The Catholic Spirit - February 10, 2022

February 10, 2022 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

2022: THE YEAR OF THE SYNOD With one more step before June Assembly, Synod’s draft propositions being refined

FAITH & FINANCES

— Pages 3, 10-11

VALUE-BASED SPENDING 7 | POPE ON WORK 12 CONSUMERISM’S CREATION IMPACT 17

INVESTIGATION QUESTIONED 5 | HOMELESS IN FORMER CONVENT 6 | ST. PAUL ORDINANCE 8 THEOLOGY OUTDOORS 13 | THREE MARRIAGE FLOWERS 14 | WHY I AM CATHOLIC 18

2 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

PAGETWO NEWS notes A fatal shooting at a neighboring school in Richfield led to the lockdown of Blessed Trinity Catholic School’s Penn Campus Feb. 1. About 100 pre-K through third-grade students were moved to the school’s Nicollet Campus at 1:30 p.m., where they stayed until dismissal just after 2 p.m., said Principal Patrick O’Keefe, who noted that no one at his school was harmed in the incident. Around noon, two students were shot at South Education Center, next door to Blessed Trinity’s Penn Campus at 7540 Penn Ave. S. O’Keefe said several staff members witnessed the incident and called 911. One of the students died and the other was critically injured. “It is sad that our kids have to learn” emergency protocols for these situations, O’Keefe said. “But it is remarkable how resilient (they are), and when you give them what is honest and right for their age, they do well with it.”

Six Stillwater-area students received awards for their writing in the Knights of Columbus Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest, held by the Knights’ Stillwater Council 1632. The contest was open to eighth-graders at St. Croix Catholic School and the high school students of Chesterton Academy of the St. Croix Valley. The Knights received 25 entries. Eighth-grade winners were Noah Jansen (first place), Louis Berthiaume (second place) and Lauren Amiot (third place). High school winners were Elliana Doll (first place), Kaliana Stalboerger (second place) and Kaitlyn Keller (third place).

COURTESY EMILY BILSKI, ST. BARTHOLOMEW

SOCK TOSS Students in preschool through grade six at St. Bartholomew Catholic School in Wayzata toss socks into baskets on the gym floor (in hopes of winning fun prizes) to kick off Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31 to Feb. 4.

This was the seventh annual “Sock Toss” service project. Each year, more than 1,600 pairs of socks are gathered up, then delivered to St. Olaf in Minneapolis for distribution to people in need.

The Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis announced Feb. 3 that it planned to take a year hiatus from the Cities 97.1 Basilica Block Party “to reimagine the event for future years.” The annual two-day music festival began in 1995 and raises funds for the Basilica’s structural restoration. It was also canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. “Live events have had to rethink their strategy and future because of Covid, and the Block Party is no different,” said Holly Dockendorf, the Basilica’s special events manager, in a statement. “Taking a year off will give us time to rethink what the event could be and how to make it better for the future.”

Local Catholic schools have representation at this year’s Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Graduates from three Catholic high schools all are playing on the men’s and women’s hockey teams. Kelly Pannek, a 2014 graduate of Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, is playing for the second time on the women’s hockey team. She was on the team that won the gold medal in 2018. She currently is the girls varsity hockey coach at BSM. Also making her second trip to the Olympics in women’s hockey is Hannah Brandt, a 2012 graduate of Hill-Murray School in Maplewood who also was on the 2018 Olympic team. On the men’s side, Sam Hentges, who graduated from TotinoGrace High School in Fridley in 2017, is competing in his first Olympics. In addition, he is playing for St. Cloud State University. The University of St. Thomas also has someone at the Olympics: Joel Johnson, who was hired in June to coach the Tommies’ women’s hockey team, is coaching the Olympic women’s hockey team.

in REMEMBRANCE Deacon served 17 years in archdiocese The Catholic Spirit COURTESY ST. PETER CLAVER

LEADERSHIP LESSON Students at St. Peter Claver Catholic School in St. Paul were treated to a lesson on leadership, when St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter visited the school Jan. 27. Carter, whose dad is a St. Peter Claver alumnus, told middle school scholars anyone can become a leader, and he fielded questions on a wide range of topics.

In these cold winter months, The Catholic Spirit asks readers: What is your favorite Catholic podcast and why? Send responses of 200 words or less to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Readers Respond” in the subject line. Your reflection may be included in a future edition of The Catholic Spirit.

PRACTICING Catholic On the Feb. 4 “Practicing Catholic” show, host Patrick Conley interviews Mary Ann Kuharski, director of Prolife Across America, who describes the effects of abortion on women, and offers tips for friends and family members that might prevent abortions.

Also featured are Angie Neumann, spiritual director at St. Joseph in West St. Paul, who provides insight on the value of spiritual directors, and Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun, pastor of St. Maron in Minneapolis, who describes the Maronite liturgy and previewed the Feb. 9 feast of St. Maron. Listen each week on Fridays at 9 p.m., Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. Listen to interviews after they have aired at practicingcatholicshow.com, soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic or tinyurl.com/practicing catholic.

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 27 — No. 3 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief JOE RUFF, News Editor

Deacon Don Fidler, who ministered 17 years in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, died Feb. 6. He was 73. Deacon Fidler was ordained in 1997. He served his first four years at Holy Name in Minneapolis, then four years at St. Michael in St. Michael. From 2005 to 2014, he was a chaplain at Cerenity Senior Care, which has sites in DEACON DON FIDLER St. Paul and White Bear Lake. Survivors include his wife, Pat. Services include 10 a.m. visitation and 11 a.m. funeral Mass Feb. 18 at St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove. Interment will be at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery in Osseo.

DEATH notice Robert Loftus, a former priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who was voluntarily laicized in 1977, died Jan. 25. He was 91.

Ordained in 1963, he was an assistant pastor of St. Stephen in Anoka (19631966); Christ the King, Minneapolis (1966-1967); and the Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis (1967-1971). He was pastor of St. Frances Cabrini in Minneapolis from 1971 to 1977, when he took a leave of absence and was no longer in ministry. On Dec. 5, 2013, the archdiocese placed his name on a list of those having a substantiated claim of sexual abuse of a minor.

ON THE COVER Paige Will of St. Hubert in Chanhassen talks with Archbishop Bernard Hebda during a Synod Small Group session Sept. 30 at St. Hubert.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3

FROMTHEARCHBISHOP ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA

Like Wordle, new ‘clues’ with each Synod step

L

ike many of you, I am guessing, I play Wordle. The player has six tries to guess a five-letter word that the creator, Josh Wardle, chooses for the day. Each attempt brings the player additional clues for solving the puzzle.

I’ve been making it a practice to begin my Wordle each day with the word “SYNOD” and have discovered that it’s a decent place to start the thought process and get the creative juices flowing. Given that my prayer these past few years has been that our Archdiocesan Synod will lead our local Church to soar, I found it particularly fitting that my “SYNOD” starting place recently led me successfully to solve the puzzle with “ALOFT.” Not unlike Wordle, the Synod process seems to produce new clues at each step. You may recall that I began our archdiocesan process by putting together a prayer team to help me discern whether and how we should proceed with a synod, the first in roughly 80 years, and then testing the idea with the members of our presbyteral council and with the lay ecclesial ministers who participate in our annual ministry days.

That experience gave me a working hypothesis for moving forward.

As a second step, we undertook widespread prayer and listening events, involving over 8,000 members of the faithful and 35,000 written comments. From that I discerned three focus areas for the Synod: Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization; Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call; and Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.

Using the context of the three focus areas, we went deeper into these areas with last fall’s parish consultation with small groups. Once again, the response was amazing and Spirit-filled. I received over 68,000 feedback forms with 46,000 suggestions in the

Como Wordle, nuevas ‘pistas’ con cada paso del Sínodo

C

omo yo, supongo que muchos de ustedes juegan Wordle. El jugador tiene seis intentos para adivinar una palabra de cinco letras que el creador, John Wardle, elige para el día. Cada intento le brinda al jugador pistas adicionales para resolver el rompecabezas.

Me he acostumbrado a comenzar mi Wordle todos los días con la palabra “SYNOD” y descubrí que es un lugar decente para comenzar el proceso de pensamiento y hacer que fluya la creatividad. Dado que mi oración en los últimos años ha sido que nuestro Sínodo Arquidiocesano lleve a nuestra Iglesia local a volar, encontré particularmente apropiado que mi SÍNODO como punto de partida recientemente me llevó a resolver con éxito el rompecabezas con ALOFT. Como Wordle, el proceso del Sínodo parece producir nuevas pistas en cada paso. Puede recordar que comencé nuestro proceso arquidiocesano reuniendo un equipo de oración para ayudarme a discernir si debíamos proceder con un sínodo y cómo, el primero en aproximadamente 80 años, y luego probando la idea con los miembros de nuestro consejo presbiteral

“my best idea” category. I felt blessed to have had the opportunity to visit a good number of our parishes in that phase of the consultation, and I routinely found those consultations to be true laboratories of the Holy Spirit. I remain so grateful to those who participated directly in the small groups and to those of you who supported that effort with your prayers. As was the case at the vigil before Bishop Joseph Williams’ ordination, I continue to hear inspiring stories about the personal fruit that has already come from the parish Synod small groups.

Based on the additional information that we acquired last fall, we are now planning to take our discernment to the next level with what is now called the Parish Synod Leadership Consultation. While COVID is preventing us from gathering in large numbers at the deanery level as originally planned, I am comfortable that this revised next step, scheduled to take place on either the last weekend of this month or the first weekend in March, now involving only the pastor and the 10 designated Synod leaders from each parish, will be able to assist me in refining the draft propositions that represent our attempts at capturing the earlier discussions in a way that will assist the Synod Assembly in recommending priorities for our work together over the next three to five years.

I am extremely grateful to the parish leaders who will soon be giving up most of a day for that deeper dive, which I’m hoping will give us the last guideposts that we need for setting up a successful experience at the Archdiocesan Synod that will take place this Pentecost. I am praying that the Parish Synod Leadership Consultation will continue our discernment trajectory. I am particularly excited that the process is designed to give our parish Synod leaders an extended opportunity to discuss with their pastor how one of the draft propositions could be brought to life in their particular parish, envisioning the concrete steps that an individual parish could take to bring that to fruition,

y con los ministros eclesiales laicos que participan en nuestros días ministeriales anuales. Esa experiencia me dio una hipótesis de trabajo para seguir adelante.

Como segundo paso, llevamos a cabo amplios eventos de oración y escucha, involucrando a más de 8000 miembros de los Fieles y 35,000 comentarios escritos. De ahí percibí tres áreas de enfoque para el Sínodo: Formar parroquias que estén al servicio de la evangelización; For mar discípulos misioneros que conozcan el amor de Jesús y respondan a su llamado; y Formar jóvenes y jóvenes adultos en y para una Iglesia siempre joven.

Usando el contexto de las tres áreas de enfoque, profundizamos en estas áreas con la consulta parroquial del otoño pasado con grupos pequeños.

Una vez más, la respuesta fue asombrosa y llena del Espíritu. Recibí más de 68 000 formularios de comentarios con 46 000 sugerencias en la categoría “mi mejor idea”. Me sentí bendecida por haber tenido la oportunidad de visitar un buen número de nuestras parroquias en esa fase de la consulta y, de manera rutinaria, encontré que esas consultas eran verdaderos laboratorios del Espíritu Santo. Quedo muy agradecido con aquellos que participaron directamente en esos pequeños grupos y con aquellos de ustedes que apoyaron ese esfuerzo con sus oraciones. Como fue el caso en la vigilia antes de la ordenación del obispo Joseph William, sigo escuchando

‘ADSUMUS, SANCTE SPIRITUS’ We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.

With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts; Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.

We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder.

Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.

Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.

All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.

Mary, Mother of the Church, Pray for us.

— Prayer for synodality, USCCB

while also contemplating the benefits that could flow from collaboration among neighboring parishes, and defining how the archdiocese could assist in that important work as well.

It sure seems that the Holy Spirit is continuing to bless the Synod at each step along the way. We want and need our Synod, and the pastoral letter that will flow from it, to be the work of the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis has stressed that for a synod to be a true “journey of spiritual discernment,” it has to take place “in adoration, in prayer and in dialogue with the word of God.” That’s true not only for those who will be directly participating, but also for all of us. As your parish Synod leadership prepares for the upcoming consultation, I hasten to invite all of us to pray for them and for the success of their important work, as well as for all at the archdiocesan level who continue to be so generous in sharing their time in support of this effort.

historias inspiradoras sobre el fruto personal que ya ha surgido de los pequeños grupos parroquiales del Sínodo.

Con base en la información adicional que adquirimos este otoño, ahora estamos planeando llevar nuestro discernimiento al siguiente nivel con lo que ahora se llama la Consulta de Liderazgo del Sínodo Parroquial. Si bien Covid nos impide reunirnos en gran número a nivel de decanato como se planeó originalmente, estoy seguro de que este próximo paso revisado, programado para el último fin de semana de este mes o el primer fin de semana de marzo, ahora involucra solo el párroco y los 10 líderes del Sínodo designados de cada parroquia, podrán ayudarme a refinar las propuestas preliminares que representan nuestros intentos de capturar las discusiones anteriores de una manera que ayudará a la Asamblea del Sínodo a recomendar prioridades para nuestro trabajo conjunto durante el próximo de tres a cinco años.

Estoy extremadamente agradecido con los líderes parroquiales que pronto dedicarán la mayor parte de un día a esa inmersión más profunda, que espero nos brinde las últimas pautas que necesitamos para establecer una experiencia exitosa en el Sínodo Arquidiocesano que tomará lugar este Pentecostés. Rezo para que la Consulta de Liderazgo del Sínodo Parroquial continúe nuestra trayectoria de

discernimiento. Estoy particularmente emocionado de que el proceso esté diseñado para dar a los líderes del Sínodo de nuestra parroquia una mayor oportunidad de discutir con su párroco cómo una de las propuestas preliminares podría hacerse realidad en su parroquia en particular, visualizando los pasos concretos que una parroquia individual podría tomar para llevar eso a buen término, contemplando al mismo tiempo los beneficios que podrían derivarse de la colaboración entre parroquias vecinas y definiendo cómo la Arquidiócesis también podría ayudar en ese importante trabajo. Seguro que parece que el Espíritu Santo continúa bendiciendo al Sínodo en cada paso del camino. Queremos y necesitamos que nuestro Sínodo, y la carta pastoral que de él se derive, sea obra del Espíritu Santo. El Papa Francisco ha subrayado que para que un sínodo sea un verdadero “viaje de discernimiento espiritual”, debe realizarse “en adoración, en oración y en diálogo con la palabra de Dios”.

Eso es cierto no solo para aquellos que participarán directamente, sino también para todos nosotros. Mientras el liderazgo de su sínodo parroquial se prepara para la próxima consulta, me apresuro a invitarnos a todos a orar por ellos y por el éxito de su importante trabajo, así como por todos a nivel arquidiocesano que continúan siendo tan generosos al compartir su tiempo. en apoyo de este esfuerzo.

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SLICEof LIFE

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

‘Evening with St. Hildegard’

Presentation Sister Carrie Link rehearses a scene Jan. 30 from a play she wrote called “Evening with St. Hildegard,” which was performed Feb. 3 at St. Henry in Monticello. Sister Carrie, who leads formation for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at St. Henry, found her inspiration for the play after going on a 2013 pilgrimage to the saint’s hometown of Bingen, Germany. “That was when I first learned about Hildegard,” Sister Carrie said.

“And, as part of this tour, we actually visited the current Benedictine monastery in the area that she founded. … There are 50 Benedictine nuns living there today.” St. Hildegard, who died Sept. 17, 1179, was canonized in 2012, and her feast day is Sept. 17. Sister Carrie was in the saint’s hometown for the first celebration of her feast day, and witnessed a procession of her relics through the town.

Annulment Questions?

Staff members of the Archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal will be available for confidential consultation and to answer questions regarding the investigation into the possibility of nullity of the marriage bond (annulment process) at The Cathedral of St. Paul 239 Selby Ave, St. Paul March 2, Ash Wednesday during and after each Mass 7:30 am to 7pm Personal administrativo del Tribunal Eclesiástico estarán a su disposición para consultar sobre el procedimiento de nulidad matrimonial a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Miércoles de ceniza, el 2 de marzo de 8:00am a 6:30pm 651-291-4469 https://www.archspm.org/tribunal-annulments/

Think outside the (gift) box.

As you plan your charitable giving for this year, consider putting away the checkbook. Your best gift option might be in your IRA. If you’re age 70 ½ or older, you can make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from your traditional IRA — and see new tax benefits.

Call us to learn more about QCDs and charitable planning.

651.389.0300 ccf-mn.org

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FEBRUARY 10, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5

National SNAP leader challenges Father McDonough investigative outcome

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit The director of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office for Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment responded to recent criticism from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests over the outcome of an investigation of a priest accused of mishandling the archdiocese’s safe environment efforts between 1995 and 2013.

“I have to respect and honor our factbased process and the determination made by our (Ministerial Review) Board after careful consideration of the evidence,” Tim O’Malley, archdiocesan director of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment, said in a Jan. 19 letter to two SNAP leaders. “I have no question in my heart that the Archdiocese has taken this matter very seriously, has done the very best review possible and permitted lay people with the right personal and professional backgrounds, skills and judgment to consider the matter and influence the outcome.”

O’Malley announced June 3, 2021, that a group of lay experts had completed an internal, fouryear investigation into Father Kevin McDonough’s work, and the

archdiocese’s Ministerial Review Board had concluded that “Father McDonough had not always demonstrated sufficiently sound judgment in handling allegations of ministerial misconduct or in attending to his duties to prevent harm and create safer environments” and that “Father McDonough failed, albeit not intentionally, to adequately keep children safe.”

At the conclusion of the investigative and MRB review process, the Board recommended that Father McDonough be permitted to engage in certain duties, such as continuing as pastor of Incarnation in Minneapolis, and be barred from others. Archbishop Hebda accepted the board’s recommendation.

Zach Hiner, SNAP’s national executive director, and Frank Meuers, SNAP’s Minnesota chapter director, wrote separate letters to Archbishop Hebda Jan. 5 stating their dissatisfaction with the fact that after completion of the archdiocesan investigation, Father McDonough is still permitted to engage in ministry.

In his letter to Archbishop Hebda, Meuers stated that SNAP members are “extremely uncomfortable, unsatisfied, and dare we say, offended with the outcome” of the investigation.

Father McDonough oversaw the

SNAP correspondence The text of the letters are reprinted below in full.

Dear Archbishop Hebda: I am writing to you from the national office of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Our local volunteer in Minneapolis has brought to my attention a serious issue within your diocese and I write today to echo his calls that you must do more regarding Fr. Kevin McDonough.

The investigation into Fr. McDonough revealed more than enough to demonstrate that he was unfit for his leadership positions. More to the point, it is clear from the probe that there was a pattern in Fr. McDonough’s actions — under his authority as a representative of the Bishop, he transferred away dangerous perpetrators, despite knowing full well that they were abusers, and therefore put other children throughout your diocese at risk. To us, these actions show Fr. McDonough as an active participant in ongoing cover-up, not merely someone who had “had not always demonstrated sufficiently sound judgment” as you wrote in your statement.

Put frankly, we feel that the results of your investigation should have been more than enough to ensure that Fr. McDonough was never given authority over anything more important than a mop bucket again. Instead, your milquetoast response to his crimes appears to be little more than a slap on the wrist. This response is embarrassing and insulting, not only to victims and survivors, but to anyone who cares about responsibility and the protection of children.

I am disturbed that someone who actively put children in harm’s way and transferred abusive priests is not held to account. To us, this response is a signal that church leaders like yourself still do not understand the depth and seriousness of clergy sexual abuse.

Sincerely, Zach Hiner, Executive Director, SNAP Dear Bishop Hebda, As a new year arrives, it is with great consternation and more than a little reflection we feel the duty to call to your attention, once again, that we are extremely uncomfortable, unsatisfied, and dare we say, offended with the outcome of the four year investigation into the job performance of Kevin McDonough.

The MRB met repeatedly, interviewed thirteen persons, and compiled over one thousand pages of testimony, and the findings, in our opinion, clearly showed that Kevin’s performance in the position that he occupied for a quarter century was far less than optimal. Even more than that, however, is that this was not a simple accidental overlooking of a task or two, but a deliberate, long term pattern of

archdiocese’s safe environment efforts, including allegations of clergy sexual abuse, for 18 years, beginning in 1995 when he was the archdiocese’s vicar general and moderator of the curia. He held that role until 2008, and then led the archdiocese’s Office for Protection of Children until 2013.

In October 2013, St. Paul Police began an investigation into the archdiocese’s safe environment efforts, including allegations that Father McDonough mishandled clergy abuse allegations and victim-assistance efforts, especially in the case of former priest Curtis Wehmeyer, who was convicted of sexually abusing three brothers while ministering at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul from 2006 to 2012. That investigation led the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office to file criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese, which were later resolved.

Father McDonough was named in the RCAO complaint but no individual was charged in the RCAO investigation.

A former judge and Minnesota law enforcement leader, O’Malley joined the archdiocese’s leadership in 2014 to overhaul its safe environment efforts.

In his Jan. 19 response to SNAP leaders, he emphasized the investigation’s thoroughness, both in information gathered and people — including

using his office as the representative of the bishop to transfer men who were known to him to be sexually abusing children, from one parish to another without any attempt to hold these perpetrators, or himself, accountable. This refusal to call out and hold accountable persons who were committing felony behaviors, makes him a de-facto participant in the outcomes of these behaviors, the raping of children for the pleasure of an ordained person. He consistently placed sheltering the church from unwanted attention above the needs of our children to feel safe with the very persons that we were taught represented the presence of Christ on earth.

Because we find these behaviors to be egregious, the statement by the diocese assuring people that these were acts that he didn’t know were causing harm is a slap in the face for victim/survivors and faithful alike.

Therefore we ask that you review this case and assign a penalty more in accordance with the serious nature of these long term offenses. Removal from his pastorship would not be too strong a request.

Sincerely, Frank Meuers, MN SNAP Director Director Tim O’Malley responds Executive Director Hiner and Minnesota Chapter Director Meuers: I write in response to your January 5, 2022 letters to Archbishop Hebda regarding the Fr. McDonough investigation. In my role at the archdiocese, I have authority over such matters and, in particular, was responsible for this investigation.

First, thank you for writing to express your concerns regarding the investigation and the resulting decisions. I believe I understand and am certain I appreciate your sincere and heartfelt views regarding Fr. McDonough’s tenure.

For more than seven years now, we have worked very deliberately to establish a process that is fair to all, and properly and justly holds people accountable. Those involved in the process, including our Ministerial Review Board as well as lay experts, are skilled and informed. Review Board Members include individuals who have worked professionally and personally with victims of crimes, a victim of abuse by a priest, individuals whose family members have been abused (including by clergy), judges, psychologists, clergy and a religious person. They represent a cross-section of the community and all share a fervent desire to help keep children safe. They are exactly the kind (of) people we all want to help assess a priest’s fitness for ministry.

But, they are also objective and make decisions based on evidence.

As described in our June 3, 2021 public statement, a comprehensive investigation of Father McDonough’s role in the Archdiocesan sexual

SNAP members — interviewed. He also highlighted the expertise of MRB members, which include a clergy abuse victim-survivor and people whose family members have been abused, and people who have worked with victims of crimes, as well as judges, psychologists, clergy and a member of a religious community.

“These are exactly the kind (of) people we all want to help assess a priest’s fitness for ministry,” O’Malley wrote. “But, they are also objective and make decisions based on evidence.”

Although the investigation did not result in an obvious change of status for the priest, “at the end of the process, the outcome was not kept secret, but rather it was made public,” O’Malley said. “As a result, the determination that Father McDonough had failed in important aspects of his role in the Archdiocese received extensive media coverage.”

That media coverage included a topof-page-one headline in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

O’Malley concluded the letter noting his respect for SNAP’s work, adding, “we benefit from the dialogue we have regularly with SNAP here in Minnesota.”

“It has helped make us better at carrying out the important mission that you, I and so many others share,” he said.

abuse crisis was conducted by lay experts. The investigation was conducted with the assistance of a former St. Paul Police Department investigator and former Commander of the Interstate Crimes Against Children Task Force now working for the Archdiocesan Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment. He and his team examined thousands of pages of memoranda, emails, letters, depositions, policies, statements, publications, police reports and court filings. He also interviewed sixteen witnesses. He was assisted by 5 other seasoned, lay investigators. Combined, the team has over 180 years of criminal investigative experience, including at the local, state and federal government levels. In addition to the matters identified by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office involving Father, we also spoke with numerous individuals, including members of SNAP, to obtain relevant information.

The Archdiocesan Ministerial Review Board was kept fully informed throughout the investigative process and offered advice and guidance to the investigation along the way. The Board had access to the entire investigation and conducted an exhaustive review over a series of many meetings. As you would expect, Father McDonough was also interviewed. He appeared before the Board and was asked questions and given the opportunity to explain his conduct. At the conclusion of that process, the Board recommended that Father McDonough be permitted to engage in certain duties and be barred from others. The Board’s recommendation was accepted by the Archbishop. And, at the end of the process, the outcome was not kept secret, but rather it was made public. As a result, the determination that Father McDonough had failed in important aspects of his role in the Archdiocese received extensive media coverage.

I appreciate that you — and others — have come to a different conclusion about Father McDonough than did the Board. But, I have to respect and honor our fact-based process and the determination made by the Board after careful consideration of the evidence. I have no question in my heart that the Archdiocese has taken this matter very seriously, has done the very best review possible and permitted lay people with the right personal and professional backgrounds, skills and judgment to consider the matter and influence the outcome.

The result of that process may not be the one you think appropriate, but it has resulted in meaningful progress as well as serious and public ramifications.

I respect the work of SNAP, and we benefit from the dialogue we have regularly with SNAP here in Minnesota. It has helped make us better at carrying out the important mission that you, I and so many others share.

I wish you well.

Best regards, Timothy O’Malley, Director

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6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

Former CSJ provincial house continues as shelter to homeless families

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit On Dec. 9, Psyrenity, 39, had run out of money and was without a place to call home. Friends who had been helping her were out of cash, too. So, she packed her bags at a St. Paul hotel where she had been staying, and figured she and her two children, ages 11 and 9, would need to sleep outside that night. It was cold.

And Psyrenity, pronounced “Serenity,” was panicking.

But a worker at St. Paul-based Project Home, which works with churches, synagogues and schools in Ramsey County to provide shelter for families facing homelessness, returned her call to say a room was available for them at the former provincial house of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in St. Paul.

The sisters, who had unused space in their four-floor building on Randolph Avenue, offered it last year to Project Home, operated by Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul. Built in 1927, the building had been a home for the sisters, but it was underutilized in the past 10 years, serving as a site for meetings, events and guests, Sister Cathy Steffens, a member of the religious order’s provincial leadership team, told The Catholic Spirit last March, when the building first opened as a shelter.

The building has room for up to 30 families or 100 guests, whichever limit is reached first, on floors one, two and three. The fourth floor includes a computer lab, family lounge with

invites you to

Psyrenity and her 11- and 9-year-old children spend time at the swing set of their temporary residence at Project Home, the former provincial house for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in St. Paul.

BARB UMBERGER THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

a television, children’s play area and book corner, and offices for two family advocates. The ground floor includes space used by the sisters, including the province’s archives, but also free laundry facilities for families, and a kitchen and dining room where breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks are served each day.

People can call a 211 help line for shelter assistance 24 hours a day, and the former provincial house has been full most of the time, said Sara Liegl, director of Interfaith Action’s shelter program.

Before the religious sisters offered their building, Project Home served up

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to 40 people at a time, rotating space one month at a time in area churches, synagogues or schools. People generally spend about 83 days in a Project Home shelter as they work to connect with more stable housing, officials have said.

“But once COVID hit, we couldn’t (use) those communal shelter settings,” Liegl said. The sisters’ facility has been a great place for the religious order to live out its mission and for Project Home “to live out our mission and help families,” she said.

Providing the space fits with the religious order’s charism — to love God and neighbor without distinction, said Sister Suzanne Herder, a member with Sister Steffens on the CSJ provincial leadership team.

“We want to help women and children and families be successful,” she said.

“Our mission is to help the dear neighbor in whatever the situation is in the needs of the times. And right now, this (family

homelessness) is a big problem.”

As the pandemic hit Minnesota in March 2020, people without a home who sought help through Project Home were housed in a small hotel in downtown St. Paul. The sisters’ space is more family friendly, Liegl said. In addition to food and shelter, Project Home provides classes on parenting, finances and employment, Sister Cathy said. Ninetyone percent of the people who have moved out of the provincial house have remained in stable housing, she said.

Project Home pays the sisters a flat fee each month for rent and utilities. Federal dollars funneled through Ramsey County to operate the facility run out May 31, but Liegl said her department is working with a collaborative group from Ramsey County, the city of St. Paul and other service providers to obtain continued funding. “We are working really hard to connect with legislators, local city council (members), county commissioners, local foundations to figure out what the next financial pieces are when this … money ends,” she said.

“Good comfort food made from scratch” and attentive, caring staff are among reasons the CSJ building “feels like home,” said Psyrenity, who asked that only her nickname be used in the story. And if a bout of depression grips her and she doesn’t want to leave her room one day, staff check on her because they know she also is prone to seizures, she said.

Psyrenity had studied welding and worked as a cook. But after a stroke at age 26, followed by seizures, she said, she can no longer safely perform those tasks.

Psyrenity said she recently was awarded federal portable Section 8 housing assistance that can be used toward rent. She hopes to transition to a house or a duplex “because the kids need a yard.” A Project Home staff member will help her find suitable housing.

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CSAF’S NEW HOME Archbishop Bernard Hebda leads a gathering at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul Feb. 2 to welcome staff of the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation who recently moved their offices to the ACC. Also attending the gathering were, second from left, Father Michael Tix, episcopal vicar for Clergy and Parish Services for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Steve Carter, CSAF board member; Tizoc Rosales, CSAF president; and Bill Lentsch, chief operating officer for the archdiocese. CSAF conducts a more than $9 million annual appeal — this year set to kick off Feb. 26-27 — to help fund 20 designated ministries in the archdiocese, including hospital and prison chaplaincies, Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Latino and Native American ministries, seminarians and the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. Moving from leased offices in Plymouth to rent-free offices in the ACC will create opportunities for deeper collaboration and allow CSAF to put more money into the ministries it serves, officials said.

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

LOCAL

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7

Financial adviser brings Catholic perspective to spending, investing

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Catholics concerned about doing God’s will with their money can take several simple but difficult steps each time they face a decision: Pray, reflect, then act.

“Is this where God is leading you?” asks Todd Johnson, a certified financial planner. “Or do you want to do it, and you’re asking God to bless it?”

That question can be asked about everything, he said, from spending money on clothes, food and vacations, to investing and tithing.

A member of Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, Johnson runs Provision Financial Group of New Brighton, a private wealth advisory practice of Minneapolis-based Ameriprise Financial Services. His office holds a picture of Jesus and several photos of young adult mission trips building homes in Mexico that he has helped organize through an ecumenical group called Youth With a Mission.

Johnson, 50, said he is happy to help clients from a secular lens of tax advice, asset management, income distribution and estate planning. But his heart lies where the Catholic Church leads, and he is not afraid to let people know.

“I have to be careful and read the room,” he told The Catholic Spirit in a recent interview about faithbased spending and investing. “If they (clients) don’t want to talk about it, I won’t talk about it. But I’m not shy about bringing it up.”

Johnson suggests that tithing is the first step to placing God in the mix of money decisions. It might be the classic 10% of a person’s income going to the Church. It might be less than that, particularly for families with lower incomes, higher medical costs or other challenges, in which case people might devote a larger chunk of their tithing through service to the Church and others in need, he said.

“God does not need your money,” Johnson said.

I don’t want to be bountiful for myself, I want to be bountiful for God. Todd Johnson “He just wants your heart. It’s not a bad offer that God lets us keep 90% of what we earn.”

Investments are important, he said, and decisions in that arena are about more than finding the best returns. Socially conscious and life-giving investments can be made that avoid such activities as abortion, pornography and gambling, through mutual funds or other stocks and bonds, Johnson said.

Mutual funds working to do that include Eventide, Timothy Plan and Ave Maria Mutual Funds, he said.

Johnson’s journey to faith-based financial management began in Chicago, growing up in a Catholic family with his parents and three older brothers.

On the financial side, one of his brothers works on Wall Street, and his experiences helped Johnson discover his own interest in finance, a field he has worked in for 29 years. On the faith side, an ecumenical, Colorado-based Promise Keepers weekend at the downtown Minneapolis Metrodome in 1994 led Johnson to rededicate his life to the Lord. He also was greatly influenced by the faith of his late business partner, who died in a swimming accident in 2006.

Johnson and his wife, Jennifer, age 52 and a convert to Catholicism, have been involved in their parish, including Johnson as a lector and member

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of the finance council, his wife as part of a mother’s sharing group, and both serving as mentors for married couples. They have two daughters, one a nurse and another discerning religious life.

Another important perspective on financial decisions can be summed up in a question, Johnson said: “Who owns it?” Johnson applies that question when he thinks about the roots of his business and asks clients about their views.

“God has allowed me to own a financial services business,” Johnson said, emphasizing that he doesn’t “own” anything. “I don’t want to be bountiful for myself,” he said. “I want to be bountiful for God.” People seek excellence in grades, sports and other endeavors, he said, and everyone can do the same when meeting their responsibilities to people in need.

“Just as you excel in anything, see also that you excel in the graces of giving,” he said.

The story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish supplied by a boy in John’s Gospel is a wonderful example of Christ creating the bounty — but the boy’s generosity starting the process, Johnson said.

“What if the boy didn’t hand over the fish and loaves?” Johnson asked. Applied to his own life, Johnson often prays for guidance, asking the Lord, “What fish and loaves do you want me to let go of today?”

“I’m still a sinner, please know this,” Johnson said.

“But I want to do God’s will in things I can control,” including spending and investing.

Johnson said he lives by a motto for godliness — GRIP — based in part on the faith-building strength of small groups. The acronym stands for groups, reading the Bible, investing money and time for others, and prayer.

“Either you’re in the world’s grip, or God’s grip,” Johnson said. “I am a sinner trying to remain in God’s grip.”

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The Garden of Eden and the Human Condition: by Chris Conway, Ph.D. Chris will discuss interreligious learning and explore the Nostalgia or Anticipation?

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More news and commentary at thecatholicspirit.com.

LOCAL

8 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

St. Paul City Council passes zoning changes that meet religious institutions’ concerns

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

conditional use permit for social and community services conducted on more than 1,000 square feet of floor space. That is the size of some conference rooms, opponents said.

And it was unclear whether even current uses of that amount of space would require a conditional use JOSEPH KUEPPERS permit, they said.

Kueppers and others argued that the city’s proposals would violate the U.S. Constitution’s religious protections as well as a federal law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. That law prohibits the government from imposing land use regulations

Months of meetings, public hearings and discussions over proposed zoning changes in St. Paul impacting religious institutions’ ability to serve people in need — and even teach religion — were resolved Jan. 19 with a City Council vote that met the concerns of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and other faith groups.

“The churches got together, united, and proposed reasonable alternatives to the city, as opposed to that disastrous first attempt by the city,” said Joseph Kueppers, an attorney and the archdiocese’s chancellor for civil affairs.

Working with the city alongside Muslim, Lutheran, Jewish and Protestant community members led to clear and enforceable zoning rules that benefit church groups, their neighbors and city officials, Kueppers said.

In 2015, First Lutheran Church north of downtown St. Paul sued the city over restrictions on leasing its church basement to Listening House, a day-time care center for homeless and low-income people. Those restrictions, prompted by neighbors upset with people walking around the neighborhood, severely hampered Listening House, officials said. A settlement, reached in 2019, allowed Listening House to stay and to resume operations as before the lawsuit.

The settlement also required the city to study its zoning ordinances and improve the process for land use applications for religious organizations.

But the city’s proposed changes, first made public in October, left parishes and other religious entities worse off than before the lawsuit, Kueppers said.

The proposals included a ban on construction of additions or new buildings for the primary purpose of conducting a “religious institution accessory use,” such as sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, providing day care for children and adults, and even creating facilities for religious education, opponents of the measures said.

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that create a substantial burden on religion, unless there is a compelling governmental interest. If regulations are deemed necessary, they must be the least restrictive possible.

Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul organized an Oct. 21 Zoom meeting with St. Paul City Planner Bill Dermody prior to the city Planning Commission’s Oct. 29 public hearing on the proposals.

That Zoom meeting led to positive changes to the proposals and another Interfaith Action Zoom meeting with Dermody Nov. 16. The City Council held a public hearing Jan. 12 and the council’s vote came seven days later.

The ordinances, now in full effect, eliminate the ban on new construction, allow religious groups to provide overnight shelter for up to 25 adults

and minor children in their care, and include religious institutions among places where food shelves can be located.

Preschools are now clearly included among child care centers, and the definition of religious institutions includes not only churches, chapels, synagogues and temples, but buildings directly associated with religious exercise such as religious education, including other gathering spaces and education facilities.

“The city now has a clear, comprehensible zoning ordinance going forward, that’s going to be easier to enforce and be understandable by the churches, surrounding neighbors and city officials,” Kueppers said. “This is a good result.”

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FEBRUARY 10, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9

NATION+WORLD

Archbishop: Russian threat extends beyond Ukraine Catholic News Service The major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church reiterated concerns of some of his Baltic neighbors, saying that Ukraine might be on the front lines of a Russian threat, but the threat extends beyond Ukraine.

“The Ukrainian crisis is not only a crisis for Ukrainians,” said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. “It’s something which is affecting the whole world — actually Europe, but also the United States and NATO members.”

In a separate news conference, the archbishop also spoke about a possible papal visit to Ukraine.

In a Feb. 4 virtual news conference sponsored by the pontifical aid agency Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Shevchuk said there were four dimensions to the threat of what he called a “hybrid war” — military, propaganda, political and economic.

He also said a recent poll showed 63% of those surveyed considered “church” — religious organizations — the most reliable social structure in Ukrainian society. He said people are looking to churches for help figuring out how to respond to events and develop society, and church communities were trying to work together in response.

The first response is prayer, he said. Every day at 8 p.m. (noon CST), Ukrainian Catholics are asked to stop what they are doing and pray the rosary

for peace in Ukraine, and he asked others to join them.

“When we pray, we are not afraid anymore,” he said. “We can calm down, and we can think, and we can examine our own consciences” and project logical responses to the crisis.

The second response is social service, and the bishops have decided to focus on those who are cold, “help the neighbor to survive.” He said the Church must offer hope.

“We believe that God is with us. ... We do have hope. We do have the resources to withstand,” he said, without elaborating. When everyone is tempted “to save their own skin,” the Church hopes to help others.

Archbishop Shevchuk said there is a new “idolatry of violence” around the world, but Christians must say “no to violence. No to war.”

Speaking to another group of journalists in a virtual news conference Feb. 8, Archbishop Shevchuk also spoke of the possibility of a visit by Pope Francis to Ukraine.

The archbishop said he has told the pope that there is a “common feeling among Ukrainians — not just Catholics, but Orthodox, Protestants and nonbelievers — that Pope Francis is the greatest moral authority in the world, according to a sociological study.

Among all religious leaders, including Patriarch Kirill (of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church) and other

Orthodox patriarchs, in a country with an Orthodox majority, the greatest moral authority is Pope Francis, and the people say, ‘If the pope would come to Ukraine, the war would end.’”

“We do not think the pope is a miracle worker,” he said. “But from a religious point of view, it would be important.

The visit of a pope is different from the visit of a president, it attracts the spiritual attention of the universal Church, it’s a spiritual event and would be important for confirming all of us in Ukraine in the faith. We need that.”

The archbishop’s remarks came amid an escalation of tensions and rhetoric over the buildup of Russian military forces near the border of Ukraine and in Belarus, near the Ukrainian border.

On Feb. 7, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Russia and Ukraine to try to de-escalate tensions, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Washington to coordinate policies on Ukraine.

Russia has denied any plans to attack Ukraine but wants Ukraine and other former Soviet republics to be barred from joining NATO. During the virtual news conference at which Archbishop Shevchuk spoke, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio to Ukraine, thanked Pope Francis for the Jan. 26 day of prayer for peace in Ukraine and noted that the pope asked all people of goodwill, not just Catholics, to pray.

HEADLINES u Retired pope asks forgiveness in response to Munich abuse report. At age 94, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he knows he will soon stand before God’s judgment and he prayed that he would be forgiven for his shortcomings, including in handling allegations of clerical sexual abuse. The letter was released Feb. 8 by the Vatican in response to a recent report on sexual abuse cases in the German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. u Fourth Anglican bishop in less than a year received into Catholic Church. When the former Anglican bishop of Chester, England, Peter Forster, 71, recently joined the Catholic Church he became the fourth Anglican bishop to be received into the Catholic faith in less than a year and the fifth to become a Catholic in the past two years. u Nicaragua revokes legal status of Catholic charities, educational projects. The Nicaragua national assembly ordered the revocation of the legal status of five universities — including a Catholic university, the Universidad Católica del Trópico Seco — along with several Catholic educational and charitable projects, marking the latest act of repression targeting supposed opponents of President Daniel Ortega. u Pakistan’s first ‘servant of God’ is 20-year-old killed by suicide bomber. Akash Bashir, a 20-year-old volunteer security guard who was killed by a suicide bomber in 2015, is the first Pakistani to be given the title “servant of God,” an initial step on the path to sainthood.

— Catholic News Service

Canada bishops, Indigenous reschedule with pope

By Michael Swan Catholic News Service More than two dozen Indigenous delegates, accompanied by a handful of Canadian bishops, plan to meet with Pope Francis the last week of March.

The trip to Rome, first scheduled Dec. 17-20, was derailed by rocketing COVID-19 numbers, which were a particular threat to elderly residential school survivors, who will play a central role in meetings with the pope.

Before the postponement of the initial meetings at the Vatican, 27 Indigenous delegates from three separate groups were scheduled to meet with Pope Francis on three separate days. Each delegation was scheduled for one hour each. The rescheduled trip is expected to follow the same pattern, finishing with an audience with Pope Francis and all the Indigenous delegates April 1.

Though March 28-April 1 dates are firm enough to be announced, “the health and safety of all delegates remain our first priority,” and COVID-19 conditions in Canada and Rome will be monitored, said a joint statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the three Indigenous organizations that will send representatives to meet with the pope: the Assembly of First Nations, Métis National Council and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

Canadian bishops have acknowledged “grave abuses” perpetuated by the 20th-century residential school system, noting it “led to the suppression of Indigenous languages, culture and spirituality”

and failed “to respect the rich history, traditions and wisdom of Indigenous peoples.” Many of the government schools were run by Catholic religious orders or dioceses.

At least five bishops were scheduled to represent the CCCB, but their role was to listen, not to direct the encounters with the pope, Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, Alberta, said last fall.

“We all know well the compassionate heart of our Holy Father. It’s with that heart that he will listen, and it’s from that heart that he will respond,” the archbishop said.

Delegate meetings with Pope Francis are intended as a first step, leading to a papal visit to Canada.

In 2015, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission — which created a historical record of the residential schools system — called upon the pope to visit Canada and make a formal apology to Indigenous survivors, their families and communities for the abuse suffered in Catholic-run residential schools.

The residential schools have long been at the heart of discussions and reconciliation efforts between Indigenous Canadians and the Catholic Church. The issue gained urgency in late May when the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation reported that, with the use of groundpenetrating radar, an estimated 215 bodies had been found in unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, run by a Catholic religious order until 1969. Similar discoveries followed at the sites of other residential schools.

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10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

‘A day for refinement’

What to Expect at the Parish Sy

Parish Synod Leadership Teams will meet in each parish t

Parish Synod Leadership Teams to help Synod leaders hone ideas ahead of Synod Assembly in June

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

I

n June, about 500 participants in a Pentecost weekend Archdiocesan Synod Assembly will make final recommendations on the Synod’s three focus areas to Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who will then discern a pastoral letter and action plan for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

But, before then, small groups of parish leaders will gather with their pastors to hone the draft Synod propositions that Assembly participants will discuss.

Those draft propositions have already been distilled from feedback shared from six small group sessions held in parishes last September through November, which all Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were encouraged to attend. Organizers read and analyzed more than 68,000 feedback forms, and from that information, they developed “draft propositions” under nine topics within the three broad focus areas that could be put to the Synod Assembly participants in June.

There are between four and seven draft propositions per topic.

It’s now the work of members of the Parish Synod Leadership Team gathered in each parish — 10 Catholics and their pastors — to further develop and refine those draft propositions to prepare them for the Synod Assembly. On Feb. 26 (or alternatively Feb. 27, March 5 or March 6), those team members will meet at their parishes to pray about and discuss the propositions, and provide feedback to Archbishop Hebda. They will also discuss hypothetically implementing three of the draft propositions into their parish life.

All of the propositions are related to the Synod’s three focus areas: 1. Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, 2.

Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and 3. Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.

In preparation for the meeting, Parish Synod Leadership Team appointees and pastors will read theological reflections on the focus areas written by three local theologians: Douglas Bushman, Liz Kelly and Michael Naughton.

The three writers will provide an overview of the focus area via video at the meetings.

Unlike the Synod Small Groups, which were open to everyone, the Parish Synod Leadership Team appointees have been selected by their pastor or his delegate and invited to participate. However, Synod leaders are encouraging all Catholics to stay connected to the Synod process through prayer.

This intermediate step between the widespread parish consultation and the Synod Assembly is an opportunity for more than 1,000 leaders in parishes of the archdiocese to share ideas on how the draft propositions can be improved, and to brainstorm ideas on how the propositions “might be brought to life,” said Father Joseph Bambenek, the Synod’s assistant director. “The archbishop really wants to make sure that the propositions at the Synod (Assembly) are the best they can be,” he said. “It’s a day for refinement.”

It’s also a day for listening to the Holy Spirit and trusting that God is working through the Synod process, he said. “The more that prayer is brought into it, the more that it becomes true discernment, the more confidence we can have that despite the human fallibilities, God will work through the process.”

68,000+

THE PROCESS

Work from Fall Consultation Brought Forward

At the Parish Consultation with Small Groups (Synod Small Groups) last fall, participants discussed 12 topics within the three focus areas.

For example, one topic under the focus area “Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization” was “Welcoming parishes,” and participants were asked “How can we make parishes more welcoming?” Feedback forms included “Ideas for Consideration.” Participants were asked to share the top three things that have worked for them, as well as the top three things that the parish or archdiocese should prioritize in the future, using those “Ideas for Consideration.”

Participants were also given an opportunity to share their “best idea.” The six small group sessions resulted in about 68,000 feedback forms, with 46,000 including a “my best idea.”

Pastor chooses

1 Topic

At the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly, more than 500 participants will discuss and discern propositions related to the three focus areas and recommend to Archbishop Hebda which propositions should be prioritized for a more vigorous proclamation of the Gospel and a renewal of the local Church. After taking time for prayer and discernment, Archbishop Hebda will release a pastoral letter in November that will provide priorities and direction for parishes and the archdiocese in the years ahead.

HOW DID WE GET HERE? The Archdiocesan Synod process began in September 2019 with the first of 30 Prayer and Listening Events that were held through March 2020. Those events drew more than 8,000 people who provided more than 35,000 comments on the strengths and needs of the archdiocese. In August 2020, Archbishop Hebda announced he had discerned three focus areas for the Archdiocesan Synod.

Although the Synod’s timeline was adapted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in fall 2021, thousands of Catholics from around the archdiocese gathered in their parishes for six-week sessions to dive into the focus areas and offer feedback to Synod leaders. That feedback is now being refined through Parish Synod Leadership Team meetings before advancing to the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly, June 3-5 at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul.

“We’re ultimately doing this because it’s the archbishop’s deep and consistent sense that this is how God is calling him to lead the archdiocese,” said Father Joseph Bambenek, the Synod’s assistant director. “What he believes will be the fruit of it will be greater unity and … a more vigorous proclamation of the good news of Jesus. And both of those things are so necessary in the archdiocese at this point.”

from each Focus Area

The Parish Synod Leadership Team Consultation

Focus Area 1

Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization

That response was further distilled into draft propositions under nine topics related to the three focus areas for this next step in the consultation process.

At the upcoming Parish Synod Leadership Team Consultation (formerly the Deanery Consultation), each pastor and 10 parish appointees will consider and suggest changes, as needed, to improve the draft propositions, so that the propositions will be “tested” and fully refined before the three-day Synod Assembly in June, Synod leaders said.

Fall Consultation Feedback Forms Categorized

Paris

st

Focus Area 2

Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’s love and respond to His call

COURTESY SYNOD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Synod prayer team requests Holy

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

I

n a column in the Aug. 8, 2019, issue of The Catholic Spirit, Bishop Andrew Cozzens, then serving the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, described the first group involved in the Archdiocesan Synod as “a group of dedicated prayers.” It was “a diverse group of faithful, mostly lay men and women who believe in the power of prayer and have committed to praying daily for this important effort,” he said.

More than three years after its November 2018 launch, the Synod prayer team continues to meet monthly. Some members have left as their lives pulled them in other directions, but most of the group’s members remain the same.

“Without prayer, the work of the Synod will be pointless,” said Father Joseph Bambenek, assistant director of the Archdiocesan Synod and leader of the prayer team. “Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda recognized this when the first action he took was to establish a prayer team nearly a half year before any logistical steps to start the process.”

The prayer team typically spends time in prayer and adoration of the Eucharist, Scripture reading, and sharing thoughts and reflections. Members of the team started meeting at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul, moved to virtual sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now participate in monthly votive Masses of the Holy Spirit at various parishes.

“We have a God who wants us to ask him for help, and will give help if we ask,” Father Bambenek said. “Time after time, God has provided in incredible, tangible ways the past nearly three years; undoubtedly, in part, the answer to all the prayers.”

Many talented people “with a whole slew of talents and skills” are involved with the Synod, said David Rinaldi, a prayer team member and vice president of mission at NET Ministries in St. Paul.

“Yet, because the Church’s work is spiritual, we can’t rely simply on our natural talents to accomplish our goals,” he said. “All of the Church’s work — including the Synod — must be

covered in prayer.”

Debbie Keller, a parishioner White Bear Lake and member team and Synod executive com Scripture reading, team memb relates with the Holy Spirit spe pathways for the Synod; conce about.” She recalled the team p divina, or listening to a Gospel spending 30 to 45 minutes qui adoration and then “sharing w Seeking the Holy Spirit’s guid prayer team subgroup studying data gathered from the Synod’ process last fall, including anal and ethnicity, as well as readin contributed ideas, Keller said. T three times with Archbishop H common themes that surfaced the Holy Spirit, she said.

The prayer team experience in her own spiritual life, Keller the team helped her see what a to integrate it more deeply into see her Catholic faith as a gift, Prayer has become a rhythm don’t know when I could say I in prayer,” she said. “I pray wh clean, when I’m with friends, w can’t say it was always that wa Prayer team member School Dame Mary Anne Schaenzer sa Holy Spirit is important, and it “We need to share our thou inspirations that in some way creating — not through just o through the shared reflections members of the body of Chris Rinaldi said that in addition gatherings, he prays for the Syn during times of adoration of th Because Archbishop Hebda to inform the direction in wh local Church, Rinaldi said it is the faithful join with him in p interceding for the Synod righ

CESAN SYNOD

FEBRUARY 10, 2022 • 11

ynod Leadership Consultation

to discuss and give feedback on Draft Synod Propositions.

Generated into

3 Focus Areas

Including

46,000+

9 Topics

of Your “Best Ideas”

50+ Draft Synod Propositions

a 75 minute tructured discussion

sh Team holds

Discussion in Each Topic:

Part 1

for each Focus Area:

 What is the Holy Spirit

calling us to prioritize?

 How might the specific

wording of the propositions be improved?

Part 2

 How might one of the

propositions be brought to life in your parish?

Focus Area 3

Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young

Based upon the feedback, the draft Synod Propositions will be revised for the Synod Assembly.

Spirit’s guidance

of St. Pius X in of the Synod prayer mmittee, said after a bers describe “how it eaking to us about epts or ideas to think praying with lectio l reading twice and ietly in eucharistic what came to us.” dance included a g and praying about ’s parish consultation lyses of ages, gender ng thousands of Team members met Hebda, sharing d and movement of

has helped her grow r said. Being part of a treasure prayer is, o her life and to she said. m for Keller. “I I’m not immersed hen I cook, when I when I’m alone. I ay.” l Sister of Notre aid listening for the t can be elusive. ughts, perhaps y the Spirit may be one person but s of all, as all are st,” she said. n to prayer team ynod every day, and he Eucharist. will use the Synod hich he leads the s important that all prayer. He suggests ht before or after

PRAYER REQUEST

Reflections, videos bring theological lens

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

A

s Parish Synod Leadership Teams prepare to reflect, discuss and pray about three focus areas for the June Archdiocesan Synod Assembly, they will be given essays and view videos that bring a contextual and theological perspective to their discussions.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda is seeking feedback from the groups to help inform the agenda and discussions of the Assembly, set for June 3-5 in St. Paul. The primary focus areas are: 1. Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, 2. Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and 3. Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.

Pastors have been asked to choose one for their discussions among several possible subtopics under each focus area. The focus areas and subtopics were distilled from thousands of comments gathered in prayer and listening events and other archdiocesan efforts that began in 2019.

A 10-minute video and essays written on each focus area by accomplished theologians, teachers and speakers will help guide the Parish Synod Leadership Teams as they gather in parishes across the archdiocese. Before writing, each author met with Archbishop Hebda, who provided direction and reviewed their drafts. The writers are also members of the Synod’s Theological and Pastoral Content Committee, which with the Executive Committee form the Synod’s Preparatory Commission.

The writers, a comment from each on what they hope to convey at the PSLT gatherings and their background:

Douglas Bushman, director of Parish Formation and Mission at St. Joseph, West St. Paul Video and essay: Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization

“A parish fully realizes its vocation and mission for evangelization by drawing from the Eucharist to become a family of welcoming and collaborating missionary disciples who bear witness, through word and life, to the truth and love of Jesus Christ.”

Bushman was the lay theologian at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony from 1983 to 1986, and served six years in the Office of Education for the Diocese of Duluth (1986-92). He went on to teach graduate theology for 30 years at the University of Dallas in Texas, Ave Maria University in Florida and the Augustine Institute in Colorado. He earned his licentiate in sacred theology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. A past executive vice president for mission at Relevant Radio, he serves on the National Advisory Board of Prolife Across America and the board of the Image of God textbook series. He contributed to the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and has written introductions for several books, including “The Sixteen Documents of Vatican II” (Pauline Books and Media, 1999). He has contributed articles to Catholic publications including Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Catholic World Report and Magnificat.

People across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are asked to pray for the success of the next stage of the Synod process, the Parish Synod Leadership Team Consultations, which begin Feb. 26. Individual prayers are welcome.

People also can join Archbishop Bernard Hebda for an 8 a.m. Feb. 26 votive Mass for Mary, Mother of the Church at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, followed by adoration of the Eucharist until 3:10 p.m. at the Cathedral’s Blessed Mother Chapel. Adoration will include members of the Synod prayer team leading the rosary, followed by the Divine Mercy chaplet: 9 a.m. Joyful mysteries 10:30 a.m. Luminous mysteries Noon Sorrowful mysteries 1:30 p.m. Glorious mysteries 3 p.m. Divine Mercy chaplet followed by Benediction with Father Joseph Bambenek, assistant director of the Synod

Liz Kelly, retreat leader, editor, spiritual director and writer

Mass, offering an intention during family prayer or family rosary, and setting a phone alarm for the same time every day “to pause from your work and ask the Holy Spirit to guide the Synod process.”

Families can say a prayer of their choosing, said Sister Mary Anne, such as a prayer previously designated for the Year of St. Joseph, or pray in their own words asking God to guide the Synod process.

It needn’t be long or a burden, she said, “simply a daily request that the Holy Spirit guide the process, will guide Archbishop Hebda as he leads the team of people working with him, will keep him and all of us healthy so that together we can learn, can listen, can be docile to the Holy Spirit.”

Four public votive Masses of the Holy Spirit with eucharistic adoration remain on the prayer team’s schedule, including at 5:15 p.m. Feb. 17 at St. Peter Claver in St. Paul.

To learn more, visit archspm.org/pray.

Michael Naughton, director, Center for Catholic Studies, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul

Video and essay: Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call

“Our papers are meant to be a kind of theological orientation to our subjects. To that end, I hope that readers will come away with a stronger sense of the variety of ways that Jesus invites us into encounter, not only through the sacraments but through the poor, through one another, through the beauties of creation. Encounter with Christ is not something we leave with adoration or our prayer time, but a relationship to be cultivated and nurtured, all day, every day.”

Kelly has master’s degrees in Catholic Studies and creative writing, and is a certified spiritual director. She was managing editor of “Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture” at the Center of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul from July 2008 to January 2022. She was an adjunct professor in Catholic Studies at UST from 2009 to 2019 and taught from 2009 through 2021 at the Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul. She was senior writer and program manager of endowed faculty funds at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (2003-2006), and manager of alumni correspondence at Harvard (2002-2003). Kelly was a donor relations, stewardship and communications writer at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (2001-2002), and has held various positions with schools, corporations and publications in Tennessee and Alaska.

Video and essay: Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young

“Throughout our Synod process, one thing that has become abundantly clear is that the state of the future of our Church depends on today’s education and formation of our youth, a process that initiates them to be saints who serve God and contribute to the good of the world. The power of witness to our youth and quality and effectiveness of education and formation programs need our attention and resources.”

Naughton has taught for more than 38 years at the secondary and university levels. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of 12 books and monographs, and more than 60 articles. His most recent book is “What We Hold in Trust: Rediscovering the Purpose of Catholic Higher Education” with co-authors Don Briel and Ken Goodpaster. Naughton serves on several boards, including Bismarck, N.D.-based University of Mary, St. Agnes School’s Headmasters Advisory Board in St. Paul and Catholic Eldercare in Minneapolis. He is board chair of Reell Precision Manufacturing, a producer of torque solutions for transportation, consumer electronics, medical and office automation products with offices in the U.S., Netherlands and China.

12 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

FAITH+CULTURE Working together: For pope, jobs are about more than a wage

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

TAXES AND JUSTICE

F

or more than 130 years, popes have considered work, the treatment of workers and the creation of jobs to be a religious and moral issue.

And while Pope Francis has not written an encyclical dedicated to labor like Pope Leo XIII did in 1891 and St. John Paul II did in 1981, he has ensured that workers and their jobs stay at the center of the Church’s concern.

At his weekly general audience Jan. 12, Pope Francis asked visitors and pilgrims to join him in a moment of silent prayer for men and women who are “desperate because they cannot find work.”

While U.S. headlines continue to look at how some businesses are scrambling to find new hires and how the COVID-19 pandemic led many people to reduce their hours in search of a better worklife balance, or gave them the power to demand better pay and working conditions, the experience is far from universal, and Pope Francis knows that.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Jan. 7 that the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.9%. In contrast, the Italian government’s National Statistical Institute reported Jan. 10 that Italy had an employment rate of 9.2%.

The same day, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, reported an unemployment rate across the EU of 7.2%, but noted that in Spain the rate was 14.1% and Greece was experiencing a 13.4% unemployment rate. Italy had the third-highest percentage of people ready to work and actively seeking a job, but without success.

In his series of general audience talks about St. Joseph, Pope Francis gave a quick primer on why work itself is a religious topic and why the Church’s concern extends beyond charity for those without work.

“Work is an essential component of human life, and even of the path of sanctification,” the pope said Jan. 12.

“Work is not only a means of earning a living, it is also a place where we express ourselves, feel useful and learn the great lesson of concreteness, which helps keep the spiritual life from becoming spiritualism.”

Work, he said, “is a way of expressing our personality, which is relational by its

When done right, the collection of taxes can promote a culture that protects the well-being of all, especially the poor and least fortunate, Pope Francis said.

Although some may see tax agencies as an entity that “puts its hands in their pockets,” tax collection really is a “sign of legality and justice,” the pope said Jan. 31 during a meeting with a delegation from Italy’s revenue agency.

Taxation “must favor the redistribution of wealth, protecting the dignity of the poor and the least, who always risk being crushed by the powerful.

Taxation, when it is just, is a function of the common good,” he said.

VATICAN MEDIA | CNS

Pope Francis leads an audience with a delegation from the Agenzia delle Entrate, Italy’s governmental tax agency, at the Vatican Jan. 31. The pope said taxes must serve the common good and “must favor the redistribution of wealth, protecting the dignity of the poor.” nature. And, too, work is a way to express our creativity; each one of us works in our own way, with our own style: the same work but with different styles.”

And that was not the pope’s only comment about the dignity and importance of work that day.

The Vatican COVID-19 Commission and Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, gathered academics and leaders in the fields of business, finance and development economics Jan. 12 to discuss “Preparing the future, building a sustainable, inclusive, regenerative economy.”

In a message to participants, the pope asked them to bypass “declarations of intent or messages about grand principles,” and instead “make concrete commitments, to do your part so that the economy and finance are at the service of people and our Mother Earth.”

“May your measures of success not be profits, expansion and short-term and shortest-term returns,” he said. “Instead, may the measure be the number of people who move out of extreme poverty, who can work decently. Is it so difficult to assure the conditions whereby everyone can contribute to transforming the world with their work?”

His words illustrated a point made by Anna Rowlands, professor of Catholic social thought and practice at the University of Durham, England, in her

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St. John Paul’s 1981 encyclical on work, “Laborem Exercens,” Rowlands wrote, “extended rather than simply repeated” the teaching of Pope Leo XIII in his 1891 encyclical on labor and capital, particularly on the fundamental points that “work is made for the human person and not the human person for work, and that labor always has a value and priority over capital.”

One of the ways Pope Francis builds on the teaching of his predecessors, she said, is in developing the relationship between work and “social dialogue.” In other words, “work is the key to how we become involved in a meaningful social dialogue. The absence of work is therefore not merely an affront to dignity and self-determination as well as creativity, but also frustrates social dialogue and exchange.”

“Work is a religious issue because we are social creatures, hard-wired to communicate, exchange, labor and shape the world around us,” Rowlands said.

“In an important sense, we become who we are through what we do,” she said. “We seek ways to contribute, plan for the future and encounter those who are not ourselves. We also live in a world where, for many, paid work is simply a necessity, therefore the condition of that work — that it is meaningful, dignified,

Nevertheless, “the Bible does not demonize money, but invites us to make the right use of it, not to be enslaved by it, not to idolize it.”

The custom of tithing was also prominent in the Old Testament and, he said, was a sign of two fundamental truths: “that of not being selfsufficient, because salvation comes from God,” and “that of being responsible for each other, starting with those most in need.”

Pope Francis reminded the members of the Italian revenue agency that in today’s world, their work must be guided by “the principles of legality, impartiality and transparency.”

While a certain “culture of suspicion” continues today as it did in biblical times, he said, tax collectors must continue to persevere in guaranteeing that the laws enforced by them continue “to maintain a principle of fairness,” especially in situations where the interests of one group can generate inequality.

— Junno Arocho Esteves, CNS

fairly paid, non-exploitative — is vital.”

In his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis insisted: “In a genuinely developed society, work is an essential dimension of social life, for it is not only a means of earning one’s daily bread, but also of personal growth, the building of healthy relationships, self-expression and the exchange of gifts. Work gives us a sense of shared responsibility for the development of the world, and ultimately, for our life as a people.”

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In the Bible and especially in the Gospels, he said, there are no shortage of references to tax collectors, such as Zacchaeus and St. Matthew, and their often tense relationship with the public.

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FEBRUARY 10, 2022

FAITH+CULTURE

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13

Finding God on the mountaintop and in the valley

By Christina Capecchi For The Catholic Spirit

a discipline that I didn’t have to heed before.

Q Do you miss sugar?

For nearly a decade, Jen Messing has taken young adults into the wilderness to teach them St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body through her nonprofit Into the Deep. As she plans for its 10-yearanniversary celebration, to be held March 19 (details at idretreats.org), she’s reflecting on some epic adventures. “It’s been amazing to watch God kick into gear,” said Messing, 48, a member of St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony.

A God is the Grand Coordinator. I

made my first appointment on Ash Wednesday, and I always give up sugar for Lent, so it was hard, but not as hard as it could have been. They asked for a level that also required cutting gluten and dairy. There was a point where I could tell I was not addicted, but it took a long time — around Thanksgiving.

Q Early in life your dad fostered a

Q Does Theology of the Body look

love of the outdoors.

different now, in light of cancer?

A We spent a month every summer

at our cabin on Crane Lake, on the edge of Minnesota and Canada: no electricity or plumbing, just propane and an outhouse. We loved it. My dad’s a fireman, so we got carefully trained in how to build a fire and keep it burning well. I have fond memories of having competitions with my siblings of who can build a one-match fire.

Q Any memorable animal encounters?

A Once I was walking behind our

cabin, toward the beaver pond, and I saw five wolf pups laying under this cedar tree. It was the coolest thing!

Another time I got about 15 feet from a black bear. We just gazed at each other.

I was absolutely at peace, no fear. It stood up on its hind legs and sniffed the air, then turned around and walked back into the woods.

Q Your time in nature, as a teen, helped you recognize a spiritual hunger.

A Something in you just knows that

you are in God’s neighborhood, and he is right there with you. It’s like, “I’m either going to lie to myself and deny you, or I’m going to say hello.”

We’re not used to living in the original cathedral that God put us in, the outdoors. We were meant to see him, our eyes were meant to be lifted up to the heavens, just like a cathedral.

We were meant for union with God, each other and creation. There’s nothing New Age-y about that.

A An oncologist gives you all these

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A God is in control! He prompts what

he wants done. I tried to get out of it so many times. I tried tucking myself in under other people’s organizations.

God kept kicking me out of the nest.

I dove in by getting an office, and a friend found someone who managed the nonprofit part for me. I asked my spiritual director, “Am I stupid for getting an office?” He said, “Well, you move in, you can move out.” That gave me the courage to at least try.

Q Little did you know Into the Deep retreats would attract 500-some participants.

A There have been so many stories of

learning how to trust God. Just let it go!

I didn’t have staff for seven years. It was very slow growth, like slowly adding summer interns and then a 10-hour person. Now I have two staff people.

Q You’re following in JPII’s footsteps by taking young adults into the mountains.

A I really want to give people space, so instead of a long talk, I lace the entire

trip with commentary. You get into a talk naturally on a three-hour hike.

And that’s what JPII did: He would paddle up next to someone on his kayak and talk. He dove so deep into what it means to be a human person.

Q Your retreats must be powerful for teens who never unplug, receiving snaps at 3 a.m.

A If you’re filled with noise all the

time, you can’t make intimate contact with your own heart and with God. I went with a group of middle-school girls to look at a moonrise on Lake Superior, and we just stayed there for two hours. One girl said, “I’ve never spent this much time looking at the stars.” I’m like, “That’s what nighttime is meant for, not for looking at screens.”

Q Last March you were diagnosed with grade 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Since then, you’ve drastically changed your diet.

A It’s been really good for me to have a reason to watch what I put in my body and clean up my act. There was

stats. But cancer is going to behave differently in you than in anybody else because you are unrepeatable.

That blew me away. God was about to teach me the building blocks for being healthy or having cancer, and he was about to teach me the building blocks for sin and disease.

Q A milk duct in your breast

basically went rogue. Does it ever feel like your body turned against you?

A Nobody’s asked me that. I never felt

like my body is attacking me because I recognize that my choices did this to my body. My body is responding to the stresses.

Q A cancer diagnosis forces you to confront your mortality.

A When I first found the lump, I

seriously had this thought: “Sweet!

I want to hang out with you, Lord!”

Then I thought, “Oh, I suppose people will be mad at me if I don’t fight it.”

That was my first response.

Q Do you realize how unusual that is?

A I feel really blessed that God has

given me a detachment. I am really excited to be with him. I love him as a spouse. I’m glad that was my knee-jerk reaction. It reveals something about where my heart is.

Q Fast forward to age 28, when

you listened to a Christopher West “Theology of the Body” cassette during a North Dakota road trip. You knew it held the answers to all of life’s big questions, and you wanted to crack it open for others.

A I wanted to give talks and lead

Pre-planning means “I love you”.

retreats, but I was freaked out about how to run my own business.

Q What did you learn from starting a business?

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14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER NATHANIEL MEYERS

Beatitudes in marriage “How do you handle the challenges of being a priest?” I recall this question or various iterations of it being asked of me rather commonly during the year following my ordination. I honestly never really have understood the motivation behind this question and, after hearing it enough times, I started to ask the people a question of my own: “How do you handle the challenges of being married?”

Invariably, each person would look at me dumbfounded, and it would become apparent while talking to them that they had assumed being a priest must be significantly more challenging than being a husband or wife. However, truly living one’s vocation — no matter what it is — in such a way as to become a saint will always present challenges that require firm resolve and charity to overcome.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the Church celebrates World Marriage Day this weekend. The Gospel passage presents us with the Lukan account of the Beatitudes, which are slightly different than the ones we normally hear from St. Matthew’s Gospel. In St. Luke’s accounting of the Beatitudes, the Lord’s words are written in the second person so as to communicate that Christ is actually pronouncing a blessing upon those who take up the costly call of discipleship. For all the married couples that are experiencing the sharp edges of their vocation, these words are a reminder that the

vocation is worth the cost it exacts.

While the world will tell us marriage is about exotic trips to the remote places on earth, a big house with a four-car garage, or the self-actualization of the individual spouses, the Beatitudes will help us get to the reality of it. If spouses practicing natural family planning lack the finances to take their family to Disney World, the Lord says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.” If spouses need to forego a career advancement to tend to the needs of their family, the Lord says, “Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.” If spouses are feeling the pain of their beloved’s terminal illness, the Lord says, “Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.”

If spouses are mocked and derided for upholding the Church’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, the Lord says, “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.” As Jeremiah prophesies in our first reading this weekend, those who trust in the ways of God will be like the tree planted beside water, obtaining long and sturdy roots that keep the leaves green and bear fruit even in times of drought. “Behold, your reward will be great in heaven,” we hear Christ say to his disciples. The vocation of marriage is fundamentally about the call to holiness, the obtainment of sainthood. By embracing the life of discipleship in marriage, husbands and wives live the Beatitudes and pave the way to heaven not only for themselves, but for their children, neighbors and all to whom they bear witness.

Father Meyers is pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo. He can be reached at nate.meyers@stfxb.org.

Sunday, Feb. 13 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer 17:5-8 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 Lk 6:17, 20-26 Monday, Feb. 14 Sts. Cyril, monk, and Methodius, bishop Jas 1:1-11 Mk 8:11-13 Tuesday, Feb. 15 Jas 1:12-18 Mk 8:14-21 Wednesday, Feb. 16 Jas 1:19-27 Mk 8:22-26 Thursday, Feb. 17 Jas 2:1-9 Mk 8:27-33 Friday, Feb. 18 Jas 2:14-24, 26 Mk 8:34–9:1 Saturday, Feb. 19 Jas 3:1-10 Mk 9:2-13

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

Sunday, Feb. 20 Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time 1 Sm 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 1 Cor 15:45-49 Lk 6:27-38

Three flowers: A beautiful Christian symbol for marriage A beautiful symbol for the sacrament of marriage is an arrangement of three flowers, most often roses, sometimes carnations. But they can be any kind of flower. The middle flower is taller, while the side flowers are shorter and equal in height. Most artists portray all three flowers as red, a few depict the center flower as red and the side flowers as white, and occasionally all three flowers are shown as white.

A marriage is between two persons, yet this symbol has three flowers. The reason is that there are three parties to every Christian marriage. Two can be seen, the wife and the husband, and one cannot be seen, but is the most important party to a marriage — God. The taller flower in the middle represents God. The flowers on either side represent the wife and the husband. The taller flower’s position between the other two says metaphorically that God is the center of every Christian marriage.

Usually, the middle flower is red. Red is a symbol for love, and God is love (1 Jn 4:8,16). God loves both the wife and the husband individually and the couple collectively, and they both joyfully love God in return. Imitating God, the wife and husband have a deep love for each other. Love is the bond they share. God is the unifying force that brings them together and keeps them united.

Red is the color of blood. When Jesus died on the cross, blood flowed from his wounded side (Jn 19:34). Jesus laid down his life as a sacrifice on the cross (Jn 15:13). He emptied himself (Phil 2:7).

He poured out everything he had without holding back, and he did so freely and willingly. Similarly, a wife and husband pledge to lay down their lives for each other as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1), to empty themselves without holding back, to give their entire lives to

DAILY Scriptures

Monday, Feb. 21 Jas 3:13-18 Mk 9:14-29 COURTESY FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

The lower portion of a stained-glass window on the sacrament of marriage at St. Boniface in Minneapolis depicts three flowers as a symbol of the sacrament. each other, and to do so freely and willingly.

Red is the color of the wine used at Mass. At the Last Supper, Jesus promised to give everyone who receives his body and blood the grace and strength necessary to be his disciples (Jn 6:53-58). Red is a reminder for every married couple to attend Mass regularly and receive the blood of Christ devoutly, because through the regular reception of the Eucharist the couple will receive the graces needed to be steadfast in love.

The center flower is taller. God outranks the wife and the husband. God is the teacher and supreme authority in every Christian marriage. When any sort of decision must be made, God’s way is the right way, and God is the one who gets the last word.

The side flowers are the same height to indicate that the wife and husband are equal (Gn 2:21-22). This was a novel thought in an ancient patriarchal culture in which the husband exercised a property right over his wife. Jesus would have none of it. He said the two are “one flesh” (Mk 10:8), the same substance, equal. Sometimes one spouse tries to win, to get ahead. But to lord authority over another is contrary to the Gospel (Mt 20:25-27). A Christian marriage is mutual and grounded in service gladly given.

Finally, the side flowers sometimes are white, an allusion to baptism. Both the baptismal garment and candle are white. It means that the wife and husband intend to live out their baptismal faith as adults within the sacrament of marriage.

Father Van Sloun is the interim director of clergy services in the archdiocese. He can be reached at vanslounm@archspm.org.

KNOW the SAINTS STS. FRANCISCO AND JACINTA MARTO Two of the three Fatima visionaries, this brother and sister were canonized in 2017. With their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, they had monthly visions of Mary at Fatima, Portugal, from May to October 1917. Mary asked the shepherd children to promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart and pray the rosary daily. Both Martos died of influenza, Francisco at age 10 in 1919, and Jacinta at age 9 in 1920. Their cousin, who became a Carmelite nun, died in 2005 at age 97. Fatima is among the world’s great Marian shrines and pilgrimage sites. Their feast day is Feb. 20.

— Catholic News Service

Tuesday, Feb. 22 Chair of St. Peter, apostle 1 Pt 5:1-4 Mt 16:13-19 Wednesday, Feb. 23 St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr Jas 4:13-17 Mk 9:38-40 Thursday, Feb. 24 Jas 5:1-6 Mk 9:41-50 Friday, Feb. 25 Jas 5:9-12 Mk 10:1-12 Saturday, Feb. 26 Jas 5:13-20 Mk 10:13-16 Sunday, Feb. 27 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sir 27:4-7 1 Cor 15:54-58 Lk 6:39-45

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15

COMMENTARY TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

Frost fair: creating something new in the dead of winter

The latest book by Sam Usher stopped me in my tracks. I’ve devoured the children’s books brilliantly illustrated by this Chicago dad, and the title of his new release immediately drew me in: “A Night at the Frost Fair.”

The cover art felt at once familiar and mystical. Here in Minnesota, my family’s winter nights are spent skating under moonlight, like the children he illustrated. But they skate on London’s River Thames, in the shadow of the cathedral, and their story takes place two centuries ago.

It’s set during the Little Ice Age, the period from the 13th to 19th century when the North Atlantic region experienced particularly cold winters. During that time, the River Thames froze over at least two dozen times.

Old London Bridge, which was made of 19 arches, slowed the river’s currents, making it more likely to freeze.

Boatmen who could no longer ferry people across the river but needed to generate income converted their boats to sleds and swings, and the Frost Fair was born. The river became a magical street filled with music and torches, booths and brightly painted swingboats. One year an elephant was led across the river.

ALREADY/NOT YET | JONATHAN LIEDL

Taking gold out of Egypt — and from Nietzsche

One of my favorite Catholic events takes place this month: the New York Encounter, Feb. 18-20.

I’d argue that the Encounter, publicly billed as “an annual three-day cultural event in the heart of New York City, offering opportunities for education, dialogue and friendship,” is one of the most profound displays of Catholicism-in-action out there — though probably not in the mode you’re used to.

Instead of catechetical talks, formulaic faith sharings or even eucharistic adoration, the Encounter features things like a reflection on the life and lyrics of John Coltrane, followed by a live performance of his jazz music; a moderated conversation on “living, dating and dying in a time of isolation” among leading academics; or a reflection from a New York Times’ columnist on the importance of community in getting through a mid-life crisis — or at least it did when I first went in 2019.

To be sure, the three-day event includes Catholic essentials like Sunday Mass; it is, after all, hosted by the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation. Clerics and ecclesial figures are wellrepresented among the featured speakers, and some exhibits are more obviously “Catholic,” like a presentation on the life of Servant of God Dr. Takashi Nagai, a Catholic convert and survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, or an interactive experience of Catholic novelist Walker Percy’s “Lost in the Cosmos.”

Still, the New York Encounter is decidedly unlike any

A season of isolation became a time for merriment.

The freezing cold made it possible.

This feels like a metaphor — and a relevant one for the seemingly interminable winter we find ourselves in.

It is dark and cold; we are sick and tired. We still have not overcome COVID-19, and it’s getting harder to imagine a future without it.

How can we, in our weariness, throw together a Frost Fair of our own design?

The answer is hinted at in the song “Blankets of Snow,” a winter anthem by the bluegrass duo The Okee Dokee Brothers. They sing: “Let the milk and cocoa simmer on the heat. Don’t you know the bitter cold makes the bittersweet.”

The older I get, the more clearly I see the beauty of winter, spinning lace on every tree branch. I also see the adventure it offers. As a kid, I frolicked in fresh snow sheerly for the fun of it. As an adult, I embrace it as a way of life — a noble, Nordic resilience.

If it’s above zero, we bundle up and head to the neighborhood pond, our sled filled with ice skates and firewood. We roast more marshmallows in the winter than the summer. That’s when we need the fire.

I’m reading Katherine May’s bestseller “Wintering,” which chronicles a period she calls “wintering,” when she and her husband experienced serious health problems and their son’s anxiety peaked. Katherine mines meaning out of a season many consider dormant, worthless. But she does so with gentle realism.

“If happiness is a skill,” she writes, “then sadness is too. … As adults, we often have to learn to hear the clarity of its call. That is wintering. It is the active acceptance of sadness. It is the practice of allowing ourselves to feel it as a need. It is the courage to stare down the worst parts of our experience and to commit to healing them the best we can. Wintering is a moment of intuition, our true needs felt keenly as a knife.”

other Catholic event I’ve been to, eschewing much of the pietistic lingo typically found at “churchy” conferences. So why do I insist that it’s so profoundly Catholic?

Because at the heart of the Encounter is the fundamental conviction that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all human desires — and that despite sin and its consequences, the inchoate longing for infinite Goodness, Beauty and Truth — in a word, for God — is detectable throughout human experience.

That includes genuine scientific inquiry, selfless quests for justice and artistic expressions like the jazz of John Coltrane.

The New York Encounter embodies St. Paul’s instruction to think about “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious” — indeed, what has “any excellence” or “anything worthy of praise.” It takes seriously the claim of St. Irenaeus that “the glory of God is man fully alive.” And it imitates the Jewish people of the Old Testament, who “took gold out of Egypt” during their flight, a phrase that has come to mean incorporating the best that the secular world has to offer into a Christian worldview.

More explicitly, the Encounter’s stated inspiration is Pope Benedict XVI’s claim that “the intelligence of faith has to become the intelligence of reality.”

Grounded in faith in Jesus and his Church, the Encounter allows Catholics to boldly engage the wider world with confidence and freedom.

Take, for instance, the title of this year’s Encounter: “This Urge for the Truth.” It’s actually a phrase from the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th century philosopher who coined the expression “God is dead,” whose name is synonymous with atheism. “One day the wanderer slammed a door shut behind him, came to a halt, and wept,” Nietzsche wrote in “The Joyous Science.” “Then he said: ‘This penchant and urge for what is true, real, non-apparent, certain — how I hate it!’”

The organizers of the New York Encounter didn’t choose the title of this year’s event from Nietzsche because he was an exemplary Catholic — he wasn’t.

COURTESY CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

This concept feels encapsulated in our Catholic faith, which delivers healing through sacraments we cannot find elsewhere. The priest doesn’t say Mass; he celebrates it. In the dead of winter, the Eucharist nourishes us.

Our faith gives us the lens to see the bittersweet in the bitter cold. It draws us around the fire.

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

They chose it because it expresses something profoundly true — that humans possess an insatiable desire to find out what it’s all about. It’s the perfect title to represent this year’s Encounter, which will explore why the truth matters and how we can reach it, while considering everything from “fake news” and the erosion of trust in scientific institutions to gender theory and climate change.

The curiosity and confidence with which the Encounter tackles real-world challenges and questions is refreshing, especially at a time when it can seem like Catholicism is characterized more by fear of “what’s out there,” putting us in a defensive posture that is not clearly for anything, but against a lot. In fact, by weaving explicitly Catholic themes with what might typically be considered general “humanist” interests, the Encounter makes the case emphatically: Whatever is truly human belongs to the Catholic faith.

Or, put the other way, being Catholic involves being interested in all of reality. Rather than constrict, our faith expands our gaze, our interests, our involvement in life. It is relevant to everything.

As Father Luigi Giussani, the founder of Communion and Liberation, once wrote, “The characteristic proper to the religious sense is that of being the ultimate, inevitable dimension of every gesture, of every action, of every type of relationship.”

It is “the factor we cannot escape, the criterion by which we make choices, study, produce in our working lives, join a political party, carry out scientific research, look for a wife or a husband, govern a nation.”

I won’t be able to attend the New York Encounter in person this year. But if you’re interested in getting a taste of the free, full and faithful Catholicism that animates it, I hope you’ll join me in streaming it online at newyorkencounter.org. Hopefully, we can both get a bit of gold out of Egypt — and maybe some from Nietzsche.

Liedl, a Twin Cities resident, is the senior editor of the National Catholic Register and a graduate student in theology at The St. Paul Seminary and School of Divinity.

COMMENTARY

16 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

GUEST COMMENTARY | BISHOP RICHARD PATES

Archbishop Byrne, retired priest residence’s namesake

It was a beautiful October evening on South Lindstrom Lake in Lindstrom. Coadjutor Archbishop Leo Byrne seized the occasion to walk to the end of the dock near his modest cabin. In this setting and true to his exuberant self, he thrust his arms into the air and exclaimed, “It’s

great to be alive!”

Archbishop Byrne (1908-1974) served as coadjutor archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis for several years.

This was his calling: second in command. He had been auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and coadjutor bishop of Wichita, Kansas, before coming to the Twin Cities.

Serving as the archdiocese’s vice chancellor and Archbishop Byrne’s secretary beginning in 1973, I knew him to be friendly and outgoing. His fellow bishops nominated him to be vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A few weeks before his exuberant lake experience, he withdrew his nomination, most likely sensing health issues.

Times were trying for all Church leaders and especially for this irrepressible Irishman. When a number of priests left ministry for marriage, it stung him to the core.

SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY

Freedom amid chaos

Catholics have a unique and unprecedented opportunity to impact the world for good at this very moment in history. We are situated in a culture that is racing with confusion. Clarity seems to be obscured at every turn. In fact, as a teacher many years ago, if I wanted my young students to engage in a calming activity, I would begin with a piece of computer paper and draw one connected scribbled line all over the paper. They were then to sit quietly and color in each of the spaces created by this scrawled line, which made the papers all look somewhat alike, but also different. It feels like we are living in a scribbled scene right now, with no rhyme or reason for all the confusion and chaos.

As Catholics, our faith helps us remain free in this endless, overly connected, senseless world. We understand our sacramental nature, our relationship with Jesus and the mercy that God has for each one of us. The delightful, energizing, spectacular mercy of God is offered to everyone, but only those who understand what God is asking of them at this time, only those who are willing to respond faithfully, and only those who are willing to take a risk can be used by God for the good in which he is inviting us to participate toward the building of his kingdom. As Father John Riccardo says, “You were born for this moment.”

In many ways, this is the description

Changes following Vatican II, to which he was devoted, plus the personal cost for a number of the religious, became a heavy burden for Archbishop Byrne.

The day following the visit to South Lindstrom Lake, I had finished celebrating Mass for the Blessed Virgin Mary Sisters when I had a phone call. The frantic voice of the sister-housekeeper shouted, “Come home! Come home!”

Arriving at the archbishop’s residence, I was ushered into his room. The archbishop was stretched out lifeless, the victim of a heart attack.

His death was received with disbelief and sadness.

His vitality, compassion, and identification with the ordinary person and the poor contributed to his widespread acclaim.

His funeral at the Cathedral was packed to overflowing. From the altar, I recognized Vice President Hubert Humphrey, whose exuberant voice joined the powerful chorus of “He Will Raise Him Up.” In a very uplifting liturgy, the spirit of Leo Byrne in his new status pervaded this space.

In the days following, a spontaneous movement to memorialize him was realized with the construction of a long-proposed home for retired priests of the archdiocese on the property of The St. Paul Seminary. It was named the “Leo C. Byrne Residence” to affirm the archbishop’s long-standing determination to ensure that retired priests were cared for properly.

The current Byrne Residence has served generations of retired priests in two locations. Still situated on The St. Paul Seminary campus, it pays tribute to Archbishop Byrne and to residents who have served 40, 50 and over 60 years in parishes and institutions of the archdiocese.

They have been faithful and untiringly generous to their communities.

After 27 years the residence is due for a substantial renovation. The recounting of the foregoing history

of early Christianity. Those times were dangerous to be a Christian and people could be killed for their beliefs. We may not be killed, but we may suffer persecution and disrespect. Our beliefs and tenets are questioned, and our desire to bring orderliness, goodness and sensibility into our workplaces and the world is often not welcomed.

In his 2020 book “Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel,” Father Riccardo explains that Christian life in the decades immediately following Jesus’ death and resurrection “was hopeful and joyful, marked by an intense, revolutionary love that was evident in action.” He contends that the action taken by the early Church was vital

FEBRUARY 10, 2021

COURTESY ARCHDIOCESAN ARCHIVES

Coadjutor Archbishop Leo Byrne smiles in this undated photograph. A campaign is underway to raise funds to renovate a residence for retired priests named in his honor. is obviously timed to provide background for those interested in supporting this worthy cause through the contribution envelopes provided in this edition of The Catholic Spirit. Consider your gift a continuation of Leo C. Byrne’s effort to care for those who have fostered our faith.

Bishop Pates is Bishop Emeritus of Des Moines, Iowa, and a former auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

More information about the Catholic Community Foundation’s Leo C. Byrne Residence Renovation Project is at ccf-mn.org/byrneresidence.

to that time and it is vital again today.

Father Ricardo also demonstrates that the Acts of the Apostles provided a witness to the way early Christians “turned the world upside down.”

Christianity provided a radical transformation for those living in the world at that time, and our world is begging for transformation again.

But who will do that, you may ask?

Certainly not I! My faith isn’t strong enough for that!

Ask yourself what it would take for your faith to grow stronger. How or what would you have to change to become a person of intense, radical, faith-filled conviction that could threaten to get you canceled in our current culture? In many

ways, this is a description of the saints, who lived lives dedicated to holiness, clearly understanding their desire to follow their master, Jesus. They lived each day in obedience and faithfulness to the call they had been given.

This is our mission at this time in human history. It is very clear that our world is sitting at a precipice. Catholics are distinctively situated to provide clear, faith-filled leadership to a hurting world.

We are currently in Ordinary Time in our Church’s liturgical calendar, experiencing the ordinariness of living our Catholic Christian faith on PLEASE TURN TO SIMPLE HOLINESS ON PAGE 19

LOCAL

4 • The Catholic Spirit COMMENTARY

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

GUEST COMMENTARY | EFFIE CALDAROLA

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17

SLICEof LIFE

Perhaps nothing speaks to this environmental respect “desire to have and to enjoy rather than to be and to more than the beautiful quilts that we have inherited. grow.” All of us must look at this desire in our own lives Often, each piece speaks to a reused piece of fabric, an and question our own culpability. old wedding or christening gown, perhaps a special In the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the garment now worn out but cut up and sewn for new use.

Church,” which was compiled under St. John Paul, the Today, our challenge is to return to this attitude of Vatican tells us that in modern times, “the aspect of respect for the gifts that the resources of our world the conquest and exploitation of resources has become provide us. We need look no further than Genesis to see predominant and invasive, and today it has even that God created the earth and commanded humans to reached the point of threatening the environment’s care for this creation (Gn 2:15). hospitable aspect: the environment as ‘resource’ risks In 1891, Pope Leo XIII articulated threatening the environment as ‘home.’”

On the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic his vision of Catholic social teaching Bishops, the bishops tell us that “we show our respect We humans have developed the ability to exploit impacting the affairs of our world. for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.” Care for resources at an incredible rate. And so we do. Rather Like Jesus, who entered the world the earth is not just a nice slogan. The bishops tell us it than treat our environment, with the creatures that among the poor and outcasts, “is a requirement of our faith.” abound in it, as our sacred and shared home, we use it Catholic social teaching endeavors as only a commodity and we risk destroying it.

To solve climate change and environmental to speak to the lives of people who degradation, we need to view the issue as one impacting Many Catholic dioceses, universities and schoolsMarch are 9, 2017 4 • The Catholic Spirit LOCAL struggle with the real and messy our spirituality and our faith life. attempting to address this important aspect of Catholic issues of life. social teaching by converting to solar, composting on Today, we see unprecedented hurricanes and frequent Catholic social teaching emphasizes the importance their campuses, cutting carbon emissions and using less.

“100-year” floods. We experience historic wildfires, of working toward “the common good.” According to Under Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican City began installing warming ocean temperatures, melting Arctic ice and Catholic teaching, our lives and our societal structures solar panels in 2008. The Vatican has banned single record-breaking summer heat. Resources are used must be concerned with what is good for the whole of use plastic bags and has committed to zero carbon and discarded with impunity. Categories of animals humanity. emissions by 2050. disappear. Often, it is the poor who are impacted most St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Avis Today, perhaps no issue impacts the lives of so many Allmaras, center, talks with by rising coastal waters or changing environments for Yet, we have a responsibility as individuals to live outRose Carter, left,we and Irene Eiden at Peace House in as does the reality of climate change and environmental subsistence farming or fishing.

Catholic social teaching, which tells us are much south Minneapolis Feb. 27. Sister Avis degradation. A major theme of Catholic social teaching more than what we have and consume.

Pope Francis, in “Laudato Si’,” tells us, “Everything goes to the center weekly and visits is “care for God’s creation,” and the moral responsibility is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs frequent guests Carter. Eiden, of Each of us constructs a quilt from the fabric oflikeour William in Fridley, is a lay consociate for caring for our common home falls to each of us. to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human lives. Each piece is cut from cloth thatSt. reflects our of the Carondelet Sisters. Peace House is Many people are aware that Pope Francis dedicated an beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the values. By deciding to consume less, to reuse, a day shelter repurpose, for the poor and homeless. entire encyclical to the care of God’s creation. But this a realloving privilege to know these people problems of society.” recycle, we deepen our commitment “It’s to the and hear their stories,” Sister Avis said. “I text, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” Creator who gives us every good gift and desires that we And as Pope Benedict XVI in the encyclical “Charity could not survive on the streets like they builds on a long line of statements from popes, bishops’ good. and Truth” expressed, “The environment is God’s gift to share with all of humanity for the common do. There are so many gifted people here.” Said Carter of Sister Avis: “She’s conferences and Scripture as it outlines the crisis we face everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility an angel. She hides her wings under that and our need to respond. toward the poor, toward future generations and toward Caldarola is a freelance writer and a columnist for sweatshirt. She truly is an angel.” humanity as a whole.”

Most of us remember stories from our grandmothers Catholic News Service. This column first appeared Dave Hrbacek/TheinCatholic Spirit Catholic social teaching speaks directly to the modern January 2021. In collaboration with several Catholic or great-grandmothers about how, in their day, items scourge of consumerism. Our emphasis on having, were used, reused and repurposed. Throwaway plastic organizations, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Celebrating sisters didn’t exist. Furniture was passed down from generation possessing and buying uses the resources of our world in Human Development launched the Laudato Action NationalSi’ Catholic Sisters Week is Marchand 8-14. An official component of unsustainable ways. to generation. Good, classic clothing was sewn or Platform last year to help parishes, families individuals From condos to castles, Women’s History Month and purchased to last for years.

St. John Paul II tells us that modern people have a on their “journeys towards integral ecology.”

Care for creation by consuming less

‘Angel’ among us

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18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

Why I am Catholic Catholic

A

By Tyler Blanski DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

t first, I became Catholic because Catholicism is true. But things are different now.

It’s been almost seven years since I was

received into the Church. Those early years were full of intellectual revelations and

heated debates, spiritual epiphanies, and the thrill that comes with meeting new friends and discovering new worlds. From Mass to reconciliation to coffee in the parish basement, every new experience brought with it a freshness, a newness, a sense of purpose that felt almost like falling in love.

But like a traveler in a foreign land, I was self-conscious

I am no longer Catholic because Catholicism is true, although it certainly is true, but for another, simpler reason.

and aware of my efforts to adopt the customs and idioms of that place. I felt like I should defend Rome, explain the Catechism, or blog about my travels. I was more interested in the “why” of the faith rather than the “how,” and to some degree things were very principled and theoretical, which makes sense because back then I was Catholic, firstly, because Catholicism is true.

But over the years, things have changed. I am no

In a way, Catholicism is also practical and down to earth.

What else would you expect from a God who in order to bring us up to heaven would come down to earth? It’s true that heaven is the goal, but our Lord left the Church behind to finish the mission on earth; and perhaps one of the reasons that mission is so difficult to accomplish is because it’s so real.

I am no longer Catholic because Catholicism is true, but because it is real. It isn’t something simply to be believed, but something to be lived. God’s grace works in you. The truths become a part of you. It’s not enough to dip your toes in the water; you have to jump in and swim. Like having children or running a business, this faith is not an abstract and beautiful picture; it’s a common life of habits and commitments and (I’m not afraid to say it) results.

Perhaps this is some of what G.K. Chesterton was getting at when he said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”

Blanski, 38, is the author of “An Immovable Feast: How I

longer Catholic because Catholicism is true, although it

Gave Up Spirituality for a Life of Religious Abundance” (Ignatius

certainly is true, but for another, simpler reason.

Press, 2018) and the director of major gifts at Chesterton

My wife Brittany and I have now had three children, and as any parent can tell you, children have a way of swiftly making abstract ideas become very concrete. You are brought into a world of diapers, sleepless nights, constant cleaning, cuddling, disciplining and cooking. As a father, I’ve also had to stretch myself professionally so that I can provide for my family, and business in America is very real and down to earth. It’s a world of meetings, deadlines and the bottom line — not beautiful truths.

Academy in Hopkins. He and his wife own a publishing business in Eden Prairie and are members of Holy Family in St. Louis Park.

He is also the founder of Fight for Milk, an apostolate to help Catholic men succeed in their vocation to fatherhood. You can connect with him at fightformilk.com.

“Why I am Catholic” is an ongoing series in The Catholic Spirit. Want to share why you are Catholic? Submit your story in 300-500 words to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Why I am Catholic” in the subject line.

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19

CALENDAR WORSHIP+RETREATS World Day of the Sick 2022 — Feb. 11: 5:15 p.m. at Transfiguration, 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale. All are invited to attend Mass, especially the sick, caregivers, chaplains and health care workers. Celebrant Archbishop Bernard Hebda. Reception and talk to follow. Deacon Stephen Najarian will speak on the Christian meaning of human suffering. transfigurationmn.org Secular Franciscan Informational Meeting — Feb. 20: 2–4 p.m. at St. Leonard of Port Maurice, 3949 Clinton Ave. S., Minneapolis. tauhouse70x7@hotmail.com Women’s Weekend Retreat — Feb. 25-27 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Theme: Hope Rising; Revisioning Our Dream. franciscanretreats.net Morning of Reflection — March 5: 8:30 a.m.–noon at Divine Mercy, 139 Mercy Drive, Faribault. Nancy Jo Sullivan will explore how Mary’s life connects to experiences of women and mothers today. Presentations, personal reflection time, refreshments. $10. Hosted by Divine Mercy’s Council of Catholic Women. RSVP at 507-331-7253 by Feb. 25.

Lenten Day of Prayer — March 9, 16, 23: 9:30 a.m.– 2 p.m. at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Days of Prayer are spiritually invigorating days with a talk, confession, meeting with a spiritual director, private prayer time and an intimate Mass in the retreat center’s chapel. $20 suggested offering. Bring lunch. franciscanretreats.net

PARISHES+SCHOOLS St. Michael Winterfest 2022 — Feb. 19-20 at St. Michael, 11300 Frankfort Parkway NE, St. Michael.

Family fun, bake sale, raffle, food and chances to win prizes. Spaghetti dinner and card tournament Saturday.

Bingo and meat raffles Sunday. stmcatholicchurch.org St. Pius X Winterfest 2022— Feb. 27: 10:30 a.m.– 3 p.m. at St. Pius X, 3878 Highland Ave., White Bear Lake. Chicken dinner (dine-in or take out), taco in a bag, hot dog and chips, bingo, sweet tooth booth, cake walk, derby races, children’s games, medallion hunt, grand raffle and sweepstakes. churchofstpiusx.org “Discipleship in a Divided Church” — Feb. 24: 10–11:30 a.m. at Risen Savior, 1501 E. County Road 42, Burnsville. Dialogue and conversation with author Angela Senander on the theme of synodality and her book “Scandal: The Catholic Church and Public Life.”

This event is in-person in the Bays at Risen Savior.

Participants are asked to wear masks. risensavior.org Farmington Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Bingo — Feb. 26: 5:30–9 p.m. at St. Michael, 21210 Denmark Ave., Farmington. $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and a maximum of $30 for families. Popcorn, soft-serve ice cream, wine, beer and soft drinks will also be available. stmichael-farmington.org

CONFERENCES+SPEAKERS ACCW Legislative Day — Feb. 19: 8:15 a.m.–noon at St. Pius V, 410 Colvill St. W., Cannon Falls. Legislative Day is open to men and women. Speakers include Lynn Varco, Minnesota Catholic Conference; Rep. Barb Haley; and Richard Larkin McLay, Human Life Alliance.

651-291-4545 CCF Investment Conference — Feb. 23: 7:15–10:15 a.m. at the University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., Suite 500, St. Paul. For people who want to better understand the world of Catholic investing. Will also be livestreamed. ccf-mn.org/ic “Catholic Social Teaching in Times of Religious and Political Disruption” — Feb. 23: 7–8:30 p.m., St. Frances Cabrini, 1500 Franklin Ave. SE, Minneapolis.

Historian and Vatican chronicler Massimo Faggioli will discuss the foundations of Catholic social teaching and explain how these principles serve as a guide in current religious and political disruption. cabrinimn.org/tegeder-talks 2022 WINE: Catholic Women’s Conference — Feb. 26: 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at Holy Family, 5900 W. Lake St., St. Louis Park. Day begins with Mass, followed by music with Caroline Metzinger and inspirational talks by Kelly Wahlquist (WINE founder), Liz Kelly (Catholic author and retreat leader), Leah Jacobson (the Wholistic Feminist) and Alicia Donovan (Biblical beekeeper). The day includes prayer (with prayer teams), confession, adoration, laughter, lunch, shopping, chocolate and a raffle. Special Friday evening option for 200 ladies. $75 for Feb. 26 conference only or $125 for Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. Deadline to register: Feb. 18. wineconference.org

MUSIC “Miserere Mei: A Sacred Concert for Lute and Soprano” — Feb. 20: 3 p.m. at Holy Cross, 1621 University Ave., Minneapolis. Soprano Sarah Jackson

CALENDAR submissions

and lutenist Thomas Walker Jr. perform sacred vocal works of Baroque and Renaissance composers Monteverdi, Kapsperger, Lassus, Morales, Josquin and more. Free admission. Ample parking. ourholycross.org/musical-events

DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication.

We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar. Priority is given to events occurring before the next issue date.

St. Joan of Arc Concert Series — Feb. 20: 7 p.m. at St. Joan of Arc Gym, 4537 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis.

“Oh Let Us Build This Place: St. Joan of Arc and 75 Years on the Southside.” T Mychael Rambo, Thomasina Petrus, Charmin Michelle and Dan Chouinard present an evening of music-filled historical vignettes from the multicultural south Minneapolis neighborhoods that became home to the fledgling parish in 1946. Special guests talk about growing up in the neighborhood: singer and Central High School alumna Gwen Matthews, educator and activist Greg McMoore, and TPT executive producer Daniel Bergin. This 23rd annual MLK Holiday and Black History Month concert is a collaboration with the parish’s antiracism ministry. $25 adult/$10 student. stjoan.com Kitty Cleveland in Concert — Feb. 27: 1 p.m. at St. Timothy, 8 Oak Ave. N, Maple Lake. Catholic musician Kitty Cleveland’s storytelling with sung prayer. Part of St. Timothy’s Centennial event series. CCW will host a pie social after the concert. Free. churchofsttimothy.org

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and organizations. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission.

Included in our listings are local events submitted by public sources that could be of interest to the larger Catholic community.

ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication: uTime and date of event uFull street address of event uDescription of event uContact information in case of questions ONLINE: TheCatholicSpirit.com/calendarsubmissions

SIMPLE HOLINESS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

OTHER EVENTS Dunrovin Retreat Center Open House — Feb. 22: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Dunrovin Retreat Center, 15525 St. Croix Trail N., Marine on the St. Croix. Facility tours, homemade samplings, nature walks, seasonal activities and a chance to win a cabin stay. Parish and school staff are encouraged to come, as well as Bible study groups, book clubs, arts and crafts groups. dunrovin.org Guiding Star Wakota Grow with Us 2022 Gala — Feb. 26: 5:30 p.m. at Omni Viking Lakes Hotel, 2611 Nordic Way, Eagan. Gather for a night of inspiration, fun and fundraising. Celebrate the opening of Guiding Star’s new facility and support the work done at Guiding Star Wakota. Special guest Archbishop Bernard Hebda. Host Matt Birk. Honorees John and Paula Kelly. guidingstarwakota.org/gala “Late Night Live with SPO” (St. Paul’s Outreach’s Annual Benefit Event) — March 1: A night of entertainment. Support and experience the mission of SPO in the Twin Cities at its first-ever late-night talk show-style event. spo.org/mnevent

a daily basis. Ask yourself what you can do during this Ordinary Time to provide a witness to others that Jesus is your master? Could you attend Mass faithfully? Could you spend an hour in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament?

Could you read the Acts of the Apostles, a book written by St. Luke, and learn about the trials faced by the early Christians?

Let’s each make a decision to radically transform our culture through our Catholic faith this winter and put our faith into action.

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist emeritus and a member of St. Ambrose in Woodbury. She holds a master’s degree in theology from The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul and a doctorate in educational leadership from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

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20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

THELASTWORD

Sculptor Edmonia Lewis shares message of human dignity through time

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service

E

dmonia Lewis, the first African American and Native American sculptor to achieve international recognition through works that reflected her Catholic faith and the dignity of people, is commemorated on a new postage

stamp.

The stamp, the 45th in the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage series, was issued Jan. 26 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington.

The stamp’s design features a painted portrait based on an Augustus Marshall photograph taken between 1864 and 1871 while Lewis was in Boston, the USPS said. February is Black History Month.

Lewis overcame multiple obstacles before arriving in Rome in 1865 and opening a studio where she incorporated the neoclassical style popular at the time and establishing herself as one of the most significant sculptors of the 19th century.

Her work is in the permanent collections at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Howard University Gallery of Art in Washington. Works also are scattered in Church institutions in the U.S. and Europe.

Some continue to be discovered after being missing for decades.

Art historian Elizabeth Lev, who grew up in Boston and has lived in Rome for 30 years, said it was in the Eternal City, where its cosmopolitan atmosphere meant skin color mattered little, that Lewis found inspiration to pursue sculpting in her preferred medium of marble.

Lev included Lewis among her four subjects in “Women Who Rocked Rome: Saints, Sinners, Artists and Influencers in the Eternal City,” a presentation she gave Jan. 30 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis sponsored by the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums’ Minnesota and North Dakota Chapter.

“Rome becomes a place where she can truly not just discover herself but become everything she always dreamed to be,” Lev told Catholic News Service. “The limitations she felt and were real in many ways in the U.S. were not limitations (in Rome).”

Lev described Lewis’ work as reflecting her mixed ancestry as she created sculptures of notable abolitionists as well as figurative images that reflected experiences of people of color, particularly following the abolition of slavery.

Lewis also portrayed religious images, at times imitating neoclassical and Renaissance artists. One such work from 1875 depicts Moses in an imitation of Michelangelo’s 16th-century statue of the man who led the Israelites out of oppression.

An 1874 piece portrays Hagar, an Old Testament heroine who was the maidservant to Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Hagar is shown after Sarah banished her to the wilderness in a jealous rage over Hagar’s son Ishmael, whom Abraham fathered. Hagar has an empty jug at her feet while looking heavenward as she seeks water.

Art experts have surmised that Lewis chose Hagar as a symbol of courage and survival, a symbol of her own experiences.

Details of Lewis’ early life are limited. She was born in 1844 in Greenbush, New York, near Albany. Later in life, Lewis maintained she was born July 4 that year.

Oberlin in 1863 for Boston, again with her brother’s assistance. There she studied under portrait sculptor Edward Brackett.

In the resolutely anti-slavery atmosphere of Boston, Lewis was inspired to create busts of abolitionists John Brown, who led the doomed slave rebellion at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, and Col. Robert Gould Shaw, who was killed while leading the all-Black 54th Massachusetts Regiment in the Union Army’s unsuccessful second assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1863.

Lev said Lewis’ work in Boston and Europe was inspired by her experiences as well as by the faith of the abolitionists, whose belief in human dignity was rooted in their deeply held religious principles.

Having saved enough money from the sale of her work, Lewis traveled to Europe in 1865 at age 20 in the hope of establishing her sculpting career. After stops in London, Paris and Florence, Italy, Lewis settled in Rome, where she opened a studio during the winter of 1865-1866 collaborating with other female sculptors in a male-dominated discipline.

Lewis’ work caught the eye of several benefactors, including John Patrick CrichtonStuart, known as the third Marquess of Bute, a Scottish magnate who became Catholic at age 21. Crichton-Stuart financially supported Lewis, allowing her to craft works that gained enthusiastic reviews.

Lev, other art historians and scholars continue to study and teach about new understandings and discoveries about Lewis and her sculptures.

COURTESY U.S. POSTAL SERVICE Lev said that how Lewis became ABOVE The U.S. Postal Service issued the Edmonia Catholic is uncertain. Lev related one Lewis Black Heritage Forever Stamp Jan. 26. story which finds that the Native AT RIGHT Edmonia Lewis carved the marble American tribe that raised her in New sculpture “Forever Free” in 1867, depicting an York was being ministered to by Jesuit African American man and woman who had broken WIKIMEDIA COMMONS missionaries. Lev, however, doubts that free of the chains of slavery. Its title is taken from was the case and points to Lewis’ time President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. in Rome as likely being more influential in the The sculpture is held by the Howard University Gallery of Art in development of her Catholic faith.

Washington, D.C. “There’s the Catholicism of this Scottish convert who is very excited about her work, and she is brought into this world of Catholic patronage in Rome. Part of it is Her father was Haitian American and her mother was the welcome of the Catholic community,” Lev said.

Chippewa. Both died before Lewis was 5.

One of Lewis’ most well-known sculptures is Lewis was raised by her mother’s family until she “Forever Free,” created in 1867. It depicts a Black was 12 and was known as “Wildfire,” according to man and woman emerging from the bonds of slavery. a Smithsonian American Art Museum biography. In Lev said that while the man is standing, the woman 1859 at age 15, her older brother, who had become a is shown on her knees praying in thanksgiving for successful gold miner in California, helped Lewis enroll being freed of the bonds of slavery. That sculpture at Oberlin College in Ohio, one of the first institutions in the country to admit African Americans. She took the and others, Lev said, is how Lewis used her art to communicate in a subtle and nuanced way to address name Mary Edmonia Lewis. issues of social justice.

She did not graduate, however. Despite the school “That’s where I think we can learn from someone welcoming African Americans, Lewis was subjected to who knew about racism really, the woman who was racism and sexism. In 1862, two friends became ill after beaten to within an inch of her life at Oberlin, the Lewis served them wine, opening the way to charges woman who every step of the way had to overcome that she poisoned them. obstacles,” Lev told CNS. The charges were dismissed at trial, but soon after Lewis was severely beaten by white vigilantes who left Lewis died in London in 1907 at age 63. She never her for dead. About a year later, she was accused of married nor had children. She is buried in St. Mary’s stealing artists’ materials from the school, but again Roman Catholic Cemetery in the city’s borough of was acquitted because of a lack of evidence. Lewis left Brent.

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