NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

Bishop Michael Mulvey blesses the exterior of Shalom Place at the Spirit Center. See more photos of this event on SouthTexasCatholic.com/news/ShalomPlace.

Blessing and dedication of Shalom Place

South Texas Catholic

Mary Cottingham | STC

“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10).

Bishop Michael Mulvey blessed the newest addition to the Spirit Center, Shalom Place, on June 6. He also offered a prayer of dedication and protection against the coronavirus to all future visitors.

Shalom Place – a quiet space for prayer and reflection, is the final structure of the Spirit Center, at least in the foreseeable future.

It honors the dream of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament (IWBS), who established the Fannie Bluntzer Nason Renewal Center (FBNRC), also named the Spirit Center, as a Catholic retreat center open to people of other faith.

A small group of IWBS sisters, board members, and friends attended the celebration, which took place in the Activity Center. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place outside

Spirit Center board Vice President Tom Becquet, at left, begins the blessing and dedication ceremony of Shalom Place. Also in attendance are Sister Annette Wagner, IWBS, Bishop Michael Mulvey, and Ricardo Guzman project representative for the Spirit Center board.

the doors of the newest structure. Once inside the foyer, attendees saw a piece of nostalgia as the inside doors were repurposed from the former Incarnate Word Convent Chapel on Alameda Street.

Speakers included Spirit Center board Vice President Tom Becquet of FBNRC, Sister Annette Wagner, Sister Michelle Marie Kuntscher, Ricardo Guzman project representative for the FBNRC board, and Craig Baldree, president and general contractor of Progressive Structures, Inc. Baldree was charged with building all of the structures at the Spirit Center.

“On May 3, 2016, the groundbreaking took place,” Becquet said. “Bishop Mulvey blessed the land, we placed our shovels in the dirt and made it ready for Progressive Structures, Inc. to move in the machinery and work crews to do God’s work. The wilderness was tamed. On Aug. 13, 2017, Bishop Mulvey dedicated this building, the Robert and Nell Klepac Activity Center, and the dormitory building as a retreat center for youth and adults of South Texas.”

Sister Annette explained the naming of Shalom Place. While the term “shalom,” is often translated as “peace” in the west, the true meaning somehow was lost in translation. It means “the state or condition of experiencing what is needed to live a fully human life,” Sister Annette said. “A life that is not wanting in any of those elements we consider essential to complete the development of one’s personal potential and therefore the richness of community life.

“For the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, these essentials include a rich and invigorating relationship with the source of all that is good, the source of all life,” she said.

The inside doors of Shalom Place were repurposed from the old Incarnate Word Convent.

Mary Cottingham | STC

“With the dedication of Shalom Place, the Spirit Center now offers two significant settings for an encounter with God, who is love: In the many opportunities to experience the beauty and variety of our fellow creatures

throughout the center’s walkways, and in the peaceful setting of this new building. ‘I have come that they may have life and have it to the full’ (Jn 10:10),” Sister Annette said, adding, “with this promise, the Incarnate Word offers the full significance of shalom to all those who desire it. May this setting be a meeting place for shalom, the fullness of life for all who enter here.”

Sister Michelle Marie spoke of the pioneering spirit of the Bluntzer family, who settled in South Texas in 1849 and their continued contributions to the community over the years that was never limited by creed, race or nationality. She thanked neighbors John Lloyd Bluntzer and his son, Eric Bluntzer, who continue to help make improvements and lease part of the property for cattle.

The Spirit Center offers a facility with a fully equipped kitchen, an activity center, a covered pavilion, and dorms that sleep up to 96 people with separate showers and bathroom facilities.

The trees and plants that are native to the property make it an ideal place to become one with nature.

With the help of future donors, the Spirit Center will continue to develop nature trails, meditation areas, prayer groves, Stations of the Cross, a rosary path, star gazing and campfire arena, and playing fields for outdoor games and sports. These features offer youth opportunities to connect with God and one another in the great outdoors. For more information or to donate, go to bluntzerspiritcenter.org.

(The Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament contributed to this story.)

Shalom Place is set apart from the Activity Center to allow for quiet reflection and prayer for all faith groups to enjoy. Shalom Place is dedicated to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament.

Analysis: What’s next for the Supreme Court and abortion?

By Michelle La Rosa

Catholic News Agency

Monday’s ruling in June Medical Services v. Russo came as a major letdown for the pro-life movement in the U.S., dashing hopes that the Supreme Court would use the opportunity to strike at the foundation of legalized abortion in the country.

But the Louisiana law being questioned in the June Medical Services case was just one of several hundred abortion restrictions that have been passed at the state level in recent years.

Numerous other state laws are working their way through the court system, and any one of them could arrive at the Supreme Court in the coming months, paving the way for another major ruling. Here are three cases for pro-life observers to watch:

Ohio’s ban on aborting babies with Down syndrome

Several states have recently enacted laws banning abortion on the grounds of sex, race, or disability of the baby. Last year, the Supreme Court avoided ruling on the issue, which was among the provisions of a challenged Indiana law. The court upheld a regulation requiring aborted babies to be aborted or cremated, but declined to make a decision on the remainder of the law, saying the topic had not yet received adequate consideration at the appellate level.

Further appellate court consideration of such laws could come out of Ohio, where a 2017 law banning abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis is currently being challenged. The law was quickly blocked from taking effect, and a panel of judges from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction in October 2019. In a rare move, however, the full appellate court then agreed to rehear the case. Arguments were heard in March, and a ruling has not yet been issued.

Attorneys defending the Ohio law say it operates within the framework established by Roe v. Wade and subsequent cases, because the state has a compelling interest in protecting the Down syndrome population from discrimination and elimination. Those challenging the law disagree. The losing party will likely appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, setting up a chance for the high court to rule on the issue of “eugenic abortions.”

Texas’ law prohibiting D&E abortions

A few states have also banned Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) abortions, sometimes known as “dismemberment abortion,” a method of abortion which is most commonly performed in the second trimester.

In November 2017, a federal district court blocked a Texas ban on D&E abortions, saying it was unconstitutional because it placed an “undue burden” on a woman’s “right to an abortion.” Texas appealed, and the case went before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In May 2019, the appeals court announced that it would not issue a decision in the case until the Supreme Court had ruled in June Medical Services. With that ruling now delivered, the Fifth Circuit can move forward with a decision in the Texas case, considering whether the logic of Monday’s ruling is applicable to the D&E ban.

Heartbeat abortion bans

The Supreme Court has declined several times in the last five years to hear cases involving laws which ban abortion after a baby’s heartbeat is detectable – often around six weeks into pregnancy. But if the court were to consider one of these laws, which a handful of states passed last year, it could be among the most significant rulings handed down in this generation.

While pro-life laws are often crafted to fit within the structure of state regulatory authority established by Roe v. Wade and other decisions, heartbeat bans openly defy Roe v. Wade, meaning a court challenge to one of these laws could set the stage for Roe itself to be reconsidered. Supporters of these laws are hopeful that one will arrive before a favorable Supreme Court, which will use the opportunity to overturn the 1973 case that established a nationwide “right to abortion.”

While stricter bills offer greater protection for unborn babies, they are also more difficult to defend in court. When Mississippi recently saw both a 15-week ban and a six-week ban struck down, the state’s attorney general said she wants to focus on appealing the 15-week ban, which may have a higher chance of success than the six-week ban.

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