The Catholic Spirit - April 9, 2015

April 9, 2015 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

thecatholicspirit.com

‘The truth

found us in the

mountains’ Catholic Hmong mark 20 years at parish with Easter celebration

Fleeing the communists against whom they had fought alongside U.S. troops, Hmong left their tribal mountain villages in southeast Asia for a new life.

Most practiced animist beliefs, but some whose lives had been touched by a heroic Oblate missionary had converted to Catholicism. “It’s a really beautiful story that should be known and documented,” said Chia Lor of St. Paul. “The truth found us in the mountains.”

This Easter, Hmong who resettled in Minnesota celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first Hmong Mass at St. Vincent de Paul in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood, which has become home for their Catholic community. Stories and photos begin on pages 12 and 13.

Choua Yang receives Communion from Bishop Andrew Cozzens during Easter Sunday Mass April 5 at St. Vincent de Paul in St. Paul. The Mass also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the church’s Hmong presence, which prompted Yang and others to wear traditional Hmong attire. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

The Catholic Spirit wishes you a blessed Easter ALSO inside

Sharing divine mercy

End of an era

‘Dying for change’

Throughout the archdiocese, divine mercy cenacles help people understand God’s mercy for them and how to extend it to others.

— Page 5

After 138 years of educating Catholics in Carver County, St. Bernard Catholic School in Cologne plans to close at the end of the school year.

St. Paul Seminary Theatre takes to the stage with “Death of a Liturgist,” a whodunit that pokes playful fun at parish life quibbles.

— Page 16

— Page 6

Page Two

2 in PICTURES

“Dear young people, learn to face life with his passion and enthusiasm; dear people who are sick, carry with joy the cross of suffering like he taught us; and you newly married couples, always put God at the heart [of everything] so that your conjugal relationship may be more loving and happier.”

Pope Francis, speaking of his predecessor St. John Paul II April 1, the day before the 10th anniversary of his death

NEWS notes • The Catholic Spirit

Hundreds join the Church locally at Easter At the Easter Vigil, 93 parishes were to have welcomed 200 catechumens — people who have not been baptized — and 451 candidates — people who have been baptized in other Christian denominations — into the Catholic Church, according to the archdiocesan Office of Worship.

BEHOLD THE WOOD Pro-life supporters kneel before the cross in front of Planned Parenthood in St. Paul for the annual Good Friday prayer service April 3. Hundreds gathered to pray, sing and hear reflections from local religious leaders from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Clergy included Archbishop John Nienstedt, Bishop Andrew Cozzens and Fathers Randall Kasel, Michael Skluzacek, Robert Grabner, Humberto Palomino and Scott Carl. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Priest-seminarian basketball tourney is April 10 The annual basketball game between seminarians from St. John Vianney College Seminary and the St. Paul Seminary is 5:30 p.m. April 10 at TotinoGrace High School in Fridley. The winner will face priests from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in the championship round.

Prayer service to mark genocide anniversary The Armenian Orthodox community in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Council of Churches and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are holding an ecumenical prayer service to observe the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide at 3 p.m. April 18 at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Relevant Radio to honor Cavins at annual event Twin Cities Catholic affiliate Relevant Radio 1330AM will present Jeff Cavins with its “Christ Brings Hope” award at a banquet April 23 in Bloomington. Cavins is the director of evangelization and catechesis for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and a speaker and author. Relevant Radio’s annual award is presented to “an American Catholic who has worked with extraordinary dedication to bring the good news and hope of Christ to all souls. This person exemplifies the virtues of charity, generosity, hope, apostolic zeal and love for the truth.” To register for the event, visit www.relevantradio.com/cbh-twin-cities-2015.

PAPAL HONOR Thomas Schulzetenberg, a 2005 University of St. Thomas graduate and former parishioner of St. Peter in North St. Paul, poses with his family in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, where he read the second reading in English at the Easter papal Mass April 5. “The reading itself went fine, thanks to the Holy Spirit, to whom I was praying fervently!” he wrote in an email to The Catholic Spirit. He and his wife, JoAnn, and their children Mathias and Gianna live in Rome where Thomas directs the Rome campus of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Courtesy Thomas Schulzetenberg

WHAT’S NEW on social media Diving Mercy Sunday is April 12. The Catholic Spirit asks, “How do you participate in Divine Mercy Sunday?”

Read the latest news about the local and universal Church by following The Catholic Spirit on Twitter @CatholicSpirit In true Pope Francis style, he spent Holy Thursday washing the feet of 12 inmates.

See the video at www.catholicnews.com.

The Catholic Spirit is published bi-weekly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 20 — No. 7 MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDT, Publisher ANNE STEFFENS, Associate Publisher United in Faith, Hope and Love

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

MARIA WIERING, Editor

Archdiocese: Priest may return to public ministry Archbishop John Nienstedt announced April 2 that he has reinstated Father William Stolzman to public ministry. The announcement comes months after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reopened a 2008 investigation of child sexual abuse allegations against Father Stolzman from the 1970s. “The recent investigation did not uncover any additional information that was not known to the Clergy Review Board in 2008 that would support the allegation of abuse,” Archbishop Nienstedt said in a statement. “Therefore, I have decided to reinstate his faculties and permit Rev. Stolzman to resume public ministry.” According to the statement, in 2008, the archdiocese received an allegation that Father Stolzman sexually abused a minor in the 1970s while serving in the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota. At the time, law enforcement investigated and did not refer the case for criminal charges. Father Stolzman was ordained in 1971 and retired in 2008. During the investigation, he did not exercise priestly ministry, the statement noted.

CORRECTION In the March 26 edition, a caption incorrectly identified Brother Joseph Bubanko in the photo for the article “Pray, work, pray, repeat: Carmelite Hermits look to St. Teresa of Avila in their life of prayer for the people.”

Brother Christopher Burnside is pictured. We regret the error.

Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service.

All other materials copyrighted by The Catholic Spirit Newspaper.

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I

t was a terrible shock to learn that the reason behind the crash of Germanwings Airbus A320 airliner on March 30, 2015, in the southeastern French Alps may have been the intentional decision of the co-pilot to kill himself and all 149 passengers as well.

Much speculation has taken place about Andreas Lubitz’s psychological state that motivated him to do what he did. Unfortunately, there are always ripple effects when a person takes his or her own life. Many are not as dramatic as the point in question, yet those repercussions are just as real.

That is why I call your attention to Senate File 1880 introduced in the Minnesota Senate last month that would legalize assisted suicide. Hearings have yet to be scheduled, but surely the forces behind this bill will push to have it succeed. It is important, then, that those of us who cherish the gift of life push back on this initiative.

For certain, the lives of the elderly, the severely ill and every disabled person would be threatened if this bill becomes law. Persons who are depressed may be convinced that this is an easy way out as opposed to being treated with long-term medical and mental health care. Insurance companies may also find this a cheap “fix,” rather than providing for extended hospice care. Eager heirs to a persons’ will or abusive caregivers might well put pressure on the patient, convincing that person that the taking of one’s life is a good thing to do.

In the State of Oregon, which has had physician-assisted suicide for several years, 40 percent of assisted suicide victims expressed concern about being a “burden” on family and friends. In reality, assisted suicide does not solve this problem; rather, it eliminates the person telling you that he has the problem. Pope Francis refers frequently to “our throwaway culture,” and assisted suicide is certainly a good indication of that.

Advocates claim that assisted suicide alleviates suffering and pain. But suffering and pain can be controlled, allowing persons to live their final days or months in comfort, with the compassionate care of medical assistants, family and friends, as well as church groups. Quality palliative care can and does provide medical care as well as emotional support.

It, not assisted suicide, is the more dignified way to die.

THAT THEY MAY The authors of Senate File 1880 are Senators Eaton, ALL BE ONE Pappas, Dibble and Marty. I encourage our readership to contact these legislators and share your conviction that all human life has value and needs to be protected.

Archbishop God love you!

John Nienstedt

Suicidio médicamente asistido parte de ‘una cultura del descart’ Fue un golpe terrible el saber que la razón detrás de la caída del avión de pasajeros de la aerolínea Germanwings Airbus A320 el 30 de marzo del 2015 en el sureste de los Alpes franceses, pudo haber sido la decisión intencional del copiloto para matarse él y también a los 149 pasajeros. Ha habido mucha especulación sobre el estado psicológico de Andreas Lubitz que lo motivó a hacer lo que hizo. Desafortunadamente, siempre hay un efecto dominó cuando una persona se quita su propia vida. Muchos no son tan dramáticos como en este hecho, sin embargo, esas repercusiones son igualmente reales.

Es por eso que quiero llamar su atención sobre el proyecto de ley Archivo 1880, presentado en el Senado de Minnesota el mes pasado, que legalizaría el suicidio asistido.

Las audiencias aún tienen que ser programadas, pero seguramente las fuerzas detrás de este presionarán para que sea aceptado. Es importante, entonces, que nosotros que apreciamos el don de la vida, rechacemos esta iniciativa.

Es seguro que la vida de las personas mayores, de los enfermos graves y de cada persona con discapacidad pueda verse amenazadas si este proyecto se convierte en ley. Las personas que están deprimidas pueden estar convencidas de que esta es una salida fácil, en lugar de utilizar tratamientos médicos y de salud mental a largo plazo. Las

compañías de seguros también pueden encontrar barato este “arreglo”, en lugar de proporcionar cuidados de hospicio prolongado. Los herederos ansiosos por la herencia o cuidadores abusadores de una persona, bien podrían ejercer presión sobre el paciente, convenciéndolo de que quitarse su propia vida. En el estado de Oregon, donde legalmente se ha tenido el suicidio médicamente asistido por varios años, el 40 por ciento de las víctimas expresaron su preocupación acerca de ser una “carga” para la familia y los amigos. En realidad, el suicidio asistido no resuelve este problema; más bien elimina a la persona al hacernos saber que la persona es el problema. El Papa Francisco se refiere con frecuencia a “nuestro cultura del descarte” y el suicidio asistido es ciertamente una buena indicación de eso.

Los defensores de este proyecto de ley, afirman que el suicidio asistido alivia el sufrimiento y el dolor. Pero el sufrimiento y el dolor se pueden controlar permitiéndoles a las personas a vivir sus últimos días o meses con comodidad, con el cuidado compasivo de los asistentes médicos, familiares y amigos, así como grupos de la Iglesia. Los cuidados paliativos de calidad pueden y deben proporcionar tanto atención médica como apoyo emocional. Esto, y no el suicidio asistido, es la forma más digna de morir.

Los autores del proyecto de ley, Archivo 1880 del Senado, son los Senadores Eaton, Pappas, Dibble y Marty. Animo a nuestros lectores a ponerse en contacto con estos legisladores y compartir su convicción de que toda vida humana tiene valor y debe de ser protegida. ¡Dios los ama!

ARCHBISHOP’S schedule Saturday, April 11 5 p.m., West St. Paul Church of St. Joseph: Wakota Life Care Center Banquet

3 p.m., St. Paul Cathedral of St. Paul: prayer service for 100th anniversary of Armenian genocide

Sunday, April 12 10 a.m., St. Paul Cathedral of St. Paul: 100th anniversary Mass and reception

Sunday, April 19 8:30 a.m., Elysian Church of St. Andrew: Mass

7:30 p.m., St. Paul University of St. Thomas: lectio divina Monday, April 13 6 a.m., St. Paul St. John Vianney College Seminary: holy hour and Mass, followed by breakfast 10:30 a.m., St. Paul St. Paul Seminary: meeting with administration, followed by Mass and lunch with seminarians 3 p.m., St. Paul Chancery: staff meeting 5:30 p.m., St. Paul Archbishop’s residence: Mass and biomedical ethics commission meeting Tuesday, April 14 8:30 a.m., Burnsville Mary, Mother of the Church: spring formation day 10 a.m., St. Paul Chancery: archdiocesan comprehensive assignment board meeting 1:30 p.m., St. Paul Chancery: meeting with archbishop’s council Wednesday, April 15 8:30 a.m., St. Paul Archbishop’s residence: scheduling meeting with staff Noon, St. Paul Archbishop’s residence: lunch with Provincial of Sisters of Our Lady of Guadalupe 3:30 p.m., St. Paul Chancery: staff strategy planning 5:30 p.m., St. Paul St. Paul Seminary: SPS and SJV dinner Thursday, April 16 8:30 a.m., St. Paul Archbishop’s residence: planning for lectio divina at the University of St. Thomas 11 a.m., St. Paul Chancery: bishop requests scheduling meeting Saturday, April 18 9:30 a.m., Northfield Church of St. Dominic: Mass and brunch at ACCW Convention

Tuesday, April 21 8:30 a.m., St. Paul Archbishop’s residence: scheduling meeting with staff

From the Archbishop

Physician-assisted suicide part of ‘throwaway culture’

9:30 a.m., St. Paul Chancery: archbishop’s cabinet meeting 1 p.m., St. Paul Chancery: presbyteral council meeting 3:30 p.m., St. Paul Chancery: meeting of college of consultors 7 p.m., St. Paul Private home: dinner with UST Fraternity of St. Michael Wednesday. April 22 11:30 a.m., St. Paul Archbishop’s residence: Mass and lunch with Hill-Murray girls hockey state champions 3:30 p.m., St. Paul Chancery: staff strategy planning 6:30 p.m.

Private home: Catholic Services Appeal Foundation’s cultivation event Thursday, April 23 10 a.m., St. Paul Archbishop’s residence: time of prayer with Heads of Communion 7 p.m., Minneapolis Basilica of St. Mary: confirmation Friday, April 24 11:30 a.m., Edina Church of Our Lady of Grace: Mass and luncheon with Serra ministry 5 p.m., St. Paul Cathedral of St. Paul and University of St. Thomas: National Association of Diaconate Directors Convention — Mass and banquet Saturday, April 25 8 a.m., St. Paul Cathedral of St. Paul: Mass for Rediscover: volunteers

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

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Archdiocese: Proposal to move claim deadline fair to victims, reorganization process

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed a motion April 1 to require all proofs of claims against it involving child sexual abuse by clergy to be filed by Aug. 3. The proposed deadline is an effort to move quickly toward a plan for Reorganization, said an attorney representing the archdiocese.

“We’re trying to balance equitably the needs of all parties, including sexual abuse claimants,” said Charles Rogers, an attorney with Twin Cities-based law firm Briggs and Morgan.

The proposed deadline, or bar date, is nine months earlier than the end of Minnesota’s current window for its statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims, but an earlier deadline is necessary for the archdiocese and its creditors to complete a timely and mutually agreeable plan for Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, Rogers said.

The proposal benefits both the archdiocese and claimants by allowing the archdiocese to conserve funds in the legal process, making more funds potentially available to help sexual abuse claimants, he added.

The Aug. 3 bar date is among a series of bar dates the archdiocese proposed as part of the Reorganization process; other bar dates affect claimants who are not alleging sexual abuse, such as vendors seeking compensation stalled by the archdiocese entering Reorganization. Judge Robert Kressel, who is overseeing the archdiocese’s Reorganization process, is expected to rule on the bar dates on or shortly after April 16.

Date important for plan In the first hearing after the archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief Jan. 16, Judge Kressel ordered the archdiocese, the insurance carriers and the committee representing the abuse claimants into mediation.

The parties have met more than 15 times, according to a progress report Briggs and Morgan filed March 19.

In order for the archdiocese and its creditors to move forward toward resolution with a consensual plan for Reorganization, the number of claimants must be first established and then each claim evaluated, which is only possible after the bar date, Rogers said.

“We’ve paid credence to the notion that moving expeditiously and efficiently would leave more funds on the table, potentially, to pay claims because then less money would be used in administrative expenses that run up each month as the case progresses,” he said.

He added: “If we were to leave the bar date at May 2016, that would be 16 months after the filing before we even understand the universe of claims, and when you’re trying to enter into a global resolution . . . all parties need to understand how many claims are out

“Everyone involved has a right to fairness and due process that we want to honor.”

Charles Rogers, attorney, Briggs and Morgan

there, what types of allegations are being made [and] what is the nature of their damages.”

Efforts to reach out In 2013, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a law lifting the statute of limitations on claims of child sexual abuse through May 25, 2016. However, if the archdiocese’s motion is granted, individuals holding claims of this type will be required to file with the bankruptcy court prior to the bar date in order to participate in any distribution in the bankruptcy case.

In an April 1 statement, Archbishop John Nienstedt said that Reorganization is expected to result “in the archdiocese contributing available resources to help in the healing of victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse while continuing the mission of the Catholic Church.”

He added: “The purpose of a bar date is to provide all parties with accurate information regarding the number and nature of claims. Timely bar dates add certainty and facilitate a speedier Reorganization process. We recognize the proposed bar dates are sooner than the end of the lifting of the statute of limitations for sexual abuse, so we will be extensively publicizing the approved date locally and nationally so all claimants will have a fair opportunity to participate in the process.”

“We continue to pray for all those hurt by sexual abuse,” Archbishop Nienstedt said.

The archdiocese’s legal counsel chose the Aug. 3 date after examining other diocesan bankruptcies, legal precedent and fairness to claimants, Rogers said.

When the claims bar date is set, those who say they are victims/survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy will have had nearly two years to file claims since the statute of limitations was lifted. The archdiocese is planning to reach out proactively to claimants who may have yet to file, through a campaign of notices, letters and advertisements in local and national Catholic and secular media, Rogers said.

The notices will include detailed instructions on how a person could make a claim.

“Everyone involved has a right to fairness and due process that we want to honor,” Rogers said.

ArchSPM seeks extension to file Reorganization plan The Catholic Spirit The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis requested March 26 to extend the deadline from May 16 to Nov. 30 to file a plan for Reorganization.

Under the U.S. bankruptcy code, the archdiocese had 120 days after petitioning Jan. 16 for Chapter 11 Reorganization in which to file a Reorganization plan, and an additional 60 days where it alone could solicit acceptance of a filed plan. After that window of time, other parties, including creditors, would also be able to file plans. Under the archdiocese’s request, the 60-day window in which it alone could solicit its plan’s acceptance would be extended to Jan. 29, 2016.

The archdiocese entered into mediation with its creditors shortly after its first-day filings and has met

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

with them 15 times, according to the notice.

Creditors include victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse with claims against priests of the archdiocese, some parishes and more than 15 liability insurance carriers.

“There are a number of difficult issues to be resolved prior to completion of the mediation process,” the notice stated. “In particular, it is imperative that the Archdiocese and the Committee have sufficient time to negotiate with the liability insurance carriers for contribution toward a comprehensive and global settlement and consensual plan of reorganization. It is highly unlikely that the negotiation of these issues will be completed in time for the Archdiocese to file its plan within 120 days of the petition date.”

FOX 9 anchor named new communications director for archdiocese

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Tom Halden, a weekday morning news anchor on FOX 9, has been named director of communications for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He plans to begin May 6.

A member of Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville, Halden has worked for Twin Cities’ FOX affiliate KMSP-TV since 2003. He anchors the station’s morning news from 4:306 a.m. and co-hosts FOX 9 Buzz, which airs at 9 a.m. weekdays.

Tom HALDEN Halden was an anchor for WSBT-TV in South Bend, Indiana, from 1997 to 2003, and KAAL-TV in Austin from 1996 to 1997. From 1995 to 1996 he was a reporter in Alexandria. At FOX 9 he initiated and produced the weekend segment “Faith Talking,” which aired from 2006 to 2009.

He said he applied for the position because he felt like he had accomplished his goals at KMSP-TV, and was asking himself, “Where is God taking me next?”

Despite the challenges the archdiocese is facing as it responds to victims/survivors’ claims of alleged sexual abuse by members of the clergy and Chapter 11 Reorganization, Halden said the Church’s message is still “hope, redemption and reconciliation.”

“I really think that with the pope and the Reorganization plan, it’s an opportunity for us to have a fresh start and renew who we are and what our message is to people who may not have been listening for quite awhile because of all the things going on,” he said. “There will definitely be some more tough days, but in the final analysis there’s really a sense of hope and energy among the people.”

Halden grew up in North St. Paul, where he attended the Church of St. Peter. He earned a degree in 1995 from St. Cloud State University, where he studied political science and mass communications.

An extraordinary minister of holy Communion at Mary, Mother of the Church, Halden has also served as a catechist and capital campaign committee member. He is also a volunteer for several local and regional nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity and the Safe Families Safe Children Network. He is married and has four children.

Halden plans to leave KMSP-TV April 10. Anne Steffens, the archdiocese’s interim communications director, plans to continue her role through the end of June to help with the transition.

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By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit

praying the Divine Mercy chaplet and socializing. It takes about four years to go through the entire diary with study aids provided by the Congregation of A diary written nearly 90 years ago is the source of Marians of the Immaculate Conception of the Most spiritual guidance for hundreds in the Archdiocese of Blessed Virgin Mary of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, St. Paul and Minneapolis and thousands around the which promotes the cenacles as part of its outreach. world.

After completion, review materials help members The writings of St. Faustina, with the study of deepen their understanding and become group sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic facilitators.

Church, help people in divine mercy cenacles learn “I think sometimes people think it’s another to be virtuous, especially in difficult situations, said devotion, or it’s a culty thing for those ‘really Vivian Rogers, a parishioner of Mary, Mother of the religious people,’” Rogers said.

Church in Burnsville.

“But it’s not. It teaches how to St. Faustina was a young, get through relationships with uneducated nun in Krakow, joy and kindness, and get Feast of the Divine Mercy Poland, during the 1930s when through things that hit us.

April 12 she began receiving revelations “If people truly want to love from Jesus, who asked her to God and be his hands and feet, For a list of parishes praying record his message of divine they have to learn mercy,” she chaplets or hosting celebrations, mercy — that his mercy is continued. “And you learn it in visit www.thecatholicspirit.com/ greater than human sin. What an intimate and easy-todivinemercy. came from her notebook understand way.” compilations was the “Diary of Schmitz knows of 10 parishes Saint Maria Faustina in the archdiocese that host Kowalska.” With her divine mercy cenacles. Her canonization on April 30, 2000, St. Pope John Paul II parish has four groups at different stages. In addition proclaimed Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated April 12 to the prayer and study groups, divine mercy this year. cenacles develop a service mission, Rogers added, “St. Faustina screwed up a lot, and she got cranky such as devoting hours in the adoration chapel or with people,” Rogers said. “You can really relate to doing service projects together. her because she shares those things. She gets it. But “We don’t just sit in a cenacle group and pray. We what did she do, how did she react?” reach out in works of mercy,” Rogers said, noting that For Rogers, being in a divine mercy cenacle has her group hopes to start a prison ministry to pray for, taught her how to recognize God’s love and help mentor and provide materials for people incarcerated. others through works of mercy.

Rogers said in divine mercy cenacles, people “There are people who can really make you hurt develop an intimate relationship with Jesus and Mary, and angry,” she said. “When [I] look at that person, I leading to growth in personal holiness. In order to do can see beyond that, and I can see there is a wound that, she said understanding mercy is essential. that’s driving that. And I can treat them with love “Mercy isn’t a word, it’s a process,” Rogers said. and kindness and mercy.”

“For me, it’s three steps. First you suffer, and we all suffer in various ways. [Then] when you suffer, you More than a devotion learn compassion. If you learn compassion, it’s only then that you learn to extend mercy to someone.”

Cenacles are considered lay outreach ministries Schmitz said cenacles provide a “great support where members, known as eucharistic apostles, live group of prayer warriors” and has become a way of the divine mercy mission, promote the real presence life for her; she is more involved in her parish and of Jesus in the blessed Sacrament, and pray for with those who are suffering. vocations and life issues. Rogers joined a cenacle that “It’s really an application,” she said. “You learn so fellow parishioner Peggy Schmitz started in her home many things, but this really touches your heart.” about 10 years ago. Because of its growth, the group now meets at the parish and is one of its ministries.

Schmitz said their meetings include praise and To start a cenacle, Schmitz recommends contacting a thanksgiving, a lesson from the diary, intentions, parish, or emailing her at peggyzk@msn.com.

Local

Divine mercy cenacles help members ‘grow in holiness’ spiritually and tangibly

open the book. build the foundation. grow your faith. Become informed, formed and faithful.

Join the hundreds in the Archdiocese who have been transformed!

Classes begin September 14 at The Church of the Epiphany in Coon Rapids. Application deadline is June 1, 2015.

For more information and an application, call (651) 962-5028 or visit www.CIstudent.com.

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

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St. Bernard School prepares to close its doors in May

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit When the six teachers and 41 students at St. Bernard Catholic School in Cologne say their goodbyes on the last day of school May 29, they’ll also bid farewell to the school that has been an educational home for 138 years.

In an October 2014 letter to parishioners and school families, St. Bernard pastor Father Gregory Abbott wrote that the school serving students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade would close, citing declining enrollment, and parish and school finances. He noted that he made the decision with the input of parish leadership after much consultation, conversation and prayer.

Although the St. Bernard community has been planning for the closure, many, including Father Abbott, were hopeful when a group of donors recently shared a proposal with parish leadership to fund the school. But in a March 20 letter, Father Abbott said that after review, the school wouldn’t be able to meet the donors’ criteria.

“It wasn’t the desire of the parish leadership to have to close the school, because we believe the kids were getting a wonderful education, and we were able to hand down our faith to the children,” Father Abbott said later. “The teachers and staff did a very good job of that, and those were the reasons we wanted to keep it going.”

The school’s summer daycare program also will end.

The school advisory committee is planning a send-off for the families, students and teachers on the last day of school. A special Mass with

involving parish investment in the school, teacher-student ratios and enrollment. For various reasons, most of the goals were not met, Father Abbott said.

Sister Jancy said she’s uncertain about the employment status of each of her staff members, but one will retire, and others will apply at other Catholic schools. A representative from the archdiocese’s Office of Catholic Schools visited St. Bernard to speak with staff members. The fate of the century-old building also is unknown.

Next steps In this 2014 photo, preschool students at St. Bernard Catholic School in Cologne listen to a story. The pre-kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school will close at the end of the school year. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit Bishop Andrew Cozzens will be offered May 31 with a reception following.

Of the close, Father Abbott said there’s hope even in the midst of loss.

“It’s painful. It’s a death. And so there’s sadness and anger and mourning. [But] there’s always hope where God is concerned. And God is still here. There’s new life that can come as we mourn the loss of our school.”

Facing challenges After decades of leadership from the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sister Jancy Nedumkallel, a Franciscan Clarist, has served as principal for the past 13 years and said the school was the “heart of the community.”

“It is so sad to close it when we need Catholic schools the most,”

she said, adding that she’ll especially miss the children.

Sister Jancy acknowledged the challenge of boosting enrollment in a small community; Cologne has a population of about 1,500. Even with tuition rates lower than nearby Catholic schools, St. Bernard had competition from a local charter school that she described as “bubbling.” Three support staff members brought the school’s entire staff to nine, and the school didn’t have a specialized Spanish teacher, music teacher or physical education teacher, or extra-curricular activities, Father Abbott said.

A three-year plan for the school’s future arose in 2010 when it was among several Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to undergo an “urgent review,” Father Abbott said. What resulted were numerous goals

To help the community through the process, the parish has formed a transitional committee, whose members have worked with two area Catholic schools, Guardian Angels in Chaska and St. Joseph in Waconia, to welcome former St. Bernard students.

Parish trustee Andy Kleindl, who had three children attend St. Bernard, said the parish is providing financial assistance for students wishing to attend another Catholic school.

Father Abbott said the end of the school doesn’t mean the end of Catholic education at St. Bernard, adding that the parish will continue to invest in its youth and already has implemented the “Chosen” confirmation program recently developed by nationally known youth minister and Catholic speaker Chris Stefanick.

Kleindl described the next major step as building its faith formation programs. “We can still provide Catholic education through a different means,” he said. “We will continue to be strong Catholics and support our parish.”

At capitol, bishop backs driver’s licenses for immigrants

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Bishop Andrew Cozzens called a measure to allow Minnesotans without legal status to obtain provisional driver’s licenses or state-issued identification “good policy even if it’s politically difficult.”

“We have really a moral imperative to assist the immigrants in our midst, to ensure that we do not create a subclass of citizens living in the shadows of society,” he said.

Bishop Cozzens, an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, was among advocates who testified March 25 in support of H.F. 97 before members of the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee. He spoke to the measure’s practical and moral dimensions.

“As legislators, one of the things you have been entrusted with is helping build a moral and disciplined society. One of the most common exhortations in the Hebrew-Christian Bible is the command to welcome the stranger,” said Bishop Cozzens, who spoke on behalf of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the local Church’s public policy voice.

“While some might look upon undocumented immigrants as lawbreakers, I really believe that people who come to this country [are] seeking a life free from crime, poverty and other things. Their situation I find very difficult to call ‘law breaking.’”

The State Office Building’s basement hearing room was standing-room-only during the 45-minute block of

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

“We have really a moral imperative to assist the immigrants in our midst, to ensure that we do not create a subclass of citizens living in the shadows of society.”

Bishop Andrew Cozzens

testimonies. Most attendees appeared to be in favor of the bill and wore stickers with slogans such as “One State, One License.”

Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, the bill’s primary sponsor, urged his colleagues to consider it, despite the polarizing nature of the immigration issue.

“This is about safe roads and insured drivers,” he said.

“If we would enact something like this, we would have an individual go through training, who will have a driver’s license and will have insurance,” he added, warning that if the law does not pass, people without legal status will still be driving, but without training, licensure or insurance.

Law enforcement officials and members of Minnesota’s immigrant communities also testified.

Because the hearing was for information only, members did not vote on the measure March 25.

Wearing a “One State, One License” sticker, Josefina Garcia, 33, said her husband has a license, but she doesn’t because she does not have legal status. Her husband shuttles her from their home in Minneapolis to her work as a machine operator in Eden Prairie.

Despite her legal status, supplying information for a driver’s license does not concern her, she said.

“We come to the U.S. to work, and we try to stay in the laws of the country,” said Garcia, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 16. “It’s not easy for us . . . we have many obstacles.”

Antonio Herrera, 38, said not having a license or valid identification made him fear police. He now has legal status, and said life with a driver’s license is “so different” than life before.

“We didn’t come here to make trouble,” said Herrera, a parishioner of Assumption in Richfield. “We came here to get a better life.”

In his testimony, Bishop Cozzens said it would help immigrants get to work and run family errands, but also build trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. The Minnesota Catholic Conference was among 19 signers of a statement of support for H.F. 97 and its companion bill, S.F. 224, from members and leaders of Minnesota’s faith communities.

7

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit In her 20s, Jane Lynch knew she was called to a vocation other than marriage, but didn’t feel like the convent was the right fit. It wasn’t until she was in her late 30s that she discovered secular institutes, a form of consecrated life in which members live and work in society but share commitments to prayer and their institute’s community.

At age 38, Lynch joined the Secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ, a secular institute for women founded in 1919 in Italy. It is among 36 established and aspiring secular institutes in the U.S., according to the U.S. Conference of Secular Institutes.

“There was a feeling of a calling for something deeper, and to get my religious life structured,” said Lynch, 74, a parishioner of the Cathedral of St. Paul and a retired South St. Paul public school teacher. However, she said, “I wanted to stay in the world.

I wasn’t interested in community life.”

Like men and women religious, secular institute members take vows or make promises of poverty, chastity and obedience, but they are not religious brothers or sisters.

Members of secular institutes are self-supporting, work in a profession and typically live alone. They pray Liturgy of the Hours, attend daily

Jane Lynch, a parishioner of the Cathedral of St. Paul, is a member of the Secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ, in which she lives her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the world. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit Mass and meet monthly with other members of their secular institute.

They also attend an annual retreat.

Secular institutes are diverse; most are open to either single men or women, but at least two in the U.S. include married couples. Most members are laymen and women, but a few include priests or deacons.

Their charisms also vary; the Secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ, for example, takes inspiration from St. Francis of Assisi and Franciscan spirituality.

Although Lynch doesn’t wear anything symbolizing her vocation, people often sense there’s something different about her, she said. Sometimes, people ask if she’s a religious sister. The question gives her a chance to introduce others to

secular institutes, which she said are generally unknown in the U.S., even

by Catholics.

“We’re supposed to be a hidden leaven in the world,” she said. “We are to be an example [and] transform life from within, wherever our circumstances are.”

Most secular institutes, including the one to which Lynch belongs, began informally in the early 20th century.

The Church did not formally recognize secular institutes until 1947 when Pope Pius XII issued an apostolic constitution that established the secular institute within the framework of canon law.

By 1950, about 40 secular institutes existed worldwide; five decades later, there were more than 200 institutes with about 60,000 members

worldwide, according to the USCSI. When the secular institute was established, the difference between its lifestyle and that of religious brothers and sisters was more pronounced than it is today, said Jessica Swedzinski, USCSI secretary and a member of the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, who lives near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Changes in some religious communities’ lifestyles in recent decades have muddled the overt distinction between their members and those of secular institutes, she said, but it exists.

“The framework of the secular institute is to live the three counsels [poverty, chastity and obedience] right smack dab in the world,” she said. “That’s the major difference between us and religious orders.”

The vocation to a secular institute typically appeals to single Catholics in their 30s and 40s who have established careers and seek to deepen their commitment to Christ, Lynch said.

For her, the Year of Consecrated Life offers a chance to make secular institutes better known.

“I think as laity become more involved in the Church, this vocation might appeal to more people,” she said. “You can still live in the world and lead a vowed life.”

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TheCatholicSpirit.com April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

World Meeting of Families

8

For couple dedicated to family support, World Meeting, papal visit, a must-go

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

Jeannine Backstrom has cleared her calendar for the fourth week in September, when she and her husband, Gregg, will join Catholics from around the world in Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families — an event that includes Mass with Pope Francis.

“When I first heard the World Meeting of Families was happening in the United States, I thought, how could I not be there?” she said. “The Church is my family, and I want to be there with the Holy Father and support him in all he’s doing.”

A parishioner of St. Albert in Albertville, Backstrom is dedicated to promoting strong Catholic marriages and family life. As executive director of the Brooklyn Park-based Cana Family Institute, she oversees Familia, the organization’s core initiative that supports parents of young children through small groups. Familia was critical in helping the Backstroms fortify their own marriage, when, six years after their wedding and with two small children, they were on the brink of divorce.

Jeannine had expected marriage to be “the end all,” and felt like it wasn’t meeting her expectations, she said. She separated from Gregg for almost a year.

She credits God’s grace with helping them realize their marriage was worth saving. She and Gregg experienced “a tremendous healing” and mercy, and they reunited. They joined Familia, where they found new friends who supported their marriage.

After reuniting, Jeannine, now 56, was committed to making the marriage work, but anticipated it would be a kind of drudgery. She never imagined that she and Gregg would share the deep sense of God’s presence First of a series in their marriage that they do now.

In what became “a family mission,” the Backstroms’ involvement in Familia motivated them to reach out to other parents and families.

“We feel like that experience early on in our marriage prepared our hearts for what it is that the family needs, and that’s accompaniment and care,” said Backstrom, who now has five adult children and three In partnership with the grandchildren. “Out of a sense of publications of all gratitude for his mercy, we just Minnesota dioceses, worked. The lens of whatever we did was through the family.”

The Catholic Spirit is Her experience taught her how launching an 11-part fragile marriage was and the need series on families based for Catholic formation on the on the meeting’s sacrament.

Marriage “is the foundation for 10 themes. everything,” Backstrom said.

“You’re a community of persons.

It’s where you learn to love. It’s where you learn to give. It’s where Want to go? you learn to be who you’re called to be. From that, we create society, For more information culture, the Church.” or to register for the local Accompaniment, or family-topilgrimage to the World family support, is at the core of Meeting of Families, call building healthy families, especially for newlyweds and new 1-800-653-0017. To register parents, she said. for the World Meeting “We have to be really of Families, visit www. intentional about supporting worldmeeting 2015.org. parents who want to have a good marriage and want to have a good For details, visit family,” Backstrom said, rather www.archspm.org/WMF. than only providing programming for marriages or families in

?

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

The Holy Father is coming to Philadelphia this September! Where will you be?

By Jean Stolpestad

Jeannine and Gregg Backstrom, parishioners of St. Albert in Albertville, are among local Catholics who plan to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia Sept. 22-28.

Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit trouble. She’s looking forward to gathering with like-minded Catholics at the World Meeting of Families, she said.

“There is so much hope for the family,” she said.

“I’ve seen the effect that World Youth Days have had on families, because those millions of kids who have been to those are getting married, and they want to continue that experience, and that happens in the family.”

Jean Stolpestad, director of Marriage, Family and Life for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, called the Sept. 22-28 World Meeting of Families “World Youth Day for adults.” The triennial international event isn’t as well known as the biennial youth event, but it’s no less important, she said.

“For the same reason that we would send our kids [to World Youth Day], because we want them to have an encounter with Christ, we want them to identify with the Church, we want them to have an experience that is so powerful that it will carry them into adulthood, those are the same reasons we need our adults to go — so they can have that courage, strength and clarity to transmit their faith to the next generation as well as the current culture,” she said.

The archdiocese has partnered with Minnesota’s other dioceses to bring a group of pilgrims to the event. The pilgrimage’s $1,875 cost covers airfare, hotel accommodations, transportation between the hotel and the meeting, the papal Mass, sightseeing, breakfasts and two dinners. Registration for the World Meeting of Families is separate; packages begin at $125, and rates rise May 1.

“Because of the sheer volume of people who will be out there, finding accommodations on one’s own will be incredibly difficult,” Stolpestad said. The Minnesota pilgrimage is holding a block of rooms for pilgrims.

In addition to attending the meeting’s variety of workshops and presentations, pilgrims will also have the opportunity to attend daily Mass and discuss how to apply what they learn in their homes and parishes. They will also have the opportunity to see the pope. “If you want to see the Holy Father, you’re going to have to already be at the World Meeting of Families,” Stolpestad said.

The World Meeting of Families Sept. 22-28 will be a historic event and an opportunity for each of us to grow in understanding our mission to love — a mission in which we are all called to participate.

Through baptism we are called to act and are sent into the world to proclaim the goodness of love.

Today, however, it is often difficult to know what to say or how to respond to the many situations we encounter.

The theme of the World Meeting of Families is filled with hope that families provide to the wider world, “Love is our Mission — the family fully alive.” The family is fully alive when it exists as a school of love where all members learn from each other and grow in virtue and understanding of the dignity of the human person; together and through each member it becomes leaven and salt for the world. We can never take this for granted, and must intentionally seek out ways to support families and their mission.

The World Meeting of Families is a week-long conference to be held in Philadelphia and attended by Catholics from all walks of life from around the world. Those attending will discover how the Church responds to the needs of the human person in a variety of situations.

All will have something to offer and to receive at the World Meeting of Families. And as beneficial it will be, Saturday afternoon, Sept. 26, as we participate with Pope Francis in the Festival of Families and again Sunday, Sept. 27, as he celebrates holy Mass, we will enjoy an incomparable, unique experience of unity and Catholic identity. For many, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

It should be important to us, the laity, to make sure that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has a strong delegation at the World Meeting of Families and the papal events. For this reason we have established a pilgrimage to the World Meeting of Families, which includes the airfare, hotels, transportation from the hotel to the events each day, breakfast and two dinners with our bishops and other pilgrims from Minnesota. We will celebrate Mass each day and share our experiences each evening. Pope Francis has identified the family as the “agent of evangelization.” Join us to discover what this means for you and your family.

Stolpestad is the director of the Office of Marriage, Family and Life for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

9 Catholic News Service The president of the Kenyan bishops’ conference called on Easter worshippers to commit themselves to praying for peace and security in their homeland after militants attacked a college campus days earlier.

Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi also condemned the April 2 attack by the Somalia-based al-Shabaab militants at Garissa University College in which Christian students were targeted.

After reading a message of condolence from Pope Francis to the congregation at Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, Cardinal Njue urged worshippers to commit themselves to praying for peace and security in the country.

“We need to constantly invoke God’s name, following common attacks in the country by the alShabaab militia group, including the most recent one at Garissa,” the cardinal said.

In his message, Pope Francis condemned the assault by Somali militants, calling it an act of “senseless brutality.”

“In union with all people of goodwill throughout the world, his holiness condemns this act of senseless brutality and prays for a change of heart among its perpetrators,” said the pope’s message in a statement sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state.

Cardinal Njue said the assault, which left 148 people dead, shocked the bishops’ conference and Bishop Paul Darmanin of Garissa in particular.

“I have assured the shocked bishop of the bishops’ support, through prayers and any other (means),” Cardinal Njue said.

He reminded Christians that Christ was persecuted and suffered

U.S. & World

Cardinal calls Kenyans to prayer in wake of college attack

Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi, Kenya, carries a cross as he leads the Stations of the Cross from Holy Family Basilica along a street in the Kenyan capital. CNS/Herman Kariuki, Reuters for the sake of people’s sins and told them never to give up even in the face of terror.

“We as a nation are undergoing many challenges and we must remain fixed to things above. Let us pray for the families and victims of the Garissa terror attack and let their death be a meaning to us.”

Cardinal Njue said.

The cardinal called for a global response to terrorism and urged Kenyans not to look at the Garissa massacre through a religious lens.

“Even in the wake of the insecurity in the country, we must remain united and not give a few people the impression that this is a war between Christians and Muslims,” Cardinal Njue says.

On April 4, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta announced three days of national mourning in the wake of the attack.

In an address to the nation, Kenyatta cited those who have stood with the country as it dealt with the aftermath of the attack, including the United States, United Nations and Pope Francis.

Share Easter joy, defend persecuted Christians, pope says

Holy See calls for international effort to end Boko Haram attacks

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

Catholic News Service

Christians live the joy of the Resurrection when they share a smile with someone, weep with those who mourn and defend the rights of those persecuted for their faith, Pope Francis said.

Reciting the “Regina Coeli” prayer with thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square April 6, the pope demanded defense and protection for “our brothers and sisters persecuted, exiled, killed and decapitated just because they are Christians.”

“I hope the international community will not stand by mute and inert before such an unacceptable crime, which constitutes a worrying deviation from the most elementary human

rights,” he said. “The international community cannot look the other way.”

Pope Francis said the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of new life for all the baptized is something “we are called to bring to others.” Easter joy should be obvious on Christians’ faces, “in our sentiments and attitudes, in the way we treat others.”

“We proclaim the resurrection of Christ when his light brightens the dark moments of our existence, and we can share that with others when we learn to smile with those who smile and cry with those who cry, when we walk alongside those who are sad and risk losing their hope (and) when we talk about our faith experience with those who are searching for meaning and happiness,” the pope said.

The Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva called on the international community to assist Nigeria and neighboring countries to rid the region of Boko Haram insurgency.

“The Holy See urges an international collaborative effort to address this crisis situation with urgency so as to prevent the extension of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups and their strategy of inflicting suffering on local people and to destabilize Africa even further,” Archbishop Silvano Tomasi told the U.N. Human Rights Council April 1.

Nigeria and its neighbors, including Cameroon, Benin, Chad and Niger, have been beset by Boko Haram’s violent campaign to impose Islamic rule in the region. Based in northeastern Nigeria, leaders of the

insurgents have claimed credit for a series of bombings and gun attacks on public markets, churches and isolated communities. He said the insurgency requires an “urgent and effective response.”

Citing Pope Francis in an address to diplomats accredited to the Holy See, Archbishop Tomasi called the situation in Nigeria and its neighbors “a Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the scourge which Vatican observer at the United needs to be eradicated, since it Nations in Geneva. CNS strikes all of us, from individual families to the international community.”

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

U.S. & World

10

Other RFRA debates quieter, but history of laws has been roller coaster

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service

It started with hallucinogenic peyote and a couple of guys in Oregon who were fired after they used it in a religious ritual.

Over the course of 25 years, the U.S. debate over religious rights moved from there to the current social and political uproar about Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act and whether it would give legal cover to those who might discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

Within hours of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signing a state version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act March 26, critics slammed the legislation as going further than the federal version of the same law does and said it would enable individuals and businesses to claim a religious right to discriminate in ways not foreseen in other versions. Highly publicized protests and boycotts of Indiana and Indiana-based businesses were launched.

The criticism, notably from gay rights activists and prominent Indiana business leaders who said the law would hurt their and the state’s financial bottom lines, led Pence to ask Indiana’s Legislature for a fix.

Likewise, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked legislators to rework a RFRA bill that had already reached his desk. On April 2, a week after the Indiana bill was signed, both governors signed new RFRA legislation, rewritten to more closely mirror the federal law.

Some supporters of the original Indiana bill A sign reading, “This business serves everyone,” is seen said the new version was in the window of a barbershop in downtown Lafayette, unnecessary Indiana, March 31. CNS and might, in fact, “be a green light for driving religious people out of business,” as Mark Rienzi, senior counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, put it. But the revision satisfied the critics, some of whom backed down quickly on their boycott calls.

The current focal point of controversy about RFRA laws is a far cry from what was on the minds of those who worked together across philosophical, political and faith differences to craft the original Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the early 1990s.

In fact, the uproar over Indiana’s RFRA is but the latest highly charged debate over religious rights stemming from one Supreme Court ruling. The earlier tussles were more of the policy-wonk variety, however, played out in Washington news conferences and over negotiating tables, rather than across the Internet, in Facebook memes and Yelp reviews.

Protection, interference It all began in April 1990, when the Supreme Court in Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, ruled that Alfred Smith and Galen Black were not constitutionally protected from being fired from the drug rehabilitation clinic where they worked over having used peyote in a ritual of the Native American Church.

In that 6-3 ruling written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the majority said, “We have never held that an individual’s religious beliefs excuse him from compliance with an otherwise valid law prohibiting conduct that the state is free to regulate.’’

Lower courts ruled that Smith and Black had been

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

unfairly denied unemployment benefits and that the state’s ban on the use of peyote in religious ceremonies violated First Amendment religious rights protections.

Scalia’s ruling said the First Amendment protects religious beliefs from government regulation, but that laws may legitimately interfere with religious practices.

Within weeks in 1990, religious leaders were testifying before Congress about the need to pass a law that fixed what was seen as the Supreme Court’s undermining of the prevailing legal status of religious rights. The first few versions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act failed to get out of Congress, as supporters of some sort of a bill disagreed vehemently about whether the proposals on the table would actually cause more harm.

The U.S. Catholic Conference, as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was then known, argued that the first RFRA would “pit religious groups and individuals against one another in disputes over a variety of social and educational programs as well as tax-exempt status.”

Mark Chopko, then-general counsel for the bishops’ conference, said in testimony to Congress that the bill “was intended to include religiously based abortion claims,” a point acknowledged by those involved in drafting the bill.

Why state RFRAs? It took until 1993 for a carefully negotiated version of RFRA to be passed by Congress and signed into law

by President Bill Clinton.

Then the Supreme Court weighed in. In 1997 in one of the first cases to reach the court that tested RFRA, the court ruled against the Texas Catholic church that had sought protection under RFRA from a local historic preservation ordinance that blocked the parish’s plan to tear down an old church to expand worship space.

The ruling struck down RFRA as it applies to all entities but the federal government. In response, states began passing versions of RFRA that would apply to state and local governments.

Those laws and how they were applied had generally attracted little national attention until the Supreme Court based its March 2014 ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby in part on the federal RFRA. In that 5-4 ruling, the court said Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties need not comply with a federal mandate to include a full range of contraceptives in employee health insurance. Both companies’ owners are Christians who had objected to having to cover contraception in the government’s requirement in the Affordable Care Act. The court said the federal government could have chosen ways to provide uniform access to contraceptives that were less of an infringement on religious rights. It said under RFRA, such “closely held” companies can assert religious views that protect them from the mandate.

By the time Indiana’s Legislature took up its version of RFRA this year, those concerned about a whole range of issues — notably access to services related to weddings for same-sex couples — had begun to consider what types of claims might be made under the protection of RFRA laws. Indiana’s original version of RFRA, for instance, broadened the definition of when it would apply to include disputes that do not involve any government entity.

The fact that Indiana and Arkansas reverted to the language of the federal RFRA may not signal an end to battles over the law. In an “amicus” or friend-of-thecourt brief to the Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case, 19 members of Congress who supported the 1993 law said RFRA has been interpreted in ways they “could not have anticipated and did not intend.”

Yet another round over RFRA in Congress may not be far down the road.

Changes in Indiana RFRA law OK’d; some see weaker religious protections Catholic News Service The changes Indiana lawmakers made to the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act “raise several concerns about the protection of religious freedom for Indiana’s citizens and religious institutions,” the state’s Catholic conference said.

The new language “may undermine religious freedom,” it said, because the terms “religious function” and “nonprofit religious organization” are not clearly defined in wording related to religious freedom protections.

The conference, which is the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, issued a statement April 2, the day that Gov. Mike Pence approved changes to the RFRA measure he had signed into law March 26.

On March 31, he asked state lawmakers to send him some clarifications to make “it clear that this law does not give businesses the right to deny services to anyone.”

The new wording says in part that the law does not authorize a provider to refuse to offer accommodations, goods and services on the basis of race, gender, age, disability and sexual orientation.

It also says the term “provider” does not include a church or other nonprofit religious organization, nor does it apply to “a rabbi, priest, preacher, minister, pastor or designee of a church or other nonprofit religious organization or society when the individual is engaged in a religious or affiliated educational function of the church or other nonprofit religious organization or society.”

The law goes into effect July 1.

The Indiana Catholic Conference in its statement said that it continues to support the original bill, saying “it strikes the proper balance that has worked well in the federal RFRA for more than 20 years.”

“While well intentioned, the changes may undermine religious freedom. What’s the definition or limitation of a ‘religious function’?

Are professionals such as physicians included? Does a ‘nonprofit religious organization’ include hospitals?” it asked.

A day before Pence approved the changes, Indiana’s Catholic bishops urged “mutual respect” be shown in the RFRA debate “to ensure that no one in Indiana will face discrimination whether it is for their sexual orientation or for living their religious beliefs.”

The measure, they noted, seemed “to have divided the people of our state like few other issues in recent memory.”

11 ‘Travesty of justice’: No murder charge in unborn baby’s death Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila called it “a travesty of justice” that under Colorado law no murder charges could be filed against a woman accused of violently attacking a pregnant woman and using a knife to remove her unborn baby. The deceased baby, a girl who was at seven months of development, showed no “signs of life outside of the womb,” so there was no live birth and therefore no homicide occurred, according to the Boulder County coroner.

Dynel Lane, 34, was arrested by Longmont Police after she allegedly attacked Michelle Wilkins, 26, after the pregnant woman came to her home in response to Lane’s Craigslist ad offering baby clothes.

Wilkins was left for dead, but she survived and is recovering.

WASHINGTON

Pope Francis to visit the White House President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will welcome Pope Francis to the White House Sept. 23. “During the visit, the president and the pope will continue the dialogue, which they began during the president’s visit to the Vatican in March 2014, on their shared values and commitments on a wide range of issues,” said a statement released March 26 by the Office of the Press Secretary at the White House.

Those issues, it said, include “caring for the marginalized and the poor; advancing economic opportunity for all; serving as good stewards of the environment; protecting religious minorities and promoting religious freedom around the world; and welcoming and integrating immigrants and refugees into our communities.”

U.S. & World

Papal ecology: Protecting all God’s creatures, respecting God’s plan

DENVER

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service The Catholic Church supports the efforts of scientists to study the causes and effects of climate change and insists governments and businesses must get serious about specific commitments for protecting the environment.

But Pope Francis, like his predecessors, does not pretend to have a technical solution to the problem. However, he does feel a responsibility to remind Christians of their religious obligation to safeguard creation, beginning with human beings who are created in the image and likeness of God. Clearing his calendar for a week in late March, Pope Francis rolled up his sleeves to put the final touches on an encyclical letter about the environment; building on what he and his predecessors have said, the document — planned for publication early in the summer — is expected to present ecology as the ultimate pro-life, pro-poor, pro-family issue.

For Pope Francis, like Pope Benedict XVI, safeguarding creation is not simply about protecting plants and animals, or just about ensuring the air, water and land will support human life for generations to come. Those things are part of the task.

“We need to see — with the eyes of faith — the beauty of God’s saving plan, the link between the natural environment and the dignity of the human person,” Pope Francis wrote in a speech prepared for young people in the Philippines in January.

Christianity teaches that God created the world and everything in it with a certain order, and he proclaimed it good. As stewards of God’s creation, Pope Francis has said, people have an absolute

A Nepalese man hugs a tree while celebrating World Environment Day at the forest of Gokarna, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, in this 2014 photo. “We need to see — with the eyes of faith — the beauty of God’s saving plan, the link between the natural environment and the dignity of the human person,” Pope Francis said in January. CNS obligation to respect the natural order.

Defending marriage as the lifelong union of a man and a woman, Pope Francis told a conference in November, “the crisis of the family has produced a human ecological crisis, for social environments, like natural environments, need protection.”

“Human ecology” was a phrase often used by retired Pope Benedict XVI, who was known for “green” initiatives, including installing solar panels at the Vatican. He taught that “the book of nature is one and indivisible; it includes not only the environment but also individual, family and social ethics.

Our duties toward the environment flow from our duties toward the person, considered both individually and in relation to others.”

In his 2009 encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate,” Pope Benedict wrote that the church “must defend not only earth, water and air as gifts of creation that belong to everyone.

She must above all protect

mankind from self-destruction.

There is need for what might be called a human ecology, correctly understood.”

The “decisive issue,” he wrote, “is the overall moral tenor of society. If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology.”

Echoes of Pope Benedict’s thought can be found in Pope Francis’ frequent denunciations of the “throwaway culture.” He sees people increasingly at ease throwing away not just plastic and paper, but wasting food at a time when so many people are starving.

Even more seriously, he has said, people have a similar “throwaway” attitude when it comes to people they don’t find useful — including the unborn, the sick and the elderly.

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Easter

12

20th

Hmong and Catholic ‘Minority among minorities’ marks 20 years at parish home, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Paul

By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit Story cloths, for Hmong families, are hand-sewn histories.

Colorful threads intricately crafted into tapestries tell of episodes in the lives of mountain village families, how they lived and often how they survived.

Valued as art, story cloths are among the displays in the current exhibit at the Minnesota History Center, “We Are Hmong Minnesota.”

“Our house doesn’t have one,” Hillary Lor says matter-of-factly.

“Our house has a picture of Jesus and a crucifix.”

Hmong Catholics such as the Lor family are “a minority among minorities,” said Deacon Nao Kao Yang, who serves the Hmong Catholics who worship at St. Vincent de Paul in St. Paul. Of the estimated 100,000 Hmong living in Minnesota, some have retained animist beliefs, often connected to the afterlife of ancestors. Others are Christian, but not Catholic.

And yet, Hmong Catholics in Minnesota are the envy of those who have resettled in other parts of the United States, Deacon Yang said, because they have a church to call home, St. Vincent de Paul, a mile or so northwest of the State Capitol in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood.

“St. Vincent “St. Vincent de Paul is an icon for de Paul is an Hmong Catholics throughout the icon for country,” he said.

“It’s a symbol of Hmong hope.”

Bishop Andrew Catholics Cozzens presided at Mass Easter Sunday throughout at St. Vincent de Paul to celebrate the the country.

20th anniversary of the Hmong Catholic It’s a symbol ministry there. of hope.”

The festivities continued after Mass Deacon Nao Kao Yang with food and a program.

Hmong Catholics come to St. Vincent de Paul to worship from as far as Rogers, St. Michael and western Wisconsin, Deacon Yang said.

40-year history The Hmong began to arrive in the Twin Cities after the Communist takeover of Laos in 1975. Hmong had fought on the side of U.S. military in what has become known

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

as the “Secret War” in southeast Asia, and they came to the United States with refugee status.

Deacon Yang left Laos in 1976.

He became Catholic in 1986 and was ordained to the permanent diaconate in 1997.

Over the past 40 years this onetime refugee community has acculturated. Many Hmong who live in Minnesota are bilingual and speak English with no traceable accent.

“We can worship anywhere,” Deacon Yang said, “but at other parishes we might be lost in the crowd. When you are here you feel you have an identity. [Hmong Catholics] come here because they feel more at home.

“I think when you participate in Mass in your own language you tend to feel closer to God,” he added.

anniversary Mass makes Hmong Easter special 1. Bishop Andrew Cozzens greets Darla Lee and her sister-in-law May Lee after Easter Sunday Mass April 5 at St. Vincent de Paul in St. Paul.

2. Mary Vu, left, Isabelle Yang and Victoria Vu sing during Mass.

3. Deacon Nao Kao Yang talks to the congregation during Mass.

4. A hymnal at St. Vincent de Paul features verses in Hmong.

5. Therese Yang, left, and Geu Vu prepare shrimp for the celebration after Mass.

Photos by Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit

Initially, the small Hmong Catholic community worshiped at St. Mary in St. Paul and at St. Leonard of Port Maurice in Minneapolis, but St. Vincent de Paul became a place for Hmong Catholics to call home in 1995.

In 2012, the parish merged with the Cathedral of St. Paul, but continues to hold a 9 a.m. Mass each week and serves as a hub for Twin Cities-area Hmong Catholics.

Mass in two languages Sunday Mass at St. Vincent de Paul accommodates the bilingual nature of the people in the pew.

Priests from the cathedral and the seminaries preside, leading prayer in English. A lector proclaims the readings in Hmong, and Deacon Yang reads the Gospel and preaches in Hmong. Familiar Englishlanguage hymns are translated to Hmong or alternate verses in English and Hmong.

2

Responses during the Mass are just as loud in English as they are in Hmong.

When Deacon Yang delivers the announcements at the close of the liturgy, he mostly speaks in Hmong, but repeats the message in English when it’s geared for younger parishioners, such as information about first Communion or confirmation classes.

And, while Hmong Catholics are a minority among minorities, their 20-year-old St. Vincent de Paul community welcomes anyone interested in the faith, Deacon Yang said.

“We want St. Vincent de Paul to be a place of hope and love for others who want to know Jesus,” he said.

4

1

13

Hmong Catholics talk about their faith as they stroll through their history

By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit

3

5

Photos of Asian people, their hands holding signs with their identification numbers, and official-looking documents with names and dates are the first things that really get the attention of Chia and Hillary Lor. “We have pictures like that at home,” observes Chia, 22. “My grandfather held one of those signs for his picture.”

The display of photo IDs and paperwork that enabled Hmong refugees from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand to resettle in the United States beginning nearly 40 years ago is part of a large exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

In order to see the exhibit through the eyes of the Hmong, I asked the Lor sisters — members of the Hmong Catholic community at St. Vincent de Paul in St. Paul — to do a walkthrough with me.

Simply tell me what you are thinking, I asked, as you view the displays and watch the video and multimedia screens.

Chia, 22, is a St. Catherine University graduate who works as a community organizer for the District 1 Community Council in St. Paul.

Her sister Hillary, 20, is a sophomore at St. Catherine majoring in public health with a minor in communications studies.

“That’s my refugee camp,” Chia says, pointing to a photograph on one of the displays. She lived at Chiang Kham in Thailand as an infant, and came to the United States in 1994.

Hillary is the youngest of the Lor children, the only one born in this country, hence her American name, which was inspired by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“I was raised and baptized at St. Vincent.” she chimes in. “I’m as old as St. Vincent.” On Easter, St. Vincent de Paul celebrated the 20th anniversary of becoming the home of the Hmong Catholic community.

Photos of Hmong people in the refugee camps remind the sisters of their late grandfather, Nhia Ying Lor. “These photos are rare,” Hillary says. “These are special. Our grandpa owned a photography studio, so we have a lot of photos from the refugee camp and the youth group.”

Their father, Cha Lor, was a youth leader in the camp, and Chia is following in his footsteps, volunteering as a youth leader at St. Patrick in St. Paul, where the Hmong community is expanding.

The women are disappointed that a display about the Hmong language doesn’t include the Catholic connection they consider vital.

“Hmong never had a written

Easter

Through their eyes

language, only an oral tradition,” Chia explains. “Father Yves Bertrais helped create the Romanized Popular Alphabet. He collaborated with two other people. I feel like they [the Minnesota Historical Society] are missing a huge piece of evidence not having Father Bertrais’ presence here.”

Father Bertrais is also the reason the Lor family is Catholic. As the sisters view embroidered textiles, musical instruments and rudimentary farm implements that were part of daily life in southeast Asia, they share how their grandfather, the youngest son of a family with 12 children, was sent to live “We are Hmong with the priest, an Oblate of Minnesota — Peb Mary Immaculate who had Yog Hmoob” is come to the mountains of the featured Laos in 1950.

“Our grandfather was 12 exhibit through years old when he went to Nov. 29 at the live with the priest,” Chia Minnesota History says. “He was learning to Center, 345 W. become a deacon, but then the Vietnam War broke Kellogg Blvd. in out.”

St. Paul.

Hmong, who had left China due to oppression, willingly fought against the communists in the “Secret War” in southeast Asia. Men of the Lor family fought alongside U.S. troops.

The video of the war, bodies of men, women and children lined up along a road, makes Chia reflect on the horrors.

“I don’t know how our grandpa did it,” she said. “He told us he was captured and he prayed that he would escape, and he did.”

When the United States removed its forces in 1975, the Hmong had to flee, too. A moving video captures the emotional moment when some Hmong board buses to leave Laos, while others tearfully remain behind.

“Hmong here today are the fortunate ones,” Hillary concedes.

“Our family survived because a boatman got money from our grandfather to take us across the Mekong River to Thailand. The family behind us was killed. We were close to not being here.”

When Cha Lor and Fanci Vang, the Lor sisters’ parents, were granted refugee status in the United States, they came to St. Paul, where family members were already living. They lived in public housing in the McDonough Homes for five years before moving to a house on the east side of St. Paul.

Their Catholic faith starts in the home with their father, they say, and having priests and sisters in their Please turn to HMONG on page 23

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

NPH International

14

NPH celebrates 60 years of ‘raising children, transforming lives’

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit A trip to Mexico for Richard Jordan and his family might not include white sandy beaches and daily siestas. But that’s intentional.

Ever since his daughter, Claire, came back from a mission trip in 2007 with their parish, Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, he has planned an annual trip with his family to help children at the home started by a U.S. Jesuit priest 61 years ago.

Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos — Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters” — serves orphaned, abandoned and poor children in nine countries: Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Peru and Bolivia. The organization now is called NPH International.

“What happened to her and so many others happened to me,” Jordan said. Echoing what he heard a priest say about NPH, Jordan added, “Something about this place grabs your heart and never lets go.”

For the Jordans, visiting an NPH home means being its guests, sharing meals, teaching at vacation Bible school and doing projects.

Claire Jordan’s experience was transformational in such a way that she is now teaching children in Mexico. The Jordans sponsor four NPH “godchildren.”

Like a family Rose Shaffhausen, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist in Little Canada, began volunteering for NPH in its early days. After hearing about NPH from her sister who worked for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, she looked at how the lives of her five children differed from those in NPH homes and wanted to help.

As her involvement grew from strictly fundraising to regularly

A young girl from the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos home in El Salvador plays guitar in music class. Photo courtesy NPH USA visiting the children in Mexico, Shaffhausen said she saw them change dramatically, an observation that has been a constant during her 40-plus years with the organization.

“As [the children] come in and transition, they learn the value system and become responsible, and receive education as far up as they can go,” she said.

Shaffhausen said the children have a full schedule of stimulation and learn self management and “everything you would in a family.”

“The whole thing stems down from the attitude and workmanship of Father [William] Wasson,” she said. “He was a man of great concentration, but was no bureaucrat. He changed their lives.

He gave them love and responsibility.”

Father Wasson started Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in 1954 in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, after a boy was arrested for stealing from the poor box of the church where Father Wasson served. He was unwilling to press charges against the boy and instead asked for custody of him. A week later, a judge sent him eight more homeless boys. By year’s end, 32 boys were in Father Wasson’s care.

Mission continues

A boy in NPH’s Haiti home does chores in this 2003 photo. Photo courtesy NPH USA

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

Today, more than 3,000 children live in the nine NPH homes Father Wasson established over the years.

More than 20,000 children have grown up in what is dubbed the “NPH family.” (See related article on page 15.)

Eventually, Shaffhausen started NPH USA’s upper Midwest regional

board, which is based in Minneapolis and raises money and promotes sponsorships of the children.

When Father William current WASSON director Molly Boyum began two and a half years ago, she was impressed with the mission, and the passion and commitment of NPH’s many longtime volunteers.

She said what stands out about NPH is its focus on education, which breaks the cycle of poverty.

Once the children graduate from high school or college, they return to the home and give back a year of service, Boyum explained.

“It’s such a great opportunity for these young kids new to the home to see firsthand that if you work hard, you, too, can have an education and a career,” she said.

“We can tell them, but for them to see it firsthand is amazing.”

Locally, NPH will host its annual gala Oct. 3, when 15 children from NPH’s home in El Salvador will sing and dance, and then spend two weeks with a host family.

Jordan serves on the board and said the needs are still greater than the funds. According to Boyum, the cost to raise a child in an NPH home is about $6,000 annually.

“In an ideal world, we’d figure out how to raise more money and offer more,” Jordan said. “People can’t believe what they do with the

money they have.”

Jordan said that the violence in some Central and South American countries drives the need for NPH homes. For that reason, he said a major goal is to double the number of children in NPH homes.

Shaffhausen, who remains on the board, said the organization is constantly changing for the future.

“Looking at the rise in the exploitation of women and young people, I see that this is the model of what can make dramatic changes in our society,” she said. “These kids have a value system and learn to be responsible and learn not to go in the pitfalls — gangs and the like. At NPH, that’s a given, that’s absolute.

You take care of each other. We need more of this in the world.”

Jordan points to NPH’s success in the children whose lives are not only saved, but also celebrated by what they’re able to accomplish when embraced in a family-oriented environment.

About three years ago, he said, three girls who grew up together in the Mexican NPH home all graduated from college and have careers in engineering and technology.

“If it weren’t for NPH, there’s a good chance they’d be dead, or into drugs or prostitution,” Jordan said. “[NPH] gives these kids a chance.

These kids aren’t asking for handouts. To be able to see these results and the opportunity it gives kids is just amazing.”

For more information about Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, visit www.nphusa.org.

15

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit When Clara Grove was a 5-yearold in Mexico City, she never could have imagined that 40 years later she would be living in a suburban home in Stillwater with a golf course bordering her back yard.

Her thoughts back then never got beyond what the family would do after her mother died of heart complications.

Her father struggled with how to care for his seven children, of whom Clara was the second youngest. The kids bounced between both sets of grandparents and other relatives for three years.

Then, her dad made a decision that she now calls her “salvation.”

He brought them to a home run by Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a 61-year-old organization now known as NPH International started in Mexico by a Jesuit priest, Father William Wasson.

The idea was to provide a stable home for orphans and children whose families didn’t have the money to care for them. Grove, who later married an American and became a U.S. citizen, lived in an NPH home just north of Mexico City in Acolman for seven years with several hundred other children.

“We got everything — education, clothing, health care, love, lots of friends, lots of brothers and sisters,” said Grove, 45. “So, it was a blessing, a complete blessing.

And everybody that you would talk to [who lived there] would tell you the same thing.”

In fact, Grove firmly deflects any sympathy expressed by people who hear that she grew up in an orphanage. Her ties are so strong that she has continued to make visits to the NPH home, now

“I don’t think I would be here without NPH. Some people, when I tell them I was raised in an orphanage, they say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ It’s like, ‘No. It was our salvation for all of us who went there.’”

NPH International

Woman calls childhood in Mexico a blessing, thanks to NPH

Clara Grove

Clara Grove enjoys her life in the U.S. as a married mother of two in Stillwater, and continues to maintain ties to the NPH home she lived in for seven years during her childhood in Mexico. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit located in Miacatlán, 80 miles south of Mexico City. She went last summer to be there for the organization’s 60th anniversary celebration.

“A lot of people went to the 60th anniversary; that was fantastic because you got to see everybody from back then,” she said. “I don’t think I would be here without NPH. Some people, when I tell them I was raised in an orphanage, they say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ It’s like, ‘No. It was our salvation for all of us who went there.’”

Grove came to the U.S. in 1986 to live at a home Father Wasson started in Arizona. It had a school that specialized in helping Latino

children learn to speak English.

Grove went for six months before moving to Minnesota to live with a family in Arden Hills.

After finishing high school, she went to Lakewood Community College (now Century College) in White Bear Lake, where she earned a two-year degree in business administration. She met her future husband, Tom Grove, while there.

He was taking Spanish classes, and she was working as a tutor in the Spanish lab.

They dated for two years, then her visa expired and she returned to Mexico. She thought the relationship would end. He had other ideas. He visited her twice

“It is no small thing, when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.”

Charles Dickens

and proposed during the second trip, on New Year’s Eve 1991.

She returned to the U.S. in March 1992, and the two married that June. They have two sons.

Grove enjoys maintaining the connections she has to NPH. She is proud of her childhood and the lifelong friendships that came as a result.

“I go back to the home every time I go to Mexico,” she said. “I keep in contact. There are many, many what we call ‘ex-pequeños.’

They’re like my brothers and sisters. We still have that connection of brotherhood and sisterhood because we were raised in the same place. There are 15 or 20 people who live here in Minnesota. And, we get together often.”

I am so proud to be part of this great family.

Congratulations and God's blessings to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos!

Paz y bien Padre Ron Hicks To ADVERTISE in The Catholic Spirit, call or email our sales representatives Dick Martens (651) 251-7717 martensr@archspm.org

Chris Pierskalla (651) 251-7714 pierskallac@archspm.org

Vicar General Archdiocese of Chicago

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

Faith & Culture

16

Seminarian play comically shows ‘dark side’ of parish life

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

By Nate Madden Catholic News Service

Parish disagreements aren’t usually dangerous. But when an unconventional liturgist challenges the status quo, even murder is possible — at least in a play seminarians at the St. Paul Seminary are producing this month.

The seminarians will perform “Death of a Liturgist,” a “lighthearted murder mystery” set in a Catholic parish. The play is based on a novel by Lorraine Murray and adapted by Andy Thuringer, a second-year seminarian from the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He’s also the director.

With themes and humor that should appeal to a wide audience, the play pokes fun at all its characters without taking sides.

Between laughs, it also looks at people’s resistance to change, the importance of the liturgy and a priest’s role in the parish.

The seminarians will offer three performances April 24-26, free of charge, at the University of St. Thomas’ Brady Education Center auditorium in St. Paul.

Poking fun at parish life Following up on last year’s zany comedy “Murder and Mariolatry,” seminarians decided to take a different tone this year while still doing a comedy, Thuringer said.

“More than anything, we just wanted to have fun and have a good time with the If you go audience,” he said.

Joseph Wright, who plays “Death of a Liturgist,” the liturgist, agreed. a murder mystery by “It’s a comedy through Lorraine Murray and through, at least I think adapted for stage by so,” said Wright, a first-year Andy Thuringer, will be theology seminarian from performed at the the Diocese of Des Moines, University of St. Thomas Iowa.

In addition to the BEC Auditorium at comedy, the play has the 7:30 p.m. April 24-25 suspense of a real whodunit, and 2 p.m. April 26. said Lyssa Bremseth, who For more information and to order free tickets, visit www.spstheatre.org.

plays the parish secretary and is one of two female actors in the play alongside seven seminarians.

“There are accusations flying,” she said. “It’s the nature of the show that it allows you to think it can be anybody.”

Chaos reigns in one scene when the bishop visits the parish and staff members try frantically to capture a pet hamster that’s made its way onto the lunch table. The lunch ends with a surprise for the bishop.

The craziness of parish life comes through in the play, said Bremseth, who attends Holy Family in St. Louis Park and will graduate from the University of St. Thomas with a Catholic Studies degree in May. “I can definitely see very realistic threads running through.”

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

Author of Neuhaus book calls priest ‘distinctive, often controversial’

“More than anything, we just wanted to have fun and have a good time with the audience.”

Andy Thuringer, director, “Death of a Liturgist”

Thuringer describes each character as quirky; the liturgist “really quickly in short order turns the entire parish upside down,” he said.

On the serious side, the play shows that certain Church themes and traditions such as those in the liturgy take precedence over one person’s creativity, Wright said.

“Recurring themes in the Church’s liturgical year in practice, which remind us of the great mysteries of the faith — we can trust those more than our own creative instincts,” he said, and, while the liturgy is essential, “it’s not worth killing someone over.”

More than a show Father Scott Carl, the seminary’s assistant professor of sacred Scripture who reviewed the seminarians’ plan for the play, said producing a play is a good opportunity for seminarian formation.

“When most people think of seminary training, they might

think of studying theology and the history of the Church,” he said. “But a very important part of seminary formation is human formation, being a healthy human being. This is another outlet.”

“Death of a Liturgist” is the third annual St. Paul Seminary production in recent years and represents a revival of seminarian theater from earlier in the 20th century, Father Carl explained.

As seminarians find thoughtprovoking themes as well as laughs in the play, others familiar with parish life might also find parallels in their own parishes — except for the murder, Father Carl said.

“In classic seminarian style, they found something that is engaging — ‘Death of a Liturgist’ — which you probably couldn’t see coming from many stages other than a seminary,” he said.

“But it’s something that people in the general life of the Church can understand and be drawn in by the story to see how not everything is as it always seems.”

Father Richard John Neuhaus was many things, among them “a theologian, an intellectual, an activist, an ecumenist, a writer,” said the author of a new biography of the late priest who hopes his book will be the definitive volume on his life.

“Richard John Neuhaus: A Life in the Public Square” follows the life of the churchman — affectionately known as “Pope Neuhaus” — from his upbringing as the son of a Lutheran pastor, to his ordination first as a Lutheran minister then as a Catholic priest and a long career of political activism, including an “array of efforts” to bring sanctity and cultural renewal to “every aspect of American life,” according to author Randy Boyagoda. He also called him “distinctive and often controversial.”

Through his career and life, both of which ended with his death in 2009, Father Neuhaus continued to engage in public life through political activism, organizing and speaking, in addition to writing.

Father Neuhaus founded and was editor in chief of the journal First Things. He spoke out against a political culture “where you had more of a constitutional right to abort your unborn child than you did to quote the Bible at a public meeting,” Boyagoda said.

C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Great Divorce’ at Pantages The Catholic Spirit A stage adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ book “The Great Divorce” will be performed at Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis April 24-25. Show times are 8 p.m. April 24 and 4 p.m. April 25. Tickets range from $33 to $93.

The story involves the journey of lost souls on a bus ride toward heaven. The play is presented by the New York-based Fellowship for the Performing Arts. Following the play Max McLean, founder and artistic director of Fellowship of Performing Arts, will talk about the play.

McLean has also produced a play based on Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.”

For information or tickets, visit www.hennepintheatretrust.org or call 1-800-982-2787. Tickets also are available at the State Theatre Box Office.

17

By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit Former University of St. Thomas dean Bruce Kramer publicly shared part of his experience living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) through a series broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio and now a book he co-authored with MPR’s Cathy Wurzer. After living with the disease for almost four and a half years, Kramer died March 23 at age 59.

The latter part of the book’s title, “We Know How This Ends: Living while Dying,” is exactly how two of Kramer’s colleagues from St. Thomas’ College of Education, Leadership and Counseling described what he taught them about dying. Sue Huber, who retired last year as an executive vice president and provost of the university, had worked alongside Kramer since he arrived at St. Thomas in 1996.

“I think Bruce was able to change the equation of dying,” said Huber, a parishioner of Assumption in St. Paul. “From dying while you’re still living to

‘We Know How This Ends: Living while Dying’

By Bruce Kramer with Cathy Wurzer, University of Minnesota Press, 2015; cloth jacket $22.95, 208 pages.

living while you’re dying, that was a gift he was able to give to others.

He often would say that we all have a limited time. But he was able to make the time count in meaningful ways.”

Describing the book as “deeply introspective,” Huber said Kramer’s spirit of learning and teaching is evident.

“There’s a sense of giving within the text that makes the reader reflect on how you’re giving your life to the world around you,” she

said. “An abiding sense of love comes through. I think Bruce loved life. Even at the end, there was no bitterness. I’m quite sure I could never respond to a diagnosis of ALS like he did.”

As for the broadcast series, Huber said she is grateful for how Wurzer’s conversations with Kramer often made her think in uncomfortable ways, especially about death.

“I think it’s healthy to feel that kind of discomfort, in an unusual

sort of way,” she said. “Generally, we don’t like to think about or talk about dying. Bruce had to be open to dying.”

St. Thomas education professor emeritus Robert Brown had a hand in hiring Kramer and noted his positivity and values, which stayed with him throughout the course of living with ALS. “The way he handled himself was so dignified, and informative for other people as he dealt with his disease,” said Brown, a parishioner of Maternity of Mary in St. Paul. “It does show that if you have faith, you can continue to live in a constructive way. Some people lose their faith. There’s a temptation to say ‘Why me, Lord?’ but he wasn’t that type of person.

He knew he was terminal, but maintained a sense of humor until the end.”

Huber recalled Kramer’s optimism, deep faith — Kramer was Methodist — and spirit of enjoying life.

“We could laugh about so many things,” she said. “He could even laugh about his ALS.”

Faith & Culture

UST faculty recall colleague’s spirit in living with ALS

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April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

Focus on Faith • Scripture Readings

18 SUNDAY SCRIPTURES

DAILY Scriptures

Jean Denton

For inmates, belief precedes witness This week’s Gospel is the one in which the apostle Thomas famously doubts Jesus’ resurrection even though the latter suddenly appeared before him within a locked room. Thomas can’t quite believe his eyes. He needs to touch the wounds that would identify his master.

Jesus is happy to oblige and doesn’t belittle Thomas’ doubt. But he extols the faith of those who believe in his presence even without seeing him.

The faithful today believe without seeing, and for many of us it isn’t difficult as we recognize

Sunday, April 12 Divine Mercy Sunday Readings • Acts 4:32-35 • 1 John 5:1-6 • John 20:19-31

Reflection When have you had a difficult time believing Jesus is present? What can you do to bolster your faith in times of unbelief?

evidence of Christ working in the world among people and in the wonders of creation.

However, consider how hard it would be to believe if you grew up with little information about Jesus, lived in an immoral environment, became a criminal and ended up at a young age locked away in a prison. If Jesus suddenly appeared there, would you believe it?

Father Tim Drake visits one of Virginia’s high-security state prisons every week. Those facilities were built in remote places in the Appalachian Mountains, far from the state’s population centers.

“What forever amazes me,” Father Drake says, “is how Christ always wants to be with us wherever we are — even locked in a prison.”

The authorities allow little time for inmates to leave their usual confines for spiritual help, so Father Drake rarely meets them one-on-one for counsel or confession. But he celebrates Mass with them, and that, he explains, is what they most desire.

“The inmates really believe that Christ comes to be with them,” Father Drake says. “They know that Christ loves the poor, and

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Sunday, April 12 Divine Mercy Sunday Acts 4:32-35 1 John 5:1-6 John 20:19-31 Monday, April 13 St. Martin I, pope, martyr Acts 4:23-31 John 3:1-8 Tuesday, April 14 Acts 4:32-37 John 3:7b-15 Wednesday, April 15 Acts 5:17-26 John 3:16-21 Thursday, April 16 Acts 5:27-33 John 3:31-36

Saturday, April 18 Acts 6:1-7 John 6:16-21 Sunday, April 19 Third Sunday of Easter Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 1 John 2:1-5a Luke 24:35-48 Monday, April 20 Acts 6:8-15 John 6:22-29 Tuesday, April 21 St. Anselm, bishop, doctor of the Church Acts 7:51 – 8:1a John 6:30-35 Wednesday, April 22 Acts 8:1b-8 John 6:35-40

Friday, April 17 Acts 5:34-42 John 6:1-15 they’ve read the Scriptures that say, ‘I was in prison and you visited me.’ They really believe that, and it means so much to them.”

The inmates speak directly to Jesus during Mass — and he responds. Father Drake explains this usually happens during the prayers of the faithful.

“They like to share, and they often minister to each other as it becomes more of a conversation.

Thursday, April 23 St. George, martyr; St. Adalbert, bishop, martyr Acts 8:26-40 John 6:44-51 Friday, April 24 St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest, martyr Acts 9:1-20 John 6:52-59 Saturday, April 25 St. Mark, evangelist 1 Peter 5:5b-14 Mark 16:15-20 Sunday, April 26 Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 4:8-12 1 John 3:1-2 John 10:11-18

Their issues mostly deal with guilt and seeking forgiveness. I think they want to know that Christ forgives them.”

They can only know that if they first believe. Then, as Jesus promises in the Gospel, they are blessed.

This Catholic News Service column is offered in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.

19

Father Michael Schmitz

Temptations are all around, so learn to deal with them Q. What do you do when you are in bad temptation, and you seem to like the sin you are going to commit more than what is right?

A. I think every person on the planet has had the experience that you are describing. In fact, this is how it is with almost all temptations: They are very attractive.

Think back to the very first temptation that humans faced in the Bible. When Eve looked at the forbidden fruit, she saw that it was “good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable. . . .”

(Genesis 3:6). She knew the command of God, but for whatever reason she wanted to commit the sin more than she wanted to obey God.

Our story becomes even more difficult after that first sin. Because of that first sin, we are all born with “concupiscence.” This is the attraction that we have toward things we know are not good for us.

The term is meant to indicate the tendency we have to place a good thing above a better thing.

It is really rare that we would even be tempted to something that we didn’t desire in some way. We are almost always tempted toward something that has some kind of good in it. The problem is that we are most often tempted to misuse something that is good in and of itself.

Our temptations can sometimes frighten us. We can be shocked at the places our minds can wander or the thoughts that can arise at

Temptations abound Temptations typically come from one of three sources. The Bible says that the battles we face arise from the world, the flesh and the devil.

Because of this, it is important to pay attention to the ways in which

we open ourselves to these sources and how we respond to them.

The world around us can often be a source of temptation. (Thank you, Father Obvious!) We can respond to this source of temptation by isolating ourselves from the entire world — or we can choose to be intentional about what we let in. All of us are called to be careful about what we let into our homes, our families and our heads.

I invite you to be smart about this.

By now, you probably know the sources of temptation in your life and how temptations from the world enter in. Why not be bold about shoring up those parts of your life?

If you know that you are more inclined to gossip with certain people, why not make some important decisions about those relationships? If you notice that you are more inclined to abuse alcohol in certain locations, why not make some important decisions about those locations?

But you have to think, and you have to be courageous. You have to be willing to change.

Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Reach him at fathermikeschmitz@gmail.com.

Focus on Faith • Seeking Answers

SEEKING ANSWERS

various moments.

I have spoken with many people who were exceptionally disturbed by thoughts that occurred to them while they were in prayer. They can lead us to ask the question, “What is wrong with me?”

Well, first we have to realize that what is wrong with us is the reality that we are fallen. We don’t see things clearly all of the time, and we don’t always desire the good.

But a second thing to consider is that our minds are dynamic. Because of this, even when you attempt to calm your mind and enter into prayer, your mind is still moving.

When we get rid of the many distractions we bring into our life, we are left alone with our thoughts.

Without those distractions, our minds can sometimes seem to have a “mind of their own.”

This is one of the main reasons we are shocked by our thoughts in prayer: There are no distractions, and in the silence, what is already in our hearts gets magnified.

Archbishop Ireland

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April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

This Catholic Life • Commentary

20 EDITORIAL Maria Wiering

Take Easter beyond egg hunts and into everyday life On Easter afternoon, after stuffing ourselves with ham, fruit and Nutella-filled croissants, we ambled to my aunt and uncle’s yard for the egg hunt.

Admittedly, it was really my son’s hunt. He is the older of the two children that were at our gathering, and, with the other being 6 months old, the only one who can walk, squat and pick up an egg. The rest of us “helped” (me by eying the Cadbury Creme Eggs that were scattered in the grass among the plastic ones).

It was charming and quick, since the cold wind was whipping over Wright County. We went back inside, napped, chatted over coffee and mini cheesecakes, and left for

St. Paul late in the afternoon.

As we drove, I felt a deep sense of gratitude that our celebration had begun early that morning, not by tearing through a brimming Easter basket, but with Mass at St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo.

It was the pinnacle of a Triduum made difficult by my 18-monthold. My husband and I spent Holy Thursday taking turns walking with him in our parish’s narthex, and on Good Friday I held him as he slept, unable to kneel or stand with the rest of the congregation.

Granted, these were not great sacrifices to make, but on Easter Sunday, I was grateful for the extra set of arms that could hold him, and his pleasure at being with

Bumpa and Nana, his names for my parents.

These are the same parents that hauled my siblings and me each year to all the Triduum liturgies.

My husband’s parents did the same for him.

I’m sure it wasn’t easy. I’m sure my parents were just as tired and had just as many excuses to cancel; Holy Thursday and Good Friday are not, after all, holy days of obligation. But our parents taught us they mattered. They succeeded in handing their faith down to us, which is the monumental task we now face with our son: To make Easter matter, more so for the Alleluia than the Cadbury eggs.

They taught us to see our lives in the context of Easter, not just add Easter to the context of our lives.

I think the trappings and traditions of Easter help us weave this narrative, but ultimately it’s not the hot cross buns or tutorials on “eggs as signs of new life” that will give our son the eyes to see.

It’s how we demonstrate placing our own lives in the narrative of salvation history, especially in times of tragedy, hardship and loss.

We’re not good at this. We are

trying to get better. Our tests have been small, and we frequently fail.

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story describing how people who put “a good spin” on their life’s stories — even after something bad happens — have better mental health than those who don’t. Viewing our lives through the lens of the mystery of salvation must likewise be good for our souls, for it points them to the one for whom they were made.

As we shape our family’s narrative as Christians, we persevere and are inspired by other parents who are doing the same.

As with the egg hunt, our role is not subtle. We must take an active part in helping our son discern what to take and what to leave by directing him to the good, the true and the beautiful.

For now, it’s shiny foiled chocolate, but soon it will be loyal friendships, love of others, and a life lived for God. And we, as parents, still need encouragement from others — “Hey, look right here!” — as we attempt to center our lives on the little Easter that is every Sunday, all year long.

in the space where my friend’s elderly mom had practiced her faith for generations — until the Gospel and sermon!

hear Scripture literally, and blame Jews for the death of Jesus, their hero.

FROM our readers More to marriage numbers

WHERE to write • Email: CatholicSpirit@ archspm.org • Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102 Material printed in the commentary and letters page does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the archdiocese or The Catholic Spirit. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

From the view point of a concerned Catholic, I wanted to address Nate Madden’s article in regarding the low numbers in Catholic marriages {“Despite low Catholic marriage numbers, some see trend turning around,” March 26).

First of all, I am a born and raised Catholic. I believe fully in the Catholic Church and am a practicing Catholic.

I am also a young adult who is planning on being married this year.

My fiance is not Catholic, though he was baptized Catholic but has converted to the Lutheran Church. I wanted a Catholic wedding, but when we approached the Church we received a less than hospitable welcome. We were treated by the Catholic Church with reserve and disrespect. Thus, needless to say, we have chosen to be married in a Lutheran church, but “in the Church” nonetheless.

“The Church just isn’t seen as important” was one reason listed in the article that people are not marrying in the church. My question to that is: Why isn’t the Church actively trying to keep young adults in the Catholic Church? It is not just a cultural change, it is my opinion that people have lost trust and faith in the Church.

I found the article to be naive and blind to the events going on around the Church. The low numbers in marriages may be due to a number of reasons, but it is just that.

Looking solely at the numbers is not where you will find your answers.

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

The Catholic Church must be more open and welcoming to marriages where one may not necessarily be a practicing Catholic but the other is. In light of all the mistrust and recent legal issues the Church is under, shouldn’t we be welcoming all and allowing them to truly see the beauty of the Catholic Church? And shouldn’t we be concerned with the low numbers and actively doing something about it rather than just viewing “some see trend turning around” and being passive? The numbers in Catholic marriages are decreasing. This should be of concern, in that decreased marriages in the Church is a decrease in church activity, membership and young families raising their children not in the Church.

I am not stating the Church should change with the “culture.”

No, the Church can stay true but cannot take this matter lightly. The Catholic Church needs to rebuild a sense of trust with the outside community and with its members.

It is not “culture” that is going to bring couples back, it has to be the Catholic Church to do that.

Sara Gorski St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings

Let’s not scare the Jews during Easter week I went to the funeral at a beautiful Catholic Church in St. Paul for a friend’s mother during Easter week.

My friend, who was raised Catholic, was there with his Jewish wife and family, many of whom practice Judaism. It was lovely to be together

The reading was from the Gospel of John. In it, the Jews are mentioned twice as dangerous and anti-Christ. First the Jews are reported to ask that the legs of those crucified be broken, to facilitate the celebration of the Sabbath.

Secondly, Joseph of Arimethea was said to have offered his grave for Jesus in secret, “for fear of the Jews.”

I watched the Jewish parents look at each other in silent horror and fear, and I watched their children watching them. I resolved that I had to do something.

After Mass I asked the kindly priest for assistance. I asked if he could in the future use his skills as a homilist to offset the “fear of the Jews,” and the request for violence by the Jews found in the Gospel. I told him of the fear I saw on the faces of the Jewish parents, in front of their watching children. He agreed to do that. I later let those parents know that as a practicing Catholic I was sorry for the antiSemitism, and that I had spoken to the priest about addressing those issues from the pulpit.

The Gospels are an ancient Scripture that have been through a variety of translations. When one reading is taken out of the common context that Catholics have, the liberation context that lifts up all humans, we risk spreading fear and confusion. I am concerned about the fear of those Jewish children and their parents. I am concerned, too, that Catholic children will likely

Priests, the laity ask you to use your power and eloquence to place the words of our ancient texts in the context of a welcoming and universal church! Please remind people that Jesus was Jewish, that the crowds were incited and divided by the Roman forces that occupied the land.

“It’s a contradiction that a Christian is anti-Semitic: His roots are Jewish,” Pope Francis said in 2013. “A Christian cannot be antiSemitic! Let anti-Semitism be banished from the heart and life of every man and every woman!” He added that the Catholic Church “firmly condemns hatred, persecution and all manifestations of anti-Semitism.”

Including scaring Jews in church by not addressing ancient prejudices.

Mary Gallagher St. Peter Claver, St. Paul

Looking for more fanfare Posted online in response to “Saint’s relic with miraculous tendencies does it again for Pope Francis,” March 23: Eighteen hundred years old and his blood liquefied — why isn’t this a top media story? Why doesn’t the Church promote this “ordinary” event? Is this miracle so common that it is just taken for granted? In my opinion, there is a wonderful message that God has given to us.

Tom Schraad

21

Christina Capecchi

From the attic to the inbox, the American accumulation problem Carly Poppalardo had blisters on her feet when she drove home from an eight-hour session of professional organizing on a recent Thursday, threw a bag of Trader Joe’s pre-cut veggies and simmer sauce on the stove, flipped on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and sank into the couch.

“I was high on adrenaline,” Carly said, “but I was so tired I could barely move.”

When she arrived at the client’s three-story house at 9 o’clock that morning, the situation hadn’t looked particularly dire. But she and the mother of three, a Southern woman with an affinity for matching dresses, managed to fill two truck beds and an SUV with

four car seats, five bouncy chairs and enough toys to stock a preschool room.

One of the ironies of our age of excess is how the littlest among us come with such outsized equipment. And then there is the strange reality that Americans pay to store the things we cannot fit in our homes, driving demand for more than 78 square miles of rentable self-storage — more than three times the size of Manhattan.

The burden of sorting the stuff under our roofs increasingly has become the work of a professional, an outsourcing of the most personal nature with a humbling implication: Help me manage my life. Until the expert arrives, the truth is we often

don’t even know what we have.

Carly once uncovered 27 spatulas in one home and, in another, seven jars of saffron.

“Clients tell me I’m kind of like a therapist,” Carly said. “As we’re getting rid of stuff, we’re talking about why it accumulated in the first place.”

The 27-year-old Catholic has no doubt there are spiritual ramifications to her work: a garage loaded with bulk items from Costco, a drawer stuffed with expired coupons, a pile of clothes with tags.

“It’s a rabbit hole,” Carly said.

“People are looking to fill other needs when they buy things, especially when they overbuy. Once they develop that awareness, there’s a mental shift and they can focus on the more important stuff.”

Hence, the statement on her Twitter profile: “I organize your life so you can live it.”

Carly makes a point to keep her own life in order, which is why you’ll find her at the 10:30 Mass at St. Agnes in Arlington, Va., in her family’s standard spot — right side, toward the back — for a weekly “re-grounding and regrouping.”

It was her trust in God that emboldened her to take the leap into self-employment at 23, turning down a job offer from a PR firm that

FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA Jason Adkins

Washing our hands of religious liberty The debate over the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act has brought us clarity. If you have wondered to what extent some advocates for “tolerance” will “tolerate” genuine pluralism of opinion about the nature of marriage, gender and human sexuality, you have your answer: very little.

Exhibit A, the now (in)famous smalltown Indiana pizzeria owners who said they could not, in conscience, cater a same-sex wedding, and who have since shuttered their business indefinitely due to media onslaught and harassment by activists.

Exhibit B, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni’s April 5 op-ed titled “Bigotry, the Bible, and the Lessons of Indiana.” In it, Bruni argues orthodox (or what he calls “conservative”) Christianity is the biggest impediment to the advancement of “lesbian-gay-bisexualtransgender-questioning” rights.

Bruni approvingly cites one author and gay philanthropist who chillingly commands that “Church leaders must be made to take homosexuality off the sin list.” Doing so will allegedly prevent further “harm” to LGBTQ persons, who, according to Bruni, should not have to wonder whether they are “saved” or

“damned.”

We can thank Bruni for confirming that the ultimate aim of same-sex marriage activists is to completely silence the voice of conscience. Both the fear of having one’s reputation destroyed and the fear of financial loss to persons and institutions are tools that some activists acknowledge will be used against those who do not embrace their new “orthodoxy.”

Is there a response?

Ten years ago, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) wrote the Good Friday meditations for the Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum. Ratzinger’s meditation on the First Station, in which Jesus is condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, is particularly noteworthy in light of the mob of irrationality and hatred that we see around us.

He says: “Pilate is not utterly evil. He knows that the condemned man is innocent, and he looks for a way to free him. But his heart is divided. And in the end he lets his own position, his own selfinterest, prevail over what is right. Nor are the men who are shouting and demanding the death of Jesus utterly evil. Many of them, on the day of

once would’ve sounded like her dream job but felt more like a trap.

“I was miserable in the corporate world. The system didn’t make sense to me: The interns were working 7 to 7 because they wanted to move up to be an assistant account executive to work even longer hours.”

Since then Carly has successfully built up her business. Armed with bins, shelving and a label maker, there’s no basement she can’t conquer. She jokes about spotting the National Geographics — that recurring strip of canary yellow — and her 50 percent success rate of persuading the owner to recycle them.

Nearly all her clients hug her when she leaves, describing the weight lifted off their shoulders. It’s amazing how the sight of a bare counter can fill your lungs and clear your mind.

In this season of spring cleaning, of open windows and Alleluias, of the pontiff who preaches simple living, now is the time to de-clutter — time to travel light, to give freely, to be empty handed and open hearted.

This Catholic Life • Commentary

TWENTY SOMETHING

Christina Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights and the editor of SisterStory.org.

Pentecost, will feel ‘cut to the heart’ (Acts 2:37), when Peter will say to them: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God . . . you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law’ (Acts 2:22). But at that moment they are caught up in the crowd. . . . And in this way, justice is trampled underfoot by weakness, cowardice and fear of the diktat of the ruling mindset. The quiet voice of conscience is drowned out by the cries of the crowd. Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think.”

Many are uncomfortable with the intolerance coming from those attacking religious liberty, including some supporters of same-sex marriage. Most people do not embrace the zealotry of the few who claim that a belief in marriage as between a man and a woman is the same as racism. But the campaign to undermine these voices and views by depicting Christians and others as bigots unworthy of protection under the law will continue.

As Christians we must remain in the truth of Christ and strengthen the voices of those arguing for religious liberty by being credible witnesses ourselves — never succumbing to hatred or fear, never shouting in anger, but in everything showing charity. We must be the voice of conscience in our homes, schools, communities and in the halls of government.

In closing his meditation on the first Station of the Cross, Pope Benedict gave us the following prayer that can serve as our own examination of conscience: “Lord, you were condemned to death because fear of what other people may think suppressed the voice of conscience.

So, too, throughout history, the innocent have always been maltreated,

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Strengthen the quiet voice of our conscience, your own voice, in our lives.

Look at me as you looked at Peter after his denial. Let your gaze penetrate our hearts and indicate the direction our lives must take. On the day of Pentecost you stirred the hearts of those who, on Good Friday, clamored for your death, and you brought them to conversion. In this way you gave hope to all. Grant us, ever anew, the grace of conversion.”

Amen.

Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

Calendar

22 Dining out

Divine Mercy Sunday

Feast of the Golden Fork — April 11: 6:30 p.m., “Una Fiesta Latinoamericana,” Holy Childhood, 1435 Midway Parkway, St. Paul. $60 for one, $100 for two. Information, reservations: (651) 644-7495.

(more at www.thecatholicspirit.com/divine mercy)

CCW spring salad luncheon — April 11: 11:30 a.m., Holy Name Church, 3637 11th Ave. S, Minneapolis. Entertainment by the Southside Singers. $10 adults, $3 children.

Waffle breakfast — April 19: 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Guardian Angels, 8260 4th St. N, Oakdale.

Adult-13, $9; age 6-12, $5; 5-under free.

Taste of Lebanon authentic Lebanese dinner — April 19: 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Cedars Hall at St. Maron Church, 602 University Ave. NE, Minneapolis. $16 adult, $8 child (412). Order online at www.stmaron.com, or call (612) 379-2758.

Traditional Lebanese dinner — April 19: 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Holy Family Church social hall, 1960 Lexington Ave. S, Mendota Heights. $15. Information: (651) 291-1116 or visit www.holyfamilymaronitechurch.org.

More events online

Spring salad luncheon — April 25: Noon2 p.m., Guardian Angels, 8260 4th St. N, Oakdale. $10.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Women’s Guild Victorian Tea — April 25: 1-3 p.m. in the church hall, 701 Fillmore St. NE, Minneapolis, 55413. Four-course meal, beverages and entertainment. Pre-registration required: Send check and number of adults and children to address above by April 22. Adults, $12.50; children (10 and under), $6. For more information, call (612) 379-8827.

“Queen of May” dinner and auction — May 1: 5:30 p.m., 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights, to benefit Immaculate Conception School. Reserve tickets: (763) 788-9062 or www.ICCSonline.org.

CALENDAR submissions

DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. Recurring or ongoing events must be submitted each time they occur.

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and institutions.

If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your press release.

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication in the calendar: • Time and date of event.

• Full street address of event.

• Description of event.

• Contact information in case of questions.

EMAIL: spiritcalendar@archspm.org.

(No attachments, please.)

MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit; 244 Dayton Ave.; St. Paul, MN 55102.

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

Holy Family, St. Louis Park — April 11: 9 a.m., preparation retreat with Margarett Schlientz at 5900 W. Lake St. Free.

St. John the Baptist, Excelsior — April 12: 3 p.m. at 680 Mill St. Our Lady of the Prairie, Belle Plaine — April 12: noon-3:30 p.m., 200 E. Church St. St. Michael, Stillwater — April 12: 1:30 p.m., 611 Third St.

Music and entertainment Priests vs. seminarians basketball tournament — April 10: Barbecue 5 p.m., games 6:30 p.m., Totino-Grace High School, 1350 Gardena Ave. NE, Fridley.

Acoustic Cafe — April 11: 6:30-9 p.m., Carolyn Hall, across the street from St. Mark Church, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. Catholic musicians Connor Flanagan, Sarah Kalonick, John Rosensteel. $5.

St. Catherine University Women’s Choir home concert — April 12: 3 p.m., Our Lady of Victory Chapel on the campus at 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul. Free.

“Walkin’ Shoes” — April 26: 7 p.m., St. Joan of Arc, 4537 Third Ave. S, Minneapolis.

Kevin Kling, Dan Chouinard, Prudence Johnson reprise MPR touring show. $20. Tickets at the door, online at www.stjoan.com (concert series) or call (612) 823-8205.

Parish events Reduce-Reuse rummage sale — April 9-11: pre-sale April 9, 4-7 p.m., $2 entry fee; April 10, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. no fee; April 11, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., $3 bag sale, St. John Vianney, 1815 Bromley, South St. Paul.

Spring/summer children’s clothing and toy sale — April 11-12: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. April 11; 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. April 12: St. Joseph the Worker Church, 7180 Hemlock Lane N, Maple Grove.

Saturday men’s breakfast — April 11: Mass at 8 a.m., breakfast at 8:30 a.m., St. Helena, 3204 E. 43rd St., Minneapolis. Speaker Father George Welzbacher, “Myths about Vatican II.” $5. Reservations by noon, April 10, by calling (612) 729-7321 or email johnsondag @sainthelena.us.

Spring craft sale — April 15: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary gym, 1725 Kennard St., Maplewood. Information: (651) 785-8985.

Ladies English Garden and High Tea — April 18: 11 a.m., St. Peter Church, 6730 Nicollet Ave. S., Richfield. $15. Reservations in advance at www.stpetersrichfield or (612) 866-5089.

Auction gala — April 25: 6-11 p.m., St. Charles Borromeo School Gymnasium, 2727 Stinson Blvd., Minneapolis. $20 per person. Auction list and registration: stchb.weshareonline.org/ auctiongala.

St. Mark 125th anniversary dinner — April 25: 5 p.m. Mass, followed by dinner, music, entertainment. $16, children 6 and under free. Reservation required for dinner by April 10 online at www.saintmark-mn.org or (651) 6455717. St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul.

Parish 125th anniversary mission — April 28-30: 7-8:30 p.m., St. Mark, 2001 Dayton Ave., St. Paul. “The Jesus of St. Mark,” with Father John Paul Erickson. Free.

St. Helena kindergarten roundup — April 15: 6:30 p.m. at St. Helena School, 3200 E. 44th St., Minneapolis. For more information, contact (612) 729-9301 or school@sainthelenaschool.us.

“The Grandparent Presence – Is it a Role or Something More” — April 29: 8:45 a.m. at Steiner Hall, Nativity of Our Lord Church, 1900 Stanford Ave., St. Paul. Prayer, discussion, fellowship and refreshments with presenter Deacon Russ Kocemba. For more information, contact Lilee at (651) 414-9367.

Risen Christ School Gala — May 1: 5:30 p.m., The Depot, 225 S. Third Ave., Minneapolis. Live and silent auctions, dinner.

Information and tickets: www.risenchristschool. org or call (612) 822-5329, ext. 102.

Rummage Sale — April 30-May 2: Preview sale 4-8 p.m. April 30 ($1 admission); 9 a.m.-6 p.m. May 1; 9 a.m.-noon May 2 ($1 bag sale).

Holy Name, 3637 11th Ave. S, Minneapolis.

Prayer and liturgy Healing Mass — April 28: 7 p.m., Immaculate Conception, 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights. For information: (763) 788-9062 or www.ICCSonline.org.

Retreats Hermitage retreat — April 10-12: A taste of living as a hermit plus one-on-one retreat. $150, includes meals and lodging. Register online at www.stpaulsmonastery.org and follow the link to the Benedictine Center. For more information, call (651) 777-7251 or email: benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery.org.

2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

Married couple’s retreat — April 10-12: Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Register by calling (952) 447-2182 or at www.franciscanretreats.net.

Day of quiet and solitude — April 11: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Learn what a retreat is all about. $25. Register online at www.stpaulsmonastery. org and follow the link to the Benedictine Center.

For more information, call (651) 777-7251 or email: benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery. org. 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.

Women’s silent weekend retreat — April 17-19: “The Joy of the Gospel,” Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S, Buffalo. $150. Information: (763) 682-1394 or visit www.kingshouse.com.

Parish professional’s retreat — April 22-23: “The Joy of the Gospel,” Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S, Buffalo. $80.

Information: (763) 682-1394 or visit www.kingshouse.com.

Celebrate women retreat — April 24-26: Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center, 29847 County 2 Blvd., Frontenac. Keynote speaker Ursuline Sister Pauline Lorch. For information or to register, call (651) 345-4582.

Hope Day (Dealing with loss) — May 7: Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S, Buffalo. $40. Information: (763) 682-1394 or visit www.kingshouse.com.

Rachel’s Vineyard retreat — May 8-10: For women recovering from abortion. Contact rachels@rvineyardmn.org or (763) 250-9313 for location, information, registration.

Schools Bingo fun day — April 12: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., St. John the Baptist School, 111 W. Main St., Vermillion.

Singles 50+ 2nd Sunday supper — April 12: 5 p.m. social hour; 6 p.m. dinner; 7 p.m. music

by Gloryland Gospel Band. $10. St. Joan of Arc, 4537 Third Ave. S, Minneapolis. Information: (952) 884-5165.

Other events Growing Through Loss series — five Tuesdays, April 7-May 5: 6:30-9 p.m., St. Joseph Church, 13900 Biscayne Ave. W, Rosemount. Sponsored by Interdenominational Coalition of South Suburban Churches.

For information: (952) 890-0045 or growingthoughloss@gmail.com.

“Aquinas and Why the New Atheists Are Right” — April 9: 7 p.m., lecture by Father Robert Barron, OEC Woulfe Auditorium at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul.

“The Real Meaning of Responsible Parenthood” — April 16: Moral theologian Janet Smith, 7:30 p.m. at the University of St. Thomas OEC Auditorium, St. Paul. Hosted by the Siena Symposium for Women, Family and Culture.

Human Life Alliance Hot Topics — April 16: 4-7 p.m., adult reception celebrating 10th anniversary of teen chastity magazine “Just for Girls/Just for Guys,” speaker Vicki Thorne. $10.

Rose Vine Hall, 2801 Snelling Ave, Roseville.

Grief support — Thursdays through May 28: 4 p.m., West Suburban Grief Coalition, Holy Name of Jesus, 155 Cty. Road 24, Wayzata. Free-will offering. For information: (952) 473-7901.

ACCW annual convention — April 1718: St. Dominic Church, 114 N. Linden St., Northfield. $30 for one day; $50 for both.

For information or to register, call (651) 291-4545 or email events.archspm.org/ accw2015conv.

Elder financial exploitation and justice event — April 21: 1 p.m., Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Rd. 24, Wayzata. Led by Iris Freeman of Minnesota Elder Justice Center. $5. Registration requested by April 14 at jwinkelman@hnoj.org or (763) 233-0245.

Savvy social security planning — April 21: 2 p.m. or 6 p.m., St. William, 6120 Fifth St. NE, Fridley. Speaker David Rasmussen.

Reservations: (763) 746-3142 or kathryn. rhinehart@thrivent.com.

Easter workshop — April 21: 7-9 p.m., the Benedictine Center 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. “Christ in Our Presence: True Community,” with Father Michael Byron. $25.

Register online at www.stpaulsmonastery.org and follow the link to the Benedictine Center.

For more information, call (651) 777-7251 or email: benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery. org.

23

Hmong Catholics proud of their history, journey to faith Continued from page 13 lives, such as Father Joseph Johnson, former pastor of St. Vincent de Paul and current pastor of Holy Family in St. Louis Park; the Missionaries of Charity; and the Sisters of St. Peter Claver.

Hillary offers that if there’s one thing she would like others to know about Hmong Catholics it is that “we love God as much as they do. We’re all God’s children.”

Photos of Hmong gardens and their produce at farmers’ markets remind the two of their friends.

“Their families farm, and our friends have to work weekends at the farmers’ market,” Hillary said. Their own father is a machine operator at a local firm, and their mother is a technician who makes hearing aids.

The Lor sisters are excited to see that Yang Dao is recognized in the exhibit. He is a St. Vincent de Paul parishioner and was the first Hmong in the world to earn a doctorate. Dao is remembered for his efforts to contact ambassadors around the world to persuade their countries to accept some of the 40,000 Hmong who were trying to escape the communists.

The exhibit includes screens with video of Hmong entertainers, and they stop the sisters for a few moments. “Hmong bands and artists are known to Hmong people throughout the world,” Hillary notes. She watches and listens for a while to a young Hmong female singer in modern western dress who belts out a ballad in Hmong that has a familiar melody.

“You know what that is?” she asks. “It’s ‘Frozen’ in Hmong,” referring to the 2013 Disney

movie’s song “Let It Go.” Election campaign posters of Hmong leaders who have run for public office color one wall, and the Lor sisters point with pride to those who now represent them in various local civic bodies.

“Hmong leaders have learned to connect with other communities in the political realm to achieve their goals,” Chia says. While Hmong may originally have voted simply for Hmong candidates, many are more sophisticated voters now, and “tend to vote for candidates because we believe in their cause.”

Nearing the end of the exhibit, amid glasscovered displays of colorful native garments, farm tools, weapons of war and military uniforms, something stirs deep inside Chia Lor. She was just 2 years old when her family left Thailand and resettled in Minnesota, so she doesn’t remember that era of Hmong life.

“I do have a feeling of nostalgia,” she admits.

“There is something about these artifacts that connects you to your ancestral place. That’s where you came from, and maybe why you feel sort of misplaced.”

For the opening of the exhibit a few months back, Chia was part of a duo that performed the poem “1.5.” The title reflects what she and others often feel, being part of American society but also part of Hmong culture.

Both sisters say they’ve been the targets of racists who tell them to go back to their own country, and yet they’ve also been accused by Hmong of being “white-washed” — too American.

“When I hear those remarks, they energize me

Chia Lor, left, and her sister, Hillary, walked through the “We Are Hmong Minnesota” exhibit at the Minnesota History Center and shared their thoughts about the artifacts, displays and videos, and about their Catholic faith.

Bob Zyskowski/ The Catholic Spirit and motivate me to do well in school — and to be a good person,” Hillary says.

She and Chia appreciate that the history center exhibit recognizes the Hmong presence in Minnesota and acknowledges Hmong achievements. But they wish the Catholic connection was acknowledged more in the creation of the Hmong alphabet than just a general reference to “western missionary linguists.”

“When you think about the Hmong-Catholic experience, we’re like the Israelites,” Chia says.

“We’re dropped out of oppression in China and given the opportunity in Laos to know God and to prosper in our faith.

“To this tribalist mountain people an Oblate priest comes, and it takes four years for the first family to convert,” she adds. “It’s a really beautiful story that should be known and documented. It’s a blessing to be Hmong and Catholic. The truth found us in the mountains.”

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The Last Word

24

Pope Francis celebrates Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 5.

CNS/Paul Haring

‘The way to life and happiness’ Humility is key to understanding Easter, sharing its joy, pope says

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

T

o enter Christ’s empty tomb like the disciples and see that he has risen, Christians today also must “bend down,” Pope Francis said in his Easter message.

“Love has triumphed over hatred.

Life has conquered death. Light has dispelled the darkness,” he told tens of thousands “Only those of rain-drenched pilgrims in who humble St. Peter’s Square themselves can April 5.

Rain fell and fell go toward the hard throughout most of the ‘things that are outdoor Mass. most people above,’ toward While had umbrellas, their flimsy plastic God.” ponchos were no match for the wind Pope Francis and downpour.

The ciboria used to distribute Communion to the crowd were covered with plastic wrap, only partially pulled back when the faithful approached.

Still, they stayed for the Mass and for the pope’s solemn Easter blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).

Pope Francis did not give a homily during the morning Mass, but his Easter message before the blessing picked up a theme he had begun at the Easter Vigil the night before: The mystery of Easter cannot

April 9, 2015 • The Catholic Spirit

be understood — and the Christian faith cannot be lived fully — without humility.

“By his death and resurrection, Jesus shows everyone the way to life and happiness: this way is humility, which involves humiliation,” Pope Francis said. “This is the path which leads to glory. Only those who humble themselves can go toward the ‘things that are above,’ toward God.” To enter into the mystery of God’s love, he said, “we need to ‘bend down,’ to abase ourselves. Only those who abase themselves understand the glorification of Jesus and are able to follow him on his way.”

Obviously, he said, that often involves being countercultural.

Instead of putting ourselves first, he said, “Christians, by the grace of Christ, dead and risen, are the seeds of another humanity, in which we seek to live in service to one another, not to be arrogant, but rather respectful and ready to help.”

“This is not weakness, but true strength!” the pope said. “Those who bear within them God’s power, his love and his justice do not need to employ violence; they speak and act with the power of truth, beauty and love.”

As is traditional for the “urbi et orbi” message, Pope Francis offered prayers for an end to war and violence in specific countries, mentioning by name Syria, Iraq, the Holy Land, Libya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Congo, Yemen and Ukraine.

In better news, the pope said, “in hope, we entrust to the merciful

Lord the framework recently agreed to” in order to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The pope prayed that it would be “a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world.”

As he had at every Holy Week and Easter service, Pope Francis offered special prayers for persecuted Christians, asking that “Jesus, the victor over death,” would ease their suffering.

Glow from candles, alms Pope Francis’ Easter celebrations began in the dark of a rainy night April 4 in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica. Hot embers glowed until the Easter fire was lit and with it the paschal candle. As a deacon carried the candle into the church, Pope Francis followed with a large taper.

Although only the pope and the deacon had candles, the basilica was aglow with smartphone and tablet displays as people tried to get photos. However, as the pope neared the front of the basilica, the congregation — mostly nuns, priests, bishops, cardinals and ambassadors close to the altar — was more disciplined and the impact of scattered lit candles grew.

While the pope was busy with the Easter liturgies, he sent Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, out to the city’s train stations, shelters and streets with Easter cards for the homeless. He handed out about 300 envelopes, each of which included an undisclosed amount of money.

During the Easter Vigil Mass, Pope Francis baptized, confirmed and gave first Communion to 10 people, who ranged in age from 13 to 66.

Four were Italian, three were Albanian and one each came from Cambodia, Kenya and Portugal.

Pope Francis rubbed the chrism oil all over their foreheads and, during the confirmation rite, tenderly gave each one a kiss on the

right cheek.

The youngest of the new Catholics — Champa Buceti, a 13-year-old Cambodian, and Francesco Comegna, a 28-year-old Italian — brought up the gifts at the offertory.

As with his “urbi et orbi” message, Pope Francis’ homily during the Easter Vigil, which lasted just over two and a half hours, focused on the humility required of Christians.

The only way to enter into the Easter mystery, he said, is with humility, “to come down from the pedestal of our ‘I’ which is so proud, of our presumption; the humility not to take ourselves so seriously, recognizing who we really are: creatures with strengths and weaknesses, sinners in need of forgiveness.”

“It is good for us, on this vigil night, to reflect on the experience of the women” who went to Jesus’ tomb Easter morning to anoint his body, he said. Entering the tomb is to enter “into the mystery which God has accomplished with his vigil of love.”

“We cannot live Easter without entering into the mystery. It is not something intellectual, something we only know or read about,” he said. “It is more, much more.”

Entering the mystery means being able “to wonder, to contemplate; the ability to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper amid great silence by which God speaks to us.”

To enter the tomb and enter the mystery takes courage, the pope said. It “demands that we not be afraid of reality, that we not be locked into ourselves, that we not flee from what we fail to understand, that we not close our eyes to problems or deny them, that we not dismiss our questions.”

Contributing to this story was Carol Glatz at the Vatican.