Weekly Contribution for the weekend of April 27, 2014

Total Parish Pledges decreased by $325.

“From the Pastor’s Desk” May 4, 2014

Archdiocese survey finds diverging views among area Catholics

 

 

The majority of Catholics responding to a survey by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee do not accept church teachings that ban artificial contraception or prohibit divorced and remarried members from receiving the sacraments.

They believe the church should permit same-sex unions. And they do not consider the church as the moral authority on issues related to the family.

Those are among the findings of a first-of-its-kind survey of area Catholics solicited by Pope Francis and posted last month on the archdiocese's website.

The results of the survey, conducted at Francis' behest by dioceses around the world, will provide the context for an extraordinary synod on marriage and the family planned by the Vatican for October

The 1,300 respondents represent just a fraction of the 10-county archdiocese's reported 600,000 members. And the results aren't particularly surprising: They're in sync with those in other U.S. dioceses that have made theirs public, and research has long suggested that Catholics mirror the broader society on many social issues.

Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/religion/milwaukee-archdiocese-survey-questions-church-on-family-issues-b99258971z1-257418241.html#ixzz30QnIbmcv

The survey results are available at:   http://www.archmil.org/ArchMil/Resources/COMM/2014ExtraordinarySynodResults.pdf

Council of Cardinals to meet with Francis for fourth time | National Catholic Reporter

 

Following their last meeting, held in February, Francis announced a sweeping reorganization of the church's financial structures -- creating a new central office for financial matters called the Secretariat for the Economy. Sydney Cardinal George Pell, a member of the Council of Cardinals, was appointed to lead the office.

Francis established the Council of Cardinals last year to "study a project of revision" of the Vatican's bureaucracy.

The Vatican has not indicated what the cardinals might be studying in their April meeting. But in a visit to the U.S. in early April, the group's coordinator, Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, said Francis is seeking a "new way" of governing the church.

Click on the following for more details:  Council of Cardinals to meet with Francis for fourth time | National Catholic Reporter

Sesquicentennial Events

 

Weekly Contribution for the weekend of April 20, 2014

 

Three additional families pledged.  Total Parish Pledges increased by $115.

Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy plan to be put to vote | FOX 11 Online | WLUK-TV

 

The archdiocese has maintained that it is liable only for abuse committed by its priests, and people who were abused by religious order priests or lay people working in schools or parishes should seek compensation from those organizations. Victims believe the archdiocese has responsibility for all priests and lay people working within its boundaries.

Bankruptcy Judge Susan Kelley told the archdiocese’s lawyers to explain in documents going to creditors why the plan divided victims into groups to be paid or not paid instead of turning the money over to them and letting them decide how to divide it up, which is how other church bankruptcies have been handled.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy plan to be put to vote | FOX 11 Online | WLUK-TV