January 2024
Minnesota Catholic Conference
Inside the Capitol Balancing Parenthood and Principles �he desire for parenthood is natural and good. Yet infertility is a cross borne by approximately nine
percent of men and eleven percent of women, and the pain it inflicts prompts many couples to explore assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The Church in her wisdom teaches that there are ethical bounds to the conception of a child that must be safeguarded and that the scientific ability to create a child through various technological means does not make it just for the parents, child, or society. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple … infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses' right to become a father and a mother only through each other." (CCC 2376) With these principles in mind, we find ourselves compelled to address a matter of great concern cur-
Blessings,
cont'd from pg. 2 with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, Dec. 18 and published the same day. Tornielli explained that it "opens the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations, including same-sex couples. It clarifies that blessing in this case does not mean approving their life choices and emphasizes the need to avoid any ritualization or other elements that may remotely imitate marriage." "The origin of the declaration is evangelical," Tornielli said, because it draws from the myriad examples in the Gospels of Jesus breaking "traditions and religious prescriptions, respectability, and social conventions. He performs actions that scandalize the self-righteous, the so-called 'pure,' those who shield themselves with norms and rules to distance, reject and close doors." Everyone who approached Jesus "encountered His gaze and felt loved, recipients of an embrace of mercy given to them without any precondition," Tornielli wrote. And "discovering themselves loved and forgiven, they realized
Bishop's Calendar
*indicates all are welcome to attend January 6-11, SaturdayThursday Region VIII Bishops' Retreat Venice, FL January 13, Saturday 8 a.m.. - Diaconate Aspirants Formation - Alverna Center, Winona January 14, Sunday *8:30 a.m. - Mass - St. John Nepomucene, Winona
rently before the Minnesota legislature. Senate File 1704 and House File 1658 will mandate that health insurance plans, including those provided by religious organizations, cover unethical infertility interventions. A Problematic Bill
The legislation is broad in scope, requiring coverage of testing and treatment of infertility but also interventions that remove the conception of the child from the union of his or her biological parents, such as in vitro fertilization. The risks to children conceived through ART are alarming. According to studies, ART-conceived children face higher rates of premature birth, low birth weight, and other health complications compared to naturally conceived children. It also raises concerns that we as a state are promoting eugenic practices that are often associated with genetic testing. For example, because the bill
what they were: poor sinners like everyone else, in need of conversion, beggars for everything." In his introduction to the declaration, Cardinal Fernández wrote that it "remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion," but it also explores the "pastoral meaning of blessings" in a way that opens "the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church's perennial teaching on marriage." The Church "remains firm" in teaching that marriage can be contracted only between one woman and one man, he said, and continues to insist that "rites and prayers that could create confusion" about a marriage and another form of relationship "are inadmissible." But, Tornielli wrote, the declaration also insists that a priest or deacon with a "shepherd's heart" would see in a couple's request for a blessing "a crack in the wall, a tiny opening through which grace might already be at work. Therefore, their first concern is not to close the small crack, but to welcome and implore blessing and mercy so that the people before them can begin to understand God's plan for their lives." January 20, Saturday *5 p.m. – Mass and Installation of Fr. Jeff Dobbs as Pastor - St. John Vianney, Fairmont
The Courier
endorses a “single embryo transfer” for invitro fertilization, genetic testing of that embryo is often integral to the process. This leads to concerns that embryos – the tiniest members of the human race – could be destroyed based on undesirable traits such as being the sex opposite that the parents desire. Let us not repeat history! If the violations of religious liberty through the insurance coverage mandate or the potential funding of eugenic practices do not prompt you to speak out, perhaps the dollar sign will. The bill does not set limits on the number of embryo transfers in IVF procedures to be covered, leading to concerns about the financial burden and the increased insurance premiums the public will face. With the average cost of one IVF cycle ranging from $15,000 to $30,000, and with three to four cycles often required for a viable pregnancy, the financial implications are staggering, reaching upwards of $120,000 or more. Those costs will be passed onto insurance premiums that will raise insurance costs for employers and employees. ART Is Not the Answer for Anyone Involved
As individuals rooted in faith and compassion, we must carefully consider all the potential consequences of legislation that will compromise religious liberty and contribute to the resurgence of eugenics practices. The Minnesota Catholic Conference has been the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota since 1967. The voting members of the MCC's board of directors are Minnesota's Catholic bishops.
The Televised Mass Is Offered Every Sunday
Sioux Falls - ODLT Channel 7 at 7 a.m. Sioux City - KPTH Channel 44 at 8:30 a.m. Mankato - KEYC Channel 12 at 7:30 a.m. Digital Channel 12.2 or Charter Channel 19 NEYC at 9:30 a.m. Digital Channel 7 (DirecTV) or Channel 11 (DISH) KMNF at 9 a.m. Rochester/Austin/Mason City KIMT Channel 3 at 7:30 a.m. MyTV 3.2 at 9 a.m. Twin Cities - WFTC Digital Channel 29 or Channel 9.2 at 11:30 a.m. Southeastern MN - HBC Channel 20 at 3 p.m. (repeated Wed. at 3:30 p.m.) Winona/La Crosse/Eau Claire - WLAX/WEUX Channel 25/48 at 7:30 a.m. and on our website, dowr.org (click "Weekly Mass")
January 24, Wednesday 1:30 p.m. - Holy Half Hour and DOW-R Finance Council Winona January 25, Thursday 3 p.m. - Clergy Personnel January 21, Sunday Committee - Zoom January 17, Wednesday *10 a.m. – Mass for Life - Ss. January 26, Friday 10 a.m. - School Mass - St. Felix, Peter and Paul, Mazeppa 3 p.m. - Visit to the Poor Clares Wabasha Assisi Heights, Rochester January 23, Tuesday January 18, Thursday January 27, Saturday 9:30 a.m. - Holy Hour and 10 a.m. - Bishop's Cabinet - 10:30 a.m. - Deacon Gathering College of Consultors - Winona Winona - St. Francis of Assisi, Rochester January 16, Tuesday 9:30 a.m. - Mass - St. Anne's Extended Healthcare, Winona 11 a.m. - Holy Half Hour and Pension Plan for Priests Board of Trustees - Winona
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January 28, Sunday *11 a.m. – Spanish Mass - St. Theodore, Albert Lea January 30, Tuesday 9:15 a.m. - Pacelli School Mass St. Augustine, Austin
January 31, Wednesday 10 a.m. - School Mass - St. Casimir, Wells
