The Catholic Spirit - January 20, 2011

Newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Strategic plan moves forward

3&4

The Catholic Spirit

January 20, 2011

Marriage, poverty among legislative priorities for state Catholic conference

Making history For first time, archdiocese to send group of youth to D.C. for March for Life

By Joe Towalski The Catholic Spirit

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

When 14-year-old Aly May of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi goes to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life, she will present a powerful witness for life.

May is confined to a wheelchair because of a condition called spinal muscular atrophy, known For info about as SMA, which is a the Prayer nerve disease Service for with sympLife at the toms similar to muscular Cathedral of d y s t r o p h y.

St. Paul, see Her presence page 18 is a reminder that there are plenty of other folks besides the unborn who need to be protected.

Mass send-off Archbishop John Nienstedt is also going to DC and plans to join

20 TheCatholicSpirit.com

News with a Catholic heart

She is part of a history-making journey as the archdiocesan Office for Marriage, Family and Life is organizing, for the first time, a group of teens that will go down to DC together to participate in the march. A total of 196 teens are registered, plus 64 chaperones and 14 young adults, for a total of 274.

Local seminarians travel abroad

Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

Aly May, left, and her mother, Maren, of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi will join a group of archdiocesan teens from 17 parishes and four Catholic high schools on a trip to Washington, D.C., for the national March for Life Jan. 24.

the group for the march after meeting the youth earlier at a rally and Mass.

The trip begins Jan. 21 with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Lee Piché. Afterward, everyone will

board the buses and head for DC, arriving the next morning. The group will tour DC on Jan. 22, then attend the Students for Life PLEASE TURN TO LARGE ON PAGE 19

From their offices on University Avenue, just a short distance from the State Capitol, Father David McCauley and his small support staff at the Minnesota Catholic Conference are getting ready for the hard work that still lies ahead during this year’s legislative session.

The MCC, which advocates on behalf of the state’s Catholic bishops for public policies and programs that support the life and dignity of every human person, has identified several priorities for the session that began Jan. 4: ■ Advocating for a state constitu- Buffalo priest tional amendment defining marnamed riage as a union between one man Senate and one woman.

■ Ensuring that efforts to fix Min- chaplain, nesota’s $6.2 billion budget shortfall won’t harm the poor and vulnera- page 5 ble.

■ Promoting education initiatives, including legislation that creates tax credits for businesses and individuals who donate money toward scholarship programs for nonpublic, K-12 schools.

■ Supporting health care initiatives that benefit the common good — including advocating for legislation that provides health care for all Minnesotans and backing efforts to end public funding of abortion in the state.

It’s an agenda that encompasses the wide breadth of Catholic social teaching, MCC staff members say.

“I think we’re a very unique organization,” said Peter Noll, the MCC’s education director. “There’s probably no other one like us at the Capitol lobbying because we advocate for the life continuum from conception to natural death and everything in between. Most other organizations are much more narrowly focused.”

A lot has changed since the last session of the Legislature: DFL Gov. Mark Dayton has replaced Republican PLEASE TURN TO CATHOLIC ON PAGE 17

It’s time to pick a Pay It Forward project The Catholic Spirit is kicking off its fourth annual Pay It Forward project for this year’s Lenten season. The project is based on the New Testament parable of the stewards and its lesson that good stewards don’t just maintain what is given to them — they help it grow.

Last year’s participants turned the $100 they each were given into nearly $7,000 to help children in Honduras, people in Haiti, and the organization Friends of the Orphans. (Go to THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM to read more about last year’s projects.)

Here’s how to participate this year: Tell us in no more than 300 words how you — individually or as a group of friends, family members or co-workers — would use your talents to “grow” $100 to help as many people as possible this Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, March 9.

The Catholic Spirit will select up to three ideas

and give $100 to the author of each winning submission to put his or her ideas into action. The winners will have the 40 days of Lent to “pay it forward” and make a positive difference. Last year’s winners are not eligible.

The Catholic Spirit will announce the winners in the March 3 issue and write about the winners’ experiences in the April 14 issue. Submit your ideas: ■ By e-mail to CATHOLICSPIRIT@ARCHSPM.ORG. Please write “Pay It Forward” in the subject line.

■ By postal mail to “Pay It Forward,” c/o The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

The deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 18. Please include your name, address, parish, e-mail and daytime telephone number so that we may contact you.

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JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Book: God exists, and he matters to us “We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit” (1 John 4:6).

That They May All Be One Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

‘Light of the World’ reflects the pope’s insightful thinking and also reveals his pastoral heart

I pondered these words from the liturgy of Jan. 3 after having had the opportunity to read Peter Seewald’s new book, “Light of the World.” This delightful work contains Mr. Seewald’s continuing conversations with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, conversations which took place this past summer in Castel Gandolfo.

You will recall that the media gave this publication much attention last fall. In my opinion, the publicity was for all the wrong reasons. Far from establishing new and controversial teachings on sexual morality, the book actually reflects not only the clear and insightful thinking of the Holy Father on a wide range of current topics, but it also opens to the reader a good look at the pastoral heart of the pope.

Danger of relativism The core theme of His Holiness’s teaching that I detected was the need for individuals as well as nations to bring God back to the center of life. He points out that many people today have fallen into a “practical atheism” (p. 49) whereby the concept of objective truth is considered suspect or even unattainable.

Without ethical values and standards, then, the determining criterion becomes the opinion of the majority, which breeds an intolerance for those who oppose that opinion. In such a context, intolerance for the public display of religious symbols, such as

Committed to Catholic schools As you likely have heard, leaders at three Catholic schools in the archdiocese recently made the difficult but necessary decision to close their schools at the end of this school year. School leaders and archdiocesan staff are assisting families affected by these changes in choosing another Catholic school which meets their needs. Principals, pastors and other staff are working to arrange financial assistance and transportation to ease the transition as much as possible. I am praying for the families and staff affected by these changes. I ask that you also include them in your prayers.

I wish to state clearly that I and this entire local church remain firmly committed to Catholic schools — for this generation and for future generations to come. I am confident that Catholic schools’ educational vision of Gospel values, personal respect and virtue, and academic preparedness is needed today more than ever before.

Catholic schools are uniquely able to educate the whole person — academically, socially, and spiritually. We must ensure that the exceptional, well-rounded education offered by Catholic schools continues to be sustainable and available to families for generations to come. Please join me in praying for the administrators, teachers, students, parents and grandparents of students and those parishes and benefactors who make up and support our Catholic school committees.

— Archbishop John C. Nienstedt

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The Catholic Spirit The Catholic Spirit’s mission is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It seeks to inform, educate, evangelize and foster a spirit of community within the Catholic Church by disseminating news in a professional manner and serving as a forum for discussion of contemporary issues.

Vol. 16 — No. 2

Hearing Tests Set for Senior Citizens Announcement — Free electronic hearing tests will be given all next week Monday thru Friday from 9 am to 4 pm.

The tests have been arranged for anyone who suspects they are not hearing clearly.

People who generally feel they can hear, but cannot understand words clearly are encouraged to come in for the test, which uses the latest electronic equipment.

Everyone, especially those over age 55 should have an electronic hearing test once

Call 1-800-435-5189

MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDT Publisher BOB ZYSKOWSKI Associate publisher

JOE TOWALSKI Editor

Materials credited to CNS copyrighted

by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by Catholic Spirit Publishing Company.

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Readers Love

“Breakfast with the Pope” Under the hot Italian sun Susan Vigilante wrestles with the great questions: the meaning of love in the face of betrayal, the agony of childlessness, and how a God of love can answer prayers with heartbreak.

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Published bi-weekly by the Catholic Spirit Publishing Company, a non-profit Minnesota Corporation, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102 (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional post offices.

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a year. Demonstrations of the latest devices to improve clarity of speech will be programmed using a computer to your particular needs — on the spot — after the tests.

See (and HEAR) for yourself if newlydeveloped methods of correction will help you understand words better.

Tests will be performed at one of 20 convenient Greater Twin Cities Avada Hearing Care locations.

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Name change reflects Catholic organization’s roots, mission

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

What’s in a name? Plenty, say people at Catholic United Financial in Roseville.

That’s why the fraternal life insurance company, which started in 1878, recently chose to change the name it held for more than 80 years: Catholic Aid Association.

The new name took effect Jan. 1, and the change is the result of extensive research, said president Mike McGovern, who became a member of the organization shortly after he was born.

MCGOVERN The non-profit surveyed both members and non-members to help understand their perceptions of Catholic Aid Association, which offers life insurance and financial products like annuities and IRAs to members in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

“Most non-members had no clue who we were,” McGovern said. “The biggest confusion was that most people thought we were Catholic Charities. We still, to this day, get continual calls every day [from people trying to contact Catholic Charities]. I joke that I think half my family still thinks I work for Catholic Charities.”

Helping the church McGovern and others believe the word “aid” caused much of the confusion. Back in the 1920s, when the organization became Catholic Aid Association, the name was patterned after the many mutual aid societies that existed at the time.

These organizations provided mutual benefits, such as aid and/or insurance, to members. Catholic Aid reached beyond individuals to help the local Catholic Church. Today, Catholic United offers fundraisers, youth events and scholarships, and matching grant programs for Catholic parishes, schools and religious education programs.

PLEASE TURN TO KEEPING ON PAGE 27

St. Pascal Baylon Catholic School OPEN HOUSE Sunday, Jan. 30th at 12 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 3rd at 5 and 6 p.m.

Open Houses will begin with information session followed by a school tour.

We are now accepting applications for grades K-8 for 2011-12 • A caring, supportive environment • Strong curriculum with experienced, dedicated teachers • Emphasis on Christian values • Specialists in Science, Spanish and Music • Full-day kindergarten • Before and after school daycare for all ages • Over 50 years of academic excellence!

Phone (651) 776-0092 1757 Conway St., St. Paul, MN 55106

www.stpascals.org

“The thing we’re very happy about is that, as the schools are realizing that they are not going to be able to provide a Catholic education as a Catholic school, they have not put aside their determination to continue to support Catholic education for those children.”

Marty Frauenhiem

Local The Catholic Spirit

News from around the archdiocese

Filipinos gather to celebrate feast of Santo Niño

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

At right, Carla Murdoch dances with the Sinulog Dancers during a short program after dinner.

Center for Oral Implantology Implants, Sedation, Cosmetic & Family Dentistry Dr. Michael Mallinger 651.209.0262 www.centerfororalimplants.com

www.TheCatholicSpirit.com

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Three Catholic schools to close, 8 under urgent review to remain open The Catholic Spirit

Above, Ligaya Carlos, president of the Cultural Society of FilipinoAmericans of the Twin Cities, dances with the Sinulog Dancers during a Mass to celebrate the feast of Santo Niño at Guardian Angels in Oakdale Jan. 16. The Mass, at which Archbishop John Nienstedt presided, was part of the Filipino community’s 10th annual Sinulog Festival to honor the feast of Santo Niño, the child Jesus.

The celebration originates from the Visayas, islands in the middle part of the Philippines, where they honor their patron, Santo Niño, every third Sunday in January. The event drew about 400 people from around the Twin Cities.

JANUARY 20, 2011

Before making the opening sign of the cross at Mass last Sunday, Father Thomas Kommers, pastor at St. Joseph in Red Wing, prayed for students and staff at the parish’s school after the announcement that it would be closing its doors for good at the end of the 2010-2011 school year.

St. Joseph is one of three Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that will close at the end of the current school year because they lack long-term sustainability. The other two are St. Mathias in Hampton and San Miguel Middle School in Minneapolis.

Local school leaders at St. Joseph School, which has 43 students in kindergarten through fourth grade, and St. Mathias School, with 22 students in preK through fifth grade, made the decision to close after participating in an urgent review process outlined in the archdiocesan strategic plan announced last fall.

(The pre-kindergarten program at St. Joseph School is not closing.)

San Miguel Middle School, which enrolls 60 students and is independently administered by the DeLaSalle Christian Brothers, completed its own review process in making its determination to close.

“The closing of a Catholic school always involves sad and difficult decisions,” Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a letter accompanying the announcement. “Families and school staff are deeply impacted, as is the entire parish and school community. We may take comfort, however, in knowing that

when a school building closes, the history and tradition of the school community lives on in the generations of students who walked its halls and were formed in its classrooms.”

Father Kommers at St. Joseph said the school’s enrollment declined this year when the public school system added fifth grade to its middle schools. The recession also hit school families hard, making it difficult for the school to raise tuition levels.

In a letter to parents after the decision to close the school had been made, Father Kommers said he wrote that “it’s a time of change, we’re on a different path than we had expected to be on, but I think we have a firm commitment to continuing to raise our children — to form them, to educate them — to be faith-filled followers of Jesus.”

The parish, he said, has offered to pay the difference between in-parish tuition and out-of-parish tuition for students to attend St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings or St. John the Baptist in Vermillion. It also is working on organizing carpooling to the two Catholic schools, which are about 30 miles away from St. Joseph.

Easing the transition Marty Frauenheim, superintendent of Catholic schools, said the archdiocese is working closely with school leaders to ease the transition for affected families.

Families received letters from school leaders explaining assistance that is available to enroll their children in a nearby Catholic school for the 20112012 academic year, according to the PLEASE TURN TO CATHOLIC ON PAGE 4

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Local

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

St. Benedict closes doors, prepares for integration

By Pat Norby and Dave Hrbacek

Other mergers

The Catholic Spirit

Bernard, 86, and Adeline, 88, Sobczak can look out the window of their home near New Prague and see the church of St. Benedict across the street. For more than four decades, they have walked out their front door and about 100 yards to the church doors for Sunday Mass. Jan. 16, they did it for the last time.

In the predawn darkness, they made their way through snow and cold for the final Mass at the church, which closed its doors shortly after the 7:30 a.m. liturgy ended. In fact, it was Adeline who tied a small purple ribbon on the doors, which made the closing official.

With a small crowd gathered around to watch, Adeline was joined by Bernard, a parish trustee along with Gilbert Schoenbauer, 73. The mood was almost festive as parishioners engaged in lively conversation as they filed out of the church and gathered on the sidewalk.

Then, a hush fell over the crowd as Adeline pulled out the ribbon and slowly tied it to the door handles.

Afterward, she and the two trustees turned to face the crowd. There was a moment of awkward silence, then all three began to weep.

“Very sad,” said Schoenbauer, whose wife, Shirley, was the church organist. “I didn’t want to see it happen. But what can you do? We’ve got to keep up with the times. We don’t have enough priests.

“It’s like you lost something. I don’t cry very often. I cried when my mom died, I cried when my dad died, and I cried today.”

Part of the plan It was an exhausting weekend for Father David Barrett, who celebrated the final Mass and “taking leave ritual” at St. Thomas in St. Thomas at 5 p.m. Jan. 15.

Both St. Thomas and St. Benedict were to be part of the merger with St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, St. John the Evangelist in Union Hill, St. Scholastica in

Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit

From left, Gilbert Schoenbauer and Adeline and Bernard Sobczak react moments after Adeline tied a purple ribbon on the doors of St. Benedict Church Jan. 16, which marked the closing of the church building in Scott County.

Heidelberg and St. Joseph in Lexington as part of the archdiocesan strategic plan, announced the weekend of Oct. 15-16.

St. Thomas appealed and was allowed to merge with St. Anne in LeSueur because of the proximity to that church.

Diane Weckman and Jack Stasney, who served on the transition committee, talked about plans for St. Benedict.

During the week after the Mass, St. Benedict’s Stations of the Cross were to be installed at St. John, where they will be dedicated during the Jan. 23 Mass, and St. John will welcome St. Benedict parishioners with coffee and rolls.

The following week, the statue of St. Benedict is to be moved to St. Scholastica and that parish will host a dedication with coffee and rolls on Jan. 30.

“We should all be fat,” Weckman joked.

Stasney said that people will be OK

with going to another building for Mass, but it’s the “fabric part of the community” that will be lost.

“Change is inevitable in our lives,” Stasney said. “Some people are having a hard time with it and they need their own time to go through a healing process and move on — and that is how it is with human beings.”

St. Benedict parishioners are still working on an itinerary of items that have been donated to the church in memory of a loved one. Although those items can’t be given back to the donors, Weckman said they would make room for them in other churches, where they will continue to be used.

“All our cassocks are going to St. Scholastica because theirs are in need of replacement and ours are in good shape,” she said. And she plans to contact the Mankato Catholic community, which is

Two additional mergers set forth in the archdiocesan strategic plan became official with the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011.

St. Francis de Sales and St. James in St. Paul officially merged Dec. 31, said Greg Vasterling, parish business administrator.

“Legally, yes, it’s done. But it’s business as usual to a certain extent, until we review all the different pieces of our campus and what that might mean,” he said.

The two parishes have been collaborating over the last four years, sharing a pastor, school, finance council, parish council and more.

“Under the archdiocese format, the next thing that happens is that a leadership committee is formed to review the campuses,” Vasterling said.

The first thing the parish will need to address is the urgent review of the school, he said. For now, Mass times will continue as they have been at both churches, he added.

Also merged as of Dec. 31 are: St. Andrew with Maternity of the Blessed Virgin in St. Paul.

— The Catholic Spirit building a new church, to see if St. Benedict has anything that could fill their needs.

“Father Elgar [Bockenfeld, OFM], for years, had been preparing us,” she said.

“When he was alive, he said, ‘It’s coming, so just buck up and accept it.’”

Stasney noted that Father Bockenfeld had run three of the rural parishes as a cluster, sharing programs and sacraments over the past four years.

“We were already merging things, so some of the stuff is not going to be brand new,” he said.

PLEASE TURN TO CLOSING ON PAGE 13

Catholic schools address challenges, plan for future CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 archdiocese. Arrangements are being made with neighboring Catholic schools regarding transportation and tuition issues.

Efforts also are under way to help affected employees, including helping them find positions in other Catholic schools.

Despite the closing announcement, “the thing we’re very happy about is that, as the schools are realizing that they are not going to be able to provide Catholic education as a Catholic school, they have not put aside their determination to continue to support Catholic education for those children,” Frauenheim told The Catholic Spirit. “They are currently looking to see how they can continue to provide that opportunity for those children and those families that want their children to continue in a Catholic school.”

Ongoing support from the affected parish communities could take the form of tuition assistance to help students attend another Catholic school and helping to facilitate transportation options, she said.

Initiated by the strategic plan, the urgent review process is part of a broader school review process that includes ongoing evaluation and strengthened accountability requirements.

All Catholic schools were assigned to one of four categories: urgent review schools; sustainability review schools, which will undergo a review process during the next three years; shared resources discussion schools, in which participants will engage in conversations about viability and collaboration with nearby schools and parishes; and schools where there is no change at this time.

Schools evaluations are focused on four categories the strategic plan has identified as criteria for long-term viability: Catholic identity, academic quality, financial management and marketing /development.

Making recommendations St. Joseph and St. Mathias schools began the urgent review process last October by forming local school task forces, which analyzed and reviewed data related to the long-term viability criteria.

The process included an open meeting

with school families and stakeholders at each school during which local task force members detailed the current status of the school as it related to the viability criteria.

The task force then developed a recommendation regarding the school’s future based on what they learned through the process. In mid-December, local task forces presented their recommendations to a review board made up of archdiocesan staff and others. The review board reflected with local task force representatives on the sustainability of their schools.

In each case, local school leaders made the final decision about whether to close, Frauenheim said.

“The schools that were designated to do that urgent review had some things in common,” she told The Catholic Spirit.

“One of those was changing demographics that affected enrollment and finances.

“There just weren’t enough children in some of those areas” to help sustain the schools over time, she added. “In terms of [St. Joseph and St. Mathias], they’re both fairly small and they’ve both been

Urgent-review schools The remaining eight Catholic schools that underwent urgent review and have decided to remain open are as follows: ■ Academy of Ss. Peter and Paul, Loretto.

■ Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights.

■ Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis.

■ Our Lady of the Prairie, Belle Plaine.

■ Pope John Paul II, Minneapolis.

■ St. Bernard, Cologne.

■ St. Francis-St. James United, St. Paul.

■ St. Matthew, St. Paul.

looking at that for a while.”

Next steps Eight other urgent-review schools will remain open. Pope John Paul II School in Minneapolis is one of those schools.

When principal Debra King anPLEASE TURN TO SCHOOLS ON PAGE 12

Local

JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

New Missal presents spiritual growth opportunities

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

Introducing Catholics in the archdiocese to the new words they will speak and sing at Mass presents pastors and parish staff with challenges and opportunities, said Father John Paul Erickson, director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship.

Parish leaders can use this opportunity to focus on the importance of the liturgy, as well as the history and rationale behind the new translation of the Roman Missal, which goes into effect in November, he said.

To help them prepare for the upcoming educational effort, parish staff can attend a series of workshops beginning Friday, Jan. 28. The workshops will provide background information on the new translation, strategies for implementing it in parishes, the theology behind it, and the role of liturgical music. (See the list of workshops on this page.)

“The real challenge, it seems to me, is to seize this opportunity for . . . catechesis in general . . . in which we remind people — priests and laity alike — that the Mass is the center and source of our life,” Father Erickson said.

The new translation reflects principles of translation developed since the first English vernacular translation was introduced 40 years ago, he said. It is a more literal translation of the Latin and should help all English-speaking Catholics continue to learn how to pray liturgically in our language, he added.

Changes coming Nov. 27 Among the changes Catholics can expect when the new translation is introduced at Masses on Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, are: new dialogue between the priest and people, new wording of the Gloria, and changes to the memorial acclamation during the eucharistic prayer, Father Erickson said.

Steps for implementing the new translation include the formation of

small committees of pastors and parish staff to study and discuss the texts, followed in the spring by publishing parts of the new text in parish bulletins and websites, he said. Then, this summer and fall, the archdiocese will present workshops for any Catholic seeking information about the new translation, he added.

Some of the biggest implementation challenges will be providing books with the new texts at each parish, catechizing parishioners on the meaning of the texts, choosing and becoming familiar with music settings of the texts, memorizing the texts, and deepening the spirit of contemplative participation in the Mass through the texts, said Father Jan Michael Joncas, associate professor of Catholic studies and theology at the University of St. Thomas and a wellknown composer who will present at two workshops organized by the Association of Liturgical Ministers.

Rewriting Mass music Besides the fact that the new translation involves more chant, it will have a significant impact on liturgical music, Father Joncas said. Some music will no longer fit with the new text, while other music is being adapted for the text changes.

Composers such as Marty Haugen and David Haas, along with Father Joncas, are making changes to their popular liturgical music.

“I expect that we will discover some new compositions that will enrich our sung worship together as a result of this change in texts,” Father Joncas said.

The ALM workshops will attempt to make some of that music available for local parishes to make informed choices for their worship communities, he added.

Implementing the new translation will require a coordinated effort and, hopefully, will be a source of unity, Father Erickson said. “It can help to bring us together again, which is certainly the goal of the liturgy.”

New Roman Missal workshops scheduled Workshops sponsored by the Association of Liturgical Ministers and sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will help parish leaders to implement the changes in the new English translation of the Roman Missal.

■ Jan. 29: “History and Development of FATHER JONCAS the New Translation” with Father Jan Michael Joncas, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., University of St. Thomas, St. Paul.

■ March 24: “Implementation Strategies” with Vicki Klima, lay leadership director at Pax Christi Catholic Community, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Pax Christi, Eden Prairie.

■ Sept. 21: “Chants and Musical Settings for New Texts” with Benedictine Father Anthony Ruff and Father Jan Michael Joncas.

Afternoon and evening sessions at St. William, Fridley.

The above sessions are open to the public. For more information and to register, call Bernie Leach at (763) 712-7435 or e-mail BLEACH@STSTEPHEN CHURCH.ORG. The following day-long workshops on the theology of the new Roman Missal are open to clergy and parish staff: ■ Feb. 28: St. John the Baptist, New Brighton.

■ March 11: Guardian Angels, Oakdale.

For more information and to register, call (651) 291-4400.

More engaged parishioners is aim of stewardship conference ■ Father Daniel Mahan, who directs the Center for Catholic Stewardship at Marian University in Indianapolis, will kick off the program. He is the author of “More Than Silver or Gold: Homilies of a Stewardship Priest.”

Register now to hear nationally known speakers at Feb. 26 gathering The Catholic Spirit Helping parishes build vibrant, engaged communities is the goal of the 2011 Archdiocesan Stewardship Conference Saturday, Feb. 26.

It’s part of the theme, too, for the annual event — delayed from this past October — which will be held at Pax Christi, 12100 Pioneer Trail in Eden Prairie. Doors open at 8 a.m., with the program beginning at 9 a.m. and running to 2 p.m.

Lunch is included in the $15 registration. (See how to register below.)

The conference is open to pastors, priests, religious, parish staff members and leaders, and individuals who desire to learn more about stewardship as a way of life, discover practices that will work well in their own parish, develop relationships with and find resources from conference sponsors, and network with other area Catholics who are engaged in stewardship.

This year’s Stewardship Conference features three highly regarded national experts:

■ Presenting and leading sessions will be Jim Kelley and Leisa Anslinger. Kelley is the president and chairman of the International Catholic Stewardship Council and the development director for the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C. Anslinger is author of “Forming Generous Hearts: Stewardship Planning for Lifelong Faith Formation.”

Archbishop John Nienstedt will lead the welcome prayer service.

There are options to register: ■ Download the conference brochure at THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM. (Look for the link in FATHER MAHAN the online version of this story.) The brochure has the registration form; follow the instructions.

■ Send name(s), address, phone, e-mail, home parish with a check for $15 per person, or send the information along with the type of credit card (MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express), card number, expiration date and your signature to: Stewardship Conference, Development and Stewardship Office, 328 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102.

For more information, call (651) 290-1610.

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Another Catholic pastor becomes Senate chaplain

By Julie Carroll The Catholic Spirit

Father David Hennen, pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo, is the new Minnesota Senate chaplain.

Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (RBuffalo), who nominated Father Hennen for the position, is a long-time parishioner at St. Francis Xavier, where she serves as a lector and extraordinary minister of holy Communion, Father Hennen said.

The chaplain leads FATHER HENNEN the Senate in prayer at the opening and closing of sessions.

“That’s officially all that they ask me to do,” Father Hennen said. “Sen. Koch would also ask me to come in if there’s ever a need for any kind of spiritual advice for the Senate or herself personally, or just to be present to the senators.”

In a statement from the Senate Republican Caucus, Koch said she is grateful for Father Hennen’s willingness to serve as chaplain. “I know that his counsel and wisdom will make a welcome addition to how we conduct our business in the Senate chamber,” she said.

Father Hennen said he feels honored to have been chosen to serve as Senate chaplain. “This is an aspect of public service that is new to me, but I am confident that Sen. Koch and her colleagues in the Minnesota Senate will be as welcoming to me as my friends are at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.”

Another Catholic priest, Father Kevin McDonough, pastor of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul and parochial administrator/ chaplain at Incarnation/Sagrado Corazón in Minneapolis, was Senate chaplain from 2007 to 2010, when Sen. Larry Pogemiller was majority leader.

Obituary Deacon Thomas Coleman died Jan. 2 Deacon Thomas Coleman, who served Sacred Heart parish in Robbinsdale before he retired, died, Jan. 2, after a lengthy illness.

He was born Aug. 23, 1927, and was ordained a deacon of the archdiocese in September 1994.

A funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 6, at St. Alphonsus DEACON COLEMAN in Brooklyn Center, with interment at Fort Snelling.

Deacon Coleman is survived by his wife, Lucille, two children and four grandchildren.

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JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

1957

Styles change.

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Our mission doesn’t.

Since that first issue on January 7, 1911,

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your archdiocesan newspaper has tried to keep in style while keeping you informed

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about your faith and inspired to live it well.

1983 1978

It’s a tradition of excellence that in 2011 we bring into a second century.

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2011 THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

“A thunderous, sustained, standing ovation followed the announcement.”

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, describing the reaction at a meeting he was attending when the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II was announced

Nation/World JANUARY 20, 2011

News from around the U.S. and the globe

The Catholic Spirit

7

Beatification announcement confirms a long-held sentiment for many people

Faith leaders try to help heal pain, sorrow after Tucson shootings

By Carol Zimmermann

By Patricia Zapor

Catholic News Service

Catholic News Service

The news of Pope John Paul II’s upcoming beatification was welcomed by many as a confirmation of something they already felt from the moment the shouts of “Santo subito!” (“Sainthood now!”) reverberated through St. Peter’s Square at the pontiff’s funeral.

Many in the crowd were young people who had a special affinity to Pope John Paul, whose pontificate started and ended with a special greeting to young people. During his installation ceremony in 1978, the newly named pope told youth: “You are the future of the world, you are the hope of the church, you are my hope.”

And his last words, reportedly delivered hours before his death, were also to youth, in response to the thousands of young people praying and singing in St. Peter’s Square.

“I sought you and now you have come to me. . . . I thank you,” said the pontiff, who died April 2, 2005 at age 84.

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, founder and CEO of Canada’s Salt and Light Television, said it was no coincidence that he heard the news of the pontiff’s beatification while attending a meeting in Spain for the upcoming World Youth Day. “A thunderous, sustained, standing ovation followed the announcement,” he said in a Jan. 14 statement.

The priest, national director for World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto, said the date for the beatification, May 1, is also no coincidence. Not only is it Divine Mercy Sunday, but it is also the feast of St.

As Tucsonans continued to reel from the Jan. 8 shooting spree at a shopping center that left six dead and another 14 wounded, religious leaders around the country looked to help heal the emotional pain through prayer and memorial services.

Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas presided at a packed public commemoration and healing service Jan. 11 and expected to participate in the funerals later in the week for his friend, Judge BISHOP KICANAS John Roll, 63, and 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, both Catholics.

He also was part of an interfaith memorial service at Catalina United Methodist Church, also Jan. 11, which was organized by United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcano of Phoenix.

She attended a public Mass of commemoration at St. Odilia Catholic Church that evening.

The shootings left another person Bishop Kicanas knows well, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords D-Ariz., in critical condition at University Medical Center.

She was the apparent target of the alleged shooter, Jared Lee Loughner.

The violence caused trauma for the whole community, Bishop Kicanas told Catholic News Service in a Jan. 11 phone interview. “First we have to grieve, we need to cry and be together, especially for those who were harmed and their families.”

Impromptu and organized vigils and prayer services took place around Tucson, at the hospital where most victims were treated, outside Giffords’ office in Tucson, at the U.S. Capitol, and at churches and public venues around the country. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended a large public memorial service Jan. 12 held in McKale Center, the arena at the University of Arizona.

Bishop Kicanas said the next steps toward healing after the shootings will mean reflecting on how such a tragedy could occur and what the community can do to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

“We may never understand it,” he cautioned. But he said it’s important to look at gun laws that go far beyond enabling sportsmen to own hunting weapons and the availability of services for people with mental illnesses and addictions, as well as “the ways we respond to conflict.”

CNS/ Arturo Mari

Pope John Paul II greets a young person during his 1994 vacation in Val D'Aosta, Italy.

Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul's intercession, clearing the way for the late pope's beatification May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday.

Joseph the Worker, known as “May Day” on secular calendars.

“Communists and socialists around the world commemorate May Day with marches, speeches and festivals,” he said, adding that it was fitting that “the man who was a unique instrument and messenger in bringing down the Iron Curtain and the deadly reign of communism and godlessness will be declared blessed” that day.

Father Rosica said the announcement is “the formal confirmation of what many of us always knew as we experienced the Holy Father in action through-

out his pontificate” particularly among youth, noting that one of the pope’s gifts to the church was his establishment of World Youth Day. Tim Massie, the chief public affairs officer and adjunct professor of communication and religious studies at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., called the news of Pope John Paul II’s upcoming beatification a “morale boost” especially for Catholics in the United States “where sex abuse scandals, financial crises and disagreements with church hierarchy have dramatically affected parishes, dioceses and the faithful in the pews.”

Threats to religious freedom exist even in West

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service

Religious freedom and religious diversity are not threats to society and should not be a source of conflict, Pope Benedict XVI told diplomats from around the world.

The pope asked the representatives of 178 countries, as well as of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the European Community and the Knights of Malta, to examine how well their own countries respect the right of individuals to believe, to act in accordance with their conscience, to gather with other believers for worship and to carry out the educational and social projects their faith inspires.

Pope Benedict met Jan. 10 with diplomats accredited to the Holy See and continued his Christmas-season focus on the connection between religious liberty and peace, and on threats to full religious

freedom in Western democracies as well as in countries notorious for violating human rights.

Once again, he denounced recent attacks on Christians in Iraq, Egypt and Nigeria and expressed concern about the recent renewal of Chinese government restrictions on Catholics there.

Condemning the murder Jan. 4 of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab in Pakistan, the pope said the country must overturn its blasphemy law, which makes insulting the Prophet Mohammed or the Quran punishable by death.

The pope also announced that the communist government of Vietnam has accepted his appointment of a papal representative to Catholics in the country.

Vietnam agreed in June to allow the pope to name a representative as a first step toward diplomatic relations; Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the representative’s name would be

announced shortly.

Pope Benedict told the diplomats that when religious believers are free to practice their faith, society benefits from an increase in upright behavior, respect for others and solidarity with the poor and weak.

Discussing threats to full religious freedom in Western democracies, the pope expressed concern about efforts to push religion to the margins of public life and about situations in which citizens are denied the right to act in accordance with their religious convictions, “for example where laws are enforced limiting the right to conscientious objection on the part of health care or legal professionals.”

Miguel Diaz, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, attended the audience with the pope and said the U.S. government will continue to work around the globe for the defense of human rights, particularly the right to religious liberty.

“Today we must translate the precepts of the Scriptures into deeds. Instead of speaking saintly words, we must act them.”

St. Jerome

This Catholic Life 8

JANUARY 20, 2011

Opinion, feedback and points to ponder

The Catholic Spirit

Rebuilding Haiti is unprecedented challenge for CRS

By Peter Finney Jr. Catholic News Service

During the past 40 years — from his first engagement as a Peace Corps volunteer to his three decades spanning the globe with Catholic Relief Services — Ken Hackett has witnessed and responded to human misery.

At 63, Hackett, who will retire as CRS president by the end of this year, smiles and laughs a lot and tells captivating stories. As a straight-shooting realist, he has dedicated his life to the calculus of pain and suffering.

But he has never seen anything like this.

As Haiti marked the first anniversary Jan. 12 of the magnitude 7 earthquake that claimed 230,000 lives, displaced more than 1 million people and buried the economy of the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere beneath another layer of intractable debt, Hackett said the enormity of the rebuilding task dwarfs anything in his experience.

“In terms of challenge, this rivals anything that I’ve seen in 40 years and probably supersedes it,” Hackett said before an anniversary Mass celebrated Jan. 12 by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican’s humanitarian relief agency, outside the ruins of Port-au-Prince’s national cathedral. “This is really complicated.”

Three challenges The complexity of solving Haiti’s rebuilding crisis revolves around three major challenges, Hackett said.

“The biggest challenge is getting the government to allocate land in a reasonable location so that property can be reconstructed,” he said. “The second biggest challenge is basically removing the rubble.

“And the third biggest challenge is peace, stability and, hopefully, finding someone with a leadership vision that is going to benefit the country.”

That leadership piece is especially fraught with uncertainty, given the disputed results of the Nov. 28 presidential election in which a governing-party candidate, Jude Celestin, appeared to have made the runoff election despite low popular support.

Supporters of the popular third-place candidate, carnival singer Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly, cried foul because he was eliminated from the runoff. Former first lady Mirlande Manigat finished first.

A report on the election by the Organization of American States alleges widespread fraud.

“You had a government prior to the earthquake that was reasonably dysfunctional, inept and somewhat corrupt — not pervasively, but there were elements of it,” Hackett said. “Then you had the earthquake and, sadly, a number of gov-

A woman prays in front of the destroyed Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 12, as Haitians marked the first anniversary of the earthquake that flattened much of the capital.

CNS photo / Jorge Silva, Reuters

“We made the decision that we’re not going to make all the decisions for the Haitians. We could have brought in big, giant concrete removal equipment and bulldozed and then rebuilt. But we said, ‘No, they’ve got to be involved in their own future.’

”

KEN HACKETT CRS president

ernment workers died. That had to do with the fact that the earthquake hit just before 5 p.m. and they were still in their offices.”

Governmental red tape has affected the CRS rebuilding plan. Six days after the earthquake, the agency received a contract from the U.S. government to rebuild homes. It has completed about 1,300 small, sturdy homes thus far, each capable of housing five to six people. CRS wants to complete 8,000 homes by the end of 2011.

The construction projects have been especially challenging because of land title issues and the difficulty of removing massive amounts of rubble.

Working with families CRS also made the tactical decision to work with families in rebuilding homes rather than dictate where and how they should be rebuilt because, Hackett said, that provides a true partnership.

As for the rubble, CRS is providing hand-cranked crushing machines that can pulverize concrete and turn it into reusable foundation material. CRS will buy back the material from the families, and the families can sell rebar retrieved

from the concrete on the secondary market.

“People can use that material as the foundation on their new homes,” Hackett said.

“We provide the basic frame of the home. It’s not big, but it’s a wooden frame. We provide the design and the roofing, but they have to do the work.

Then they can add anything they want to the home. So, they have to participate in the rubble removal,” he said.

Hackett said it is important for CRS to work with families rather than, for example, bringing in bulldozers and building tract housing.

“This is intentional on our part,” Hackett said. “We made the decision that we’re not going to make all the decisions for the Haitians. We could have brought in big, giant concrete removal equipment and bulldozed and then rebuilt. But we said, ‘No, they’ve got to be involved in their own future.’ If they’re not, they’re going to sit and wait for somebody to do it.”

Cholera epidemic The cholera epidemic has claimed 3,760 lives and affected nearly 200,000

people since mid-October, and CRS has gone throughout the country to educate and train Haitians about proper handwashing procedures.

Hackett said the Haitian earthquake, which devastated a highly populated, poverty-stricken urban area, was far different than the Asian tsunami in 2004, which affected fishing villages along the coasts of Indonesia and Sri Lanka but did not greatly impact any major urban areas.

That’s why solving the Haitian crisis has been so difficult.

“People are feeling very angry, very frustrated, very let down,” Hackett said.

“They’re angry at everybody — their government, the international community, the nongovernmentals, anybody who they feel should be doing more for them.”

Scattershot rebuilding efforts by outsiders are well meaning, Hackett said, but they wind up “appeasing a Haitian group that should be trying to take control of the situation in a more substantial way.

Forty years of sitting back and waiting for somebody else to do it sets a bad precedent.”

This Catholic Life / Opinion

JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

9

A lesson in communication from a King and a pope n the beginning was the Word,” begins the Gospel according to John.

“I Editorial Joe Towalski

Words can inspire and motivate, but they can also do harm

The Word, of course, is Jesus, who is at the heart and soul of our faith.

But “the word” with a small “w” — the written and spoken word — also is an integral part of our faith. God speaks to us through the inspired words of Sacred Scripture that we hear proclaimed at every Mass. And, the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: “In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them.”

As a newspaper staff, we also understand the power of words to communicate important information, thoughts and ideas. Words can inspire people, motivate them and build them up. But the flip side is also true: Words can be used intentionally or carelessly and do harm to others. They can poison discussion and tear people down.

The choice of the words we use to communicate with others in our everyday lives is something we should pay more attention to, particularly as we consider some events that have happened in the last several weeks.

“The words we use do, indeed, matter.

”

JOE TOWALSKI

Time to reassess

Where to write

One of those events is the recent shooting in Arizona that claimed the life of six people and injured 14 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. A debate has subsequently ensued about whether the often polarized and sometimes harsh tone of political discourse in our country creates a climate that makes such tragedies more likely to happen.

It would be difficult to make a direct connection between any person’s specific words and what happened outside the supermarket in Tucson. But we would be missing the bigger picture if we didn’t turn this into an opportunity to re-evaluate how we as members of society communicate with one another.

■ E-mail: CATHOLICSPIRIT@ARCHSPM.ORG ■ FAX: (651) 291-4460 ■ Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102

No one, of course, wants to muffle robust political discourse; the United States after all was founded in part because of the energetic exchange of ideas in the public square. Such discourse is the hallmark of a democracy.

But that doesn’t mean our communications shouldn’t be measured, civil and charitable, no matter the situation. Too many talk radio hosts and online blog authors — those who represent

the polarities of the political and theological spectrum — use words that demonize those with whom they disagree, words that seek to tear others down, words that produce more fire than light.

As Christians, we need to be concerned about the language we use and be examples to others that it is possible to be forthright, honest and truthful without sacrificing civility and respect for others.

Two examples Just this past week, our nation commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. Day — a time to remember the pioneering civil rights work of a man who dedicated his life to freedom, justice and nonviolence.

King was a man who understood the power that words have to inspire others to greater things, to challenge people to think more deeply, to change attitudes, to build people up instead of tearing them down.

Pope John Paul II, who we recently learned will be beatified in May, had a similar gift for using words to inspire people to greater things — just ask those in his native Poland who were roused to shake off the yoke of communist oppression and embrace their faith at a difficult time in their country’s history.

These two individuals offer good examples of how words can be used to help create a better life for all. Scripture and the words of Jesus have that same power.

Let’s not diminish the impact our words have on those close to us and on our communities.

Words said in haste or anger, as anyone who has spoken them knows, can have long-term harmful effects that are difficult to heal.

The words we use do, indeed, matter. We need to choose them wisely and always remember that the God who created us also created the person on the other end of the conversation.

Pope’s reflections offer road map for catechetical efforts CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 the crucifix, or for the church’s teaching on homosexuality or the ordination of women, grows in light of “an abstract, negative religion” (p. 52) which aggressively challenges the free speech of Christian believers.

In the pope’s own words: “Christianity finds itself exposed now to an intolerant pressure that at first ridicules it — as belonging to a perverse, false way of thinking — and then tries to deprive it of breathing space in the name of an ostensible rationality” (p. 53).

Yet, as he points out, this experience runs through all the centuries and is, in fact, a consequence of original sin.

In his answers to Seewald, the pope makes reference to a favorite saint of his, St. Augustine, who described world history as a battle between two loves: 1) the love of self, which leads to the destruction of the world; and 2) the love of others, which calls for the renunciation of oneself (p. 59).

This is not to say, however, that all of modern thinking is wrong, or that the world is totally depraved. Rather, it is important for Christians to incorporate what is good and right about modernity, while at the same time separating and distinguishing themselves from the secular spirit which itself can be described as a kind of “counter religion” (p. 56).

Again, I quote the Holy Father: “This is a sign of the times that should be an urgent challenge to us, especially as Christians. We have to show — and also live this accordingly — that the eternity man needs can only come from God. That God is the first thing necessary in order to be able to withstand the afflictions of this time.

That we must mobilize, so to speak, all the powers of the soul and of the good so that a genuine coin can stand up against the false coin — and in this way the cycle of evil can be broken and stopped” (p.

61).

Conversion required Obviously, as the pope recognizes, this mobilization of the powers of the soul requires conversion, purification and penance, all the more called for today because of the “filth” that spewed forth “like the crater of a volcano” (p. 23) in the clerical sexual abuse crisis. But here again, such reform demands putting God once again at the center: “The important thing today is to see that God exists, that God matters to us, and that he answers us. And, conversely, that if he is omitted, everything else might be as clever as can be — yet man then loses his dignity and his authentic humanity and thus, the essential thing breaks down. That is why, I think, as a new emphasis we have to give priority to the question of God” (p. 65).

Faced with the secularism and relativism of our day, both outside the church and even within her, this clarion call of the pope provides a kind of road map for our catechetical and evangelizing efforts.

None of us can say we are immune from the forces of self-love that are so prevalent in today’s society. But by placing God at the center of what we do as individuals, as families, as a state and as a nation, I believe we can discern more correctly how to distinguish, in St. John’s words, the spirit of truth from the spirit of deceit.

I highly recommend a careful reading of “Light of the World.”

God bless you!

Archbishop Nienstedt’s schedule ■ Saturday, Jan. 22: 10:30 a.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul: Prayer Service for Life.

■ Sunday through Tuesday, Jan. 23-25: March for Life in Washington, D.C., and inauguration of Dr. John Garvey as president of Catholic University of America.

■ Wednesday, Jan. 26: 10 a.m., St. Paul, Holy Spirit Church and School: School liturgy in celebration of Catholic Schools Week and classroom visits.

■ Thursday, Jan. 27: 10 a.m., St. Paul, St. Paul’s Monastery: Visit with the Sisters of St. Benedict and tour of facility.

3:30 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archdiocesan Finance Council meeting.

■ Saturday, Jan. 29: 5 p.m., St. Paul, Church of the Holy Childhood: Sunday liturgy.

■ Sunday, Jan. 30: 10:30 a.m., Farmington, St. Michael Catholic Church: Sunday liturgy.

■ Monday, Jan. 31: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Planning for “lectio divina” at the University of St. Thomas.

■ Tuesday, Feb. 1: 7:45 a.m., Fridley, Totino-Grace High School: School liturgy in celebration of Catholic Schools Week.

9:30 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archdiocesan Comprehensive Assignment Board meeting.

12 p.m., St. Paul, St. Catherine University: Board of trustees meeting.

■ Wednesday, Feb. 2: 8 a.m., St. Paul, St. Catherine University: Continuation of board of trustees meeting.

5:15 p.m., St. Paul, Cathedral of St. Paul and Archbishop’s Residence: Mass and reception for annual celebration for World Day of Consecrated Life and jubilarians.

■ Thursday, Feb. 3: 8 a.m., White Bear Lake, Church of St. Pius X: School liturgy in celebration of Catholic Schools Week.

7 p.m., Lakeville, Church of All Saints: Catholic Services Appeal deanery quadrant meeting.

10

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

Commentary

/ This Catholic Life

Secondhand books and recycled grace: why stewards share othing feels like a better bargain than a one-cent book, so I always click on Amazon’s used category.

N Twenty Something Christina Capecchi

Sharing draws us into community and can have a big effect on others

“I’m determined

Not only does it save me money, it comes with the added benefit of footprints from a previous reader — marks flagging the sentences that struck someone somewhere, a person who can unknowingly offer me a flashlight for the story ahead.

to welcome the new year with upturned palms, as the cheerful giver God loves.

I also look for clues to identity — a library stamp, a cursive inscription — and marvel at the book’s journey.

”

Hand-me-down wisdom Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s endof-life reflection “The Gift Of Peace” was passed from a daughter to a mother, then back to a daughter from a mother — with Goodwill in between. When I read the note inside, dated April 1998, “To Mom — All my love, Mary,” I knew a similar love brought it to me.

Then there’s the “Chicken Soup For the Soul: Living Your Dreams” edition, copyright 2003. Amazon offers 121 used copies — 18 for a penny — but mine came through Sam’s Club, where it sold for $7.47, down from its cover price of $12.95, and was later consigned for a dollar.

The first chapter includes a goal sheet for the reader to fill out. A pre-

CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

vious owner played by the rules, leaving secrets in black ink.

He vowed to triple his income of $30,000 and lose half of his 240 pounds. “My ideal soul mate is: someone I can talk with, share things we like to do together,” he wrote in the book. “My right livelihood is: be my own boss. Other dreams I have are: a home on a lake.”

It’s not just hand-me-down books that offer hand-me-down wisdom.

As I orient to 2011, I’m thinking of all the things we share: recipes and

knock-knock jokes, bobby pins and bug spray. Parking spaces and prayer cards, passwords and priests. How impossible a year would be if I were left to my own bag of tricks.

Giving something small can have a big effect, cracking open the heart and sharpening a sense of purpose. I know for sure that generosity invites grace, and I’m determined to welcome the new year with upturned palms, as the cheerful giver God loves. When we share we are drawn into community, practical support underlined by neighborly affection.

Our year begins with Epiphany, when the Magi from the East follow the star. Along the way they share bread and blankets. Their fellowship guides and sustains them, carrying them to Bethlehem where they drop to the ground in worship of the Christ Child. “Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

Temporary keepers We are prepared for this wellknown Gospel by a short second reading, when St. Paul tells the Ephesians about “the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit.” And therein is the key to it all, that we are merely stewards of the blessings and crock-pots and laptops in our homes. We do not own them; we are temporary keepers. In that spirit we do not count or collect but give freely.

When we embrace the call to community and stewardship, it becomes easier to journey toward the star. As you do, look out for the pilgrims who fall into stride with you, if even for an hour. And together, leave breadcrumbs for the ones who will follow.

Christina Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights. Contact her at CHRISTINA@ READCHRISTINA.COM.

Relativism leads to ethical schizophrenia in thought process once asked a young physician whether he had received any training in medical ethics during medical school. I wondered whether he had been taught how to handle some of the complex moral questions that can arise when practicing medicine.

It turned out that he had taken only one ethics class during his four years of medical school, and it was a rather loose-knit affair. For the first part of each class, he told me, students were presented with medical cases that raised ethical questions.

For the second part, they were asked to discuss and share their feelings about what the ethical thing to do in each case might be.

The course was largely an airing of different opinions, with students never receiving any definitive ethical guidance or principles.

His experience reminded me how ready we are today to discuss ethical problems, but how quickly we shy away from talking about ethical truths. We raise ethical questions but avoid ethical answers. We encourage the discussion of options and opinions, but leave students in the lurch to “make up their own minds” about what might or might not be ethical.

This relativism corrodes clear ethical thinking. Making up our own morality as we go along has a certain appeal, of course, because it

I Making Sense Out of Bioethics Father Tad Pacholczyk

Real human goods are at stake when we make moral judgments and ethical decisions

“At the end of the day, we all inwardly recognize the importance of moral absolutes.

”

FATHER TAD PACHOLCZYK

allows us to circumnavigate some of the hard ethical answers that might require us to change our own behavior or outlook. As one bioethicist put it a few years ago: “People want to know what it would be wise and right to do; but they don’t want to grasp a truth so lucid that they might feel actually required to walk in its light.”

Inadequate thinking This “tyranny of relativism” influences many contemporary ethical debates. Those who advocate for abortion, for example, will often declare: “If you think abortion is wrong, then don’t have one!”

The message behind the sound bite is that abortion can be fine for me even if it is a problem for you; it can be right for me and wrong for you; and we can all just get along. This type of ethical schizophrenia is obviously inadequate,

Humans need absolutes

tivism and “freedom of choice” regarding abortion will often react with great moral indignation if someone suggests there should be freedom of choice when it comes to torturing puppies or damaging the environment.

Their favorite causes end up being exempted from the claim that all morality is relative. Indeed, they really are not relativists at all, but absolutists: they will insist it is absolutely right to protect animals from cruelty, it is absolutely right to protect the environment, etc.

Their absolutism can end up being as firm and unbending as the absolutism of those they disagree with, such as those who defend the rights of the unborn or the rights of the elderly and infirm.

At the end of the day, we all inwardly recognize the importance of moral absolutes: some kinds of human choices really are wrong, and ethics cannot simply mean what I want it to mean. Each of us must resist the temptation to yield to the tyranny of relativism, a tyranny that encourages us to pursue moral judgments that are convenient, instead of moral judgments that are true.

That core cannot be rooted in the shifting and uncertain sands of moral relativism; we require the immovable guideposts of moral absolutes. No one lives without absolutes of some kind to guide their decision making.

Even those who promote rela-

Father Tad Pacholczyk has a doctorate in neuroscience. He is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, Mass., and serves as the education director at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. WWW.NCBCENTER.ORG.

however.

Imagine someone saying, “If you think slavery is wrong, then don’t own a slave!” Real human goods are at stake when we make moral judgments and ethical decisions — in slavery, a human life is oppressed; in abortion, a human life is ended.

Not only do such ethical (or unethical) decisions affect others profoundly (black men and women; unborn boys and girls) but they also affect us inwardly, making us into those who oppress, or kill. Human choices have consequences that affect the world. But they also cause effects in the depths of the human soul, the inner sanctuary of our own person.

One early saint said that we parent ourselves through our actions.

When we freely decide to do an action, we “create” ourselves and show the direction in which our heart is willing to go. In this world of good and evil, nothing is more important for the good of all than the excellence of the actions that manifest the ethical core of our lives.

“Fairy tales are not true, they are more than true.

Not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because . . . dragons can be defeated.”

G.K. Chesterton

The Lesson Plan JANUARY 20, 2011

Reflections on faith and spirituality

The Catholic Spirit

11

Clear vision is dependent on illumination from beyond ourselves Out of all the five senses it is fairly clear that human beings depend the most on the sense of sight.

To prove this point, one has only to look at the world around us. Almost the entire arena of modern advertisement is based upon its ability to lure people into a product based upon how it appears, or by the attractiveness of the person or thing selling the item or concept. It is usually sight that draws a person to a particular object.

Deacon One of the interesting aspects about the Nate sense of sight is that LaLiberte without any physical light, the sense itself is completely unable to work. If you have ever been outside, in the country, on a night when it is cloudy and there is no moon out, you may have experienced how important light really is to a person’s ability to see.

It is amazing that the sense that we rely

Sunday Scriptures

Readings

For reflection

Sunday, Jan 23 Third Sunday in ordinary time ■ Isaiah 8:23 — 9:3 ■ 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 ■ Matthew 4:12-23

Take time to read the Gospel this week and open your eyes to the light.

most heavily upon is completely useless unless we have some kind of illumination outside of ourselves.

In this weekend’s readings, there is a clear theme of God giving light to his people that they may see more clearly.

Isaiah prophesies: “The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light; upon the land of gloom light has shone.”

In the Gospel, Jesus quotes this passage of Isaiah to reveal fully that he is “the true light that enlightens everyman that was coming into the world.”

Immediately after this passage was proclaimed by Jesus, the author, St. Matthew, says, “From that time on Jesus began to

preach and say, ‘repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” The parallel between darkness being banished and individual repentance should not be overlooked.

Wednesday, Jan. 26 Timothy and Titus, bishops 2 Timothy 1:1-8 Mark 4:1-20 Notice if certain people and experiences have hardened your heart.

day, too, it is important for us to remember that despite very real problems and divisions in the church, there is reason to hope. On a personal level I recall the religious sisters and brothers, lay women and men, as well as priests, who have touched my life. No matter what their role, they share these traits in common: None of them had an exaggerated sense of their importance, they were honest about their faults and willing to listen and learn from others.

Most important, each one had come to recognize that when genuine love is present, God is present.

Our sins are revealed The closer that we draw to Jesus the more he reveals to us the areas in our lives that we must let go of, the things or sins that we are attached to.

Analogously, it is not until you shine a bright light into a room that you see the dust particles that are fluttering around in the air. It is the same with our own souls. Until the light of Christ shines into

our life, we remain in darkness and gloom.

This is where remarkable courage is needed on the part of the Christian disciple. Each step toward the Lord will reveal to us how far we still have to go to live up to Jesus’ command to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Even though this process of “illumination” may be difficult, it is necessary so that we can become “the light of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.”

We must first receive the light of Christ, that we in turn may be torches that call people forth from the land of gloom and darkness and into God’s marvelous light.

This week, let us courageously ask the Lord to draw near and to reveal to us our own blindness, that we may perfectly reflect the love that God has for this world.

Deacon Nate LaLiberte is in formation for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary. His home parish is All Saints in Lakeville and his teaching parish is Maternity of Mary in St. Paul.

Daily Scriptures Sunday, Jan 23 Third Sunday in ordinary time Isaiah 8:23 — 9:3 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 Matthew 4:12-23 “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and purpose.”

— 1 Corinthians 1:10 Have you ever looked around church on a Sunday morning and been struck by the diversity? Where else could you find people of different races, genders, ages, economic circumstances and political beliefs gathered together for a common purpose? When Paul wrote to the divided community at Corinth, he reminded them that Christian unity is based on the message of the cross.

Putting our pride aside is not easy. In fact, until we begin to listen instead of speak or admire the good in our enemy, we have no idea how much we dislike dying to our false self.

Monday, Jan. 24 Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the church Hebrews 9:15, 24-28 Mark 3:22-30 Have you ever falsely accused someone of being evil simply because he or she challenged your viewpoint?

Tuesday, Jan. 25 Conversion of Paul, apostle Acts 22:3-16 Mark 16:15-18 Has your compassion deepened and widened to include those you once considered unacceptable?

Thursday, Jan. 27 Angela Merici, virgin Hebrews 10:19-25 Mark 4:21-25 Is there a talent you are withholding out of fear?

Friday, Jan. 28 Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the church Hebrews 10:32-39 Mark 4:26-34 We can cooperate but we cannot control how and when we will be transformed.

Saturday, Jan. 29 Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 Mark 4:35-41 Share your greatest fear in prayer.

Sunday, Jan. 30 Fourth Sunday in ordinary time Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Matthew 5:1-12a “But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord; the remnant of Israel.”

— Zephaniah 3:12 In the midst of Zephaniah’s announcement of impending doom on Jerusalem, there is a ray of hope. In our

Monday, Jan. 31 John Bosco, priest Hebrews 11:32-40 Mark 5:1-20 Suffering can open our hearts and lead to greater faith.

Tuesday, Feb. 1 Hebrews 12:1-4 Mark 5:21-43 What risk might you have to take in order to be healed?

Wednesday, Feb. 2 Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-4 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 Faithfulness and humility help us recognize the manifestations of the goodness and mercy of God. Thursday, Feb. 3 Blaise, bishop and martyr; Ansgar, bishop Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24 Mark 6:7-13

When do you find it most difficult to let go of the things you cannot control?

Friday, Feb. 4 Hebrews 13:1-8 Mark 6:14-29 Have you ever chosen retaliation over contentment?

Saturday, Feb. 5 Agatha, virgin and martyr Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21 Mark 6:30-34 What steps do you take to balance caring for the needs of others and your own legitimate needs?

Sunday, Feb. 6 Fifth Sunday in ordinary time Isaiah 58:7-10 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the light of the world.”

— Matthew 5:14 Like a warm, sunny climate, people of light naturally draw others to themselves.

They help people see the good that God sees within them. As one young man reported after meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “I knew he was a holy man because after my encounter with him I liked myself better and wanted to be a better person.” Today is a good day to ask ourselves how people feel after an encounter with us.

The daily reflections are written by Terri Mifek, a member of St. Edward in Bloomington and a certified spiritual director at the Franciscan Retreat House in Prior Lake.

12

JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Project Moses promotes 10 Commandments

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

By Julie Carroll The Catholic Spirit

Can you recite the Ten Commandments? All of them?

Like many Catholics, you probably learned the Ten Commandments in grade school or Sunday school, and a few might have slipped your mind since then.

(It’s OK, we won’t tell your Sunday school teacher!)

If your memory isn’t quite what it used to be, help is on the way. A group in Kansas aims to give Catholics and other people of faith visual reminders of God’s law by installing granite monuments with the Commandments engraved on them in front of places of worship across the nation.

The initiative began in 2000, when the American Civil Liberties Union threatened a lawsuit unless a Kansas City courthouse removed a Ten Commandments monument from its lawn. In response, businessman John Menghini founded Project Moses with the goal of installing Ten Commandments monuments on the grounds of places of worship, religious schools and private properties throughout the country.

“Project Moses was founded to promote a clear understanding and strong adherence to the Ten Commandments and to assist all people in embracing the essential duties of living a life of truth, charity and justice,” the group’s website says.

‘Good for the community’ The first Project Moses monument in the archdiocese — a five-foot-tall, black granite tablet — was installed at St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo. A second one will be installed this April at St. Mary in St. Paul. Both were funded by donor drives organized by the Knights of Columbus.

Why get involved in Project Moses?

“It’s good for the community and it’s promotion of the Catholic faith. That’s what the Knights are all about,” said Ron Burg, past Grand Knight and a trustee

Want to know more?

Individuals who donate $50 or more toward a large monument will receive a marble plaque featuring the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes for their homes.

nounced to students over the intercom system that the school would remain open, she said the children waved their hands in the air, jumped up and down, and said, “Thank you, Jesus!”

The kindergarten to eighth-grade school, with an enrollment of 105 students, underwent urgent review because of concerns about the impact of parish mergers and expensive upgrades required to bring the school building up to code.

Administrators have devised a marketing plan to draw more students to the school, and an anonymous donor paid for the costs of the upgrades, King said. As a result, the school remains in the black.

One requirement for urgent-review schools to remain open was producing a plan for a balanced budget over the next three years.

“The challenges [the other urgent-review schools] have haven’t gone away,” Frauenheim said.

“The next steps around that are following up by monitoring and seeing how they’re doing along the way,” she added.

One of the strategic plan’s next steps is set to begin in February when seven schools come together in two different regions for shared resource discussions, Frauenheim said.

“There are a number of schools that will be called together in these round one discussions,” she said.

“Possible outcomes are a greater collaboration among . . . schools, for example, including some urgent review schools. It also might be sharing programs, sharing staff or even a [single] school within that region,” she said.

A portion of the proceeds from the monuments will go toward creating a national memorial to Moses and the Ten Commandments on a 6.5-acre site in Washington, D.C. The group’s plan is to erect an 18- to 24-foot bronze statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments tablets at the site.

For more information, please visit HTTP://ARCHSPM Families seeking assistance in finding a Catholic school that meets their needs are invited to call the Catholic Schools Hotline at 612-SCHOOLS (612-724-6657).

■ For information about obtaining a monument for your parish, call Ron Burg at (651) 341-9642 or e-mail him at PROJECT MOSESMN@GMAIL.COM. ■ The Project Moses website is WWW.PROJECT MOSES.COM.

for Knights of Columbus Council 397, which sponsored the donor drive at St. Mary.

The monuments, available in English or Spanish, feature the Ten Commandments on one side in the St. Augustine, King James or Jewish numbering traditions and the Beatitudes or some other passage from the congregation or group’s faith tradition on the other side.

The 64-inch-tall, hand-engraved monuments come in four colors: black, white, rose and tan. The cost is $5,000 plus $400 to $500 shipping and handling.

Miniature, 16-inch monuments also are available for $250.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

Closing offers new beginning CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Weckman added that she appreciates all the work done by Deacon Bob Wagner, Father Barrett and Father Kevin Clinton, St. Wenceslaus’ pastor.

“They’ve been a lifesaver for me.”

Personally, Weckman is sad about not seeing the people at St. Benedict every Sunday, as each family chooses a church to meet their needs.

“I will have to get out there and make a phone call and stop in,” she said. “It’s our church family. I don’t see them all the time, but if I needed them, I know

they’d be there.”

Weckman said there are positive aspects in the final collaboration between St. Wenceslaus and the other parishes involved in the merger.

“St. Wenceslaus has so much to offer with adult studies,” she said. Although St. Benedict and St. John had a thriving religious education program with 125 children involved, there was no Sunday school, Bible study or options for post CCD kids and that has her excited about the changes.

“It opens up more opportunities for us to grow in our faith,” she said.

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JANUARY 21, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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“It’s easy to make a buck.

It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.”

Tom Brokaw, author of “The Greatest Generation”

Arts & Culture 16

The Catholic Spirit

Exploring our church and our world

‘Lost Valentine’ celebrates values of ‘greatest generation’ ith the first of the baby boomers turning 65 this year, the ranks of their parents — the children of the Depression and the youthful GIs and Rosie the Riveters of the Second World War — are rapidly thinning. So perhaps it’s an appropriate John Mulderig time for a celebration of the values and ideals cherished by those who have aptly been called the “greatest generation.”

“The Lost Valentine” — a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, produced in association with Paulist Productions — offers just such a salute. Based on James Michael Pratt’s novel, and directed by Darnell Martin, the sweetly romantic, family-oriented drama premieres Sunday, Jan. 30, 8-10 p.m. central time on CBS. (Check local listings to confirm date and time.)

Each Valentine’s Day — her wedding anniversary and the anniversary, a year later, of her husband’s departure for service in the Pacific — Caroline Thomas, touchingly played by the indefatigable Betty White, returns to the railroad station where she saw her courageous and high-minded spouse, Neil (Billy Magnussen), for the last time.

Though he was reported missing in action shortly after the birth of their son a few months later, 65 years on, Neil’s ultimate fate remains a mystery.

Assigned to cover Caroline’s story as a human interest piece, initially doubtful TV reporter Susan Allison (Jennifer Love Hewitt) rapidly finds herself drawn to the plucky octogenarian and — more significantly — to Caroline’s biggest fan, her protective grandson, Lucas (Sean Faris).

Susan’s feelings for Lucas are compli-

W

Calendar Prayer/ liturgies Legion of Mary prayers in front of Planned Parenthood, St. Paul — Feb. 4 and 11: 3 p.m. at 1965 Ford Parkway. For information, call (651) 439-9098.

TV Review

All night vigil with the Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul — Jan. 4 and 5: 7 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday at 401 Concord St.

CNS photo / courtesy Paulist Productions

Actress Betty White, star of the “Hallmark Hall of Fame” made-for-TV movie “The Lost Valentine,” is seen on the set with Paulist Father Eric Andrews, one of the movie’s co-producers.

cated, however, by her relationship with longtime boyfriend, Andrew (Will Chase), a globetrotting photographer who, in an early scene, proposes to Susan shortly before departing for his latest journey to distant climes.

The unabashedly old-fashioned teleplay, by Maryann Ridini Spencer and Barton Taney, showcases Caroline’s enduring marital love and — as the circumstances of his last days are gradually uncovered — Neil’s selfless heroism.

As for Susan’s dilemma, it pits the modern taste for a lifestyle abundant in space and freedom, typified by the possibilities of marriage to the often-absent Andrew, against the hometown closeness and simplicity offered by Lucas.

If the proceedings occasionally seem over-idealized, this is, nonetheless, that current rarity: quality programming appropriate for all ages.

John Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.

JANUARY 20, 2011

World Apostolate of Fatima vigil of reparation at St. Jerome, Maplewood — Feb. 4 and 5: Begins Friday with rosary at 7 p.m., Mass at 7:30 p.m. Concludes after a Mass at midnight Saturday at 380 Roselawn Ave. E. For information, call (651) 772-2221.

Healing Mass at Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata — Jan. 15: 7 p.m. at 155 County Road 24. Father Joseph Gillespie, pastor of St. Albert the Great in Minneapolis, will be the celebrant. Rosary before Mass begins at 6:30 p.m.

Singles 50-plus singles pizza and game night at St. Joseph, New Hope — Jan. 23: 5 p.m. at 8701 36th Ave. N. Includes social hour, pizza and games to follow. Cost is $5. Call (763) 439-5940.

School events Pre-school and kindergarten round-up at Blessed Trinity School, Richfield — Jan. 23: 2 p.m. at 7540 Penn Ave. S. To RSVP, call (612) 866-6906.

Open house at Holy Trinity School, South

NOTICE Look for The Catholic Spirit advertising insert from

Prolife Across America in all copies of this issue.

For a complete lising of calendar items, visit THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM St. Paul — Jan. 23: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 745 Sixth Ave. S. For students entering preschool to grade 8. For information, call (651) 455-8557 or visit WWW.HOLYTRINITYS.ORG. Open house and Italian dinner at St. John the Baptist School, New Brighton — Jan. 23: 11:15 a.m. Mass followed by open house until 2:30 p.m. Dinner goes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 845 Second Ave. N.W. For students entering grades K to 8. For information, call (651) 633-1522, ext. 1118 or visit WWW.STJOHNNYB.ORG. Kindergarten round-up at Holy Spirit School, St. Paul — Jan. 26: 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at 515 S. Albert St. For information, call (651) 698-3353 or visit WWW.HOLYSPIRIT.ORG. Nativity of Mary School Trivia Night at Knights of Columbus Hall, Bloomington — Jan. 29: 4 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. trivia at 1114 American Blvd. Coat is $20 per person.

For information, visit WWW.NATIVITYBLOOMING TON.ORG. Wines to Wishes Gala at St. John the Baptist School, New Brighton — Jan. 29: 7 to 11:30 p.m. at 845 Second Ave. N.W. An elegant evening of food and fun to benefit St. John the Baptist School. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door. For information, call (651) 633-1522, ext. 1118 or visit WWW.WINESTOWISHES.COM. Open house at St. Pascal Baylon School, St. Paul — Jan. 30: Noon at 1757 Conway St. For students entering grades K to 8. For information, call (651) 776-0092 or visit WWW.STPASCALS.ORG. Open house at Sacred Heart School, Robbinsdale — Jan. 30: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4050 Hubbard Ave. N. For students PLEASE TURN TO CALENDAR ON PAGE 17

17

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

Catholic conference aims to protect poor, vulnerable Working together

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Among the 201 members of the Minnesota Legislature are 60 freshman lawmakers, including 24 in the Senate. Both chambers have shifted from Democratic to Republican control.

The MCC has a new look of sorts as well. Father McCauley, who was the MCC’s executive director from 1995 to 2001, is now serving as the organization’s interim leader until a search is completed for a new executive director following the departure of Chris Leifeld.

Republican legislative majorities could bode well for some initiatives the MCC supports — including the marriage amendment, Father McCauley said. But fixing the budget shortfall will continue to be a challenge for legislators of both parties.

The MCC will work to develop and identify sponsors for a marriage amendment that could appear on the ballot in 2012 for approval by Minnesota voters if the proposal passes with a majority vote in both the House and Senate. The procedure bypasses the governor’s office.

Republicans proposed similar amendments in the past but ran into opposition from DFL leaders.

“One of the things that concerns me is that we are able to present the whole thing in a context that suggests we are concerned about marriage and family and all that has happened to it in our state and country over the last 30 years,” said Father McCauley, who cited concerns about the number of children today raised out of wedlock and the effects of no-fault divorce laws.

Concerns about the well-being of families extend beyond the debate over so-called same-sex marriages, he said, and the MCC would be open to supporting other types of legislation focused on strengthening family life and traditional marriage.

Get involved There are several ways to stay informed about legislative efforts at the State Capitol: ■ Sign up at WWW.MNCC.ORG for the Minnesota Catholic Advocacy Network, a service of the Minnesota Catholic Conference that provides newsletters, legislative updates and action letters on issues of concern to Catholics.

■ Attend a legislative briefing sponsored by the Catholic Charities Office for Social Justice. Briefings will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on three dates: Jan. 27 at Guardian Angels in Oakdale, Jan. 31 at Christ the King in Minneapolis, and Feb. 3 at Lumen Christi in St. Paul. For more information, visit OSJSPM.ORG or call (651) 291-4477.

■ If you’re a private school educator, attend the Minnesota Nonpublic Schools’ Legislative Day in St. Paul on Feb. 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet with state legislators and hear presentations by students and proponents of the Equity and Opportunity in Education Tax Credit. For more information, contact Peter Noll at (651) 227-8777.

■ Attend the Day on the Hill, sponsored by the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition beginning at 9 a.m. on Feb. 17 at the RiverCentre in St. Paul.

Listen to issue briefings and a keynote address by Father David McCauley of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, and visit legislators at the State Capitol. To register, go to JRLC.ORG.

Ladder out of poverty Another way the MCC will be seeking to strengthen families is by advocating for public policies and services that help the poor and vulnerable secure basic needs and free themselves from the cycle of poverty.

As part of its legislative agenda, the MCC said it will continue to support reforms recommended by the Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 as well as support an increase in taxes “should it become necessary.”

Dayton supports raising taxes on the state’s highestincome earners, but the Republican-controlled House and Senate opposes any tax hikes.

“It is not enough to provide a safety net,” the MCC states in its agenda outline. “We must find a way out of that net to ensure that those in need are given the means to provide adequate employment, housing, food and health care for themselves and their dependents.”

Father McCauley said he is “optimistic that some [legislators] might be able to take a little longer view and recognize that while something might be a little more costly in 2012 and 2013, if you look down the road, it’s

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 entering Pre-K to 8th grade. For information, call (763) 537-1329.

Open house at St. Peter School, North St. Paul — Jan. 30: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 2620 N. Margaret St. For information, call (651) 777-3091 or visit WWW.STPETERSNSP.ORG. Open house at Transfiguration School, Oakdale — Jan. 30: 11:30 a.m. at 6135 15th St. For students entering grades K to 8. For information, visit WWW.TRANSFIGURATION MN.ORG/SCHOOL. Open house at Academy of Sts. Peter and Paul, Loretto — Jan. 30: 9 a.m. to noon at 150 Railway St. E. For students entering grades 1 to 8.

Preschool and kindergarten information night at Academy of Sts. Peter and Paul, Loretto — Feb. 1: 6:30 to 7 p.m. for kindergarten and 7 to 7:30 p.m. for preschool at 150 Railway St. Open house at Transfiguration School,

going to be tremendously more economical” to help people move out of situations of poverty and dependency as soon as possible.

Still, Noll acknowledged, “people have to come offering ideas this time around. It isn’t just saying we need more money. It’s also bringing new ideas to solve both the jobs issue and the budget deficit, which is over 20 percent of our state budget.”

One of those ideas in the area of education is to create tax credits for businesses and individuals who donate money toward scholarship programs in nonpublic schools.

“I think there’s room to say that if they increased the tax credit for people in nonpublic schools, that money would probably be matched or more than matched by what they would save in their per-pupil allocations to the public school districts,” Father McCauley said.

“It would also help us build a more truly competitive school system in the state, which I think would be good for the public schools and nonpublic schools.”

Oakdale — Feb. 1: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 6135 15th St. For students entering grades K to 8. For information, visit WWW.TRANSFIGU RATIONMN.ORG/SCHOOL. Open house at St. Pius X School, White Bear Lake — Feb. 2: 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 3878 Highland Ave. For students entering preschool to 8th grade. For information, call (651) 429-5338.

Once the legislative session hits high gear, Father McCauley, Noll and Katie Conlin, the MCC’s interim social concerns director, anticipate spending a lot of time at the Capitol, particularly Tuesdays through Thursdays when most committee hearings are being scheduled.

That leaves Fridays and Mondays for visiting with legislators.

“We’re starting to set up a variety of meetings on a number of different issues with lawmakers,” Noll said.

“It’s going to be interesting getting to know many of these new lawmakers. . . . That’s a huge part of our job — building up the political capital.”

The MCC started the session by dropping copies of its agenda into lawmakers’ mailboxes. “That actually generated a couple of phone calls from legislators — new members who wanted to talk to us and find out who we are,” Conlin said.

The MCC is currently working to line up meetings between the bishops and key lawmakers, Noll said. The bishops also are planning to issue a joint letter with the state’s Lutheran bishops on poverty-related issues to be presented to Dayton and lawmakers.

Throughout the year, the MCC creates and hones its legislative agenda in consultation with the state’s Catholic bishops, who comprise the organization’s board of directors. MCC staffers also meet with members of internal committees — including groups focused on education and social concerns — made up of experts from Minnesota’s six dioceses who are appointed by the bishops.

In part because of the MCC’s limited staff and broad agenda, it will be working this session with the Catholic Charities Office for Social Justice and the Joint Religious Legislative Commission, of which the MCC is a member, to identify agenda items of mutual interest and determine which organization will take the lead on a particular issue.

MCC staff members also anticipate entering into coalitions with other organizations when appropriate to advance its legislative agenda. One coalition the MCC might join is Invest in Minnesota, which is composed of local faith communities, labor groups and nonprofit organizations and focused on how the state can raise revenue to help resolve the state budget deficit.

“We’re at least going to attend their meetings and see if we’re going to sign on,” Conlin said.

Noll said the church has a long history of standing up for social justice, and good Catholic citizenship requires bringing the church’s moral perspectives to public policy debates.

“It’s a clarion call from our faith to do that, to get involved and stand up for the common good, stand up for the poor and vulnerable,” he said. “If that requires us to be in the political arena, that’s where we’ll be.”

advance or $13 at the door. Call (651) 777-3091.

Kindergarten information night at St. Jerome School, Maplewood — Feb. 7: 7 p.m. at 384 Roselawn Ave. E. For children entering kindergarten in the fall. For information, call (651) 771-8494.

Open house and kindergarten night at Pope John Paul II School, Minneapolis — Feb. 3: 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 1630 Fourth St. N.E. For information, call (612) 789-8851.

Other events

Open house at St. Pascal Baylon School, St. Paul — Feb. 3: 5 and 6 p.m. at 1757 Conway St. For students entering grades K to 8. For information, call (651) 776-0092 or visit WWW.STPASCALS.ORG.

Forum on caring for seniors at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings — Jan. 21: 7 to 8:30 p.m. at 2035 W. 15th St. Sponsored by Catholic Senior Services of the Archdiocese. Bishop Lee Piché will speak.

For more information or to register, call (651) 437-4254, ext. 232.

‘All School, Almost, Reunion’ at St. Peter School, North St. Paul — Feb. 5: Mass at 4 p.m. followed by a taco dinner, music, tours and more. Those who graduated before 2007 are invited. Cost is $9 in

Bus to March for Life prayer service and rally provided by Mary, Mother of the Church, Burnsville — Jan. 22: Bus leaves

from 3333 Cliff Road at 9:15 a.m. for prayer service and 11:15 a.m. for rally. For information, call (952) 890-0045.

Single parent morning retreat at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Paul — Feb. 5: 9 a.m. to noon at 1414 Dale St. N. Support and renewal for single parents through presentations, fellowship and discussion. Cost is $10 per family with free childcare provided. Register online at WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG/FAMILY. Mass for World Day of the Sick at the Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul — Feb. 11: 5:15 p.m. at 239 Selby Ave. Bishop Lee Piché will preside. The sick, caregivers and healthcare professionals are especially invited.

‘Come and See’ weekend with the Visitation Sisters, Minneapolis — Feb. 11 and 12: 6 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday at 1527 Fremont Ave. N. For young women ages 18 to 45. For information, e-mail MULLINKF@AOL.COM.

18

Respect Life

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

St. Bernard’s student takes Catholic values to new school Lutheran academy welcomes senior’s pro-life activism

Pray, march for life at MN Capitol

By Maggie Lee For The Catholic Spirit Grace Thompson has found a way to keep St. Bernard High School’s traditions and values alive at her new school, Concordia Academy.

When St. Bernard in St. Paul closed last year, Thompson and 44 of her classmates decided to spend their senior year together at the Lutheran high school in Roseville.

But they didn’t leave their Catholic values behind. Thompson is applying her enthusiasm for her faith to organize Concordia students to attend the March for Life at noon Saturday, Jan. 22, at the State Capitol. She saw it as an opportunity to share her Catholic values with others around an issue that’s close to her heart.

“Being pro-life has always been something I’ve been super passionate about,” Thompson said.

Thompson first got involved with the annual pro-life march while attending St. Bernard’s School, which had a history of bringing a large group of students to the event and helping with the prayer service that takes place prior to the march at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Concordia students don’t have a tradition of participation in the event, but Thompson is working to change that.

A new tradition begins Thompson pitched the idea to one of her teachers at Concordia, Dean Dunavan, who agreed to help her bring in pro-life speakers to address students during chapel services at the school.

“I thought it was great,” Dunavan said. “I’ve been teaching here for 12 years and I can’t recall one of our students asking, ‘What are we doing about the pro-life march at the Capitol?’ The more she’s talked about it, the more other kids are saying, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’”

Dunavan said Concordia Academy supports the pro-life cause, but it took Grace and other former St. Bernard’s students to energize their classmates on the issue.

“They’re very bold when speaking about the sanctity of life,” he said.

“There hasn’t been somebody to spearhead that on the high school level here. I was thrilled.”

The annual Prayer Service for Life provides a moment of quiet reflection before the March for Life to the State Capitol on the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1973 to legalize abortion.

Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

Grace Thompson, who previously attended St. Bernard High School in St. Paul and who is now a senior at Concordia Academy in Roseville, stands in the school’s prayer chapel Jan. 13 with some of the students helping her organize pro-life efforts at the school.

“The values we represented every day at St. Bernard’s are just the same here at Concordia.

”

GRACE THOMPSON Sharon Wilson, the archdiocese’s Respect Life coordinator, is helping Grace line up pro-life speakers to address Concordia students and encourage student involvement. Wilson and Thompson first met when Thompson represented St. Bernard’s High School on Wilson’s Youth Advisory Board.

Wilson said she is impressed by Thompson’s initiative.

Becoming more ecumenical “Grace is dynamic, she’s involved.

She’s a natural leader and wants to organize,” Wilson said.

Wilson helps coordinate the ecumenical prayer service held at the Cathedral of St. Paul, an event which is sponsored by the archdiocesan

Office of Marriage, Family and Life.

Although all denominations are welcome, Wilson acknowledges that most schools that attend the service are Catholic.

“We haven’t had a connection with other schools,” Wilson said. “We didn’t have outreach because we didn’t have someone like Grace to organize.”

Concordia Academy has more than 400 students. With the influx of St. Bernard’s students, this year’s graduating class of 140 will be the largest in its history.

The student body reflects a mix of Christian beliefs and faith traditions, which often are discussed during religion class. Dunavan, who teaches theology to seniors, said he believes

the students have learned a lot from each other.

“We have kids who had no idea about the Catholic faith or why Lutherans do this or Baptists do that,” he said. “They’re finding they have more in common than they thought.”

Thompson and Dunavan plan to continue promoting the pro-life cause at Concordia after the Jan. 22 event.

Dunavan, who has attended the march with his wife for years, sees the current efforts as just a beginning.

“We’re forming a group of people who are passionate about this,” he said. “It’s not political — it’s about their faith, their love for the Lord.

We’re at a beginning point of educating kids in an intentional way.”

While Thompson is committed to her new school, she still identifies with St. Bernard’s High School and what it stood for. “[The march] was such a big part of St. Bernard’s,” she said. “People saw our blue and gold and knew who we were. I want the same thing at Concordia. The values we represented every day at St. Bernard’s are just the same here at Concordia.”

■ Time: 10:3011:30 a.m.

■ Date: Saturday, Jan. 22 ■ Place: Cathedral of St. Paul ■ Who: Archbishop John Nienstedt will lead the prayer service The annual March for Life and rally, sponsored by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, begins at noon, with a program including pro-life speakers at 12:30 p.m.

Respect Life

JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

19

Large crowd expected for D.C. March for Life CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 of America Conference the next day.

“We booked two buses for the trip, which would hold between 90 and 100 altogether,” said Bill Dill, trip organizer for the Office for Marriage, Family and Life, which is sponsoring the trip. “We didn’t know what to expect, but we were quite happily surprised when we found that we had 274 registrations and a waiting list.”

Aly decided to go after hearing about it from her friend, Maddie Schulte, whose mother, Nancy, works with Dill. A ninthgrader at Mahtomedi High School, Aly went to DC a year ago with her eighthgrade class at St. Jude of the Lake School in Mahtomedi. An experience on that trip was a foreshadowing of her decision to go back this year for the march.

“We went to the White House,” she said. “There were a bunch of protesters there. We and a bunch of my friends made a sign that said, ‘St. Jude is prolife.’”

Aly is one of 10 youth from St. Jude making the trip this year. A total of 17 parishes and four Catholic high schools are sending groups of teens. Also coming are a group of 34 teens from Community of Christ the Redeemer, a Catholic lay community whose members attend numerous parishes.

Also coming are two priests, Father Greg Abbott, associate pastor at Epiphany in Coon Rapids, and Father Mark Huberty, pastor at Presentation of the

Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood.

According to Father Huberty, parishioners have supported his group of eight teens and two chaperones in two ways.

One is by holding a fundraiser to help pay the cost of the trip. Another is by scheduling eucharistic adoration for 24 hours starting at noon Jan. 20, the day before the trip.

“I’m very pleased,” Father Huberty said. “What I’ve been telling the congregation is these aren’t just future leaders in the pro-life movement, they’re our current leaders. They’re the ones who have the energy. It’s really been great to see the excitement of the whole parish and their enthusiastic support of this.”

Going on pilgrimage At Providence Academy in Plymouth, going to DC is a natural extension of the pro-life work being done by the students’ pro-life group, Lions for Life. The leader of that group, senior Genevieve McCarthy, is going on the trip, along with eight other girls who also are members. Leading them will be Katie Lahti, coordinator of campus ministry at Providence and a graduate of the school in 2006.

“When I first heard about the trip, I was excited to hear that the archdiocese was going as a group,” Lahti said. “It’s a pilgrimage in a sense because you’re going all the way across the country.”

For McCarthy, the trip will not be the end of her involvement in pro-life activities. She is looking far ahead into the

future as she ponders how she can make a difference.

“I’ve always been interested in politics,” she said. “I think I’d like to get into politics and help [the pro-life cause] that way.”

Also coming for the march is a group of 19 seminarians from the St. Paul Seminary. They represent the first-year theology class and are continuing in the seminary’s annual tradition of sending this class to the march. Enthusiasm for the trek is running strong.

“I’m greatly looking forward to it,” said first-year seminarian David Gockowski.

“It’s really a moving experience to be there. I’ve been there once before, but it’s been a few years now. So, it’ll be good to go back with my class and to see thou-

sands of people there all supporting prolife and in solidarity to bring an end to abortion. It encourages you to keep working for an end to abortion and for protection of life.”

An estimated crowd of 400,000 people participated in the march last year, according to the March for Life office in DC. Being there with thousands of others is sure to have an impact on the youth from this archdiocese, Dill said.

“It helps young people see how many others out there care about life,” he said.

“Hopefully, it will deepen and broaden the pro-life convictions of the youth and, hopefully, it will show the universal church that our youth are not just concerned about themselves, but they’re willing to stand up for others.”

“Our vocation consists in belonging to Jesus. The work is nothing but a means to express our love for him.”

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Vocations 20

A Catholic Spirit special section

The Catholic Spirit

JANUARY 20, 2011

Seminary formation includes travel Personal invitation

prevails in reaching out to women

Men experience Newman in England

By Pat Norby The Catholic Spirit

This year, for the first time, second-year men at the St. Paul Seminary traveled out of the country to spend their January term in England, learning about the recently beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman.

“In formation, we like to use these opportunities to make it something living and alive,” said Msgr. Aloysius Callaghan, seminary rector.

“It’s a religious experience as well.

Just to go to the holy places where the martyrs died, it’s more than seeing it on a video,” he said.

Father Robert Pish, seminary vice rector for student affairs, said second-year seminarians focus on teaching and catechesis. So, learning about the cardinal, where he taught and preached in London, Oxford and Birmingham, was a natural fit, especially so soon after Pope Benedict XVI had visited the country for the beatification in September.

Msgr. Callaghan said the decision to extend an overseas teaching experience to the second-year men was based on the success of the immersion programs for third-year and fourth-year seminarians, who travel to the Holy Land and Rome, respectively.

A vision of church Whether the men have previously traveled abroad or not, the study experience gives them a better understanding of the universal church and a vision of where Christ,

Congratulations Visitation Nuns on your 400th Anniversary!

the martyrs and other holy men once preached and taught, he said.

Each group of seminarians is accompanied by a professor from the seminary, who provides on-site and classroom instruction. Course outlines depict a busy schedule of lectures, discussions, papers and practical activities that include preaching and teaching.

The second-year men were led by Father Thomas Margevicius and Don Briel, University of St. Thomas’ Center for Catholic Studies director.

First-year seminarians have not been overlooked in the J-term travel experience, although they stay in the country, traveling to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Although the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision is Saturday, Jan. 22, the march is set for Monday, Jan. 24, this year, to allow marchers to also visit their representatives in Congress.

Because the first year in seminary is focused on spirituality, Msgr.

Callaghan said he thought it would be good for them to be at the march.

Beyond books Many of the seminarians haven’t traveled to these places, he said, and that experience can give them “a sense of proclaiming the Gospel.”

That experience is also something you don’t get by reading a book, he added.

“The church is not an institution.

It is the body of Christ,” Msgr.

Callaghan said. “You talk about shepherding or being a pastor. It’s

By Julie Pfitzinger For The Catholic Spirit

For the vocation directors at three local religious communities, the practice of reaching out to women who are discerning the call to religious life has not changed much in recent years.

While all three actively use the Internet as a way to let interested young people learn a bit more about their religious orders, it is the personal invitation, the quiet conversation or the chance to participate in prayer or the daily life of the community that is likely to make the greatest impression.

St. Paul’s Monastery

more than being just a manager.

You’re not a CEO. You’re a shepherd of souls.”

A blog entry written by the second-year men after their visit to Canterbury gives a sense of their enlightenment about Christianity in the early years: “Our guide, whose name was Hugh, prided himself in being able to talk about Canterbury and the Cathedral for four hours each without repeating himself! . . . We learned about the Roman roots of the city, as well as its religious significance. It was there that St. Augustine began his efforts of bringing

Benedictine Sister Marie Fujan is the vocation director at St. Paul’s Monastery in St. Paul.

For young women today who are in a period of discernment about entering religious life with the Benedictine Sisters, the ancient practice of “lectio divina” — or “holy reading” — is just as much a part of their discernment process as it has been for so many sisters who have gone before them.

“Scripture is so important. The Gospel is not encouraged in society, but with the breaking open of the word, the possibilities are endless,” Sister Marie said. “We have been enlightened in seeing that the women who are discerning a vocation are attracted to the Gospel.”

The sisters at St. Paul’s Monastery welcome guests to spend time in prayer (the Taize Prayer sessions held on the third Friday of each month continue to grow in popularity, according to Sister Marie) or attend retreats, offering them a chance to experience the Benedictine community firsthand.

“We need to be who we are as Benedictines, following not just the rule of Benedict, but the spirit of the Gospel,” she said. “It always encourages me that our sisters are willing to welcome others and to share who we are as Benedictines with them.”

Sister Marie, who said she has been vocation director

PLEASE TURN TO IMMERSION ON PAGE 21

PLEASE TURN TO RELIGIOUS ON PAGE 23

Photo from The St. Paul Seminary

This photo, posted on the second year seminarians blog, shows, from left, Brian Park, Joe Zabinski and Andrew Brinkman trying out one of the small city gates in Canterbury, England, during J-term.

Vocations

JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

21

Immersion is local, global, cultural Father Williams: Healthy priests is formation goal “One of the unique CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

Christianity to England. The city only became a major pilgrimage site after the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 1100s” (WEB.ME.COM/SPSSOD/ENGLAND_2011/BLOG/ ARCHIVE.HTML).

aspects of formation is the parish teaching program. Our men do a significant amount of their pastoral formation in a parish during their four years.

Local immersion Despite the success of the universal immersion programs, Father Pish said that immersion in the local church is important, as well.

“One of the unique aspects of formation is the parish teaching program,” he said. “Our men do a significant amount of their pastoral formation in a parish during their four years.”

The parish is where seminarians learn about various programs and aspects of parish life while working with people. In the seminary classroom, speakers from all aspects of ministry, such as Catholic Charities, the archdiocese and parishes help the men understand the practical aspects of what they will be doing in the future.

“You have to be a jack of all trades” as a priest, Msgr. Callaghan said. “You are expected to have the ready answer. You can’t get that just from reading a book.”

The rector also noted that the seminary has a “great emphasis on immersion in multicultural ministry. The summer after the men complete their second year, they go to Mexico for a six-week Spanish language immersion program, following by about 10 days at the archdiocesan mission in Venezuela.”

”

FATHER ROBERT PISH St. Paul Seminary vice rector for student affairs

Father Pish said that the emphasis on Spanish immersion started with Archbishop Harry Flynn.

“He really emphasized in preparing ourselves for serving the growing Hispanic community here,” Father Pish said.

“That started out by taking Spanish language classes here and learning to celebrate the sacraments in Spanish. Monsignor added the opportunity to go to Mexico and Venezuela.”

With all that the seminarians already do to prepare for priesthood, Msgr.

Callaghan has a couple of additional aspects that he wants to include in the future: bringing a pastoral presence to caring for the sick and dying and doing something tangible with evangelization.

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By Pat Norby The Catholic Spirit

Father Peter Williams said that his new position as the Institute for Ongoing Clergy Formation director “compliments the work I have been doing with vocations the past three years.”

As vocations director at the St. Paul Seminary, he built up trust with the men preparing for the priesthood.

He plans to continue those relationships through FATHER WILLIAMS a series of gatherings at least three times each year with newly ordained priests.

A need for boundaries One issue he wants to address for new priests is their enthusiasm.

Often, they are so enthusiastic that they don’t establish limits on their time and people take more than anyone can give, said Father Williams, who learned from his grandmother that “No” is a full sentence.

“The goal is healthy, happy, human priests,” he said. “Hopefully, their relationship with Jesus never gets lost.”

Father Williams said he looks for

guidance from Pope Benedict XVI, who said priests need to find a way to live in community.

“Priesthood is not meant to be lived in isolation,” he added.

By gathering groups of former seminary classmates together for a presentation, dinner and camaraderie, the priests will have an opportunity to talk about their challenges and joys.

Father Williams said he is pleased that Father Troy Przybilla was chosen to replace him as vocations director.

The right choice “To be a good vocations director you don’t have to be someone other than who you are,” he said. “I think the archbishop made the right choice.”

Father Przybilla takes time to go fishing with his dad and have dinner with friends and fellow priests Father Williams said. “If it’s perceived as a value, it happens.”

He is also glad that his office will be just down the hall from Father Przybilla’s office, so he will be available to answer the many questions that are sure to come up.

“For the first six months I had [former vocations director] Father Tom Wilson on speed dial,” he said with a laugh.

Walk the Walk

22

Vocations

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

Alaskan bishops share priests across diocesan lines priests in his own archdiocese, Archbishop Schwietz said he is pleased to be able to help the Fairbanks diocese.

“Even though we are short of personnel here, Fairbanks is in more dire straits than we are, and it’s good to help,” he said.

By Effie Caldarola Catholic News Service

Due to an acute shortage of priests in Alaska, the life experienced by Father Nelson Marilag may become the norm as the practice of sharing clergy across the boundaries of Alaska’s three Catholic dioceses becomes more common.

Over the past decade, many U.S. dioceses have moved toward a model of sharing one priest among multiple parishes. Alaska’s bishops are experimenting with the idea of sharing priests across whole dioceses.

Father Marilag is already on loan from the Diocese of Cotabato, Philippines, and has been officially assigned to minister in the Archdiocese of Anchorage. However, he is now also helping to serve Catholics in Barrow — the northernmost city in the United States and part of the Diocese of Fairbanks.

Having priests work simultaneously within two dioceses is rare, but the developing arrangement in Alaska is part of a new strategy by the Alaska Catholic Conference of Bishops to help mitigate the impact of a growing priest shortage.

Father Marilag’s assignment represents the trial run of the new plan.

“It’s true that this plan is in its infancy,” Anchorage Archbishop Roger L. Schwietz told the Catholic Anchor, his

“Our diocese is so sprawling and the number of sacramental ministers so few, it is a challenge to serve all of God’s people here.

”

Unique challenges

BISHOP DONALD KETTLER

archdiocesan newspaper, “and we haven’t dealt with the details yet.”

Traveling priest For now, Father Marilag regularly leaves the more southern Archdiocese of Anchorage to help provide sacraments farther north in the Fairbanks diocese. He visits St. Patrick Church in Barrow every four to six weeks, spending about 10 days before returning to the Anchorage archdiocese.

In Barrow, the Catholic population of St. Patrick’s is about 80 percent Filipino.

This makes the ministry of a Filipino priest all the more relevant for the community, Archbishop Schwietz said.

Barrow, with a population of 4,429, is still more than 60 percent Inupiat Eskimo. Because of the way early missionaries divided up the state, the area has never had a large Native Catholic population.

The influx of immigrants, however, who Father Marilag said work largely in

the schools and administrative offices, has brought a need for a greater Catholic presence.

In a phone interview from Barrow, Father Marilag told the Catholic Anchor that he was happy to minister there, despite the fact that the thermometer had dipped below zero and the sun was hidden for most of the day.

But most unusual was his discovery of so many fellow countrymen, he said.

“I was surprised to find the large number of Filipinos,” Father Marilag said, “and I could feel that sacramental need.”

In just a couple of days in the remote village, he had performed a baptism with more than 100 people attending and celebrated two weekend Masses, which drew about 150 people.

He has also been asked to bless many objects, hear confessions and bless family homes.

Despite a growing need for new

The Fairbanks region is home to scores of small villages not connected by a road system, and often priests must make connecting flights through Anchorage from Fairbanks in order to reach rural parishes.

“I am very grateful for Archbishop Schwietz’s support,” Fairbanks Bishop Donald J. Kettler told the Catholic Anchor. “Our diocese is so sprawling and the number of sacramental ministers so few, it is a challenge to serve all of God’s people here. Father Marilag will be a welcome minister to St. Patrick’s parish.”

Mary Gore, executive director of the Alaska Catholic Conference, said the bishops have discussed a plan to share priests, even long-term, but the details haven’t been settled. For example, she said, a priest from the Juneau diocese might want a three-year assignment in the Anchorage archdiocese, or someone from Anchorage might like to give three years to a remote parish in the Fairbanks diocese. Financial and other considerations of such a trade-off remain to be developed, she said.

“The harvest is great, but the laborers are few…”

(Luke 10:2)

Join us in the labor!

Franciscan Sisters of St. Paul, MN 1388 Prior Ave. S., St. Paul, MN 55116 651-690-1501

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Saint John Vianney College Seminary 365 Alumni Ordained to the Priesthood since 1968

Fr. Michael Becker, Rector Located on the campus of the University of St. Thomas 2115 Summit Avenue, Mail #5024 • St. Paul, MN 55105 651-962-6825 • www.vianney.net

Vocations

JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

23

Religious orders vary in the way they carry out mission CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 “on and off for most of my life, it seems” said that even she has to remind herself about an important part of encouraging vocations: “The vocations of the women we meet who are in discernment come only from God,” she said.

Sisters of St. Joseph Sister Jill Underdahl is vocation director for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates in St. Paul.

In her role, Sister Jill said she spends a significant amount of time talking to young women not only about the mission of the CSJs, but about their particular spiritual needs in order to help them discover “a place of intersection that is authentic” when it comes to discernment about the religious life.

One area that Sister Jill referred to as “a true place of engagement” for many young women is a community garden, a component of a program called Celeste’s Dream, developed by the CSJs to focus on the spirituality of young adults.

The garden, located on the CSJ campus in St. Paul, has given participants that “have expressed great concern about the future of the planet,” the opportunity to

“People get to know us through our ministries. We are a listening ear in times that are difficult.

”

SISTER MARY LOUISE DOLEZAL Vocation director, Franciscan Sisters of St. Paul

learn about organic gardening practices, get to know other young adults with a common interest, and share their harvest, she said.

Most of the young women who meet with Sister Jill to discuss vocations are between the ages of 20 and 35, some have finished college or graduate school and some may have even embarked upon a career.

“They tell me they are searching for meaning in their lives. They are searching for a connection with others who feel the same way,” she said. “They want to align

Always Christ, always faithful Benedictine Priests and Brothers of Assumption Abbey For For more more information, information, contact: contact: Br. Br. Michael Michael Taffe, Taffe, OSB, OSB, Vocation Vocation Director Director vocations@assumptionabbey.com vocations@assumptionabbey.com www.assumptionabbey.com www.assumptionabbey.com 701-974-3315 701-974-3315

themselves with communities that fit with the values they have and, above all, they have a love for God and neighbor and want to do what they can to spread the mission of the Gospel.”

Franciscan Sisters of St. Paul Sister Mary Louise Dolezal, vocation director for the Franciscan Sisters of St. Paul, calls the sisters “a small community with a big mission.”

Part of a large international community of Franciscan sisters, this local community of prayer also sponsors two social ministries located at the Sibley Manor Apartments in St. Paul: Clare’s Closet, which provides clothing and household items, and the Francis Basket Food Shelf.

“People get to know us through our ministries,” she said. “We are a listening ear in times that are difficult.”

As a community of prayer, the sisters pray for an hour each day and dedicate the first Sunday of each month exclusively to prayer.

It is this life of prayer that Sister Mary Louise believes is attractive to many young women today.

“There are so many out there looking for that kind of connection,” she said.

Learn about religious Young women are invited to attend “Visiting Women’s Communities of Faith” on Saturday, Feb. 26, a day devoted to meeting the sisters in four local communities, praying with them and learning about the charisms of the different religious communities: the Benedictines, the Franciscan Poor Clares, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

For more information about this event, Celeste’s Dream and other programs of the CSJ community, visit WWW.CSJSTPAUL.ORG. To learn more about St. Paul’s Monastery, including Taize Prayer and retreat opportunities, visit WWW.STPAULSMONASTERY.ORG. For information about the Franciscan Sisters of St. Paul, visit WWW.ASKMOTHERROSE.ORG. In addition, a “Come and See” weekend for women ages 18 to 45 will be held from 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11, to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb 12, with the Visitation Sisters at 1527 Fremont Ave. N., Minneapolis. For information, e-mail MULLINKF@AOL.COM.

Light from an Ancient Tradition Shines Out Today!

The Sisters of St. Benedict of St. Paul’s Monastery Shine Our Light Through:

❖ Prayer ❖ Community

❖ Ministry

We invite you and all women ages 18 to 45 to join us on January 22 or February 26, 2011 to examine how you are being called to let Your Light Shine.

For more information, contact Sister Marie Fujan at: 2675 Benet Rd, Saint Paul, MN 55109 651-777-8181 or srmarie@stpaulsmonastery.org

TheCatholicSpirit.com

In special sessions designed specifically for high school women and men, discover several practical methods of discernment. Join 1,200 other teens, Archbishop Nienstedt, and many priests and religious at February’s Lifeline event.

Saturday, February 5 6:00-9:30 PM West St. Paul

24

Vocations

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

Vocation questions?

Website helps people discern vocation Catholic News Service Nine years ago, Natalie Smith thought something had to be done to reverse the vocations crisis.

Call Father Troy Przybilla Vocation Director Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis 651-962-6890 stpaulpriest@10000vocations.org

www.10000vocations.org We introduce Catholics to Jesus.

And to one another.

Who will you meet today — in print or online?

The Catholic Spirit News with a Catholic Heart

TheCatholicSpirit.com

Smith, a convert to Catholicism who had worked in marketing, felt like there had to be a way for the church to work more collectively to find potential vocations candidates. She was convinced there should be a database of candidates and also a wide range of resources available for people considering a vocation.

So she turned to the Internet.

In 2001, Smith and a group of others formed Vocations Placement Ministry in Coral Springs, Fla. The group received permission to use a vocational assessment survey developed years ago by priests and used in print form in Catholic high schools. Now the test is available online at WWW.TESTYOURCALLING.ORG. Smith told Catholic News Service that the survey meets a need because once people take it, members of Vocation Placement Ministry will provide them with any information they need about nearby religious communities or dioceses and also will follow up with these candidates until they are finished with the discernment process.

Stewardship A Way of Life Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, February 26 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Pax Christi Catholic Community, Eden Prairie

2011 ARCHDIOCESAN STEWARDSHIP CONFERENCE Stewardship a Way of Life: Building Vibrant, Engaged Communities Featuring 3 highly regarded national experts: Father Daniel Mahan, executive director of the Marian University Center for Catholic Stewardship in Indianapolis, author of More than Silver or Gold: Homilies of a Stewardship Priest.

Mr. Jim Kelley, president and chairman of the board of the International Catholic Stewardship Conference and director of development for the Diocese of Charlotte, NC. Author of The Stewardship Manual: A Guide for Individuals and Parishes Developing Stewardship as a Way of Life, plus Sustaining and Strengthening Stewardship.

Ms. Leisa Anslinger, nationally recognized speaker and author of Forming Generous Hearts: Stewardship Planning for Lifelong Faith Formation.

JUST FOR PRIESTS A Roundtable discussion and boxed lunch

Stewardship is an Integral Part of your Parish’s Mission Presented by Fr. Daniel Mahan

Friday, February 25, 2011 • 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Hayden Center • 328 Kellogg Blvd W. • Saint Paul, MN 55102

‘Conduits of support’ Although the candidates themselves take the first step by taking the test, they are given guidance along the way. As Smith put it, the group helps people “who may not have the confidence to knock on the vocations director’s door or not even know there is such a person.”

She said the volunteers are simply “conduits of support.”

In the past nine years, 30,000 have taken the vocations survey and more

than 900 have reportedly applied or entered religious life after taking it, she said.

Smith said the online tool is in keeping with Pope Benedict XVI encouraging the use of new media. The test appears on Internet searches for vocations and will likely be promoted in future advertising campaigns.

She added that by being online, the vocations line tool casts a wide net, even reaching people who never previously considered a vocation.

From Age to Age

JANUARY 20, 2011 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

25

Nun, 100, calls prison ministry the best thing she’s ever done

By Julie Carroll

greatest passion.

The Catholic Spirit

When Sister Mary Mark spotted an ad in National Catholic Reporter asking for volunteers to correspond with death row inmates, she thought to herself, “I could do that.”

Sister Mary Mark Mahoney grew up on a farm in Minnesota, taught grade school for 35 years, and helped start a house of prayer in Stillwater. But it wasn’t until the Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet retired at the age of 84 that she discovered her

And so began a prison ministry that has lasted 16 years and counting.

Now, Sister Mary Mark, who will celebrate her 78th jubilee this year, is 100 years old. But age hasn’t stopped her from doing what she describes as the best thing she’s ever done.

Sister Mary Mark began corresponding with two inmates — one at San Quentin State Prison in California and another at

Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas.

Soon, however, she began writing to other prisoners, male and female. At one point, she was writing to 50 prisoners.

“Mostly what I do is encourage them to do the best they can where they are,” she SISTER MARY MARK said. “I respond to what they say and I tell them what’s going on with me. We really do have a wonderful relationship.”

When she was 89, Sister Mary Mark traveled to Oklahoma City to testify on behalf of a man with whom she had been corresponding for four years. Although she still believes he was innocent, the jury found him guilty and he was executed.

“He was one who studied the Bible,” Sister Mary Mark said. “I’d say he was a really good man.”

Sister Mary Mark said she realizes many people don’t understand how she can write to murderers and criminals. To that, she responds we are all children of God. The ministry has made her a more compassionate person, she said. “It’s the best thing I ever did, and I will continue on until I can’t do it anymore.”

Other Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet celebrating 100th birthdays this year are: Sister Ann Lucille Wallenta, Sister Constance Marie DeFoe and Sister Mary Isidore Louwagie.

26

From Age to Age

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

Learn how to care for seniors Catholic Senior Services of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will present a forum that addresses the care that seniors need for their body and soul.

The “Caring for Seniors In Body and Soul — Our Catholic Response” forum is slated for 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, at Holy Name of Jesus in Medina.

Presenters include: Father Tim Moran, Holy Name pastor; Deacon Bill Heiman, CSS; Michael Scherer, CSS chair; and Barbara Rode, CEO of St. Therese in New Hope.

Parish priests, deacons, staff and lay leadership, pastoral ministers, family caregivers and seniors are encouraged to attend the free forum. It will include an opening prayer, a reflection on the mission to seniors in the archdiocese by CSS and Catholic senior care facilities, assess-

Here’s your ‘Lesson Plan’ for next two months “The Lesson Plan” became a fixture in The Catholic Spirit after focus groups recommended that the newspaper include additional catechetical material in each issue. Below is the schedule of topics to be covered in “The Lesson Plan” from February through March.

Please note that we may add additional topics/articles throughout the year as topics come up in the news.

February 3 -- First Communion: primer. What do Catholics believe about the Eucharist? Is it really important to receive the Eucharist each Sunday? Is going to adoration as good as going to Mass?

Sidebar: Why can’t I invite my Protestant friend to Communion?

-- Who was St. Valentine?

February 17 -- Confirmation: primer + Fruits of the Holy Spirit. What happens during the sacrament of confirmation? What are some ideas for teens to prepare? Why do confirmands choose a new name? How should you choose a sponsor? Why is oil used? Is this like graduating and getting your faith diploma?

ing a loved one, spiritual growth in aging and time for questions and answers.

A similar forum will be presented from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Hastings. Presentations in Hastings will be made by Bishop Lee Piché, archdiocesan auxiliary bishop; Deacon Dan Gannon, CSS director; Barbara Rode, St. Therese CEO; and Father James Perkl, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton pastor.

If you need more information on either forum or upcoming forums across the archdiocese, contact Deacon Bill Heiman at (877) 420-6461 or e-mail WHEIMAN@ CATHOLICSENIORSERVICES.ORG. No registration is required for the Medina forum. For the Hastings forum, contact Faith Siebenaler at (651) 437-4254, ext. 232 or FSIEBENALER@SEASPARISH.ORG.

Retired religious need your help Winter weather hurt the annual Religious Retirement Collection in December. Just $62,000 was collected this past December, compared to the $485,000 collected a year ago.

“Less money means less grant money for the urgent care of retired religious,” said Sister Midge Breiter, the archdiocesan fund coordinator. If parishes were unable to take up the collection Dec.1112, Sister Midge asked that they reschedule another date for the collection.

Donations can be sent to: National Religious Retirement Office, 3211 Fourth St. NE, Washington, D.C. 20017-1194, adding Archdiocese of St. Paul/Mpls. in the check memo.

IRA transfers extended to Jan. 31 Congress reinstated the ability of those 70.5 years old and older to transfer IRA (not pension) funds directly to a non-profit of their choice without having to claim it as income. The bill was passed in late December and extended the 2010 donation window through Jan. 31.

March 3 -- Lent: primer. (Ash Wednesday is March 9.) How can I bolster my prayer life during Lent? What are some ideas for juicing it up? Resources?

-- Operation Rice Bowl

March 17 -- Confession: A good Lenten practice? Why do we have to confess sins to a priest? Can’t we just do it on our own — between me and God? Is there a biblical basis for this sacrament, or is it something the church just made up? Isn’t confession just a waste of time because I know I’m going to sin again?

FOOT CARE In the privacy of your home Services include • Foot Bath • Trim toenails, • Remove corns, callouses • Foot massage

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-- Operation Rice Bowl

March 31 -- What are the four cardinal virtues? Relevance for today?

-- Operation Rice Bowl

What's the biggest 'Catholic' story every day?

Find out every day at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com

27

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • JANUARY 20, 2011

Keeping ‘Catholic’ in name was easy call for renamed organization The new name marks the fourth time the organization has updated its name.

“We knew that we wanted to keep ‘Catholic’ in our new name,” McGovern said. “It’s a critical part of our history, and we were not going to waver from that in any way. But, at the same time, we needed to let people know that we are a financial institution, that we sell insurance and financial products and we are still definitely involved very closely with our church, and we are more than just aid.”

Catholic United is about to embark upon its biggest fundraiser of the year — the Catholic Schools Raffle. It runs from Jan. 24 to March 4.

The first raffle, held in 2009, raised more than $128,000 for Catholic schools in Minnesota and South Dakota. This year, the raffle has opened up to twice as many schools, with a fundraising goal of

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 “Over the years, we have substantially supported the St. Paul Seminary,” McGovern said. “A couple years ago, we gave them a grant for $100,000. We’ve supported NET Ministries with some significant gifts, we’ve supported St. Paul’s Outreach.

“What makes us unique is that, because we’re a nonprofit and we’ve been a nonprofit since our beginning, the money that would have gone to taxes and to the shareholders goes back to the members in the form of benefits, charity and the workings of the association, such as vocations and Catholic education.”

Important part of history The easiest part of the name change was keeping the word “Catholic” as the

“We grow every year.

We added several new councils this year.

”

MICHAEL MCGOVERN President, Catholic United Financial

first word in the new name.

The organization was founded on its Catholic identity, and McGovern said that has been at the heart of its existence since the beginning, when it was called The Mutual Life Insurance Association of the German Roman Catholic Benevolent Societies of Minnesota.

$250,000. Participating Catholic schools will receive all of the money from raffle ticket sales.

The raffle is one example of how the company has continued to grow, even in a slow economy. Originally, Catholic United had 10 councils and 485 members. Now, there are more than 74,000 members and 160 active councils.

“We grow every year,” McGovern said.

“We added several new councils this year.

We are starting a new one in Fargo in February.

“At the end of the first year of existence, they had somewhere in the range of $637 in assets. Today, we have $670 million in assets.”

For more information about Catholic United Financial, visit WWW.CATHOLIC AID.COM.

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www.thecatholicspirit.com

“He was a people’s pope.”

Brigida Jones, an Australian Catholic visiting the Vatican from Melbourne, commenting after Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II’s intercession, clearing the way for the late pope’s beatification on May 1

Overheard 28

The Catholic Spirit

Quotes from this week’s newsmakers

Catholic Spirit kicks off centennial celebration The Catholic Spirit began its yearlong centennial celebration Jan. 6 with a morning Mass at St. Paul Seminary, followed that evening by “The Great Catholic Get-Together of 2011” at Nicollet The Island Pavilion in Catholic Spirit Minneapolis.

About 250 guests, along with the staff and board of directors of The Catholic Spirit, sampled appetizers while learning about the history and future of the newspaper through standing displays and interactive web presentations.

The newspaper was founded as The Catholic Bulletin on Jan. 7, 1911.

Local meteorologist Paul Douglas was the emcee for the evening, which also featured remarks by Cardinal John Foley, grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher and former head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; Archbishop John Nienstedt; and associate publisher Bob Zyskowski.

To read their remarks, visit the Spirit Blog at THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM.

News Notes

Investment conference The Catholic Community Foundation will hold its annual Investment Conference from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 9, at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton. Participants will get an in-depth look at the Catholic Community Foundation’s investment performance in 2010 and learn about how St. Odilia in Shoreview built a $1 million endowment.

Register for this free conference by Friday, Feb. 4, at WWW.CCF-MN.ORG or by calling (651) 389-0300.

Coach of the year Glenn Caruso, head football coach at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, has been named the Division III national football Coach of the Year for 2010 by Liberty Mutual. The award includes a $50,000 gift to Caruso’s designated charities as well as a $20,000 donation to

JANUARY 20, 2011 “I wish I knew the answer.

But as the world continues to seek an answer to that question we can, each in our own way, strive to respect others, speak with civility, try to understand one another and to find healthy ways to resolve our conflicts.”

— Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz, in a letter to parishes in which he sought to answer the question of how to prevent acts of violence like the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson that left six people dead and another 14 wounded

Cardinal John Foley, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, visited with Eileen and Jim Noble at “The Great Catholic Get-Together of 2011” Jan. 6 at the Nicollet Island Pavilion in Minneapolis.

St. Thomas’ Alumni Association. Caruso led the Tommies to an MIAC championship and to the national playoffs during the 2010 season.

New CEO at Regina Medical Ty Erickson has been named CEO of Regina Medical Center, a Catholicaffiliated hospital and senior living facilities in Hastings. Previously, Erickson was CEO of the Columbia Gorge Service Area in Hood River, Ore. He also served as CEO at Rainy Lake Medical Center in International Falls and as assistant administrator at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, Wis.

Forest Lake man ordained Forest Lake native Aaron Michael Smith was among 61 Legionaries of Christ

ordained to the priesthood on Christmas Eve in Rome.

Father Smith is studying for a licentiate in theology and does youth work in Florence, Italy.

Local sister to be honored The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities will present Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Amata Miller with the Monika K. Hellwig Award for her contributions to Catholic higher education through service and academic work at its annual meeting in Washington Jan. 29-31.

Sister Miller is an economics professor and director of the Myser Initiative on Catholic Identity at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.

“Through Catholic Charities, adoption services, lobbying on behalf of pregnant women, mothers and infants, support of lifegiving alternatives, health care and education of youth for healthy, responsible, virtuous sexual behavior, we’ve done our best to keep that promise and these haunting statistics only prod us to keep at it.”

— New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, reiterating Jan. 6 the pledge of his predecessors to help any pregnant woman in need, in response to recent statistics revealing that 41 percent of pregnancies in New York City in 2009 ended in abortion