in Peru?  Those eeeeeevil bishops with all their monnnnnneeeeeey!  Excuse me, but bishops don't make money, we do, and then we give it to them to do good works(including healing of victims).  Victims do need funds for healing, but so do orphanages in Peru.

I would totally support this bill if it had something to do with criminal prosecution of abusers.  But it doesn't.  And it doesn't stop it from happening again.  What does it have to do with?  Say it with me:

Those eeeeeeeeevil bishops with all their monnnnnneeeeeey!

More on fetal tissue research from the Milwaukee Journal

A follow-up post from yesterday's post on using aborted fetal tissue in research.

On Sunday, there was a column in the Milwaukee Journal opposing a ban on aborted fetal tissue research.

I submitted a letter to the editor and it will be published tomorrow (or you can read it online today.)

And here is the Milwaukee Journal editorial board on the issue, stating moral concerns hold no sway in this brave new world we're living in.

In a blog post on the issue, the Milwaukee Journal states they will be publishing commentary from Medical College of Wisconsin researchers this week (MCW performs research with aborted body parts, as does UW-Madison).

Catholic doctors/medical professionals, please weigh in. The time is now.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist: "Ban on fetal tissue research would be a mistake"

From Pro-Life Wisconsin:

The below article was in the Sept. 10 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Sept. 11 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal. Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, writes about Rep. Andre Jacque's bill, currently in the Wisconsin legislature, that would ban the use of aborted fetal body parts in research projects in the state. Read the bill here. Despite Still's lengthy list of medical research benefiting from aborted fetal tissue, one cannot escape the fact that the purported benefit derives from human beings that are killed and experimented upon without their consent.

The legislation bans persons from knowingly and for valuable consideration acquiring, receiving, or transferring a fetal body part. It also bans persons from knowingly providing, receiving, or using for experimentation a fetal body part. Fetal body part is defined to mean a cell, tissue, organ, or other part of an unborn child who is aborted by an induced abortion.

University of Wisconsin (UW) officials already attacked the bill, claiming that it will have a “chilling effect” on the biomedical research UW Madison is currently conducting using aborted fetal tissue. Click here for a Capital Times article detailing the UW’s opposition to AB 214 and Rep. Jacque’s and PLW’s response.

There is documented evidence of UW conducting research on human fetal brain and pancreatic tissue, most recently a 2000 fetal brain cell study conducted by Su-Chun Zhang of the UW-Madison Department of Medical Sciences used immature neural cells from fetal human brain tissue of 15-20 gestation weeks “after elective termination of intrauterine pregnancies” to study neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. The study acknowledged Dr. Dennis Christenson, a late-term abortionist, for his “assistance in this project.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Ban on fetal tissue research would be a mistake

Tom Still

A report last week in PLoS Biology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, offers a ready example of why Wisconsin lawmakers should tread carefully around a proposal to ban research using fetal tissue.

Researchers at the University of California and Texas A&M discovered that a somewhat mysterious soft tissue found in the fetus during early development in the womb plays a vital role in the formation of mature beta cells, the sole source of the body's insulin.

Scientists believe the discovery may lead to new ways of addressing Type I and Type II diabetes, conditions that have reached epidemic proportions in the United States and beyond.

It just the latest example of how researchers in Wisconsin and beyond use cells derived from human fetal tissue to pursue cures for chronic diseases, to develop and produce vaccines, and to conduct basic research on a wide range of human health issues.

A bill introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature would make it a crime for Wisconsin researchers to continue using those cells, even though they have done so legally, ethically and effectively for 50 years or more.

Lawmakers who believe they are merely standing firm against abortion should think twice about the far-reaching effects of this bill on medical research and the state's innovation economy.

Assembly Bill 214 and Senate Bill 172 would prohibit "a person knowingly and for valuable consideration acquiring, receiving or otherwise transferring a fetal body part in this state."

The identical bills define cells and tissues as fetal body parts, and they also ban "providing, receiving or using for experimentation a fetal body part" in Wisconsin - even if there was no "valuable consideration."

If passed, the bill would effectively halt valuable work in scores of laboratories at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Medical College of Wisconsin and beyond, shut down long-standing research projects and essentially chase many researchers and emerging companies out of the state.

Click here to read the rest. To submit a letter to the editor, click here.

We've hit the big time now...

The BC quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin Right to Life sent an email to supporters Tuesday telling them a so-called personhood amendment to the state constitution is "wrong for Wisconsin."

An amendment to grant personhood to unborn children would be risky and would not provide "permanent protection" for unborn children, says the email, which links to a video that lists other reasons to oppose such an amendment.

The Badger Catholic Blogger says Wisconsin Right to Life sent a letter to state lawmakers last month saying Rep. Andre Jacque (R-Bellevue) is considering proposing such an amendment and that the organization would oppose it [and actively lobby against personhood... should be interesting, falling in step with Planned Parenthood and NARAL].

Statutory rape ad campaign launches in Milwaukee

From Pro-Life Wisconsin:

Back in May, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote about an effort by United Way of Greater Milwaukee to reduce teen pregnancy in Milwaukee. The effort involved an ad campaign using Disney-type fairy princesses; the ad campaign was put on hold due to concerns of copyright infringement.

Today, the “Fairytale statutory rape ad campaign” launched at bus stops throughout the city. Read more here. See ad, left.

Eliminating teenage pregnancy is something we’re all in favor of, but mixing United Way, Planned Parenthood, sex ed and Disney princesses into the mix is hardly the solution.

United Way is tied very closely to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (click here for a 2010 pledge form, listing PPWI as a “Community Health Charity”). In addition, United Way and PPWI are members of a “Healthy Youth Alliance,” pushing comprehensive sex ed across Wisconsin. The list of ties goes on and on.

The point is this: United Way refers these young girls to PPWI for treatment or “services.” PPWI has been shown willing to cover up purported statutory rape, sending these young girls right back to their abusers. It’s a vicious circle, rather than a deplorable societal injustice moving toward an end point.

Through its ties to Planned Parenthood, United Way is assisting in the cover-up of statutory rape, exacerbating the problem and allowing it to continue.

Continuing to push “comprehensive” sex ed on young girls starting at age 8, and then wondering why the teenage pregnancy rate is so high, is akin to holding a lighted match next to a piece of paper and then wondering why it catches on fire. If young girls are told it’s OK to have sex with a wink and a nod, and there are cultural factors at play here as well, that’s something an ad campaign can’t fix.

I highly recommend reading this article about teenage pregnancy in urban high schools, titled “Nobody gets married anymore, Mister.” It’s long but worth the read. It will make you think, and wonder where our society is going. Excerpt here:

Within my lifetime, single parenthood has been transformed from shame to saintliness. In our society, perversely, we celebrate the unwed mother as a heroic figure, like a fireman or a police officer. During the last presidential election, much was made of Obama’s mother, who was a single parent. Movie stars and pop singers flaunt their daddy-less babies like fishing trophies.

None of this is lost on my students. In today’s urban high school, there is no shame or social ostracism when girls become pregnant. Other girls in school want to pat their stomachs. Their friends throw baby showers at which meager little gifts are given. After delivery, the girls return to school with baby pictures on their cell phones or slipped into their binders, which they eagerly share with me. Often they sit together in my classes, sharing insights into parenting, discussing the taste of Pedialite or the exhaustion that goes with the job. On my way home at night, I often see my students in the projects that surround our school, pushing their strollers or hanging out on their stoops instead of doing their homework.

The month of Our Lady

Lucy Gutierrez, 7, rehearses the crowning of the Virgin Mary with the guidance of Kurt Keidl on Sunday before the 31st annual May crowning and procession at the Archdiocesan Marian Shrine at N. 68th and W. Stevenson St. in Milwaukee. After the crowning, about 300 people took part in a Eucharistic rosary procession around the neighborhood. The procession included members of the Knights of Columbus and two religious orders of nuns in traditional habits, as well as the faithful.

JSOnline  HT V

MJS takes jab at Catholic supporters of Gov. Walker

Father Ken Knippel of St. John Vianney Parish in Brookfield, where Walker has many supporters, wants to talk about the budget with his church, but knows he must tread lightly.

A recent off-handed quip likening the bickering by Jewish sects in Jesus' day to today's contentious political debates drew a caustic rebuke from one parishioner.

"I don't want to sound like I'm taking a political position. . . . There are faithful Republicans and faithful Democrats," said Knippel. "At the same time, I am preaching the Gospel."

That tension is apparent in the way faith communities are addressing the issue.

"At this point, we prefer the more positive approach of affirming those things we think society and government ought to fund, instead of pointing fingers at people," said John Huebscher, executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.

JSOnline

As I've pointed out here Abp Listecki's staff stated that the WCC took a neutral position.  BTW, note some Emeriti that still are on the board there.

Fr. Knippel is afraid how Catholic Walker supporters will respond?  I'd like to know what specifically he'd like to talk about that he hasn't been able to address.  Does he have that same problem when he's preaching on pro-life issues? 

Huebscher's bizarre statement I guess is meant to teach us that questioning anything currently funded by the state is a very bad thing, and means that we are pointing fingers wrongly.  I'm certain we are being mean spirited.  So if I read that correctly, the WCC can only point out how to spend money, but not to comment on immoral spending habits?  If the state was spending money on sweat shops in South America used to create our drivers licenses - misspellings punished by chopping workers hands off - would that maybe be a good time to do some finger pointing?

Listecki "welcomes a fair and unbiased review" of financial statements

As we continue the process of Chapter 11 Reorganization, various voices are emerging, making claims about the financial resources, funds and trusts of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. For instance, in yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel[MJS accuses Listecki of opposing opening books], you may have read about a legal motion that was filed by the creditors’ committee in the reorganization proceeding, seeking permission to hire a financial auditing firm.

In a bankruptcy proceeding, the “creditors” (in this case, victims/survivors) are represented by a committee appointed by the Office of the United States Trustee. Legal counsel is appointed by the court to represent the committee and that legal counsel, by law, is paid for by the debtor – the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The committee has the ability to request professional assistance with the approval of the court. The motion requests permission to hire a financial advisor. The fees for those professionals (at up to $650 per hour), would also be paid for by the debtor (the archdiocese).

It is important for you to know that clear, factual financial information is now (and has been) readily available in financial reports on the archdiocesan website. I also want to assure you that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has been forthright in sharing complete financial information with the attorneys for victims/survivors – prior to the Chapter 11 proceeding (in the mediation process) and currently in the Chapter 11 proceeding through the required court reporting.

In addition, at my direction, attorneys for the archdiocese have been voluntarily, cooperatively and proactively working with the creditors’ committee to develop an informal and cost-effective way to share information (as long as we can assure the privacy of victims/survivors is maintained).

The bottom line is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee welcomes a fair and unbiased review of our financial statements. Our financial statements are audited annually by outside, professional auditors and publicly posted on the archdiocesan website, and those statements document archdiocesan financial transactions.

In a high profile case like this one, there is a temptation to allow the media to become the arbiter of the issues being raised when that is the role of the Court. We intend to ask the Court whether the committee should be permitted to spend our already limited resources on reviewing financial statements and information that has already been made available in a transparent and straightforward way.

Full statement at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee

SNAP after Milwaukee Erica P John Charity, will Catholic Charities be next?

The nonprofit Erica P. John Fund, which has given millions of dollars to the archdiocese and other organizations over the years, is among a number of revenue sources expected to be scrutinized by creditors in the archdiocese's bankruptcy.

Victims and their attorneys [Can we just call then SNAP?  Anderson seems to refuse to let newspapers just call them SNAP, I'm not sure why.  Any time I see "victims" I read  "Jeff Anderson" which would be the honest way of reporting it.] question the timing of the name change in 2009, suggesting it may have been intended to obscure the fund's true purpose - to financially support the archdiocese - and may have been part of a broader effort by the archdiocese to shield its resources from being used for sex abuse claims.

The John Fund referred all questions to its attorneys. Goldfarb said the name was changed to honor its founder, who remains on the three-member board of directors, along with her daughter Paula John and Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki.

Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said the John Fund, as a private foundation, cannot be tapped to pay sex church abuse settlements and that its grants obtained by the archdiocese are restricted to specific uses.

Proceeds from the fund - more specifically, from the sale of a property it donated - were used to pay $450,000 in hush money in 1998 to a man who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by then-Archbishop Rembert Weakland when he was a seminary student years earlier. Weakland, who abruptly retired after the payment became public in 2002, has maintained that the relationship was consensual.

JSOnline

Some of Erica P John Funds evil funds at work:
Milwaukee Adult Literacy Services
Jesuit Volunteers
FADICA
EWTN
Capuchin Province of St Joseph
Here's an excerpt from the Capuchin article.

“Mrs. John has been an inspiration to us all as she truly lives the Franciscan vision,” Celichowski explains. “She is a very humble individual who has selflessly given of herself in order to help others.”

Erica John, wife of the late Harry John, and her family have a long history with the Province, dating back to the extraordinary generosity of Ernst Miller, son of the founder of Miller Brewery, who helped finance the building of St. Benedict the Moor parish, in 1908.

Erica met Harry John, grandson of Miller Brewery founder Fred Miller, in Rome, Italy, where she was born and raised.  After coming to Milwaukee, Erica worked side by side with Harry at ‘Fr. Stephen’s Youth Camp’ (named after a Capuchin) for inner-city youth, which supported the Capuchin ministry at St. Benedict the Moor parish. 

Erica and Harry married in 1955 and had nine children, whom they raised in simplicity.  They continued their involvement as advocates for and benefactors to Milwaukee’s African American community through the DeRance Foundation.  The DeRance Foundation was dissolved in 1992, but much of its good work goes on through the AMS Fund/Erica P. John Fund, formed with Erica, daughter Paula, and Milwaukee’s Archbishop as board members.

“As children of these inspiring individuals, Erica and Harry, we are very proud of the commitment they both made to serve and financially support those in need in Milwaukee, with a special focus on African Americans, Native Americans and education.” said son Gregory.

That's what Jeff Anderson want to take money away from; "African American & Native American education."  Hard to believe that the MJS is happy to go along with this and suppress the good being done by EPJ Fund.  Plus the John family are Democrats(unfortunately that means likely not pro-life) too!