As many of you know, I am from the great city of Chicago. Many folks tell me “you can take the kid out of Chicago; but you can’t take Chicago out of the kid.” I always thought that was a compliment of sorts since I really still have great fondness for my hometown.

Recently, of course, I have really found myself dodging a few remarks about Chicago’s political leaders – both local and national. The remarks and the leaders who provoke them have made me less proud to speak about the Chicago I know and love.

A few weeks ago, however, one of my personal heroes, himself a proud Chicagoan, took hold of the bully pulpit that is rightfully his and spoke to the issues better than anyone I’ve ever heard. That hero, of course, is his eminence Cardinal Francis George, the Archbishop of Chicago. I am providing you with a little of his blog from two weeks ago and encourage you to follow the link to the complete entry. He makes the point in his usual clear and concise style. It is a “teachable moment” that I am happy to share with you.

Recent comments by those who administer our city seem to assume that the city government can decide for everyone what are the “values” that must be held by citizens of Chicago. I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval. Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city? Is the City Council going to set up a “Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities” and call those of us who are suspect to appear before it? I would have argued a few days ago that I believe such a move is, if I can borrow a phrase, “un-Chicagoan.”

The value in question is espousal of “gender-free marriage.” Approval of state-sponsored homosexual unions has very quickly become a litmus test for bigotry; and espousing the understanding of marriage that has prevailed among all peoples throughout human history is now, supposedly, outside the American consensus. Are Americans so exceptional that we are free to define “marriage” (or other institutions we did not invent) at will? What are we re-defining?

For the rest of the Cardinal’s blog entry, follow this link:

http://www.archchicago.org/blog/comments.aspx?PostID=276

…and I’ll see you at Sunday Mass.

As the month of August begins, we are reminded that the clock is ticking. We have one year to “update” our thinking – to reform our consciences – to change our beliefs. Basically, we have one year to become good secularists and bad Catholics, according to the federal government. In one year, Aug. 1, 2013, the accommodation offered by President Obama regarding the HHS mandates will go into place for all Catholic institutions as they went into place yesterday for everyone else including some Catholic businesses. Religious freedom – our first and most cherished liberty – is not being considered by the Administration and millions of other Americans, as an important element in this debate.

Many, including a large number of people under our own Catholic tent, seem to overlook the obvious government exclusion of the Constitution, preferring to vilify the Church because we refuse to support contraception and abortion as simple facts of life in a modern and sophisticated world. I guess they just expect us to take our old fashioned ideas about religious liberty, patriotism, and the sacred dignity of humanity, and just go curl up in the corner someplace and quietly wait for our inevitable death.

Please don’t lose sight of this unjust burden being placed on the shoulders of people of faith. It’s not about a war on women. It’s not about a contraception battle. It’s not about us verses them. This matter has been resolved. In 1776, the truths we hold and proclaim in this struggle over the mandates were declared self-evident, inalienable rights endowed upon us by our Creator. In 1789, the Constitution of the United States became the guarantor of the great American Republic, and in 1791 the Bill of Rights ensured religious freedom as the first among many of our cherished rights.

Our Catholic institutions, in particular, have stood the challenges of time and the assaults of intolerance and hatred all over the world. In this age, it is up to us to turn back an unprecedented violation of Constitutional protection and freedom. If you haven’t called your representative in Congress to make your voice heard, please do so. If you have not said the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel at least once today, do that before you call.

. . . and I’ll see you at Sunday Mass.

As we in northcentral and western Wisconsin deal with unpleasant and uncomfortable temperatures and more and more political “hot air” blowing our way, it might be nice to take a look at what’s happening with our brothers and sisters “across the pond” in preparation for the Olympic Games in London that start on Friday, July 27 and continue until Sunday, Aug. 12.

Always exciting to watch, the Summer Olympics have provided some interesting forms of “new evangelization” in London and its environs. The Catholic Church in England and Wales initiated More Than Gold, an ecumenical program, that enables Britain’s Christian communities to engage with the 2012 Games in the hope that churches will taste the excitement of reaching their wider communities in fresh and ongoing ways in Jesus’ name.

More Than Gold was originally launched in Britain in 2007 in the presence of various significant members of Parliament, His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor (Cardinal-Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster [London]) and Archbishop Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury).

To date, 15 denominations ranging from the Orthodox to the Seventh Day Adventists to the black-led independent churches are all jointly praying, planning and working to serve the 2012 Games under the banner of More Than Gold.

More Than Gold is concentrating on three specific ways of making the most of the 2012 Games: community engagement, hospitality and service.

In 2012, More Than Gold serves as an interface between the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Games’ organizing committee, and churches;More Than Gold programs, however, have no official relationship with the committee.

As part of the Catholic Church’s engagement alongside the 2012 Games, there will be two large official Masses. The first will mark the start of the 30th Olympic Games at Westminster Cathedral (in London) on Saturday, July 28 at 2:30 p.m. The second will be offered in September.

So, if you’re planning to beat the heat and head over to England, you may want to take note of some solid gold Gospel in action on the part of the Church!

… and I’ll see you at Sunday Mass!

What a day! I have to tell you that I am so proud of all of you. So many people from many parts of the diocese made it to the cathedral yesterday – the Fourth of July – for the Mass we celebrated in thanksgiving to God for the blessings of liberty and the opportunity to live in this great country. Our cathedral was nearly filled with faithful Catholics who value the gifts of freedom that are guaranteed by our founding documents. Citizenship in these United States, however, certainly requires vigilance from us. There are always those who will fight to remain enslaved to ideologies and philosophies contrary to those expressed in those hallowed documents. We celebrated the Author of liberty and freedom as we bowed our heads, listened to God’s Word, received Him into our hearts and went forth to proclaim His presence in the world in us.

Thanks to all the faithful and good pastors of our diocese who made freedom ring from the bell towers of our parish churches across Wisconsin. That was another act of liberty and a simple proclamation that we are here and we are not going away…

Just let me close by sharing a few quotes from the homily of Archbishop Charles Chaput of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia during the Mass he celebrated at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. I think you may find some further food for thought and inspiration.

The Archbishop spoke, quoting Paul Claudel, the French poet and diplomat of the last century, who once described the Christian as, “A man who knows what he is doing and where he is going in a world [that] no longer [knows] the difference between good and evil, between yes and no. He is like a god standing out in a crowd of invalids. … He alone has liberty in a world of slaves.”

Continuing, Archbishop Chaput said, “We’re free only to the extent that we unburden ourselves of our own willfulness and practice the art of living according to God’s plan. When we do this, when we choose to live according to God’s intentions for us, then – and only then – will we be truly free.

“This is the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. It’s the freedom of Miguel Pro, of Mother Teresa, Maximillian Kolbe, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and all the other holy women and men who have gone before us to do the right thing, the heroic thing, in the face of suffering, adversity and death.

“This is the kind of freedom that can transform the world. And it should animate all of our talk about liberty – religious or otherwise.”

And I sure hope to see you at Sunday Mass!

The nation, as it were, held its breath for a while as the Supreme Court pondered and today issued its ruling on the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court has a special role to play in our system of government. The Constitution gives it the power to check, if necessary, the actions of the president and Congress. It can tell a president that his actions are not allowed by the Constitution. It can tell Congress that a law it passed violates the U.S. Constitution and is, therefore, no longer a law. It can also tell the government of a state that one of its laws violates the Constitution.

The Supreme Court is the final judge in all cases involving laws of Congress, and the highest law of all, the Constitution. The highest court in the land, whose job it is to determine and review the constitutionality of laws, has ruled that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional; thus bringing to closure the controversy concerning its existence as the law of the land becoming fully operational in 2014. The Court, of course, does not necessarily rule on the popular merits of the law – simply its legality.

The decision of the Supreme Court, furthermore, does not affect the constitutionality of the Health and Human Services mandate that will force Catholic institutions to pay for contraceptive and abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and other abortifacient procedures in their insurance plans. The HHS mandate was issued after the Affordable Care Act was made law and the case challenging it was submitted to the High Court. In other words, our lawsuit grinds on in the courts and our efforts to challenge it are now more significant than ever.

The HHS mandate still poses a threat to the cherished First Amendment of all Americans, not just Catholics, although it is particularly odious to us. Our work in awakening the consciousness of Catholics and other men and women of good will is not over and we have not been overcome by the ruling of the Supreme Court in favor of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. To lose our energy in the struggle at this point is to simply give up – capitulate – suggesting that this is a political matter only. We have never held that to be the case.

While political issues boil around us, and certainly blatant language abounds, ours is a struggle that continues. Ours is a struggle beyond political boundaries that maintains the value and integrity of personal religious liberty and the power of the Constitution; we have yet to hear the end of the story concerning the assault on the First Amendment. We must remain vigilant in our hope for a legal victory. We need to stay strong in our spiritual belief of the correctness of our position; keep our hearts steadfast in prayer remaining constant in seeking divine guidance and support, for our cause is just.

Greetings from Atlanta! We bishops are concluding our Spring Plenary Assembly and even though the meeting has been short, there have been many different issues addressed and many voices heard. We even heard from the bishop of Baghdad; and that was quite a sobering moment for me personally. He, of course, spoke to the issue of religious freedom and the absolute persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters in that war-torn and impoverished country. I was touched deeply by his report and felt the fear that he communicated so vividly of his life and the lives of his people there. It is tragic, frightening, and, unfortunately, so real. It’s going to take some time and effort to process my feelings about what he said and how he said it.

Of course, the Fortnight for Freedom was center stage for our consideration and input. There is such energetic unity and support among the bishops in favor of the serious work being mounted across the country as this major historic event ignites awareness and heightens consciences of all citizens, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

Communications was featured prominently in our days together. I felt completely justified as I listened and nodded energetically to all the points that centered on the need to communicate honestly, effectively, and proactively in getting our message “out there.” I was pleased to hear that the Catholic press is alive and well, even amidst the flurry of social networking. I will wait to go further into those media once our new communications director is signed on. Nevertheless, The Catholic Times is still a great way to get our news to you!

There is much more, but I must catch a plane and get to Chicago to celebrate my niece’s wedding – and then, and I can hardly wait – to come home to our beloved diocese.

Happy Father’s Day to all the spiritual fathers of our diocese and to all the fathers of families – Happy Father’s Day, Dads. Please remain strong and give us the true image of the Father!

… and I’ll see you at Sunday Mass!

These are days of great opportunity for the Church. In many ways we are being called to witness to some of our most treasured and foundational principles. The whole idea of witnessing is something done publicly; and “publicly” is something with which we Catholics have become less comfortable over the recent years.

There was a time when you ordered a cheese sandwich in a restaurant on Friday everyone knew, or at least it was reasonable to suspect, you were a Catholic. Various cultural and social “clues” have fallen by the wayside over the years and we have become more and more homogenized with the rest of humanity. Our marriages, our choices of schools for our children, our thoughts and opinions about current events all seem to “blend in” with everyone else’s. Even some priests and sisters appear more often in “lay” clothes than in religious habits or clerical collars.

It’s almost indiscernible to discover one’s religious identity in today’s society. For the most part, I think that’s just fine with the majority of folks. Everybody’s trying to get along, not “make waves,” not “hurting anybody.” This kind of “social lobotomy” might just work were it not for the concerted efforts to make it happen by those whose job it is and whose goal it is to strip any vestige of religion out of our predictable and ordinary lives.

These are days of great opportunity for the Church. She, herself, is being called forth from her own comfort zone to come forth and become a little less secure in a world where she may have settled in a bit too snuggly. Witnessing to the truth is never easy. The Church knows this better than most – probably best of all – since she has been the champion of truth, human rights, and the dignity of each and every man and woman since her foundation on Golgotha hill outside Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago.

Witnessing to the truth has cost the Church. She has paid with blood, the loss of prestige and influence, and social ostracism. She has triumphed through all these things and more – and the truth still shines as bright and beautiful as ever, undimmed and unaltered by human contrivance or interpretation.

These days call for Catholics to remember that distinguished heritage as we make our way through a new age of secular distortion and interpretation of Pilate’s provocative question: “What is truth?”

I sure hope to see you at Sunday Mass…

Last week I joined my brother bishops from Region VII of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in attending a conference sponsored by the University of Notre Dame and the Alliance for Catholic Education. The meeting was held in Chicago and hosted by Cardinal Francis George, the Archbishop of Chicago.

Once again, clear statements and strong encouragement were offered for all those involved in the current efforts to maintain our Catholic schools and their abilities to remain on the cutting edge of spiritual and academic achievement. This is not easy, as you may well agree. Chief among issues discussed was the spiraling costs of educational institutions; and while it is considered a major concern, I believe that the underlying power of the meeting truly centered on the philosophy of Catholic education as part and parcel of the Church’s mission in the United States. This is for me a significant and vital question.

In the Diocese of La Crosse, we are poised to commit ourselves to a restructuring and redefining of our ministerial efforts in our educational institutions from our elementary schools right on through to the operations of our college and university Newman chaplaincies. This work will take years to accomplish and ultimately will create a shining example of collegial and collaborative success. Through the work already offered by so many committed members of the educational and business communities along with laity and clergy alike, the road is being mapped out and strategies are being considered that could yield vital and healthy Catholic educational institutions for the coming generations. In and of itself this planning is vital. We are at a serious point in determining the future.

The relevance of Catholic schools in the minds and hearts of many Catholics across our country still remains, I believe, a sensitive issue. If there was any one particular element that surfaced last week, I think I heard an underscoring of Pope Benedict’s treasured New Evangelization initiative for the Church. There is no doubt in my mind that the relevance of education in the faith and the personal knowledge of Jesus Christ are essential in our world today. It is evident further, that secular education in secular institutions is not the means of delivering the message of Christian virtue-centered living. Without strong, solid, integral, and faith-filled Catholic institutions, there will be no foil to the vapid secularism that rages among us.

Our diocese welcomes, Dr. Susan Holman, as the new Superintendent of Catholic Schools. No stranger to the schools’ office, Dr. Holman has served as the interim superintendent since the departure last year of Diana Roberts. We all look forward to the work of the schools’ office, the College of Deans, the Diocesan Pastoral Council, and other friends of Catholic education to assist in directing our diocese to a clear and renewed vision for the future.

And I’ll see you at Sunday Mass.

Do you remember the old days when the telephone company was called “Ma Bell?” – and when it really was a megalithic, monopolistic, conglomerate? Those days, Ma Bell told you to “reach out and touch someone” because it was “the next best thing to being there.” Every year around Mother’s Day, I remember a great story recounted by Bob Collins, a much beloved radio personality on WGN radio in Chicago. Affectionately called “Uncle Bobby” by his many listeners, Collins was solidly opinionated about almost everything and pretty willing to share those opinions with his Southern twang and infectious charm. He died in a plane crash outside Chicago in 2000. I was in Rome at that time, visiting for the Holy Year. I heard about the crash from a Vatican priest.

Well, you put Ma Bell, Bob Collins, Mother’s Day together with a touch of famed Alabama football Coach Bear Bryant, and you have a story that I think of every year – for years – since I heard it.

It seems Bryant was making a “reach out and touch” phone commercial. He characteristically used his tag line “Call your Momma.” Under his breath and not part of the script he said, “I wish I could call mine.” South Central Bell kept it in.

Collins told the story about the commercial year after year, but it was the “back side” that really grabs me … So, here it goes.

A woman called South Central Bell after the Bryant commercial ran. She spoke with some advertising person who accepted the “nice call from the nice lady” with courtesy, and was ready to say “Thank you, Good bye” when the woman said: “No, wait, you don’t understand. My husband heard that commercial and he called his mother. They had not spoken to each other for some time. They had a wonderful visit over the phone.” The ad guy was pleased and prepared to end the conversation thinking the woman was finished. She said: “There’s one other thing … my husband’s mother died that night.”

Bear Bryant died in 1983. My Mother died in 1996.

Call your Momma – I wish I could call mine.

I don’t have to draw you a picture, do I?

Happy Mother’s Day – See you at Sunday Mass!

I have traveled to many different cities around Europe and the United States; and one of the first places I like to visit in these cities is the local cathedral church. In Europe, that’s not so difficult because there are so many dioceses and most large cities have cathedrals. In the United States it may become a bit more challenging since the diocesan centers (and, hence, the cathedral churches) are fairly distant from each other. Nevertheless, cathedrals tell the great story of the faith for the local Church. They have become the living biographies, as it were, of the lives of our ancestors who have paved the way for us to be here and to live our faith today!

That brings me to today’s very interesting point. Our cathedral, under the patronage of St. Joseph the Workman, begins some major anniversary celebrations this Sunday, May 6, at the 10:30 a.m. Mass. The Cathedral Parish begins its 150^th or sesquicentennial anniversary and the present cathedral church building itself begins its 50-year anniversary at the same time.

The history of our Cathedral Parish and current cathedral church are fascinating and exciting! To give you an idea: Did you know that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863? On Jan. 6, 1863, Trustees of the new St. Joseph Parish were elected. In 1864 ground was broken for the building of the new St. Joseph Church. In 1868, the Diocese of La Crosse was created with Bishop Michael Heiss as bishop and he named the new St. Joseph Parish as the site for the cathedral of his new diocese. The cornerstone was placed in May of 1869. Father Martin Kundig (of the newly created Archdiocese of Milwaukee) dedicated the cathedral on Oct. 2, 1870 because Bishop Heiss was attending the Vatican Council in Rome, leading the American delegation of bishops discussing the matter of Papal Infallibility (which was defined at this Council by Pope Pius IX).

As I was reflecting on the material that has been provided for this great anniversary celebration, I was astonished by the wonderful confluence of events that led up to the foundation of our diocese and the beautiful story of the establishment of our cathedral.

The cathedral is first and foremost the mother-church of the diocese. It is the bishop’s church and the place from which he leads, teaches, and governs the diocese. His chair in the cathedral is called the “cathedra” and only he may sit on it as the official shepherd and leader of the faithful of the diocese. Liturgies at the cathedral may, from time to time, lend themselves to a bit more solemnity than may be found in other parish churches. Many times that is due to the involvement of the bishop in those ceremonies and the rituals that often accompany them.

This anniversary celebration will take place at our cathedral for the coming year and will involve all of us in our diocese in one way or another – and everyone is invited – no, encouraged, heartily encouraged to participate. All the parishes will be invited to celebrate Mass at the cathedral through your deaneries and with your pastors and parish priests. Remember the Year of Faith will kick off on Oct. 11, 2012 and runs through to the Solemnity of Christ the King in 2013 (the end of November). Busy times lie ahead of us; they are exciting and stimulating for our faith and our lived expression of it.

I sure hope that you will find time to get to your cathedral this year. I have proclaimed a special indulgence for those people who make a pilgrimage to the cathedral and offer the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be for the special intentions of the Holy Father along with the reception of the sacraments of penance and Eucharist according to the custom of the Church. You can make a day of it in La Crosse. The city is trying to become more visitor-friendly and is providing some good family fun. We also have the beautiful Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe where daily Mass is also offered and a beautiful restaurant is available for great eats before heading back home to any of our 19 counties and beyond.

Celebrate your history and the great heritage found at our magnificent cathedral and I look forward to seeing you at Sunday Mass!