Fr. Arthur W. Heindl dies -- Posted: 3/7/2008, 5:24 p.m. Central Time Fr. Arthur W. Heindl DORCHESTER, Wis. -- A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 12, at 11 a.m. at St. Louis Church, 133 N. Third St., Dorchester, for Fr. Arthur W. Heindl, 94, a retired priest of the Diocese of Madison, who died on March 6. Fr. Benjamin Franklin will be the main celebrant. Visitation will be held at St. Louis Church on Tuesday, March 11, from 4 to 8 p.m., with the Rosary recited at 7 p.m. Additional visitation will be held on Wednesday morning, March 12, from 10 a.m. until the Mass. A luncheon will follow in the church basement. Burial will take place at the Catholic Cemetery of LaCrosse on Thursday, March 13. Father Heindl was born on September 18, 1914 in Dorchester to Elizabeth and Nic Heindl. He attended Pickard Public and St. Louis, Waterford, grade schools and Salvatorian Seminary High School in St. Nazianz, Wis. He also attended college at Salvatorian Seminary, St. Nazianz and St. John, Collegeville, Minn. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of LaCrosse on May 18, 1940 by Bishop William Griffin, Bishop of LaCrosse. He served as associate pastor of St. John Parish, Marshfield; St. Paul Parish, Bloomer; and St. Clement Parish, Lancaster. He served as pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish, Seymour, linked with St. Peter Mission, Elk Grove; St. Thomas Parish, Montfort, linked with St. Anthony Parish, Highland; and St. Mary Parish, Fennimore. He also served as pastor of St. Boniface Parish, Lime Ridge, linked with Holy Family Mission, LaValle, from 1966 to his retirement in 1984.

Packed hearing on abortion law

MADISON -- Booing and hissing occasionally interrupted the public hearing at the state Capitol on February 27 for a contentious Wisconsin State Senate bill that would repeal a 150-year-old anti-abortion statute.

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The hearing filled two overflow rooms as well as packed the room where the Senate Committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance, and Job Creation met to listen to testimony regarding, among other bills, SB 398.

The bill, also called the "Women's Health and Safety Act," would repeal statute 940.04, which provides a penalty for those who perform abortions. The law would only come into effect if Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, were overturned.

Many of those present at the hearing wore stickers reading "Save 940.04," distributed by Wisconsin Right to Life. The non-profit pro-life group had bused groups in from Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Wausau for the hearing, adding to many who came from around the Diocese of Madison and groups, including some school groups, from the Diocese of La Crosse.

Susan Armacost, legislative director of WRTL, told the Catholic Herald a half hour into the hearing that nearly all of their 500 stickers had been distributed.

Outside the hearing room, a group of Catholics led by Fr. Rick Heilman, pastor of Mt. Horeb and Pine Bluff parishes, prayed the rosary.

But despite the sea of "Save 940.04" stickers, not all of those present were against SB 398. Testimony, which occasionally lashed out at those on other sides of the issue, lasted for more than five hours despite the five-minute cap on speakers and alternated between those speaking for and against the bill.   Full story ...

	News & Features: • Special section: Catholic Marriage • You light up our parish: St. William, Janesville, welcomes new members • St. Dennis School lights the way during Catholic Schools Week • Pope's trip to the United States: He will find multicultural church marked by stronger laity Columns: • Question Corner by Fr. John Dietzen -- Holy Saturday evening Mass • The Pope Speaks by Pope Benedict XVI -- St. Augustine of Hippo's conversion • Subscribe to print edition Future special sections: Church/Building Renovation: Mar. 13, 2008 Easter, Senior Focus: Mar. 20, 2008 Call 608-821-3070 to advertise or subscribe.