The Catholic Spirit - June 20, 2019

thecatholicspirit.com

June 20, 2019 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

What priesthood teaches them Three jubilarians at 10, 25 and 50 years reflect on their experiences since ordination.

— Pages 14-15

End of session Minnesota Catholic Conference leader analyzes policy gains and losses of the 2019 legislative session.

— Page 5

Faith leaders explore protecting religious liberty as an interfaith endeavor during Religious Freedom Week, June 22-29.

— Page 6

Rural Life Mass New Prague couple to host annual outdoor Mass celebrating faith, farming and food.

— Page 7

Addressing abuse U.S. bishops tackle accountability, transparency at spring meeting in Baltimore.

— Pages 9-10

Confession quandary Experts weigh in on laws designed to compel priests to break confessional seal.

— Page 19

Heading south In the midst of Venezuelan crisis, Northfield pastor prepares to return to minister in archdiocesan mission.

— Page 20

We’re taking a summer break!

Look for our next issue July 11.

Come Holy Spirit PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

With hope for local Church renewal, Pentecost Vigil Mass opens pre-synod process

ABOVE From left, Dave and Heidi Harvey of St. Paul in Ham Lake, Kathy Matschke of St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake, LeoniRose Mba and her mother, Henrietta Nayoh, of St. Raphael in Crystal sing at the Pentecost Vigil Mass June 8 at St. Peter in Mendota.

By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit

D

LEFT Archbishop Bernard Hebda, left, and Bishop Andrew Cozzens sing during the Mass.

uring an evening Mass filled with praise and worship music June 8, Archbishop Bernard Hebda asked the congregation to join him and other local Catholic leaders in seeking the Holy Spirit as the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis begins a two-year discernment process culminating in a local synod.

Hosted by St. Peter in Mendota — the archdiocese’s oldest parish — the 7 p.m.

Mass was held on the Vigil of Pentecost, when the Church commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.

Similar to the Easter Vigil, the Mass included multiple Old Testament readings before the epistle and Gospel readings. It also included the “Veni Sancte Spiritus,” a medieval prayer to the Holy Spirit, before the Gospel acclamation.

“My brothers and sisters, we want the Holy Spirit to enter us, to transform us, to make us radiate his love,” Archbishop Hebda said in his homily. “That has to be our prayer.”

The Mass marked the beginning of a process leading up to an archdiocesan synod, a gathering of delegates from around the archdiocese to discern, with the archbishop, pastoral priorities for the archdiocese’s immediate future. The synod is scheduled for Pentecost weekend 2021.

In September, a series of more than 30 prayer and listening events will begin,

offering Catholics the opportunity to share their hopes for the local Church.

From the information shared at those events, Archbishop Hebda and archdiocesan leaders will determine the synod’s topics next spring. Then, parishes and deaneries will organize small groups to discuss the topics and provide ideas and feedback ahead of the synod assembly.

In the homily, Archbishop Hebda referred to a quote from St. Benedicta of the Cross — also known as Edith Stein, a 20th-century German Catholic convert and martyr — who called the Holy Spirit the “master who builds the eternal cathedral” and “God’s molding hand.”

“I look at our local Church and see it crying out to be molded, to be renewed, to be refreshed,” the archbishop said. “I’m confident that that’s the Lord’s desire for us. I’m confident that he will send his Holy Spirit upon us if we ask him.”

“I’ve called you here this evening,” he continued, “to help me do just that: to evoke the Holy Spirit, the one who breathes life into the Church, not just tonight, but throughout the synod process that we’re beginning this evening.”

Archbishop Hebda said he recognizes that the process is a “major investment of your time and energy,“ but that “the renewal of our Church is that important and crucial.”

“The Lord is calling us to be faithful to the movements of the Holy Spirit, to discern the Spirit’s presence in all and to reflect the Holy Spirit in all that we do,” he added.

He asked Catholics to listen to each other’s stories, hopes, dreams, sorrows and challenges.

“I have confidence that the Holy Spirit will use our listening and these next two years, that he will use our dialogues in charity, that he will use the abundant gifts that he has bestowed so generously upon you in this Church — laity, clergy, consecrated men and women — to bring about greater unity in our Church, the unity that renews.”

He continued: “I have no doubts that the results will be spectacular since our God is spectacular.”

More than 1,000 people attended the Mass, St. Peter’s leaders estimated, requiring overflow seating in the church’s gathering space. More than 20 priests concelebrated, including Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens — who is chairman of the synod executive committee, which is organizing the pre-synod process and synod assembly — and St. Peter’s pastor, Father Steven Hoffman.

Heartfelt Congratulations Father Dennis Dease

on your 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.

With best wishes, Gene and Mary Frey and family

PLEASE TURN TO PENTECOST VIGIL ON PAGE 6

Photo Courtesy Mark Brown | University of St. Thomas

Shared objectives

2 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 20, 2019

PAGETWO

“

How many are leaving?

The short answer is: a lot.

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles speaking June 11 to U.S. bishops in Baltimore on the high rates of “nones” — people who claim no religion — among millennials who were raised Catholic. The No. 1 reason they left the Church, he said, is that they no longer believe the Church’s teachings, primarily its doctrinal beliefs, and that Church should focus on drawing them back.

Bishop Barron is chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, and known for his website, “Word on Fire,” and for hosting the documentary series “Catholicism.”

NEWS notes

13

The consecutive number of years going back to kindergarten that 2019 Academy of Holy Angels graduate Maggie Arms had perfect school attendance. Staff of the Catholic high school in Richfield honored her during a student awards ceremony May 31. In a statement from the school, Arms’ mother, Liz, said, “When she graduated from middle school with perfect attendance, we were amazed, but we never thought she could make it through high school as well.” Arms attended Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis from kindergarten through eighth grade.

JOE RUFF | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

MAJOR PROJECT Jake Buhman, a glazer with Gaytee-Palmer Stained Glass in Minneapolis, examines part of a stained glass window depicting St. Simeon as he removes it June 13 near the altar of St. John the Baptist in the Shrine of Nations at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. Buhman’s work is part of an 18-window, $140,000 stained glass restoration project at the Cathedral. Father John Ubel, the Cathedral’s rector, said the project began last fall and is expected to be completed by early September. The project is funded by the Cathedral Heritage Foundation in St. Paul and individual donors, Father Ubel said.

$500,000

The amount Pope Francis donated April 19 from the Peter’s Pence Collection to aid migrants traveling through Mexico. The donation helped 16 dioceses and religious congregations assist the migrants with basic necessities. Parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will take up the Peter’s Pence Collection June 29-30. The international fund provides resources for Pope Francis to help relieve people’s suffering from war, oppression and natural disasters.

18x26

The size in feet of the outdoor classroom Jack Murray built at Transfiguration School in Oakdale, where he once attended, for his Eagle Scout project last fall. The classroom has picnic-table-like desks sitting on a stone patio with a wooden stage in the front. Murray graduated from Hill-Murray High School in Maplewood this spring.

8

The putting distance in feet that Brock Winter, a member of St. Michael in Stillwater, hit to win the high school boys individual Class 3A state golf tournament June 12 at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids. He captured the first-ever individual state boys golf title for Stillwater Area High School.

620

The total score carded by the Holy Family Catholic High School boys golf team for a second-straight Class 2A state title June 12 at the Ridges at Sand Creek golf course in Jordan. Blake Stedronsky, Sam McNulty, Ben Reddan, Charlie Lindberg, Cole Wilson and Jake Bornhoft played for the Victoria Catholic school.

CNS

HARD HAT MASS Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris celebrates Mass in the Chapel of the Virgin inside Notre Dame Cathedral June 15. It was the first Mass since a huge blaze devastated the landmark building in April. The Mass was celebrated in the Chapel of the Virgin to mark the anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral’s altar, an event that usually takes place June 16 each year. About 30 invited guests — mostly clergy, cathedral employees and building contractors — wore protective headgear because of dangers of falling masonry, although the Virgin chapel, situated behind the choir, had been designated as safe.

2

The number of local priests from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings who were featured in the documentary film “Different Roads to Heaven,” released April 19.

Father David Hennen, the pastor, and Father Michael Barsness, the parochial vicar, are among Catholic and Protestant clergy in the film who share aspects of their respective church’s teachings and their journeys to ministry. Hastings resident Clinton Toughill created the documentary to explore differences and similarities among Catholic and various Protestant denominations. The film is available on Amazon.

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS In the May 16 issue, the letter to the editor “Cathedral left out” stated the wrong issue date for the story “Preventing the wrinkles from time.”

The correct date was May 2.

Also in the May 16 issue, the story “St. Paul attorney sues Vatican for documentation of clergy offenders, coverups” mistakenly described those suing the Vatican as “defendants,” not “plaintiffs.”

The May 16 article “Natural burial to begin at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights” requires several corrections and clarifications. The new natural burial site at Resurrection Cemetery is called Gate of Heaven Preserve. The Catholic Cemeteries explored adding natural burial for more than five years and considered Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’” a

The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 24 — No. 12 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief

supporting inspiration for implementing natural burial. Resurrection won’t offer cremation for natural burial because cremation uses large amounts of energy and The Catholic Cemeteries does not consider it “natural.” Gate of Heaven will have a concrete sidewalk, which leads to the grave site. Visitors can obtain a map of the plots at the cemetery office.

In the June 6 issue, the Official did not

include the full name for Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria, where Father Nels Gjengdahl will become chaplain July 1. The Official also was not clear that Father Seraphim Wirth, a member of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, has been assigned chaplain of St. Jerome School in Maplewood.

The Catholic Spirit apologizes for the errors.

Materials credited to CNS copy­righted by Catholic News Service.

All other materials copyrighted by The Cath­olic Spirit Newspaper.

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JUNE 20, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3

FROMTHEBISHOP ONLY JESUS | BISHOP ANDREW COZZENS

Hopeful that bishops’ resolve means results

A

s the bishops gathered in Baltimore last week, there were many different thoughts and emotions amid the seriousness of this last year’s events in the Church in the United States and globally. The most consistent sentiment was a deep, firm resolve to move forward to hold bishops and priests decidedly accountable for instances of sexual abuse of children or other vulnerable persons, sexual misconduct, or the mishandling of such cases.

The four action items, which all passed by overwhelming majorities, expressed this resolve: 1) Establishing protocols for bishops who were removed from office or resigned their office for reasons of sexual abuse or mishandling of cases; 2) Authorizing the establishment of a national, thirdparty, reporting system to receive reports of abuse or misconduct by bishops in the United States; 3) Directives to implement Pope Francis’ recent “motu proprio” “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” (“You are the light of the world”), a legal document which established a process to investigate accusations against bishops; and 4) A joint expression of episcopal commitment to implement all these, and especially to involve the laity as we do so.

During the meeting, one of the members of the national press asked me if I was pleased with the way things were going. My answer, “I am cautiously hopeful.” Why? Because, with the help of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, we can finally establish a defined, distinct and transparent system to address allegations against bishops. We have a system that has been effective in recent years in dealing with priest abuse and misconduct, and, as I stated clearly last fall, we needed one for bishops.

Here is how the proposed system should work: If there is an allegation that a bishop has engaged in misconduct

Hay esperanza de que la resolución de los obispos significa resultados Cuando los obispos se reunieron en Baltimore la semana pasada, hubo muchos pensamientos y emociones diferentes en medio de la seriedad de los acontecimientos de este último año en la Iglesia en los Estados Unidos y a nivel mundial. El sentimiento más consistente fue una profunda y firme determinación de seguir adelante para responsatar decididamente a los obispos y sacerdotes de los casos de abuso sexual de niños u otras personas vulnerables, mala conducta sexual o el mal manejo de esos casos. Los cuatro elementos de acción, que todos pasaron por mayorías abrumadoras, expresaron esta determinación: 1) Establecer protocolos para los obispos que fueron removidos del cargo o renunciados a su cargo por razones de abuso sexual o mal manejo de casos; 2) Autorizar el establecimiento de un sistema nacional de denuncias, de terceros, para recibir denuncias de abuso o mala conducta por parte de los obispos en los Estados Unidos; 3) Directivas para aplicar el documento del Papa Francisco, el Motu Proprio, Vos Estis Lux Mundi, que estableció un proceso para investigar las acusaciones contra los obispos; y 4) Una expresión conjunta del compromiso episcopal de aplicar todos ellos, y especialmente de involucrar a los laicos a medida que lo hacemos.

himself or has mishandled the report of misconduct of another cleric, then any person could report this either to a national third party reporting line or directly to the metropolitan archbishop for the region. The reporting line will forward reports to a lay person designated to receive these complaints on behalf of the metropolitan archbishop of the province where the accused bishop lives. The province of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is made up of all the dioceses in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Of course, reports of illegal activity would immediately be forwarded to the relevant police. The document from the Vatican requires compliance with local laws. That is nothing new for this archdiocese. Our normal protocol with any potential crime has been both to ask the person making the report to contact the police first, and to call the police ourselves, even if the allegation is not subject to mandatory reporting requirements.

If an archbishop himself would be the subject of the accusation, the notification will go to a senior bishop in the province and to the lay person that bishop has designated to assist with these reports. In our province, this is currently the bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The lay person appointed to receive these complaints will work with the archbishop or bishop to present the report to the papal nuncio (the Vatican ambassador to the United States) and to the appropriate office in Rome. If an allegation involves sexual abuse of minors, it is handled by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Most other allegations are handled by the Congregation for Bishops.

The Vatican has to respond as soon as possible — at the latest within 30 days — regarding the commencement of an official investigation. Then, an investigation of the accusation normally must be completed within 90 days. In this archdiocese, this proposed process would follow the pattern we now use for all our investigations, with lay investigators and lay

Durante la reunión, uno de los miembros de la prensa nacional me preguntó si estaba satisfecho con la forma en que las cosas iban.

Mi respuesta: “Estoy cautelosamente esperanzado”. ¿por qué? Porque, con la ayuda de nuestro Santo Padre, el Papa Francisco, finalmente podemos establecer un sistema definido, distinto y transparente para abordar las acusaciones contra los obispos.

Tenemos un sistema que ha sido eficaz en los últimos años para hacer frente al abuso y la mala conducta de los sacerdotes, y, como dije claramente el otoño pasado, necesitábamos uno para los obispos.

Así es como debería funcionar el sistema propuesto. Si hay una acusación de que un obispo ha incurrido en mala conducta él mismo o ha manejado mal el informe de mala conducta de otro clérigo, entonces cualquier persona podría reportar esto a una línea nacional de reporte de un tercero o directamente al Arzobispo Metropolitano para el Región. La línea de presentación de informes remitirá informes a un laico designado para recibir estas quejas en nombre del Arzobispo Metropolitano de la Provincia donde vive el obispo acusado. La Provincia de la Arquidiócesis de Saint Paul y Minneapolis está formada por todas las diócesis de Minnesota, Dakota del Norte y Dakota del Sur. Por supuesto, los informes de actividades ilegales se remitirían inmediatamente a la policía pertinente. El documento del Vaticano requiere el cumplimiento de las leyes locales.

Eso no es nada nuevo para esta Arquidiócesis.

Nuestro protocolo normal con cualquier delito potencial ha sido tanto pedir a la persona que hace el informe que se ponga en contacto primero con la policía, como llamar

experts making recommendations, as we do, for example, with our archdiocesan Ministerial Review Board when there is an accusation against a priest. Once completed, the investigation and the recommendations will be provided to the congregation at the Vatican, which has the authority to act.

I am hopeful that the proposed system’s direct protocols, established timelines and defined roles will result in clear accountability. I am heartened that the process involves immediate and substantial participation by lay experts. The document approved by the bishops titled “Affirming our Episcopal Commitment” states that the bishops “are also committed, when we receive or when we are authorized to investigate such cases, to include the counsel of lay men and women, whose professional backgrounds are indispensable.” This involvement of the laity is essential for a process that is transparent and fair, and one that avoids the conflicts of interest that occurred in some previous cases, such as with former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

The stakes are high right now in the Catholic Church.

This new system will be tested. Only time will allow us to see if the resolve I felt among the bishops this week translates into results. I understand why many, including victims/survivors, may remain skeptical based on what they have experienced up until now, but I believe the Holy Spirit is at work.

Based on my experience of what we have done in this archdiocese, especially using the expertise of laity, I’m hopeful this new process will bring about a new level of transparency and accountability. This is essential for the continued healing of our Church. The ultimate solution to this crisis will continue to come as we work together to purify and strengthen our Church. As we seek together to live lives accountable in holiness, we will be able to create the environment of holiness in which our Church will flourish.

a la policía nosotros mismos, incluso si la denuncia no está sujeta a los requisitos obligatorios de presentación de informes. Si un propio arzobispo fuera objeto de la acusación, la notificación se llevará al obispo mayor de la Provincia y al laico que el obispo ha designado para ayudar con estos informes.

En nuestra provincia, este es actualmente el obispo de Sioux Falls, Dakota del Sur. La persona laico designada para recibir estas quejas trabajará con el arzobispo u obispo para presentar el informe al Nuncio Papal (el Embajador del Vaticano en los Estados Unidos) y al cargo apropiado en Roma. Si una acusación implica abuso sexual de menores, es manejada por la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe. La mayoría de las otras acusaciones son manejadas por la Congregación para los Obispos.

El Vaticano tiene que responder lo antes posible, y a más tardar en un plazo de 30 días, con respecto al inicio de una investigación oficial. Entonces, una investigación de la acusación normalmente debe completarse dentro de los 90 días. En esta Arquidiócesis, este proceso propuesto seguiría el patrón que ahora usamos para todas nuestras investigaciones, con investigadores laicos y expertos laicos haciendo recomendaciones, como lo hacemos, por ejemplo, con nuestra junta de revisión arquidiocesana cuando hay una acusación contra un Sacerdote. Una vez completada, la investigación y las recomendaciones se proporcionarán a la congregación en el Vaticano que tiene la autoridad para actuar.

Lea una versión más larga de esta columna en español en TheCatholicSpirit.com.

OFFICIAL Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:

Effective June 12, 2019 Reverend Allan Paul Eilen, appointed chaplain of Way of the Shepherd Catholic Montessori School in Blaine. This is in addition to his assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Patrick in Oak Grove.

Effective July 1, 2019 Reverend Dennis Backer, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Luke in Clearwater. Father Backer has been serving as parochial administrator of the same parish.

Reverend Albert Backmann, appointed Minister to Clergy for the Archdiocese. Father Backmann is a retired priest who previously has been serving as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Patrick in Edina.

Reverend Michael Cassian DiRocco, appointed as parochial vicar of the Church of All Saints in Minneapolis. Father DiRocco is a candidate with the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.

Reverend Francis Fried, appointed sacramental minister of the Church of Saint PLEASE TURN TO APPOINTMENTS ON PAGE 24

4 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 20, 2019

LOCAL

SLICEof LIFE

Grateful grad The cap of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School graduate Natalie Victoria Agudo reads “gracias a mi familia,” or “thanks to my family,” at the Minneapolis school’s commencement June 8. Decorating caps on graduation day is a school tradition. The school graduated 129 seniors — its largest class since it was established locally in 2007 and the second largest class in Cristo Rey Network history. The Cristo Rey Network of schools around the U.S. primarily enrolls students who would otherwise not be able to afford Catholic secondary education. The network’s model is known for its work-study program, which places students at a job site for one day each week with the aim of helping defray tuition costs and teach career skills. Beginning with Cristo Rey Jesuit’s first graduation class in 2011, 100 percent of its graduates each year have been accepted to college or the military.

“I’m super excited (about the record number of local graduates) — 129 great young people who are going to be great leaders in the community,” said Jeb Myers, school president.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Thank you for your joyful, Catholic leadership.

Father Dennis Dease

50 Years of Priestly Ministry - The Saint Paul Seminary Class of 1968 President Emeritus of the University of St. Thomas Member of The Saint Paul Seminary Board of Trustees

Father Michael Becker

20 Years of Priestly Ministry - The Saint Paul Seminary Class of 1999 Rector of Saint John Vianney College Seminary Member of The Saint Paul Seminary Board of Trustees

THE SEMINARIES OF SAINT PAUL

semssp.org

JUNE 20, 2019

LOCAL

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5

MCC: Lawmakers rise above divisions in budget compromise

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit Three new sources of state funding will help protect life from conception to age 2 — the first 1,000 days of life.

The state’s welfare program for families with children will see its first cash grant increase in 33 years — from $621 to $721 a month for a family of four.

And in the legislative session that ended late last month, lawmakers maintained a provider tax on health care services that helps to ensure access to medical care for low-income Minnesotans — although the tax was reduced from 2 percent to 1.8 percent.

Those are among victories for families and people in need during a legislative session that saw a divided government reach compromises to serve the common good, said Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

“I think our legislative leaders and the governor have to be congratulated and commended,” Adkins said.

“People can come together and respect one another.”

Democrats took control of the House in the November elections, while Republicans hold the Senate.

Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who won office in November, replaced two-term Democrat Gov. Mark Dayton, who retired.

Going into the session that began in January, Adkins suggested that the divided government could create opportunities for moderation and compromise. And that’s what happened, he said, during a session that included closed-door negotiations among Walz, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka of Nisswa and Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) House Speaker Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park.

Lawmakers sealed the deals in a 21-hour special session that ended May 25 by approving a $48.3 billion budget for the next two years.

Some lawmakers and observers of the Legislature criticized the closed-door sessions. Adkins said he didn’t necessarily agree.

“At some point, people have to get in a room and they’ve got to work out their differences,” he said. Party leaders are entrusted by their caucuses to speak for them, Adkins said, similar to labor negotiations between union members and management.

The session certainly provided good news for issues and concerns to the MCC, which represents the public policy interests of the Catholic Church in Minnesota, he said. Of 31 bills tracked this session by the conference, 22 had favorable outcomes from MCC’s perspective.

Adkins also credited Catholics who stepped up during

the second Catholics at the Capitol event in St. Paul Feb. 19, which included as speakers actor Jim Caviezel and Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. More than 1,000 people traveled from across the state to pray, learn about pertinent issues and visit with lawmakers. Groups organized by legislative district visited more than 190 of the Legislature’s 201 lawmakers, Adkins said.

“Politics is made by the people who show up,” Adkins said. “It’s important that Catholics show up at the Capitol and add our voices for life, dignity and the common good.”

Fruits of the effort were seen this JASON ADKINS session, Adkins said, including lawmakers passing three out of four initiatives highlighted by the conference as important to promoting maternal and child well-being. One of the bills, which called for a study to help identify barriers to breastfeeding, didn’t pass. But lawmakers approved funds for pro-life programs designed to reduce racial disparities in access to prenatal care, provide healthrelated home visiting programs for families with young children, and help meet the transportation needs of pregnant or young mothers in school, he said.

“These are really important programs that help at a crucial stage of a child’s development,” Adkins said.

Lawmakers also stepped up the state’s help for the needy by increasing the cash grant in the Minnesota Family Investment Program, the state’s welfare program for families with children, Adkins said. That grant hadn’t received a boost since 1986. The conference lobbied for years for an increase, and it placed special emphasis on that need at the inaugural Catholics at the Capitol in 2017, he said.

“People were using 1986 dollars to try to overcome 2019 poverty, and that was really, really a challenge,” he said. “But with a lot of shovel work over the years” the grant will be increased, he said.

Other initiatives backed by the conference and advanced by lawmakers include fees imposed on pharmaceutical companies to help combat the opioid crisis, and advocates for the homeless securing $78 million in new investments for emergency shelters, rental assistance, and preservation and production of affordable homes.

MCC was pleased that several bills did not advance, Adkins said, including an initiative that would have prevented Christian-based counseling of people seeking help for unwanted same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria, as well as efforts to expand gambling and legalize recreational marijuana use.

A bill that would have allowed commercial surrogacy

We honor

Father Dennis Dease Congratulations on 50 years of esteemed priesthood.

You are an inspiration.

Building Great Leaders

CatholicHotdish.com

PHOTO BY MIKE EKERN/UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS

in Minnesota, in effect treating women and children as commodities, also failed to advance, a victory for Catholics and others concerned about that issue, Adkins said.

“We were able to derail that with the help of people at Catholics at the Capitol, which was really exciting, and then at the same time build momentum for an alternative proposal to ban commercial surrogacy,” he said.

Momentum built by Catholics also succeeded in halting advancement of a statewide comprehensive sexual education mandate in public schools that would have promoted gender identity ideology, abortion and unhealthy sexual behaviors, Adkins said.

“That was one of the biggest issues on which the Catholic people ... were really fired up and took action on,” he said.

Disappointments included Walz’s opposition to and the ultimate defeat of a $25 million scholarship program to help low- and moderate-income students attend Catholic and other private schools, Adkins said.

“We’re very disappointed in that,” he said. “I’m very grateful to legislative leaders who have three times now gotten the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit right to the finish line, but Gov. Dayton and now Gov. Walz have been absolutely adamant in their opposition.”

MCC and the state’s bishops also were disappointed that a proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses failed to pass, he said.

But MCC will continue to advocate for those positions and others as lawmakers look to the second half of the biennial session, which begins Feb. 11 and tends to focus on policy and bond issues, Adkins said.

It might be harder to find consensus on policy issues with Democrats in the House and Republicans in the Senate, and both sides staking claims they hope will attract voters in fall 2020, Adkins said. But the time between now and February provides additional opportunities for people to talk with lawmakers and let them know what issues are important, he said.

One area requiring particular vigilance is stopping any movement toward legalization of assisted suicide, Adkins said. No hearings on the issue have been held thus far in this biennial session, but assisted suicide is likely to receive more attention in the fall or during the next session, he said.

Tracking bills on MCC’s website at mccatholic.org and joining its Catholic Advocacy Network of email alerts and information helps people keep up with legislation important to the state’s bishops and key times to contact lawmakers, Adkins said.

“This is when, in the interim, people can talk to their legislators about what they’d like to see done,” he said.

LOCAL

6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Panel to focus on religious freedom issues

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit Theologian William Stevenson believes religious divisions won’t help defend religious freedom in the U.S., where hostility toward religion has been growing.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear Catholics and Christians must make common cause with Muslims in the area of religious freedom and that we all have something at stake here,” said Stevenson, who teaches at the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. “We don’t have to agree with one another on the claims of our respective faiths, but all of us have skin in this game.”

Stevenson will join three other panelists to discuss Catholic-Muslim dialogue and religious freedom as part of a Religious Freedom Week event at St. Peter in Mendota.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference will host the 7 p.m. June 26 conversation, which is titled “Religious Freedom and Path to Peace: Catholic and Islamic Perspectives in Dialogue.” It is designed to give a local and international perspective on ways Catholics and Muslims can work together in light of Pope Francis’ Feb. 4 joint declaration for peace with Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. The declaration called for Christians and Muslims to foster mutual respect and seek the good of all people.

“We think it is important for Catholics to engage our Muslim neighbors in conversation about religious freedom and walk together in discernment about how we can work together to protect the dignity of the human person,” said Jason Adkins, MCC executive director. “It’s especially important in a state with a large Catholic population and a growing Muslim community.”

ALI CHAMSEDDINE

KAUSAR HUSSAIN

ODEH MUHAWESH

WILLIAM STEVENSON

MCC invited to the panel four scholars and leaders from the Catholic and Muslim communities — Stevenson, Islamic Center of Minnesota President Kausar Hussain, University of St. Thomas theology professor Ali Chamseddine and Islamic scholar and businessman Odeh Muhawesh. The lineup will bring different perspectives to the table, Adkins said.

“We have both a Roman Catholic theologian and a Maronite Catholic scholar of Islam who has a Muslim father and a Christian mother,” Adkins said. “We have a Shi’a Muslim scholar and businessman, as well as the female president of the Islamic Society of Minnesota, a Sunni organization.”

Hussain said she hopes Muslims and Christians can work together because they have much in common.

“It’s really important for the Islamic Center to be involved in this kind of work, and we felt it would be a great thing to be part of this,” she said.

Stevenson noted that both faiths support marriage, family and the complementarity of the sexes. Secularism has infringed on all three in recent years through public policy, thereby infringing on religious freedom, he said.

“From the Church’s perspective, religious freedom is a matter of protecting the dignity and spiritual aspirations of the human person,” Adkins said. “It is a question of basic rights and the common good.”

Religious Freedom Week began in 2018 as an initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty. It developed out of the USCCB’s 14-day Fortnight for Freedom, which began in 2012. Running June 22-29, the week highlights prayer, study and education in protecting religious freedom.

JUNE 20, 2019

PENTECOST VIGIL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 While the Mass was open to all, members of local charismatic movements were extended a special invitation. Many attendees wore red, the liturgical color of Pentecost, and even more worshipped with outstretched hands, a common gesture of prayer in the charismatic movement.

When Mass ended, the worship immediately transitioned into a prayer meeting, with continued praise and worship music. Brother Ken Apuzzo, Catholic campus ministry director at the University of Minnesota and the senior director of mission oversight for St. Paul’s Outreach in Inver Grove Heights, led the prayer meeting. As it began, he gave a short explanation of charismatic prayer, saying that it expresses “what’s inside on the outside, vocalizing the joy and love that the Spirit stirs in our hearts.”

Several attendees said they were intrigued by the synod concept and the opportunity for the local Church to examine itself and experience renewal.

Father Kevin Manthey, chaplain of Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, said he attended the Mass because of his membership in the Emmanuel Community, a charismatic community with about 20 members in the Twin Cities.

“We’re very small, so it was an opportunity to gather together with many other charismatics of the local communities to celebrate together the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and also to support our bishops and the beginning of the synod process,” he said.

Karen Kostohris, 57, said she attended because of her membership in Community of Christ the Redeemer, a large charismatic community based in West St. Paul. A parishioner of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, she said she was honored to accept the archbishop’s invitation to “pray for the synod and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our archdiocese.”

“I was overwhelmed by how many people who were here that I didn’t know and are just having the same enthusiasm for the Holy Spirit in the Church and the renewal of the Church,” she said.

JUNE 20, 2019

LOCAL

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7

New Prague farmers to host archdiocese’s rural life celebration

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit On a recent sunny, summer day, Dick and Mary Jo Hruby of rural New Prague were cleaning up their yard — ­ a yard the size of six city blocks — preparing to host the archdiocese’s annual celebration of rural life.

“It’s a beautiful day: sunshine, warm and breezy,” Dick Hruby said as he and his wife took a break to talk about the June 23 Rural Life Sunday Mass, lunch, music and activities they are planning along with their parish, the New Prague Area Catholic Community, with an open invitation to Catholics across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Attendance varies year to year, but the Hrubys are preparing for about 600 people. They’re getting help from parishioners; Knights of Columbus Council 22023 and its Ladies’ Auxiliary; their pastor, Father Kevin Clinton, who is retiring at the end of June; and the incoming parochial administrator, Father Eugene Theisen, who recently arrived from a six-month sabbatical after retiring as a military chaplain.

The Mass and festivities are a special opportunity to give thanks for farmers and ranchers, for the blessings of good harvests and to pray for continued graces from God, the Hrubys said.

“It’s in thanksgiving for the fields and the crops and the rural life,” Mary Jo Hruby said. “I love it out here in the country.”

After retiring as dairy farmers in 2000, the Hrubys continue to live on the homestead property that has been in Dick Hruby’s family since 1886. They rent out the rest of the farm, which is about five miles southwest of New Prague, to a neighbor.

The farm is where they raised four children — ­ all now adults and living in the area — and became involved with their parish and the Catholic school, the Knights and Worldwide Marriage Encounter.

IF YOU GO Rural Life Sunday 1:30 p.m. June 23 Mass, lunch, activities Dick and Mary Jo Hruby family farm 31695 171st Ave., New Prague

Dick and Mary Jo Hruby on their farm southwest of New Prague.

COURTESY THE HRUBY FAMILY

They hope to pass on the homestead to one of their children, to keep it in the family. They are excited to celebrate their way of life with others in the archdiocese.

“I think it’s important to draw attention to rural America,” Dick Hruby said. “A lot of city people don’t realize where their food comes from.”

Father Theisen said the family-friendly day will include a hayride, games to play and animals to meet.

There will be a malt and milkshake truck, sandwiches, chips and other picnic food.

“I am so looking forward to the malts and the shakes,” he said, laughing.

Father Theisen and Father Clinton said the day also

is a time to reflect on the importance of farming and of the rural way of life.

“The faith life and the culture of a rural community are unique,” said Father Clinton, who has served at the parish for more than 14 years. “The rural folks are very close to the land.”

Father Charles Lachowitzer, vicar general of the archdiocese and moderator of the curia, will preside at the 1:30 p.m. Mass — for the third time in the last six years.

“It’s one of my favorite events all year,” Father Lachowitzer said. “We have deep roots in the land as Catholics here in the archdiocese.”

LOCAL

8 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 20, 2019

Author: In divisive times, Chesterton inspires unity among Catholics

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service At a time when Catholics seem to be split between conservative and progressive factions, the life and works of English writer G.K. Chesterton can inspire men and women in the Church to rise above conflict, said U.S. scholar Dale Ahlquist.

“People on the left and right both find things to connect to Chesterton,” he said. “Chesterton is a unifier. ... I think he did see the potential for the schism that is going on right now, the great division between people. But it’s just a general splitting of society because we’ve lost our roots.”

One of Ahlquist’s latest books, “Knight of the Holy Ghost,” is “designed to introduce people to Chesterton,” who lived from 1874 to 1936. It was released at the beginning of the year, shortly before Ahlquist released another Chestertonthemed book, “My Name is Lazarus.”

“There are some excellent biographies out there that are very good. But sometimes, Chesterton can get lost in the details, and I wanted to bring out the highlights, some of the most important features of his life, so that he stands out,” Ahlquist, 60, said of “Knight of the Holy Ghost.”

Ahlquist, a parishioner of Holy Family in St. Louis Park and president of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, an apostolate inspired by the writer that includes The American Chesterton Society, also makes the case for Chesterton’s sainthood cause.

In 2013, Bishop Peter

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Dale Ahlquist, president of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, holds his two recently published books, “My Name is Lazarus” and “Knight of the Holy Ghost.”

Doyle of Northampton, England, appointed Father John Udris, a priest of the diocese, to conduct an investigation into Chesterton’s life and writings. The report, Ahlquist said, has been completed and “recommends that the cause be opened.” Now, it is up to the bishop to request Vatican permission to open the cause.

In “Knight of the Holy Ghost,” Ahlquist dispels misunderstandings or falsehoods that some have cited as obstacles to Chesterton’s canonization, including the misconception that he was “rabidly antiSemitic.”

Chesterton, Ahlquist argued, spoke out against eugenics, the controlled breeding of the human race to promote or eliminate certain traits, which rose to prominence in the United States and Europe, especially Nazi Germany. The policy is

believed to have been the precursor to the Nazis’ “Final Solution,” which resulted in the genocide of an estimated 6 million European Jews.

Chesterton “was the one who attacked eugenics and all the great racial theories.

He attacked Nazism in its nascent stage and was someone who really respected the Jews and defended the Jews,” Ahlquist said. “And so, it’s a completely unfair charge.”

Others, he added, object to his canonization because he enjoyed drinking, or they accuse him of being a “glutton because he was fat.”

The latter charge, Ahlquist quipped, was not made against St. John XXIII or St. Thomas Aquinas before their canonizations.

“Chesterton has a great line,” Ahlquist said. “He says, ‘I’m sure that the thin monks were holy, but the fat monks were humble.’ So, we deal

with the fat objection, too.”

As for imbibing alcohol, he added, Chesterton argued against “the puritanical approach to drinking, which is that drinking is evil.”

“No, it’s not that wine and beer are evil things, they can just be abused like any good thing,” Ahlquist said. “He called puritanism the ‘righteous indignation about the wrong things.’”

Chesterton may also find a kindred spirit in the current occupant of St. Peter’s chair.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis opened a conference sponsored by the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture in 2006 and approved a prayer for Chesterton’s intercession.

Ahlquist also recalled a notable coincidence that points to a papal connection with Chesterton. In his book “St. Francis of Assisi,” Chesterton highlighted the importance of St. Benedict’s preservation of Christian culture and learning in the monastic system. St. Francis, however, took the monastic order to the streets when he founded the Franciscan order.

“Chesterton has this great line: ‘What St. Benedict stored, St. Francis scattered.’

When I read that line, it struck me,” Ahlquist said.

“We have two popes who are alive right now, one of them is named Benedict and the other one is named Francis.

So, it’s Chesterton accidentally being prophetic.

Pope Benedict was the scholar, the learned one, and Pope Francis is the pope of the people who takes it out into the streets.”

CONVERSION STORIES Dale Ahlquist of Holy Family in St. Louis Park says he became Catholic partly because of the influence of G.K. Chesterton.

He is not alone. Others make similar claims.

And in a book published in May titled “My Name is Lazarus,” Ahlquist compiled essays written by him and 33 other people describing Chesterton’s impact on their decisions to convert to Catholicism.

“The title comes from a line in a poem that Chesterton wrote the day he was received into the Catholic Church,” Ahlquist said. “We begin the book with a retelling of his own conversion story.”

Ahlquist’s journey to the Catholic faith began in a Baptist church he attended while growing up.

Chesterton’s writings drew him into exploring Catholicism during his adult years, even though he didn’t think he was open to conversion at the time he started reading Chesterton.

“The last person that I ever expected to become Catholic was me,” Ahlquist said. “And, I found that Chesterton had a way of making me think about the Catholic Church before I realized I was thinking about it.”

Ahlquist said his book includes essays by former Jews, Muslims, agnostics, atheists and Protestants. Some of them, he noted, now are priests, and one is a bishop. In some cases, reading just one line written by Chesterton was enough to start their conversion process, Ahlquist said.

“It ends up being a book of Catholic apologetics because a lot of the problems that people have with the Catholic faith are addressed in this book,” he said. “Every convert has had those same questions, and how they’ve had to deal with them (is) dealt with in this book.”

Ahlquist said he thinks the book could help anyone who is thinking of joining the Church.

He calls it “very much a textbook for RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults).” The book is published by ACS Books, The American Chesterton Society’s publishing division, and available for $16.95 at chesterton.org.

— Dave Hrbacek

Congratulations,

Father Dease, on the 50th anniversary oF your orDination.

Please join us as we

celebrate

Dick Schulze and the Schulze Family Foundation.

the retirement of Fr. Cletus Basekela Sunday June 30th • 10:30 Mass (in church) Lunch and program in the school gym immediately following Mass.

Church of St. Jerome • 380 Roselawn Ave E Maplewood, MN 55117 651-771-1209

Photo Courtesy Mark Brown | University of St. Thomas

JUNE 20, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9

NATION+WORLD

Bishops OK plan to implement ‘motu proprio’ on addressing abuse

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

ENCOURAGED BY ACTION

The U.S. bishops approved a plan June 13 to implement the “motu proprio” “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” (“You are the light of the world”) issued in May by Pope Francis to help the Catholic Church safeguard its members from abuse and hold its leaders accountable.

The “motu proprio” was one of the measures that came out the Vatican’s February Vatican summit on clergy sexual abuse attended by the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences.

The implementation plan passed 281-1, with two abstentions, on the last day of the bishops’ June 11-13 general meeting in Baltimore. Directives for implementing the new juridical instrument in the U.S. Church were formally presented to the bishops June 11.

“Vos Estis Lux Mundi” established “procedures for reporting complaints of sexual abuse of minors or of vulnerable persons by clerics or by members of institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life,” said Bishop Robert Deeley of Portland, Maine, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, in introductory remarks June 11 before he presented the plan.

“The ‘motu proprio’ likewise holds Church leaders accountable for actions or omissions relating to the handling of such reports,” he added.

Among its provisions, the “motu proprio” and the implementation plan affirm “the oversight responsibility of the metropolitan throughout the investigatory process,” Bishop Deeley said. In Church parlance, a “metropolitan” is the archbishop in a province with other dioceses headed by bishops.

There are 32 metropolitans in the U.S. Church. In the province of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis is the metropolitan.

The implementation plan, Bishop Deeley said, has four other elements: u“Provide for the utilization of a national third-party reporting system by which reports can be received and conveyed to (the) proper ecclesiastical authority.” u“Underscore the requirement to provide pastoral care to persons who might have been harmed.” u“Encourage the utilization of proven experts chosen from among the laity.” u“Recognize the competence of each ecclesiastical province to determine an appropriate means to allocate costs for the investigation of reports and the provision of pastoral care to victims/survivors.”

“I found great encouragement in the actions taken this week by the bishops of the United States,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a statement released after the June 11-13 general meeting of U.S. bishops in Baltimore.

“There was overwhelming support for the measures taken to make sure that structures are in place to hold bishops accountable for their actions, structures that call upon the indispensable gifts and expertise of our lay sisters and brothers.

“Our first order of business will be to implement all that we, as the Metropolitan Archdiocese for the province of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, need to do to carry out Pope Francis’ vision for increased accountability, especially regarding putting into place and publicizing clear protocols for following up on reports concerning bishops and ensuring that appropriate accountability measures are instituted to measure compliance with these protocols.

“I am grateful that we have long had a very positive experience and tradition of lay leadership in both conducting investigations and reaching out to those who have been harmed.

“I look forward to working with the bishops from around our region to expand the list of lay experts willing to collaborate in this critical work.”

— The Catholic Spirit

The directives “are not intended to establish particular law for the United States,” Bishop Deeley said. The provisions in “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” itself took effect June 1 and will last for three years. The implementation plan itself also is good for three years, subject to a later review by the bishops.

“Vos Estis Lux Mundi” “took concrete steps to eradicate the crime of sexual abuse,” Bishop Deeley told his fellow bishops June 11. But nothing the U.S. bishops can do, he added, “can derogate from the universal law” of the Church or otherwise restrict the Vatican’s capacity to act.

In response to a question from Bishop Gerald Kicanas, administrator of the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Bishop Deeley said a metropolitan cannot start an

investigation until directed to do so by the Vatican.

“The Holy See may decide that that metropolitan is not the (proper) metropolitan to do it, for whatever reason.”

Representatives of some lay organizations expressed caution about the implementation plan, saying full collaboration by lay people is needed, and future actions by the bishops themselves will determine how successful the effort is.

“While the bishops took important initial steps, more remains to be done to address the root causes and create a new culture of leadership that values accountability, transparency and co-responsibility with clergy and laity,” said Kim Smolik, CEO of the Leadership Roundtable, which was founded by lay, religious and ordained leaders in the wake of the 2002 abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston.

The Roundtable works to help address the abuse crisis and promote best practices and accountability in the Church in all areas.

Reverend Peter Williams

Congratulations

on 15 Years of Priesthood St. Croix Catholic School 1990 Graduate

Fr. Aloysius Svobodny, OMI Lon9ralufalion:JJ Jr.

7 di,

__Ai

on 'four

.......finniver:Jar'J Of#

11

Ordinalion lo lhe Prie:Jlhood/

From the staff at Christ the King Retreat Center

10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

NATION+WORLD

JUNE 20, 2019

Bishops pass 10-point plan to acknowledge ‘episcopal commitments’

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service The U.S. bishops approved a 10-point statement, “Affirming Our Episcopal Commitments,” June 13 during their general meeting in Baltimore in which the bishops express hope to regain “the trust of the people of God.” The 217-1 vote, with two bishops abstaining, was applauded by the bishops gathered in Baltimore for the meeting. Approval was needed by two-thirds, or 180, of all U.S. bishops.

The bishops were scheduled to discuss the statement at last November’s general meeting, but a vote was put on hold after the Vatican asked the bishops to not pass any proposals regarding clerical sexual abuse until it had had sufficient time to review those proposals.

In 2002, the bishops approved a “Statement of Episcopal Commitment,” in which they declared that the provisions of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” applied to them as well.

But a stronger response was called for after last summer’s revelations of the decades-long abuses committed by Theodore McCarrick, a former cardinal who was laicized earlier this year, and the release in August of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on a months-long investigation into abuse claims against clergy and other Church workers in six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses dating back to 1947.

The week before the bishops’ meeting, details emerged from the Vatican-ordered investigation of retired Bishop Michael Bransfield of WheelingCharleston, West Virginia, spelling out a multitude of financial and sexual improprieties. Bishop Bransfield resigned last September, shortly after fresh allegations of sexual misconduct involving adults were reported against him — the first allegations surfaced in 2012 and dated back to the 1970s, when he was a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who was appointed apostolic administrator of the diocese last September, restricted Bishop Bransfield’s ministry.

Archbishop Lori also was charged with overseeing the investigation.

“Some bishops have failed in keeping to these promises (made at their episcopal ordination) by committing acts of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct themselves,” the text of the new statement says. “Others have failed by not responding morally, pastorally and effectively to allegations of abuse or misconduct perpetrated by other bishops, priests and deacons.

Because of these failures, the faithful are outraged, horrified and discouraged.”

The statement adds, “The anger is justified; it has humbled us, prompting us into self-examination, repentance and a desire to do better, much better. We will continue to listen.

“In his personal letter to the U.S. bishops in January 2019, Pope Francis reminded us that the consequences of our failures cannot be fixed by being administrators of new programs or new committees. They can only be resolved by humility, listening, self-examination and conversion.”

The document, formally presented June 11 by Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, was updated from a version mailed to bishops in May, and it received further modifications during the Baltimore meeting. The previous document, then titled “Acknowledging Our Episcopal Commitments,” had nine points. The approved statement has 10.

The newest point reads: “We are also committed ... to include the counsel of lay men and women whose professional backgrounds are indispensable.”

Other points in the document include: u“We will continue to reach out to the victims/ survivors of sexual abuse by the clergy and their families

in support of their spiritual and emotional well-being” so they can “find the care and healing they need.” uPledging that the requirements of the 2002 charter “apply to bishops as well as to priests and deacons and commit to hold ourselves and, fraternally, hold our fellow bishops to comply fully with the charter’s ‘Statement of Episcopal Commitment.’” uPromote and disseminate details on how abuse can be reported to an independent third-party entity.

“While safeguarding confidentiality of all persons involved, every effort will be made toward transparency and keeping the reporter appraised of the status of the case.” uAmend if necessary diocesan codes of conduct to state “unequivocally” that they also apply to bishops. u“Make sure that these codes of conduct contain proper explanations as to what constitutes sexual misconduct with adults as well as what constitutes sexual harassment of adults.” u“We will be always mindful that there can be no ‘double life,’ no ‘special circumstances,’ no ‘secret life’ in the practice of chastity.” uQuoting from the 2004 Vatican directory for the pastoral ministry of bishops, “Apostolorum Successores,” and Pope Francis’ May “motu proprio,” titled “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” (“You are the light of the world”), “our first response will be to provide for the pastoral care of the person who is making the allegation, as well as follow the established Church and civil procedures to investigation. This will be done in cooperation with lay experts and civil authorities.” uParticipate in gatherings “in regard to best practices in dealing with sexual abuse of minors, and sexual misconduct with or sexual harassment of adults.” uWhen proposing names of potential future bishops, “we will offer candidates truly suitable for the episcopacy.”

JUNE 20, 2019

NATION+WORLD

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 11

Vatican office: Gender ideology is opposed to faith, reason

“

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Catholic schools must help parents teach young people that biological sex and gender are naturally fixed at birth and part of God’s plan for creation, said the Congregation for Catholic Education.

In a document published June 10, the congregation said the Catholic Church and those proposing a looser definition of gender can find common ground in “a laudable desire to combat all expressions of unjust discrimination,” in educating children to respect all people “in their peculiarity and difference,” in respecting the “equal dignity of men and women” and in promoting respect for “the values of femininity.”

And while great care must be taken to respect and provide care for persons who “live situations of sexual indeterminacy,” those who teach in the name of the Catholic Church must help young people understand that being created male and masculine or female and feminine is part of God’s plan for them.

The document, “Male and Female He Created Them: Toward a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education,” was signed by Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect of the education congregation, and Archbishop Angelo Zani, congregation secretary.

The document recognized a distinction between “the ideology of

Modern gender theories deny ‘the reciprocity and complementarity of male-female relations’ as well as ‘the procreative end of sexuality.’

CNS

“Male and Female He Created Them: Toward a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education”

A restroom sign is displayed at a restaurant. gender,” which it said tries to present its theories as “absolute and unquestionable,” and the whole field of scientific research on gender, which attempts to understand the ways sexual difference is lived out in different cultures.

While claiming to promote individual freedom and respect for the rights of each person, the document said, those who see gender as a personal choice or discovery unconnected to biological sex are, in fact, promoting a vision of the

human person that is “opposed to faith and right reason.”

“The Christian vision of anthropology sees sexuality as a fundamental component of one’s personhood,” the document said. “It is one of its modes of being, of manifesting itself, communicating with others, and of feeling, expressing and living human love.”

The document insisted that modern gender ideology and the idea that one chooses or discovers his or her gender

go against nature by arguing that “the only thing that matters in personal relationships is the affection between the individuals involved, irrespective of sexual difference or procreation, which would be seen as irrelevant in the formation of families.”

The theories, it said, deny “the reciprocity and complementarity of male-female relations” as well as “the procreative end of sexuality.”

“This has led to calls for public recognition of the right to choose one’s gender, and of a plurality of new types of unions, in direct contradiction of the model of marriage as being between one man and one woman, which is portrayed as a vestige of patriarchal societies,” it said.

When the “physiological complementarity of male-female sexual difference” is removed, it said, procreation is no longer a natural process. Instead, recourse must be taken to in vitro fertilization or surrogacy with the risk of “the reduction of the baby to an object in the hands of science and technology.”

The education congregation insisted that “Catholic educators need to be sufficiently prepared regarding the intricacies of the various questions that gender theory brings up and be fully informed about both current and proposed legislation in their respective jurisdictions, aided by persons who are qualified in this area, in a way that is balanced and dialogue-orientated.”

NATION+WORLD

12 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

The Church of Saint Louis King of France and the Marist Fathers

congratulate

Father Joseph T. Hurtuk, S.M. and Father Roland A. Lajoie, S.M. on the 45th year of their Priestly Ordinations.

May God shower them with abundant blessings. Ad multos annos.

JUNE 20, 2019

Central U.S. farm woes deepen

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service Farmers rarely have an easy year, let alone an easy life. But 2019 has been one for the record books.

Souring trade with China and the mutual imposition of tariffs are just one thorn in the side of farmers. The other thorn is the weather. Extreme weather in the central United States has left farmers up in the air about what to plant and when — assuming they will be able to.

“We can’t get into the fields to plant, especially in the Midwest,” said Rudy Arredondo, president of the National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association.

“I did a four-state drive to the Great Lakes food summit that (the American Indian) tribes had. All the drive through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, the farmland was really under water,” Arredondo said.

Members of his own family own seven small farms in northwest Ohio.

Visiting in late April, “I was there for a week. When I got there, it was raining.

When I left, it was still raining,” Arredondo told Catholic News Service.

“They need three weeks of dry weather, and that has not happened. ... The concern is, we want to plant.”

Given the size of his association members’ farms, tariffs are not that big a deal. A bigger deal, he said, is that for “some of our producers, we don’t even have any crop insurance.”

He noted, “Farmers are the first responders of any climate event that takes place, because we’ve got to protect our land.” Yet there’s no bonus in it for them, not even in the form of government subsidies promised by President Donald Trump after tariffs closed off China to U.S. farm exports.

Instead, Arredondo told CNS, “what I’m seeing is an increase in foreclosures, particularly in those areas where the devastation has taken place in Minnesota, Iowa. There’s been an increase in foreclosures already. If you don’t have an income coming in, those subsidies aren’t helpful. And nobody’s talking about it. We’re going to see probably an increase in food (prices) as a result of these climate events.”

Fr. Marty Shallbetter • Fr. Bill Paron Congratulations on the 50th Anniversary of Ordination to the Holy Priesthood and a heartfelt thank you for your YES to God’s call in faithful service.

The Parishes of Ascension, Norwood Young America and St. Bernard, Cologne

Father Leonard Siebenaler

Congratulations and thank you for 60 years of faithful service to the Church!

From your grateful parishioners at St. Michael Catholic Church.

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2019 Parish Festival Guide Your calendar for fun across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

TheCatholicSpirit.com/festivals

he Sisters maintained their faith in God’s providential care even in extremely difficult circumstances. It is fficulties — not merely the solutions to these challenges, in which anyone might be able to see God’s — could be seen as demonstrations of God’s protection – and yet they were.

JUNE 20, 2019

Brittany, was transformed into a vast primitive home for the aged as Little Sisters and Residents ers of France the Poor in America France. At the height of the war over 950 people were living at the motherhouse including the Little ers’ family members who fled the dangers war. Additionally, La TourADVERTORIAL was used as a 500-bed merica, Little Sisters of thehad Poor received from of thethe Institute ers were treated. The German military visited La Tour several onor those ospital or training grounds. Fortunately, they were afraid of the e." ey were presumed to carry, and found La Tour too primitive, word that meaning of destroyed by bombings, including the novitiate in Marino, TM machine France, statue, both of which were destroyed during the Allied oseph’s esidents were killed in these 2 bombings. Yet throughout all God’s loving solicitude.

War II, ation, “Divine Providence never lets us down; in the measure onument in oubles its portion. What life-saving graces, what efficacious e orrow we feel nd Love, was ourselves now more than ever, the children of Mothers Provincial Lorraine Marie, Maria Christine and Little Sistersdistribute distribute rosaries to attendees.

Little Sisters rosaries to attendees.

Each Each rosary was isters have Mothers Provincial Lorraine Marie, Maria Christine and Alice Marie, Alice Marie, accept the Pro Fidelietate et Virtute Award.

accept the Pro Fidelietate et Virtute Award.

rosary wasby handmade by our Residents, handmade our Residents, Volunteers andVolunteers Little Sisters.and Little Sisters.

es of the Little Sisters’ first years in America. Father Ernest LeLièvre was a diocesan priest from France was largely theirinto expansion beyond the boundaries of France. He spent 4 years in America British Little responsible Sisters werefor taken exile and imprisoned by te 13 homes in the United States.

The first Little Sisters also imprisoned and held in captivity until they were in America shared Father LeLièvre’s convictions about care the Providence and universal fatherhood of God. dential even in extremely difficult circumstances.

It isThe annals of each home are filled with stories of how God in manifested His providing all kinds of necessities, alwaysremarked, at just thewith right moment, hallenges, which anyone mightmeeting beby able seethe God’s t itsgoodness annual intoApril Chicago“Someone recently great emotion, through the generosity of good people in the community sortsCongregation of people from every walk’ Surely of life.this tection – and yet they were. based Institute on Religious Life honored— all‘Your is truly privileged.

that our religious family grows, Providence doubles its portio assistance! Despite the uncertainties of the morrow we feel o God’s delicate Providence!”

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13

These same attitudes can be found in the stories of the Little who dedicated his life to the Little Sisters and was largely res helping the Little Sisters to establish their first 13 homes in th about the Prov how God man through the ge

The pioneerin Jeanne Jugan, on events and

Little Sisters with Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Christophe Little Sisters with Apostolic ArchbishopMass Christophe Pierre Pierre and Bishop RobertNuncio Vasa following at Mundelein and Bishop Robert Vasa following Mass at Mundelein Seminary.

Seminary.

Society today voice because involved in ev way that will the children o whom I have wisest is to ab you; come to

of the Poor are deeply grateful for the Divine Providence — 150 years of the Little Sisters The of Little the Sisters Poor in America witnessing more convincingly than ever that God is the F

A

the Little Sisters of the Poor with their

is not obvious today, but … our congregation of

The pioneering Little Sisters lived Sisters their like the foundressLittle of the Little Sisters Poor, Saint rimitive home for the aged as Little Residents Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award.faith Aand large number Sisters of the Poorof is athe perpetual miracle, a Jeanne with the simplicity ofhand the “little Their formation had taught them to this look ple were Jugan, living at motherhouse including theones,” Little of the Little Sisters were on to accept the the anawim. glorification of Divine Providence.

We realize onthe events persons with a living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity. of war.and Additionally, La Tour was used as a 500-bed award, which was designed to honor those “who truth even more in light of our present trials: the La Tour several manifest a strong love for the Church and a zealous bombings to which our homes in several regions Society succumbs the dangers being the deafdifficulties or inattentive to His ere afraid today of theoften commitment to thetoconsecrated life.of ” not seeing God’s havehand, been of exposed, of the forced voice because it is so gentle. Now is the time to believe in a merciful and the Provident God who in is providing intimately too primitive, evacuations, challenges involved for Speaking on behalf of all the Little Sisters, involved in everyone’s daily life. As believers we need to witness those in our sphere of influence in a everyone demonstrate the daily protection of our Sister Constance Veit, the U.S. We need way that will inspire faith in God, ourcongregation’s Father Almighty. to help othersDespite believethe that we are ALL heavenly Father… uncertainties of the evokedWe theneed Sisters’ theMarino, children ofcommunications God’s delicatedirector, Providence. togreat be able morrow to say, each in our own way, “I know in in we feel ourselves now more than ever, confidence “Providence is a that of all the …inI Divine know Providence. and am perfectly certain calculations I could make, the hewhom AlliedI have believed the children of God’s delicate Providence!” word that easilyto rolls off the tongue of every Little wisest is to myself Him.” And we must pray with Saint Jeanne Jugan, “My Jesus, I have only hroughout allabandon Sister, ” Sister years I Sister Constance related how struck she was by you; come to my aid … Ifsaid, Godadmitting is with that us it“for willmany be accomplished.”

thought of Providence more or less like a heavenly this history. “What really struck me about this version of amazon.com, or anetATM machine. ” But They scenario the way maintained in the measure rateful for the beautiful Pro Fidelitate Virtute award. have was pledged toour paySisters it forward by Sister said she has come to realize that Providence their faith in God’s providential care even in atatefficacious God is the Father who gave us life and loves us greatly. There can be no doubt that Little Sisters is much more than that. extremely difficult circumstances, ” she said.

“It he children of ters of the Church and faithful daughters of Saint Jeanne Jugan, icons of mercy as Cardinal George is hard to imagine how such pressing, serious Little Sisters distribute rosaries to attendees.

Each rosary was Delving into the congregation’s experiences during handmade by our Residents, Volunteers and Little Sisters.

World War II strongly impacted her understanding difficulties — not merely the solutions to these challenges, in which anyone might be able to see Father Ernest LeLièvre was aBeginning diocesaninpriest from1940, France December ew flourishing ofofProvidence. vocations to their Congregation so that they can continue their mission in God’s intervention, but the challenges themselves yond the boundaries of France.

HeAmerican spent 4 years in America over 100 British and Little Sisters were — could be seen as demonstrations of God’s Sisters in America shareduntil Father convictions imprisoned theyLeLièvre’s were liberated

by Allied d of God. The annals each home filledthewith of protection.Yet this is what our Mother General forces inofOctober 1944.are During warstories the wrote, even calling us the children of God’s delicate ing all kinds of necessities, always at just the right moment, Little Sisters’ motherhouse in Brittany, France was Providence!” community — all sorts of people frombutevery walkhome of life. transformed into a vast primitive for over 900 people as Little Sisters and Residents

These attitudes can also be found in the stories of

like the foundress of the Little from Sisters of the Poor, Saint were evacuated more dangerous areas of the Little Sisters’ first years in America. The annals e ones,” the anawim.

Their formation had taught to look France. The property was also used asthem a military of each home are filled with stories of how God ch arouses hopehospital and works through charity. where nearly 8,000 wounded soldiers

were treated. In addition, the German military of not seeing God’s hand, of being deaf or inattentive to His visited the motherhouse several times as they to believe in a merciful and Provident God who is intimately considered taking it over for use as a hospital or s we need to witness those in our of influence inold a training grounds, butsphere they were afraid of the Almighty. We need to and helpthe others believe that we are people communicable diseases theyALL were e need to be ablepresumed to say, each in our own way, “I know in to carry.

ectly certain that of all the calculations I could make, the addition to these challenges a number of Little must pray with InSaint Jeanne Jugan, “My Jesus, I have only Sisters’ homes were damaged or destroyed by ill be accomplished.”

bombings, including the novitiate in Marino, Italy, and have a home for the elderly France, tute award. They pledged to payin itLisieux, forward byboth which were destroyed during theLittle Allied Sisters invasion. oves us greatly.ofThere can be no doubt that A total of 32 Little Sisters and 70 Residents were Saint Jeanne Jugan, icons of mercy as Cardinal George killed in these two bombings.

Yet through all of these trials, Sister Constance said, the Sisters never gation so that they canLittle continue theirdoubted missionGod’s in loving solicitude. In 1944 Mother General wrote,

manifested his goodness by providing all kinds of necessities, always at just the right moment, through the generosity of good people in the community — all sorts of people from every walk of life.

“Among our early benefactors,” Sister Constance said, “were the founder of the first American men’s religious community, women religious from other European communities who had preceded the Little Sisters as missionaries in America, diocesan seminarians, bishops, archbishops and parish priests, school children and their parents, the richest woman in Boston and a couple of Irish maids who donated the shawls off their backs, and a young heiress from Philadelphia who went on to establish a religious community to serve Native and African Americans.”

will strive to continue to be faithful daughters of the Chu Today’s Little Sisters believe that, like their once called foundress, Saintthem.

Jeanne Jugan, the first Sisters in America lived their faith with the simplicity of the

Please join Little in praying for a new flourishing “little ones. ” They had Sisters a down-to-earth attitude America for another 150 years! toward ordinary events, but they also saw the action of God in those very events.

During the very years when the first American foundations were being made, the Fathers of the first Vatican Council defined Providence in terms that are still widely used: “God in His providence watches over and governs all the things that he made, reaching from end to end with might and disposing all things with gentleness.”

Commenting on this definition, Rev. John A. Hardon, S.J., founder of the Institute on Religious Life, once wrote, “The Church tells us, God’s almighty providence, God’s almighty power governs the world with gentleness. God is mild. God is not loud or boisterous; he governs the world with gentleness. Our only danger is to not see his hand, to be deceived by his mildness to not realize that behind that mildness is omnipotence; in other words, it is divine power tempered by love.”

“As Father Hardon said in 1988,” Sister Constance remarked, “I think our society today often succumbs to the danger of not seeing God’s hand, of being deaf to his voice because it is so gentle.”

Sister asserted that “now is the time to believe in a merciful and Provident God who is intimately involved in everyone’s daily life. As believers we need to witness to those in our sphere of influence in a way that will inspire faith in God, our Father Almighty. We need to help others believe that we are ALL the children of God’s delicate Providence.”

The Little Sisters of the Poor are deeply grateful for the Pro Fidelitate et Virtute award. They have pledged to pay it forward by witnessing more convincingly than ever that God is the Father who gave us life and loves us greatly.

Please join the Little Sisters in praying for a new flourishing of vocations to their Congregation so that they can continue their mission in America for another 150 years!

14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUBILEES

Priestly jubilee lives in service

Father Allan Paul Eilen, pastor of St. Patrick in Oak Grove, is celebrating the 10th jubilee of his priesthood. “In my whole life and priesthood, it’s all about being merciful like the Father, which means living the truth in love,” he said. “God is still just, he just gives us that which we don’t deserve.

It’s helping people encounter the mercy of God.”

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

A

jubilee anniversary is an opportunity not only to celebrate achievements but to reflect on a journey — past, present and future.

This year, 15 archdiocesan priests are celebrating 10, 25 or 50 years of ministry. The Catholic Spirit asked three of them to share their stories: Father Jerome Hackenmueller at 50 years, Father Minh Vu at 25 years and Father Allan Paul Eilen at 10 years.

The three have served parishes in the archdiocese and have drawn from their unique backgrounds, gifts and ministries. Their ages at ordination ranged from 29 to 49. While two grew up less than 20 miles from each other, Father

Helping people encounter mercy

I

t wasn’t until Father Allan Paul Eilen was in his 40s with a successful career and plans to marry that his call to priesthood — always quietly in the background — grew a lot louder.

After several years of discernment that involved choosing between marriage and holy orders, Father Eilen entered the seminary, bringing to the priesthood decades of life experience and professional knowledge.

“The Lord knew what my vocation was,” Father Eilen said. “He was just very patiently and mercifully allowing me to get to the point to finally give my free yes — and love has to be a free yes.”

Celebrating 10 years as a priest and his 60th birthday this year, Father Eilen shared highlights from and hopes for his priesthood.

Father Eilen grew up in Delano and prepared for a medical career in college, but instead of going to medical school he developed a career in hospital materials delivery, in which he worked for 20 years.

Since his 2009 ordination at age 49, Father Eilen’s assignments have been varied and not always expected, but in each the Holy Spirit has given him opportunities for growth. “I’ve never asked for an assignment,” he said. “I’ve always allowed the Holy Spirit to dictate.”

FATHER ALLAN PAUL EILEN Father Allan Paul Eilen, 59, has been pastor of St. Patrick in Oak Grove since 2015.

He has also ministered at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings (2009-2011), Our Lady of Grace in Edina (2011-2012), Immaculate Conception in Marysburg (2012-2015) and Nativity in Cleveland (2012-2015).

He has ministered at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings, Our Lady of Grace in Edina; the cluster of Immaculate Conception of Marysburg in Madison Lake and Nativity in Cleveland; and he now serves as pastor of St. Patrick in Oak Grove.

He was recently also named chaplain of Way of the Shepherd Catholic Montessori School in Blaine.

Father Eilen said his priesthood is about being an instrument of mercy. “In my whole life and priesthood, it’s all about being merciful like the Father, which means living the truth in love,” he said. “God is still just, he just gives us that which we don’t deserve. It’s helping people encounter the mercy of God.” At St. Patrick, Father Eilen hopes to draw parishioners into encounters of God’s mercy as part of a parish goal to engage adults and young people through prayer groups and retreats.

Outside the parish, Father Eilen has seen greater willingness among Catholics and society as a whole to talk about the clergy sexual abuse crisis. He is a chaplain for Grief to Grace, an international program in which professionally trained teams help survivors of abuse — including clergy sexual abuse — discover spiritual healing and transformation.

He is also a former member of the Serra Club, which supports priestly and religious vocations, and whose patron is St. Junipero Serra, a Spanish-born Franciscan friar who founded California missions in the 1700s. Father Eilen’s opportunity to concelebrate with Pope Francis the saint’s 2015 canonization Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., is a highlight of his ministry.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishioner Faith Siebenaler said she appreciates Father Eilen’s care for the sick and elderly, and his reverent celebration of the liturgy.

“He walks into the parish to this day and people just run over and greet him, and they all have a hug for him,” said Siebenaler, 63. “He’s always welcomed with open arms. People loved him; they really loved having him here.”

Father Eilen is broadening his ministry by studying spiritual direction. He’s found that it’s also helping him better integrate the human and spiritual aspects of his priesthood.

“It’s only by that,” he said, “that we’re going to be able to draw people to an encounter of the love and mercy of God.”

Bridging cultures through service

A

Father Minh Vu is celebrating his 25th year as a priest. “I’m very happy in my life as a priest,” said Father Minh, pastor of St. Adalbert in St. Paul. “I had a lot of hardship, but I never had a negative attitude in my life.”

s difficult as it was for Father Minh Vu to study for the priesthood under communist government persecution in Vietnam, he discovered another obstacle to becoming a priest when he arrived in the United States 33 years ago: the challenge of ministering to American Catholics whose language and culture were very different.

Eventually, his priestly call proved stronger than his uncertainty, and in 1994 at age 37 he became the first Vietnamese priest ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

As he celebrates his 25-year jubilee, Father Minh, 63, reflected on how the Holy Spirit has moved in his life and ministry, starting in his native country.

Father Minh, who studied “underground” — or in secret — for the priesthood for eight years in Vietnam, escaped from that country by boat in 1986 after being pursued by the government because of his faith. Forced to leave without his family, he spent about eight months in Malaysian and Filipino refugee camps.

When Father Minh arrived in Malaysia, a priest remarked that after his harrowing escape on Good Friday, the future priest had traveled in the power of the Holy Spirit, arriving at the camp during the commemoration of Christ’s resurrection.

From the camps, Father Minh came to the United States, and after spending several months in Buffalo, New York, uncertain about his vocation, he traveled to Minneapolis in 1987 to study sociology on a scholarship at the University of Minnesota. But hearing again his call to priesthood, he entered the seminary before finishing his university studies.

On top of his study at a Vietnamese seminary, he completed four years of theology coursework in the archdiocese. “I studied much more than any seminarian in order to get ordained,” he said.

Since his ordination, Father Minh has ministered at St. Rose of Lima in Roseville, St. Joseph of the Lakes in Lino Lakes and St. Adalbert — a predominantly Vietnamese parish in St. Paul — where he is now pastor.

As he celebrates 25 years as a priest, Father Minh said he’s received a desire to serve his parishioners — “being with them in any situation of their life celebrations, and giving them the sacraments, especially

JUNE 20, 2019 • 15

es: Celebrating e to the Church

Father Jerome Hackemueller is celebrating 50 years as a priest.

“I always felt it was the call of the Holy Spirit,” he said of his assignments, “me never going necessarily where I wanted to go, but always a strong attraction and call from the Holy Spirit to just be in tune with everywhere I was called to go.”

Minh’s native country of Vietnam is 8,000 miles from Minnesota.

As distinct as their priestly journeys have been, all three priests say the Holy Spirit has guided them — from Father Minh’s escape from communist Vietnam to Father Eilen’s abandoning a career in medical supplies to Father Hackenmueller’s service in South America.

“My whole life has been a constant journey but always guided by the Holy Spirit,” Father Hackenmueller said. “I’ve just felt that so strongly, especially always looking back. Stepping ahead was always a challenge, but it was like the Holy Spirit was always (leading) me. ... I don’t know what the next step of the Holy Spirit is about, but I’m not going to question it.”

In their stories, the three priests demonstrate the Spirit’s work in the Church, in their ministries and in their hopes for the future.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A missionary at home and abroad

W

hen he was growing up in St. Michael, Father Jerome Hackenmueller became aware of his missionary call while listening to the stories of aunts, uncles and cousins who served as priests and religious sisters in missions around the world.

After 50 years of priesthood, he’s still responding to a second call — his priestly vocation — which has been like a second musical chord creating harmony in the song of his life.

The missionary character of both callings is evident in his service at the archdiocese’s Venezuela mission, his involvement with diverse cultures as a local pastor and his current advocacy for the poor as part of the international nonprofit organization Unbound.

Even with Father Hackenmueller’s preference for the missions, he sees the work of divine providence in his assignments.

“The Holy Spirit led to one thing and moved me to another thing, and they all just kind of built one on top of the other,” he said. “I always felt it was the Father Jerome Hackenmueller, 78, a retired priest since call of the Holy Spirit, me never going 2011, last ministered at St. Patrick in St. Paul (1996necessarily where I wanted to go, but always a strong attraction and call from 2011). He has also ministered at Our Lady of Guadalupe the Holy Spirit to just be in tune with in St. Paul (1984-1996), Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul everywhere I was called to go.”

Now “actively retired” in Siren, (1983-1984), St. Weneceslaus in New Prague Wisconsin, he reflected on constants of (1969-1974), St. Joseph in West St. Paul (1969) and the his priesthood, including service to the Archdiocese of Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela (1972-1983). poor, Hispanic ministry and missionrelated work in Latin America.

Father Hackenmueller was servicing air conditioners and quietly discerning his priestly vocation when he surprised his family — including more than 30 members who have served as missionaries — by entering the seminary. After his 1969 ordination at age 29, he served at St. Joseph in West St. Paul and St. Wenceslaus in New Prague. In 1971, a year after the archdiocese established its mission in Venezuela, Father Hackenmueller was assigned there and spent 11 years establishing several parishes in northeastern Venezuela.

When he returned to Minnesota, Father Hackenmueller served at the Catholic Youth Center, a former archdiocesan ministry in St. Paul, as well as Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Patrick, all also in St. Paul. He ministered at St. Patrick until he retired in 2011. After assisting part time at Sacred Heart in Rush City, he now travels to parishes around the country to promote Unbound’s work of connecting sponsors with youth and elderly living in poverty in developing countries.

Father Hackenmueller, 78, said the biggest milestone of his priesthood was serving at Virgin de la Valle parish in Venezuela. He learned there and during his priesthood “to see Christ’s face in the poor and teach others to have this 20/20 vision.” The poor continue to teach him through their energy and the way they live faith and culture together, he said.

As he celebrates 50 years as a priest, Father Hackenmueller sees the Second Vatican Council and its documents as foundational to his work. Ordained just four years after Vatican II’s close, he said he has received in his priesthood a sense of the Church being of the people, and he has encouraged lay leadership.

At St. Patrick, Father Hackenmueller’s joy and sense of peace eased parishioners’ sense of loss, St. Patrick parishioner Tom Nordgren said, when the parish school — which merged in 1992 with the schools of nearby parishes St. Casimir and Sacred Heart to create Trinity Catholic School — closed in 2009. He also helped the parish transition from the longtime spiritual care of Capuchin Franciscans — which ended when Father Hackenmueller became pastor in 1996 — to the leadership of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who assumed responsibility for the parish when Father Hackenmueller retired. “He’s so down to earth,” Nordgren said. “He’s firm and he’s serious about what he does, but there is such a joy permeating his whole ministry. That kind of charism is so magnetic (that) it draws people to him.”

Whether at a parish or in a missionary setting, Father Hackenmueller said his jubilee means “I’ve run the good race, but more importantly, God has given me good health to continue this wonderful journey as long as God permits.”

FATHER JEROME HACKENMUELLER

in hard times” — which is his biggest gift to them, he said.

After anointing a St. Adalbert parishioner at a St. Paul hospital one day about seven years ago, for example, he was approached separately as he was leaving by parishioners from each of his previous assignments and asked to anoint their loved ones, too.

By using his knowledge of Father Minh Vu, 63, has been pastor of Vietnamese, English and French, Father St. Adalbert in St. Paul since 2001. He has Minh also translates also ministered at St. Rose of Lima catechetical works into (1994-1998) and St. Joseph of the Lakes in Vietnamese.

He encourages Lino Lakes (1998-2001).

Catholic young people, taking on their tough, faith-related questions.

“I work closely with youth in my ministry in the catechism class, and they seem to understand what I’m saying,” he said.

Father Minh’s support for youth and choir programs at St. Adalbert, along with efforts to reduce parish debt, are ways he’s impacted the parish, said parishioner Helen Pham.

“He’s very active and present to the community,” she said. “He brings people together. ... I admire his ability to greet people warmly and sincerely. Kids love him very much.”

During his priesthood, Father Minh said he’s appreciated his brother priests’ friendship and support.

When a priest suggested he become a military chaplain, Father Minh was interested but said he’s glad to serve as a diocesan priest in America.

“I’m very happy in my life as a priest,” Father Minh said. “I’ve never had a depressed or sad time. ... I’ve always had peace, even in persecution time in Vietnam, too. I had a lot of hardship, but I never had a negative attitude in my life.”

FATHER MINH VU

16 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUBILEES

JUNE 20, 2019

Congratulations, jubilarians!

The Catholic Spirit is honored to celebrate the priests who are marking 10, 25, 50 and 60 years of priestly ministry this year. In addition to jubilarians Father Allan Paul Eilen, Father Minh Vu and Father Jerome Hackenmueller, who are featured on pages 14-15, the following men are observing these significant anniversaries of their ordinations to the priesthood. The Catholic Spirit congratulates all our archdiocesan priests — including those not listed below — celebrating milestone anniversaries this year.

10 years (2009 ordination) Father Douglas Ebert, 72, has been pastor of St. John Neumann in Eagan since 2014 and parochial administrator at Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis since 2017. He has also ministered at All Saints in Lakeville (20092011), Guardian Angels in Chaska (20112014) and Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria (2011-2018).

Father Michael Johnson, 36, is the judicial vicar of the metropolitan tribunal, where he has been assigned since 2013. He has also ministered at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton (2009-2012) and Epiphany in Coon Rapids (2012-2013).

25 years (1994 ordination) Father Jeffrey Huard, 63, is director of spiritual formation at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, where he has been assigned since 2009. He has also ministered at All Saints in Lakeville (1994-1997), Community of Christ the Redeemer in West St. Paul (1996-1999), University of St. Thomas’ campus ministry in St. Paul (1999-2007) and St. Mark in St. Paul (2007-2009).

Father Kevin Kenney, 59, will minister, as of July 1, as pastor of St. Olaf in Minneapolis and parochial administrator of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Minneapolis. Until then, he is pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault and St. Michael in Kenyon, assignments he has held since 2015. He has also ministered at St. Olaf in Minneapolis (1994-1998), Our Lady of Peace in Minneapolis (1998-2004) and Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul (2004-2015). Father Kenney has also served as the archdiocese’s vicar for Latino ministry since 2011.

Father Tim Norris, 52, has served as pastor of Sacred Heart in St. Paul since 2016. He has also ministered at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul (1994-1997); St. Dominic in Northfield (1997-2000); Jesucristo Resucitado, the archdiocese’s mission in San Felix, Venezuela (2000-2007, 2011-2013); the Basilica of St. Mary and Ascension in Minneapolis (2007-2008); St. Mark in Shakopee (2008-2011) and St. Paul in Ham Lake (2013-2016).

Father Greg Schaffer, 53, is pastor of Jesucristo Resucitado, the archdiocese’s mission in San Felix, Venezuela, where he has been assigned since 2002. He has also ministered at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood (1994-1997) and the Diocese of Ciudad Guayana, where Jesucristo Resucitado is located (1997-2002).

He also served as the vicar general of the Diocese of Ciudad Guayana in 2016 and has again since 2017, and he was its diocesan administrator in 2017.

Father Shane Stoppel-Wasinger, 56, has been pastor of St. Gregory the Great in North Branch since 2004 and Sacred Heart in Rush City since 2012. He has also ministered at St. Pius X in White Bear Lake (1994-1998), St. Boniface in Minneapolis (1998-2002), Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Minneapolis (1998-2002), and, in the Archdiocese of Denver, Notre Dame in Denver (2002-2003) and St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church in Lakewood, Colorado (2002-2004).

50 years (1969 ordination) Father Dennis Dease, 75, a retired priest since 2013, is president emeritus of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, where he served as president from 1991 to 2013. He has also ministered at St. John the Evangelist in Hopkins (1969-1970), St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights (1970-1971), St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul (1971-1974), the University of St. Thomas (1974-1979), The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul (19791985) and the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis (1985-1991).

Father William Paron, 75, retired in 2008 after serving as pastor of St. Nicholas in Carver from 1998 to 2008. He has also ministered at St. Rose of Lima in Roseville (1969), Holy Name in Minneapolis (19691974), Epiphany in Coon Rapids (1974-1982) and St. Wenceslaus in New Prague (1982-1998).

Father Michael Sauber, 75, retired in 2013 after serving as an assistant priest at St. Olaf in Minneapolis from 2007 to 2013.

He has also ministered at St. Joseph in West St. Paul (1969-1972 and 1976-1982), St. Agnes in St. Paul (1972-1976), St. Luke in Clearwater (1982-1988), the archdiocese’s Rural Life Office (1983-1988), St. Mary in Shakopee (1988-1996) and Immaculate Conception in Lonsdale (1996-2007).

Father Martin Shallbetter, 77, retired in 2012 after serving as pastor of Ascension in Norwood Young America and St. Bernard in Cologne from 2005 to 2012. He has also ministered at St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley (1969-1972), St. Luke in St. Paul (1972-1974), the archdiocese’s Vocations JUBILARIANS CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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JUBILEES

JUNE 20, 2019

60 years (1959 ordination)

JUBILARIANS

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Office (1972-1978), Assumption in St. Paul (1974-1976), St. Anne in Minneapolis (1976-1977), Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Clement in Minneapolis (1977), St. Mary in Waverly (1977-1986), St. Edward in Bloomington (1986-1998) and St. Therese in Deephaven (1999-2005).

Father Stanley Sledz, 76, is sacramental minister for Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis, where he has been assigned since 2017, and an occasional minister at Guardian Angels in Oakdale since 2012.

Following his retirement in 2009, he continued to minister from 2010 to 2011 at Hennepin County Adult Correction Facility in Plymouth, where he previously served from 1973 to 1980.

He has also ministered at Holy Cross in Minneapolis (1969-1973), Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville (1980-1982), St. Peter Claver in St. Paul (1982-1990), St. Peter in Forest Lake (1990-1995), St. Bernard in St. Paul (1995-1997) and Ramsey County Adult Detention Center in St. Paul (1997-2009).

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Father Leonard Siebenaler, 85, retired in 2002 after serving as pastor of St. Michael in St. Michael from 1993 to 2002. He has also ministered at St. Anne in Minneapols (1959-1964, 1968-1971) St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake (1964-1968), St. Mary in Belvidere and St. Paul in Zumbrota (1971-1974), St. Columba in St. Paul (1974-1981) and Most Holy Trinity in St. Louis Park (1981-1993).

Father Martin Siebenaler, 86, retired in 2002 after serving as pastor of St. Joseph in Waconia from 1986 to 2002. He has also ministered at Visitation in Minneapolis (1959-1964), Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Minneapolis (1964-1965), St. Agnes in St. Paul (1965-1972), and Sts. Peter and Paul in Loretto (1972-1986).

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17

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Father Robert Sipe, 86, retired in 2004 after serving as pastor of St. Peter in Forest Lake from 1993 to 2004. He has also ministered at Holy Cross in St. Paul (1959-1964), Holy Trinity in South St. Paul (1964-1971), St. Henry in Monticello (1971-1981), St. Timothy in Blaine (19811983) and St. Anne in Minneapolis (1983-1992).

Congratulations

Father Zehren on 15 years!

We are so blessed to have you as the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church and School!

May God continue to bless you as we grow together in knowing, loving and serving the Lord.

Heaven and earth are celebrating with you, Fr. James Adams, on this holy & joyous day!

Congratulations on the 15th Anniversary of your Ordination to the Priesthood.

Blessings from the Churches of St. Mary (Le Center), St. Henry (St. Henry), St. Anne (Le Sueur), Church of the Nativity (Cleveland), & Church of the Immaculate Conception (Marysburg)

Looking for past stories? ‘Print archives’ at TheCatholicSpirit.com Church of St. Michael in St. Michael

Father Terry Rassmussen, St. Joseph Catholic Community in New Hope and Plymouth

congratulates you

on your 40th anniversary of your ordination to the holy priesthood.

Congratulates

Father Michael Becker On the 20th anniversary of your Ordination to the Holy Priesthood, with deep gratitude for your service to our parish.

May God continue to bless your service to the Church!

Plan your week with TheCatholicSpirit.com/calendar

JUBILEES

18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 20, 2019

‘Pope of Nordeast’ dies at age 89

The parishioners of St. Edward

congratulate

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

Father Martin Shallbetter on 50 years of priesthood.

Congratulations and Blessings

Rev. John L. Ubel

on the Occasion of your 30th Anniversary of Holy Priesthood.

May God Always Bless your work among us his Mystical Body of Jesus Christ his Son Our Lord.

From the parishioners and staff of the Cathedral of Saint Paul.

The Churches of Sacred Heart of Rush City and Saint Gregory the Great of North Branch proudly

A priest who served 42 years in northeast Minneapolis died June 11.

Father Earl Simonson was 89.

“He was jokingly called the ‘pope of Nordeast,’” said Quang Nguyen, 45, a member of Holy Cross in Minneapolis, which as a result of a 2012 merger also includes the campuses of St. Clement, St. Hedwig and St. Anthony of Padua at Catholic Eldercare.

Father Simonson was pastor of St. Clement from 1977 to 2012, then pastor emeritus of Holy Cross until his death. This year marked his 50th anniversary of priesthood.

Nguyen, who has attended Mass at St. Clement since his childhood, said Father Simonson’s homilies were gentle and engaging, and they challenged him to grow in his faith.

“He talked to us, not at us,” said Nguyen, a stay-at-home father who had two of his three children baptized

by Father Simonson. “He resonated with young and old.”

Nguyen said Father Simonson regularly gave money to beggars who sought help at the church.

Father Spencer Howe, Holy Cross’ parochial administrator who will become the parish’s pastor July 1, said Father Simonson “gave his whole self (and) his whole life to the service of the people.”

Father Simonson was born in Decorah, Iowa, but his family moved to St. Paul when he was an infant.

He worked on a farm as a high school student in southern Minnesota during World War II. There, he lived with a devout Catholic couple who introduced him to Catholicism, and he was baptized at age 16.

He entered seminary at age 39, and he was ordained in 1969 by Archbishop Leo Binz FATHER at the Cathedral of SIMONSON St. Paul in St. Paul.

Father Simonson ministered at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony from 1969 to 1973, St. Luke in St. Paul from 1973 to 1975 and Presentation of Mary in Maplewood from 1975 to 1977.

He was parochial administrator of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Minneapolis in addition to his service at St. Clement from 1977 to 1983. He also served as canonical administrator of Northeast Regional Catholic School in Minneapolis, now St. Pope John Paul II Catholic School, from 1998 to 2001.

The funeral Mass will be 11 a.m.

June 21 at St. Charles Borromeo.

Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.

Congratulations on 20 years of priesthood! from your friends at net ministries

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Father Shane Stoppel-Wasinger on the 25th anniversary of his ordination.

We wish him God’s blessings now and always!

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fr. michael becker net missionary 1987-88 www.netusa.org

JUNE 20, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19

FAITH+CULTURE

Protecting seal of confession called essential for civilized society

MARTYR FOR CONFESSIONAL SEAL St. John Nepomucene was born sometime around 1340 and became a popular priest in what was then known as Bohemia.

Ultimately, he was invited to be a confessor at the court of King Wenceslaus IV in Prague. According to historical accounts, a jealous King Wenceslaus ordered John Nepomucene to tell him what his wife, Queen Johanna, revealed in the confessional. When the priest refused to break the seal of confession, the ruler made threats of torture and eventually had him bound and thrown off the Charles Bridge in Prague, where he drowned March 20, 1393.

By Chaz Muth Catholic News Service

W

hen Ethan Alano walks into the reconciliation room at Queen of Peace in Salem, Oregon, he bares his soul before God and goes into detail about his sins during confession. Alano’s trust in the priest is solid. He is certain that anything he says in the confessional is confidential, allowing him to air his sins in complete specificity so that he may receive a just penance, reaffirming his relationship with the Lord.

That penitential confidence is a centuries-old rite in Catholicism, and protecting it from governmental intrusion goes beyond tradition, religious freedom and Church law, said Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith of Portland, a canon lawyer.

It disenfranchises the sacrament if the faithful believe there is the slightest possibility that civil authorities could compel a priest to reveal what they have shared in the confessional, Bishop Smith said.

In the confessional, “people encounter the mercy of God,” he said. “They encounter God’s forgiveness of them, but they also encounter the Lord helping them to live their lives more fully as he calls them to. So, that’s what we should experience in the sacrament of reconciliation.”

It’s the humanitarian benefit for the individual and society that has motivated the Church in making the priest-penitent privilege absolute. So much so that the Code of Canon Law states the penalty for a priest who violates the seal of confession is automatic excommunication which only the pope can lift.

The punishment is that severe because penitents must be able to confess their sins in specificity in order to be reconciled with God and trust that the priest will honor confidentiality of the confessional, said Father Thomas Berg, professor of moral theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York.

The sanctity of the seal of the confession frequently prompts priests to assert that it’s an easy choice to make when deciding if they will obey a civil law that would compel them to reveal information heard in the confessional or face Church penalty and eternal damnation.

“I would never, ever allow them to force me to tell

His martyrdom for the seal of confession was accepted by the Church and he was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729.

CNS

Father Lawrence Goode hears confession May 8 at St. Francis of Assisi in East Palo Alto, Calif. them anything I heard in the confessional,” said Father Lawrence Goode, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in East Palo Alto, California. “Certainly, I’d be willing to go to jail over it.”

Elected officials in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Chile have in recent years proposed laws that would compel priests to violate the seal of confession to report cases of child sexual abuse disclosed in the confessional. A bill going through the California Legislature would require a priest to report to civil authorities information concerning child sexual abuse learned in the confessional by another member of the clergy or a co-worker.

While Catholic leaders are especially sensitive to the need to bring those who abuse children to justice, given the scandals that have dogged the Church in recent years, they object to any violation of the priest-penitent privilege in the confessional. From a canonical viewpoint, the priest serves as a liaison between the penitent and God in the confessional, and any information he hears doesn’t belong to him and is not his to reveal, said Dominican Father Pius Pietrzyk, a canon and civil lawyer who teaches at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California.

Historically, the Church has affirmed the inviolability of the seal frequently, from the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 through the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the 1983 Code of Canon Law. What is known today as penance, or reconciliation, wasn’t always a one-onone confession between the priest and penitent.

“Clearly, the ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation is part of the mission entrusted by Christ to the apostles,” said Father Ronald Kunkel, theology professor at Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Illinois, near Chicago. “So, reconciliation began as a process whereas those who

The saint’s story demonstrates how seriously the Catholic Church takes the privilege between priest and penitent that a member of the clergy is willing to sacrifice his freedom — or even his life — to protect the seal of confession, said Dominican Father Pius Pietrzyk, a canon and civil lawyer who teaches at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California. It also shows that the current struggle for the Church to have governments fully respect the sanctity of the seal of confession is not new, he said.

— Chaz Muth

had been baptized, but had fallen into serious sin after baptism, could be reintegrated into the community” and receive the Eucharist.

In the early centuries of the Church, reconciliation was a public process, Father Kunkel said. In the sixth century, when monks from Ireland began to travel throughout continental Europe, they brought with them their penitential practices of the Church, which included individual, repeatable confession. That model became popular and after some resistance it was accepted throughout the Church, allowing confession to be private, confidential and frequent.

Elected officials who craft legislation frequently don’t understand the true nature of confession and see it as a get-out-of-jail-free card for penitents, Bishop Smith said.

However, if the priest is acting within the true spirit of the sacrament, he helps guide the penitent to making restitution if the sin has wronged someone else, and he can withhold absolution if he doesn’t believe they are truly sorry for their offense, he said.

“One of the most important things and probably overlooked about confession is that first and foremost it’s a human need,” Father Berg said. “For centuries it has been the trust and the certainty of the laity that that is the one place they could relieve conscience of anything.”

Read more at thecatholicspirit.com/featured/ threats-to-the-seal-of-confession.

Congratulations, Father Mark Juettner

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20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 20, 2019

ACTIVESENIORLIVING

Father Dempsey answers call to return to Venezuela

W

FAITH

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

“barrios,” or neighborhoods. He will hold Bible studies, celebrate Mass, provide catechesis and visit people. He said he sees it as a ministry of presence.

Father Dempsey will also work with the pastor of Jesucristo Resucitado, Father Greg Schaffer. They worked together in Venezuela when Father Schaffer served as an associate pastor of the parish and Father Dempsey was pastor.

Father Schaffer continued to serve in the mission when Archbishop Harry Flynn called Father Dempsey back to Minnesota in 1999. Since then, Father Schaffer has started programs to meet the various needs of the parish, such as a soup kitchen and small medical clinic.

The latest project is a hospice for the elderly.

“He’s developed some amazing programming,” Father Dempsey said.

Father Schaffer had an associate priest, Father James Peterson, working with him for three years until last year, when Father Peterson returned to the Twin Cities to serve as pastor of Immaculate Conception in Columbia Heights. Father Dempsey will help Father Schaffer meet pastoral needs as Father Schaffer concentrates on administrative duties for the mission and his work as vicar general of the Diocese of Ciudad Guayana.

“What he doesn’t get enough time for,

Father Dennis Dempsey, pastor of St. Dominic in Northfield, delivers the homily during Mass at the church June 3, 2018.

(which) he would like, is being out with the people and taking care of people on a pastoral level,” said Father Dempsey, who will have minimal administrative duties.

St. Dominic parishioners see Father Dempsey often ministering to people in the Northfield community, usually using a bike as transportation. He visits neighborhoods, Northfield’s two colleges and the senior care centers.

“It is like losing a family member,” Rick Nelson, parish outreach minister, said of Father Dempsey’s planned departure. “I certainly think he is going to be a positive influence on that parish down there.”

Dario Payes, president of the parish’s Latino committee, said Father Dempsey, who is fluent in Spanish, helped that community thrive at St. Dominic. Father Dempsey relates to everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, he said.

“Father Denny is a very excellent priest for a Spanish community,” Payes said.

Roxzanne Devney, a lifelong parishioner, said Father Dempsey brought many gifts to the parish and was present to the community. She wasn’t surprised that he wanted to return to Venezuela.

“He would talk about it frequently,” Devney said. “He feels really called to go there.”

• In

n s o i t a l u t a r winners

G o o d Wo r k

Con g

hen he was a young college graduate, Father Dennis Dempsey and a friend biked to the East Coast, even though he had never biked longer than 50 miles in a day before.

“Neither one of us even owned a bike or had been on any long trips before, so we decided (to do it) and that’s what we did,” said Father Dempsey, 70, pastor of St. Dominic in Northfield.

His adventures grew, with bike trips to Canada and Alaska in addition to canoeing and kayaking trips in Minnesota. The bike trips expanded to South America when he served in the Venezuelan mission of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 1994 to 1999. He bicycled in the Andes Mountains, Brazil and the Caribbean.

He hopes to buy back the bike he used, which he sold to a longtime friend in the mission, when he returns to Venezuela in July after 15 years at St. Dominic. Father Dempsey will serve as an associate pastor of the mission parish, Jesucristo Resucitado in San Felix.

“The main thing is the people we meet along the way,” Father Dempsey said of the bike trips. “No matter what problems that happened — and a number of things happened — I would just trust that God is somehow going to come through.”

“And that’s what gives me a great sense for Venezuela as well,” he added.

“I just have this confidence that no matter what, I don’t have to be afraid of it because if I sense it’s God’s will, then God’s going to take care of it somehow.”

It doesn’t faze him that Venezuelans face much more intense economic and social difficulties today than they did in the late 1990s. Poverty and crime have been issues for decades in the country, but both have escalated in the wake of a political battle that began in January between President Nicolas Maduro and Juan Guaido, who also claims the presidency.

At Jesucristo Resucitado, Father Dempsey will focus on outreach and pastoral ministry for parishioners in the

LEADING

with

By Matthew Davis The Catholic Spirit

Christ

to The Catholic Spirit’s

2019 Leading With Faith

Emily & Elliot Benincasa Recently retired owners of Emily’s F&M Café Parishes: St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove; St. Bridget, Minneapolis Steve Blum Chief Financial Officer, Star Bank Parish: St. John the Baptist, New Brighton Dr. Richard Endris Chiropractor/Doctor, Endris Chiropractic Parish: St. Joseph, West St. Paul Vicky Iacarella Creative Director, Target Corp.

Parishes: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Minneapolis; St. Olaf, Minneapolis Mark Novitzki President, Premier Banks Parish: St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony Michael G. Richie, MD Owner and Medical Director, Richie Eye Clinic and Crossroads Surgery Center Parish: Divine Mercy, Faribault John E. Trojack, JD Owner/Attorney, Trojack Law Office, P.A. Parishes: St. Agnes, St. Paul; St. Joseph, W. St. Paul

Join us as we honor the winners at the Leading With Faith Award luncheon Thursday, August 1, at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

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JUNE 20, 2019

ACTIVESENIORLIVING

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 21

CUF honors longtime parish, community volunteer in Elysian

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

A

s Mary Lee Androli of St. Andrew in Elysian gets closer to 80 years of age, she is asked more frequently: When is she going to slow down?

The answer is always the same: Not now.

The 77-year-old farmer’s wife, who grew up just 10 miles from where she now lives, finds great joy in her many volunteer efforts. Most of the time, she either organizes or leads them — or both.

That inspired a longtime friend and fellow parishioner to nominate her for Catholic United Financial’s Volunteer of the Year award. She was selected among 17 other nominees in CUF’s five-state region, and she received her award during Mass at her parish May 19.

It marked the first year of an award that CUF created to honor Catholic volunteers nominated by its members, said Kristina Sherrett, CUF member engagement coordinator who organized the award program and presented the award with Nate Lamusga, CUF’s member engagement director. CUF is a nonprofit fraternal benefit company based in Arden Hills that serves Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

In typical fashion, Androli had to be summoned from the church kitchen during Mass to come into the sanctuary to accept her award. Her longtime friend and nominator, Kathy Rientz, who grew up with her, said Androli was busy preparing breakfast for high school seniors and teens who recently had been confirmed.

For Rientz, Androli winning the award was a moment of heavenly praise: “I said, ‘Thank you, Lord,’ because I thought she was very deserving of it.”

Father Michael Ince, pastor of St. Andrew, agreed. He used one word to describe Androli: “Irreplaceable.”

“There’s so much that we just count on her for,” he said. “I think often that’s where we get to (on parish

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Mary Lee Androli, pictured outside her home May 31, is the first recipient of Catholic United Financial’s new Volunteer of the Year award. She received the award May 19 at her parish, St. Andrew in Elysian. projects): ‘Well, check with Mary Lee.’ It happens a lot.”

She welcomes it. Volunteering has been her life’s blood — sometimes literally — for decades. One of her earlier efforts was regularly donating blood, then taking over as bloodmobile coordinator, a volunteer post she has held for the last 30 years and is “very proud of.” She organizes and leads five one-day blood drives a year, including one at her parish, which was June 3.

“I like being busy,” she said. “I don’t mind being in charge. As long as I’m in agreement with the project that’s going on, I’m happy to implement it.”

That kind of leadership is at the heart of what the award tries to honor, and Androli “far exceeded” the criteria, Sherrett said. “While I was reading over her nomination, I was in awe at how much this one person is involved with in her community,” she said. “The list

just kept going on and on.”

In addition to helping with existing projects, Androli comes up with her own, including fundraisers for local, national and international organizations. She also has held various leadership roles with the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, including mission chairwoman in the southwest deanery.

Every December, Androli contributes to Santa Anonymous in Le Sueur County. She and others at her parish make quilts and baby blankets that accompany Christmas presents other individuals and groups collect and donate. She spends a day handing out the quilts and blankets to families in need. The county sets limits for what each family can receive, and that can be a problem for her.

“I’m pretty good at giving more than what the county says they can have,” Androli said with a chuckle.

Last December, someone came in for a quilt. The county said each family was to receive only one. But, there were five children in the family, and Androli learned there was not enough heat in the house to keep everyone warm at night. She stuffed five quilts into a bag and discreetly handed it over.

She is quick to point out that her highest priority in life is her own family. That means spending time with her husband, Francis, and their seven adult children, 22 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She knows how to plan her schedule to fit in both family time and volunteer time. For example, she left the June 3 blood drive at her parish at 6 p.m. to run off to her great-grandson’s baseball game at 6:30.

“I can’t imagine how they could play without me being there,” she said.

Likewise, she can’t imagine life without serving as a volunteer. “I’m happy with all of what I do,” she said.

“I have quite a few people who say I have to quit doing some of that. But, I don’t think I have to. So, I don’t think I will for a while.”

22 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

ACTIVESENIORLIVING

JUNE 20, 2019

Louisiana chef says Fatima trip led to healing longtime foot injury

By Bonny Van Catholic News Service When meeting Louisiana chef John Folse, one immediately learns he is a man who believes in his Catholic faith. Watching him walk, one also learns he’s a man who believes in miracles.

For 20 years, Folse walked with a limp in his left leg, the result of a debilitating injury to the calcaneus, or heel bone, in his left foot. The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon when his wife, Laulie, wanted to do a little redecorating, including removing a painting from a spot above a very tall cooking fireplace.

According to Folse, he was several feet high with one foot on the fireplace mantle and another on the ladder, when he removed the painting, began to turn and the ladder began to fall. Quickly, he tossed the painting onto a nearby sofa and jumped, hitting the hardwood floor and crushing his ankle.

The following day, a doctor informed him of the extent of his injuries, explaining that of the “two worst breaks in the human body,” the back and the calcaneus, Folse had one of them. “And when he said that, I fainted. It was the first time and the last time I ever fainted,” Folse told The Catholic Commentator, newspaper of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

He said the doctor then explained how the entire weight of the body sits on the ball of the heel and “when you crush it, it’s like an egg, it just falls apart.”

According to Folse, the doctor said “the only way we can put it back together is with steel,” resulting in painful walking for the rest of his life. “(The doctor) was right about that,” said Folse, who must stand for hours working in the kitchen or catering events at his properties or walking through his food company’s warehouse. “So I’ve always suffered pain a lot with it, but you just get used to it and then you just live with it.”

Then last year, Folse, who always dreamed of walking

CNS

Louisiana chef John Folse in an undated photo at the Marian shrine of Fatima in central Portugal. the Way of St. James, or el Camino de Santiago, was encouraged to join a co-worker and her friend who were already planning to make the trek in November. A fourth traveler later joined the group. The plan, according to Folse, was for him to walk as long as he could each day and to catch up with his companions by vehicle if needed.

Weeks before the excursion, Folse said he received a call from a close friend in Baton Rouge, Sister Dulce Maria, a Mercedarian Sister of the Blessed Sacrament.

She told him that the Blessed Mother had a gift for him in Fatima but that he had to pick it up in person. Filled with doubt about his ability to complete the walk in Spain and travel to Portugal, Folse said he quickly dismissed the idea.

Later, though, while studying the map of the places the pilgrims would visit, Folse said he realized that the final portion of the planned 118-kilometer walk, which ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, was only a three-hour drive from Fatima.

Throughout the Camino trek, Folse said, he did not focus on the pain in his foot, and it went amazingly well. He said he considered the 10-day journey on the Camino as “the door to Fatima.”

Once in Fatima, the group participated in Mass at the Shrine of Fatima, a Marian procession, confession and a visit to “the apparition tree where the Blessed Mother had appeared.”

“I saw a sign that said basement kitchen,” Folse recalled. “So, I walked down there, and it’s kind of dark and there’s no windows there, and I’m sitting on a little bench ... (and) there is a light that looks like it’s from the sun and I know it’s the Blessed Mother.”

Folse said he also felt his own mother was the powerful force behind his trip to Fatima because of her devotion to Mary. When the excursion to Fatima was complete, Folse and his travel companions stopped at a gas station on the way out of town.

“I started walking across the cement to the store and I said, ‘My God! I have no pain in my foot at all!’” Folse stated.

Turning to his companions, he showed off the movement in his previously stiff left foot. Then, Folse said he did something he hadn’t done in decades: run.

“There are miracles in your life all the time; you just have to be faithful,” Folse said. “Most people don’t believe in miracles. Let me tell you what: you should, because everything you’re fighting in your life, you’re a prayer away from solving that problem.”

ACTIVESENIORLIVING

JUNE 20, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 23

Pope Francis encouraged by Benedict XVI

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service Pope Francis said that he continues to visit retired Pope Benedict XVI, 92, who is like a grandfather who continues to encourage him and give him strength.

“I take his hand and let him speak. He speaks little, at his own pace, but with the same profoundness as always.

Benedict’s problem are his knees, not his mind. He has a great lucidity,” the pope told journalists June 2 on his return flight from Romania. The pope spent about 35 minutes with reporters on the short flight, answering five questions.

When asked about his relationship with his predecessor, the pope said his conversations with Pope Benedict make him stronger, and he compared the knowledge he receives from his predecessor to the sap “from the roots that help me to go forward.”

“When I hear him speak, I become strong,” he explained. “I feel this tradition of the Church. The tradition of the Church is not a museum. No, tradition is like the roots that give you the sap in order to grow. You won’t become the root; you will grow and bear fruit, and the seed will be root for others.”

Recalling a quote by Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, the pope said that tradition “is the guarantee of the

CNS

Pope Francis pays a pre-Christmas visit to Pope Benedict XVI Dec. 21 in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where the retired pope lives in Vatican City. future and not the custodian of ashes.”

“The tradition of the Church is always in motion,” he said. “The nostalgia of the ‘integralists’ is to return to the ashes,” but that is not Catholic tradition; tradition is “the roots that guarantee the tree grows, blossoms and bears fruit.”

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24 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 20, 2019

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER TOM MARGEVICIUS

Origins of the feast of Corpus Christi

St. Juliana of Cornillon was born in Liège (modern-day Belgium) around 1192 and was left an orphan at age 5 when her parents died. She was raised in a house of religious Norbertines and quickly distinguished herself. She had an extraordinary memory, being able to recite the entire Psalter by heart, and she was a gifted musician.

Juliana especially loved to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.

When she was age 18, she had a vision: In the night sky she saw the Church underneath a full moon, except the moon was not

full: It had a piece missing, like someone had taken a slice out of the pie. She asked the Lord what this meant, and was told that the circle of the moon was the Church’s liturgical year, and it was missing a piece because there was no feast of Corpus Christi. She asked what she should do about it, and the Lord told her to compose liturgical texts for the feast and promote it in the Church.

Though she was one of the Beguines (influential women in Liège), women were not considered suitable for composing liturgical texts. So she kept the vision to herself, other than telling a couple Norbertine sisters. Five years later, the Fourth Council of the Lateran

FAITH FUNDAMENTALS | FATHER MICHAEL VAN SLOUN

Summer Sunday Mass: option or obligation?

Sunday is the Lord’s Day. Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday morning, so Sunday is sacred and reserved as the Christian sabbath, the day to remember the Resurrection and to offer our praise and worship. God gave us the Third Commandment as a solemn obligation, not a suggestion or an option: “Keep holy the sabbath day” (Ex 20:8-11; Dt 5:12-15; see also the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nos. 2174–2178).

Regular Sunday worship dates back to the first generation of the Church. Early Christians instinctively gathered to study the teachings of the apostles and to break the bread (Acts

2:42 — or expressed in modern liturgical language, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Mass. Already in the first century the Letter to the Hebrews addressed the problem of Christians missing weekly worship: “We should not stay away from our assembly (i.e., the liturgical assembly, the Eucharist), as is the custom of some” (Heb 10:25).

It is shocking the number of people who say that they believe they are excused from Sunday Mass when they are on vacation or traveling. This is not the case.

Church teaching is clear: “On Sundays ... the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass” (Canon 1247).

There are a few legitimate reasons to miss Sunday Mass: illness or disability, serving as the sole caregiver for someone

APPOINTMENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Dominic in Northfield and the Church of the Annunciation in Hazelwood. Father Fried is a retired priest of the Archdiocese.

Reverend Paul Kubista, appointed chaplain to Regina Senior Living in Hastings, sacramental minister of the Church of Saint Joseph in Miesville and part-time to the Archdiocesan Catholic Center. This is a transfer from his previous assignment as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi.

Reverend John Mitchell, appointed as canonical administrator of Saint Pascal Regional Catholic School in Saint Paul. This is in addition to his assignment as pastor of the Church of Saint Pascal Baylon in Saint Paul.

issued the first Church document to use the word “transubstantiation,” but it’s not clear whether Juliana had any awareness of this.

At age 38, she became prioress of her community and shared her vision with the local priest, who knew many Dominican theologians at a nearby school.

He told Julianna he would present anonymously to them Juliana’s liturgical texts. They found them beautiful, and soon the Dominicans were celebrating the feast in their religious house.

In 1246, when Juliana was 54, the local bishop promoted the feast for his diocese, but Juliana was not finished yet: The Lord wanted the entire Church to celebrate Corpus Christi. In 1259, the Dominicans asked their most brilliant theologian, Thomas Aquinas, to compose another set of liturgical texts for the feast. Right around that time, Juliana died at the age of 65, without seeing her vision come to fruition.

But by then, Church leaders in need of constant attention, the care of infants, a natural disaster like a flood or a blizzard, or the absence of a priest. There is no exception for vacation or traveling (Catechism, Nos. 2180-2188).

All we have is a gift from God, so God is entitled to our weekly thanks. Time is a precious commodity and how we spend it is a clear indication of our priorities. There are 168 hours in a week, and one hour spent in worship barely puts a dent in the praise that we owe our God. We need to put first things first, and for Christians, God comes first! If there ever was a time that God deserves extra thanks, it would be vacation time. It is a huge blessing to be able to take time off, to have the resources to travel, to have the wherewithal to enjoy a cabin, RV or lake home, to be blessed with the beauty of the lakes and the forests, to be able to go fishing or boating, golfing or hiking, and to have the leisure time to spend with family and friends.

The common error is to make

Reverend Thomas Niehaus, appointed as parochial administrator of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery and the Church of Saint Patrick in Shieldsville. Father Niehaus is a priest of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.

Reverend Jimmy Mathew Puttananickal, CFIC, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Mary in Saint Paul. Father Puttananickal has been serving as parochial vicar of the same parish. He will continue in his assignment as chaplain to Regions Hospital in Saint Paul, but will no longer be serving at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Saint Paul.

Father Puttananickal replaces Reverend Benny Mekkatt Varghese, CFIC, who will continue as pastor of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Saint Paul.

had been won over, and they eventually petitioned Pope Urban IV to establish the feast.

In 1263, a famous eucharistic miracle occurred at Orvieto, and the following year, on Aug. 11, 1264, he published the papal bull “Transiturus” promoting the feast. Unfortunately, he also died soon thereafter, and Corpus Christi was not celebrated by the entire Church until 1317, 110 years after Juliana’s first vision.

St. Thomas’ liturgical texts are some of the most theologically rich and poetically beautiful ever composed about the Eucharist, and they are still used today, including ‘Verbum supernum” (“O Salutaris Hostia”), “Pange Lingua Gloriosi” (“Tantum Ergo Sacramentum”) and “Lauda Sion Salvatorem.” Yet we would not have these texts, nor this feast, were it not for the brilliance, determination and holiness of an 18-year-old visionary woman.

DAILY Scriptures

Father Margevicius is director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Saturday, June 29 Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles Acts 12:1-11 2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18 Mt 16:13-19

“

If there ever was a time that God deserves extra thanks, it would be vacation time.

recreational activities the starting point in building one’s weekend vacation schedule and to relegate God and the Mass to an afterthought, something to fit in if there is time left over or to be skipped entirely.

The proper way is to decide on a Mass time and place first, and then arrange the rest of the weekend’s activities. God never goes on vacation when it comes to providing for us, and we should never go on vacation from offering God our thanks and praise.

Father Van Sloun is pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. His ongoing series on the Eucharist will return in July. Read more of his writing at CatholicHotdish.com, where a version of this column first appeared May 23.

Effective July 6, 2019 Reverend Bruno Nwachukwu, appointed as sacramental minister of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Loretto and the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Corcoran. This is in addition to his assignments as chaplain of DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis and North Memorial Medical Center.

Effective August 1, 2019 Reverend Timothy Rudolphi, appointed parochial administrator of the Church of Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville. This is a temporary assignment until November while the pastor, Reverend James Perkl, is on sabbatical. Father Rudolphi has been serving as parochial vicar of the same parish.

Sunday, June 23 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Gn 14:18-20 1 Cor 11:23-26 Lk 9:11b-17 Monday, June 24 Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist Is 49:1-6 Acts 13:22-26 Lk 1:57-66, 80 Tuesday, June 25 Gn 13:2, 5-18 Mt 7:6, 12-14 Wednesday, June 26 Gn 15:1-2, 17-18 Mt 7:15-20 Thursday, June 27 Gn 16:1-12, 15-16 Mt 7:21-29 Friday, June 28 Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Ez 34:11-16 Rom 5:5b-11 Lk 15:3-7

Sunday, June 30 Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21 Gal 5:1, 13-18 Lk 9:51-62 Monday, July 1 Gn 18:16-33 Mt 8:18-22 Tuesday, July 2 Gn 19:15-29 Mt 8:23-27 Wednesday, July 3 St. Thomas, Apostle Eph 2:19-22 Jn 20:24-29 Thursday, July 4 Gn 22:1b-19 Mt 9:1-8 Friday, July 5 Gn 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67 Mt 9:9-13 Saturday, July 6 Gn 27:1-5, 15-29 Mt 9:14-17 Sunday, July 7 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 66:10-14c Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 Monday, July 8 Gn 28:10-22a Mt 9:18-26 Tuesday, July 9 Gn 32:23-33 Mt 9:32-38 Wednesday, July 10 Gn 41:55-57, 42:5-7a, 17-24a Mt 10:1-7 Thursday, July 11 St. Benedict, abbot Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5 Mt 10:7-15 Friday, July 12 Gn 46:1-7, 28-30 Mt 10:16-23 Saturday, July 13 Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a Mt 10:24-33 Sunday, July 14 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Dt 30:10-14 Col 1:15-20 Lk 10:25-37

JUNE 20, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 25

COMMENTARY FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA | JASON ADKINS

A Church for the poor requires religious freedom

To bring the Gospel to all men and women, not to just the wealthy or intellectuals, Christianity must be incarnated in every aspect of civilization, including politics. This requires that the Church be free to cultivate the life of prayer needed to nurture discipleship in people who can, in turn, be leaven in society.

That is the argument of the late Cardinal Jean Danielou, a Jesuit, in his overlooked book, “Prayer as a Political Problem” (1965). In it, he highlights how, to make possible the Christian civilization of tomorrow, the Church cannot become a mere sect or aloof from the civilization in which it inhabits. It cannot be “of the world” but it must be in it, constructively engaging society and creating an ambient religious culture where economic and spiritual supports and structures exist for people to order their lives toward God. Without those support structures, Danielou says, it takes a heroic effort by most persons to be a serious Christian. To preserve those structures and nurture disciples, we need religious freedom to pray and serve the world around us.

Cardinal Danielou states in the foreword to his book: “There is no true civilization which is not religious; nor, on the other hand, can there be a religion of the masses which is not supported by civilization. It would appear that today there are too many Christians who see no incongruity between the juxtaposition of a private religion and an irreligious society, nor perceiving how ruinous this is for both society and religion.”

YOUR HEART, HIS HOME | LIZ KELLY

To kill the cult of personality

A year or so ago, my very talented and prayerful assistant convinced me I needed to develop a better website. I dragged my feet — and legs, and arms, and torso and half-hermit heart. The thought of “marketing” makes me nauseous, and social media in general disturbs my spirit. I wonder what Jesus, who never consulted a publicist or created a branding strategy, thinks of such hubbub.

Still, my assistant had a valid point. To provide a venue whereby people could be introduced to my work and what I offer in retreats, speaking and writing was not necessarily to swallow the “cult of personality” poison, but more a means of offering information. In the end, it turned out to be a rewarding, creative effort. My website has provided me an opportunity to connect with many people I might not have been able to otherwise over our love of Christ and his Church. A dazzling young Catholic web designer took it to heart when I told her, “I want folks to feel like they’ve had a mini-retreat after visiting my website,” and she did a beautiful job in capturing that sentiment.

However, the enterprise left me a little pinched by self-absorption and too much concern for commerce, not enough for ministry and the souls entrusted to my care. My spiritual director assigned me the Litany of Humility to be offered twice daily. I managed to avoid it for a few days, but once the habit took, I was flooded

Danielou argues that a truly religious society can flourish only when religious institutions exist in a collaborative relationship with the state. The state must recognize spiritual aspirations of the human person and the Church’s unique role in meeting those aspirations.

“On this view of the matter,” Danielou claims, “the Church was most truly itself in the days of Christendom when everybody was baptized, and it is this state of affairs which is much to be desired.”

But that ideal presupposes a Church which is involved with civilization; if civilization runs counter to the Church, a Christian society that embraces the common man and the poor — that is, most of us — is hard to sustain. Obviously, we live in post-Christendom today, and so the task, Danielou says, is to realistically assess our surroundings and what can be done. In the political realm, that means securing religious freedom so that the Church can continue to form people in the life of prayer so that they have the grace and spiritual tools to go forth in service to shape civilization.

“Prayer,” then, becomes a political question, because it is incumbent on the state to give religious institutions the freedom and the supports they need to meet people’s spiritual and material needs. It is there, in a genuinely religious social ecology, where a true religious civilization can be built.

The stakes could not be higher, because, as Danielou notes, only a civilization with a genuinely religious culture is a healthy one — one able to stand up to the scourge of modern, technological civilization and its soft totalitarianism that suppresses the religious impulse in man and reduces the person into a mere consumer.

The Holy See’s International Theological Commission makes a similar argument in its recent document “Religious Liberty for the Good of All,” which Pope Francis approved for publication.

“Safeguarding religious liberty and social peace presupposes a state that not only develops a logic of mutual cooperation between religious communities and civil society,” the commission says, but is also capable of nurturing a genuinely religious culture.

And, as Catholic News Service summarizes, the commission notes that “since Christianity and many other religions are lived not only within the walls of a

with two unexpected results. One, I started to crave the prayer. I earnestly missed it if I had forgotten to say it before bed. And two, it flooded me with a deep-hearted rest, a soul-freedom that was abandoned to the generous love of a magnificent God. The Litany was composed by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930), secretary of state for Pope St. Pius X. It is reported that St. Pius said the prayer every day himself. In a culture and economy often driven by good looks and loud opinions, one that believes notoriety is a virtue and meekness a mental illness, the Litany is a mouthful. In it, we plead for the grace to be forgotten, hidden, even humiliated for the sake of Christ. We beg to go unnoticed so that others may win awards and accolades. We even ask that most difficult of graces: the freedom from fear of calumniation, truly, radically asking for the willingness to suffer what Jesus suffered.

But my director pointed out something very important: In order to say the prayer effectively, you want to pray the Litany only after you have recollected yourself in the love of God. When you are acutely aware of his deep affection and care for you, the Litany seems like a relief, spiritual common sense, and again, a method to freedom — the freedom to do all the Father would ask and to allow yourself to be entirely loved by him. That’s quite a return.

Visit my website — or don’t — but do allow yourself to be so well loved by the Lord that the Litany of Humility becomes the sweet love-song of your heart.

Catherine Dougherty once wrote that “a silent heart is a loving heart, and a loving heart is a hospice to the world.” A humble heart, too, I would argue, is a curative spiritual tonic. Test it for yourself and for our troubled culture.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, show me what it means to share in your meekness and humility in the face of a self-aggrandizing world. Grace me with the freedom to follow you like a much-loved — and totally free — fool.

Religious Freedom Week June 22-29 Catholics face challenges both in our current political climate of polarization and within the Church. We want to encourage Catholics to persist in the struggle to participate in the advancement of the kingdom of God by finding hope in Jesus Christ. Join us in marking Religious Freedom Week June 22-29. It begins with the feast day of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, includes the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist and ends with the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. This year, the week also includes the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) and the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The theme for this year is “strength in hope.” Find details on events, prayers and resources to use in your home, parish and community at mncatholic.org/religiousfreedomweek. church, mosque or temple, but motivate their members to undertake works of social good, ‘there is no true religious freedom’ in states that would make it difficult or impossible for believers to carry out their good works.”

Attacks on the religious freedom of Christians, whether they are the recently passed “Equality Act” in the U.S. House of Representatives or the bombings in Sri Lanka, are all meant to marginalize the Church in both her prayer and her action. They seek to discourage active and public religious presence in society.

Defending religious freedom means defending believers’ rights to respond to the call of the Creator consistent with their conscience. It means defending our ability to build a civilization in which the Church exists as leaven in the world so that all can encounter Christ.

Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

LITANY OF HUMILITY O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, From the desire of being extolled, From the desire of being honored, From the desire of being praised, From the desire of being preferred to others, From the desire of being consulted, From the desire of being approved, From the fear of being humiliated, From the fear of being despised, From the fear of suffering rebukes, From the fear of being calumniated, From the fear of being forgotten, From the fear of being ridiculed, From the fear of being wronged, From the fear of being suspected, That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, That others may be chosen and I set aside, That others may be praised and I unnoticed, That others may be preferred to me in everything, That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should.

Amen.

Kelly is the author of six books, including “Jesus Approaches” and the “Jesus Approaches Take-Home Retreat.” Visit her website at lizk.org.

COMMENTARY

26 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

CATHOLIC WATCHMEN | DEACON GORDON BIRD

Embrace the ordinary

More green hues are seen from the pews and a new weekly numbering scheme commences as Ordinary Time picks up on the momentum of Pentecost. Two thousand years ago or so, no time was squandered as the age of the Holy Spirit manifested in the early Church. Baptizing, teaching, preaching and transforming hearts and minds to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ via the evangelization efforts of his disciples was alive and well.

The present moment makes it our turn as Catholic Christians to follow the lead of those before us ­­— given our gifts from God — making even the ordinary not seem really so ordinary.

Pentecost empowered the Apostles with

the Holy Spirit, and they soon began to better understand the teachings of Jesus’ earthly ministry. “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). It took no ordinary effort in the days of the early Church to reach the hearts of those thousands of first converts as did Peter and the rest of the apostles. After that, with some exceptions, it was pretty much about small groups.

Indeed, much of the conversion today is a result of ordinary personal relationships within and outside the family — the parish and the greater community. It is a result of Christians embracing the ordinary times of life to follow the command that Jesus instilled in his first disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of

the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). Today that may look like parents bringing babies to baptisms, friends inviting their unchurched friends to casual fellowship activities, and evangelists engaging boldly, compassionately and articulately in the streets and in the thickets. No matter where we reside, as Christians, we are always to be on watch for family, friends, strangers and ourselves. This is the kind of work that continues during ordinary times.

Our Lord exhorted his followers to “watch at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk 21:36). Feasting, fasting, atoning and roaming, we are to press on in prayer and stay watchful for self and others. We are to heed the word that Jesus told his disciples to take to heart, as their name implies: discipline.

Hence, there is merit in this ordinary time to embracing the seven disciplines established for the Catholic Watchmen.

JUNE 20, 2019 There is merit to embracing the seven practices in ordinary ways — and at all times — to help avoid being overcome by the worldly things (e.g. pleasure, possessions, power and wealth) of which Jesus often warned.

Embrace three daily practices: 1) Praying with persistence and with devotion to the first Holy Family — ­­ the first domestic church. Establishing habitual moments for prayers such as the Liturgy of the Hours or timely novenas to the Holy Spirit or the Sacred Heart of Jesus brings breadth and depth to a prayer life with family and friends.

My go-to favorite is to embrace the Angelus at the hours of 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m.

2) Encounter Jesus in sacred Scripture, and you will learn endlessly what it means to be watchful and more prepared to bring others with whom you engage to his saving knowledge.

3) Strive to be spiritual leaders like Joseph and Mary, who raised Jesus as he grew in strength and wisdom. Read passages in the Bible that reveal examples of their self-sacrificial leadership.

Embrace two weekly practices: 1) Engage fully in every Sunday Mass, and take your family or friends to learn the goodness, beauty and truth of the highest level of prayer in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

2) Serve your community as a witness to your faith and to others. Read the story of the sheep and the goats (Mt 25:31-46) — you’ll get it. Humbly serving those in need provides many graces to both the needy and the servant.

Embrace two monthly practices: 1) Go to confession. Nothing may be more healing, transforming and re-energizing than the sacrament of reconciliation. Try it and you will keep coming back.

2) Build brotherhood and sisterhood and evangelize men and women in monthly parish gatherings. PostPentecost — in ordinary ways and times — it was largely about small groups gathering, praying together, reading Scripture, sharing meals and keeping each other accountable.

Embrace the ordinary days!

Deacon Bird ministers at St. Joseph in Rosemount, All Saints in Lakeville, and assists the Catholic Watchmen movement of the archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization. Reach him at gordonbird@ rocketmail.com. Learn about the archdiocese’s Catholic Watchmen initiative at thecatholicwatchmen.com.

The Catholic Spirit wants to hear your take.

Letters to the Editor should be limited to 150 words and sent to CatholicSpirit@archspm.org with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line.

Please include your name, parish and daytime phone number in case we need to contact you.

JUNE 20, 2019

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 27

CALENDAR Music

FEATURED EVENTS Women, WINE & Wisdom: “If I Lie about My Weight on My Driver’s License, Is That a Mortal Sin?” — June 25: 6:30 p.m. at Hyland Hills Chalet, 8800 Chalet Road, Bloomington. Speakers Kelly Wahlquist and Elizabeth Westhoff grapple with the questions women have been asking in the mirror for a long time. Cost is $45 and includes appetizers. archspm.org/events.

“Allies in a Time of Trouble: Newman on Other Christians” — June 27: 7–8:30 p.m. at Anselm House study center, 1337 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul. David Deavel, Catholic Studies instructor at the University of St. Thomas, explores Blessed John Henry Newman’s understanding of ecumenism. anselmhouse.org.

St. Paul Street Evangelization — July 13: 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, 777 Forest St., St. Paul. Learn how to evangelize in everyday life in easy and fun ways. Workshop includes presentations, small groups and role playing. Cost is $25 and includes lunch. For more information, call 651-777-2963. archspm.org/events.

Quo Vadis Youth Vocation Camp — July 21-24 at Dunrovin Christian Brothers Retreat Center, 15525 St. Croix Trail N., Marine on St. Croix. Camp includes Mass, prayer, campfires, field trips to religious communities and outdoor recreation.

For ages 14-17. 10000vocations.org.

Summer concert series: Songs for the Solstice — June 21: 7 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Eighth St. N., Oakdale. guardian-angels.org.

Ongoing groups Calix Society — First and third Sundays: 9–10:30 a.m. at Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. A group of men, women, family and friends supporting the spiritual needs of recovering Catholic alcoholics. Kathy at 651-330-3387. calixsociety.com.

Dementia support group — Second Tuesdays: 7–9 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. RSVP sarnold@benedictinecenter.org.

Grieving with Hope — Second and fourth Tuesdays: 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose, 4125 Woodbury Drive, Woodbury. LeAnn at 651-768-3009. stambroseofwoodbury.org.

Job transitions and networking group — Tuesdays: 7–8:30 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker, 7180 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove. Bob at bob.sjtw@gmail.com. sjtw.net.

Career transition group — Third Thursdays: 7:30–8:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus, 155 County Road 24, Wayzata. hnoj.org.

CARITAS cancer support group — Wednesdays: 10:30 a.m.–noon at St. Joseph’s Hospital, second floor, maternity classroom 2500, 45 W. 10th St., St. Paul.

Healing Hope grief support — Second and fourth Thursdays: 6 p.m. at St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave. NE, Blaine.

Facilitated by Bob Bartlett, licensed therapist. No fees or required registration. churchofsttimothy.com.

Parish events Super Sale — June 19-22: 5–8 p.m. June 19; 9 a.m.– 8 p.m. June 20 and 21; 9 a.m.–1 p.m. June 22 at St. John the Baptist, 12508 Lynn Ave., Savage. stjohns-savage.org.

Holy Name of Jesus rummage sale — June 20-22: 9 a.m.–8 p.m. June 20; 9 a.m.–6 p.m. June 21; 8 a.m.– noon June 22 at 155 County Road 24, Wayzata. Benefits local pro-life groups and other organizations that aid women and children. hnoj.org.

Corpus Christi procession — June 23: 11 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist, 20087 Hub Drive, New Prague.

Rural life Mass and procession of the Blessed Sacrament. npcatholic.org.

CALENDAR submissions 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.

Vacation Bible camp: “Super Heroes of the Bible” — July 7-Aug. 2: 9 a.m.–noon at Pax Christi, 12100 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie. paxchristi.com.

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.

Retreats Silent retreat weekend — June 20-23 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. 952-447-2182. franciscanretreats.net.

Directed retreat — June 21-28 at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. benedictinecener.org.

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/

Men and women’s silent weekend retreat — July 5-7 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo.

“Moving from Goodwill to Grace” with presenter Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI. kingshouse.com.

Healing retreat for men and women — July 12-14 at Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo.

“Healing Our Tired Heart.” Presenter Father Matt Linn, SJ. kingshouse.com.

Conferences/workshops Order Franciscans Secular (OFS) — Third Sundays: 1 p.m. at Catholic Charities, 1200 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis. Learn about this lay group of Catholic men and women following the example of St. Francis.

952-922-5523.

Nourish: caregivers support group — June 20: 1–2:30 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. guardian-angels.org.

“New Ways to Notice the Presence of God” — July 12: 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. benedictinecener.org.

Other events Knights of Columbus bingo — Wednesdays: 6–9 p.m. at Solanus Casey Council Hall, 1910 S. Greeley St., Stillwater.

calendarsubmissions

MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106 Franciscan Retreat Center garden party — July 14: 1–3 p.m. at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16386 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. franciscanretreats.net.

Speakers “Giving Insights: The Importance of Catholic Schools for a Strong Community” — June 25: 6–8:30 p.m. at Cretin-Derham Hall, 550 S. Albert St., St. Paul. Organized by the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota.

Panelists: Sister John Mary Fleming, O.P.; Gail Dorn; Father Kevin Finnegan; Luis Frag; Jean Houghton and Nicole Stelle Garnett. ccf-mn.org.

“Religious Freedom, A Path to Peace: Muslims and Catholics in Dialogue” — June 26: 7–8:30 p.m. at St. Peter, 1405 Sibley Memorial Highway, St. Paul. Hosted by Minnesota Catholic Conference. mncatholic.org.

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ATTORNEYS Edward F. Gross • Wills, Trusts, Probate, Estate Planning, Real Estate. Office at 35E & Roselawn Ave., St. Paul (651) 631-0616.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES St. Bronislava Parish in Plover, WI is seeking an energetic and faith-filled individual to serve as full time Director of Youth Formation.

Responsibilities include directing religious education and confirmation preparation for Grades 6 – 11, along with youth ministry initiatives. Applicants must possess strong organizational, computer and inter-personal skills. Degree in Religious Education or related field is preferred. Familiarity with Life Teen and social media platforms is also desirable. Interested persons should send an application or letter of interest stating experience to:

Business Office St. Bronislava Parish P.O. Box 158 Plover, WI 54467 businessoffice@stbrons.com

CEILING TEXTURE Michaels Painting. Popcorn Removal & Knock Down Texture: TextureCeilings.com (763) 757-3187.

To advertise here, email

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Saint Andrew Catholic Church and School is seeking a qualified, faith-filled elementary school principal. The principal is the academic, administrative and faith leader of our school, setting goals and expectations for students in preschool through grade 5, faculty and staff; planning and working daily to achieve those goals; and reporting to and working alongside our pastor. The successful candidate will be a confirmed and practicing Catholic with classroom and administrative experience, strong supervisory and management skills, expertise in curriculum and instruction. A master’s degree or progress towards one in Educational Leadership is required. To apply, please submit a letter of intent, resumé and references, to Melissa Anderson, Parish Business Administrator, Saint Andrew Catholic Church and School, 566 4th St NW, Elk River, MN 55330 or melissaa@saint-andrew.net.

For more information, see www.saint-andrew.net/employment.

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

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PRAYERS Thank you ST. JUDE for prayers answered.

MAP NOTICE: Prayers must be submitted in advance. Payment of $8 per line must be received before publication.

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IT’S SPRING! Spruce up your home with new or refurbished hardwood floors: 10% off labor.

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

PAINTING

The Stillwater Catholic Worker Community is seeking a mature woman to manage and live at Our Lady Queen of Peace House, a home for women and their children in transition. Room and board included with this volunteer position.

Details available at STMICHAELSTILLWATER.ORG or by calling (651) 430-3469.

For painting & all related services. View our website: PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND. COM or call (651) 699-6140.

classifiedads@ archspm.org.

CEMETERY LOTS Resurrection Mausoleum. Value $11,035.00.

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28 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

JUNE 20, 2019

THELASTWORD Girl Scout Carrie Johnson created a scouting patch celebrating the Church’s teaching on human dignity.

According to national Catholic scouting organizations, Johnson is the first scout to create a Catholic-themed patch. Other Catholic patches have been created by the committees.

Johnson is a parishioner of St. Mary in Stillwater.

I

nspired to help others grow in their faith, Girl Scout Carrie Johnson has become the first Girl or Boy Scout in the country to create a Catholicthemed patch, according to national Catholic scouting committee leaders.

A member of St. Mary and Troop 53688, both in Stillwater, Johnson created a patch for participants in Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America to celebrate Church teaching on human dignity. She drew inspiration from 11 years of collecting similar Catholicthemed patches.

“I’ve learned all kinds of things about different saints and about the rosary and how to grow in my faith as I get older, and how to keep my faith and share it with others,” said Johnson, a junior this fall at HillMurray High School in Maplewood.

Johnson’s human dignity patch depicts a globe encircled by faces of people of various cultures and ages.

The phrase “human dignity” stretches across the globe.

Johnson made the human dignity patch last year for her project aiming to achieve the Gold Award, the Girl Scouts’ highest honor. She submitted it this month to the regional Girl Scout River Valleys council in St. Paul. Girl Scouts can earn the Gold Award by completing a project that addresses an issue in society such as human trafficking or poverty. Earning her patch requires Girl Scouts to learn about and participate in activities that focus on human dignity, such as respect for people from conception to natural death, no matter their race or physical, developmental or emotional challenges.

“I felt like there was this need to educate Catholics about the dignity of the human person, and I thought a patch was the best way to do it,”

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Stillwater Catholic teen upholds human dignity with new scout patch

By Matthew Davis • The Catholic Spirit Johnson said.

Hoping they would adopt the patch, she contacted two national Catholic scouting organizations that collaborate with the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America. The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts allow other groups to offer activity patches, which go on the back of the uniforms. The patches don’t replace merit badges, the official awards for scouts that appear on the front of the uniforms.

The Catholic scouting committees offer faith-based patches with themes such as the rosary and saints.

The National Catholic Committee on Scouting officially adopted Johnson’s patch April 26 at its national meeting, and the patch will become available in the fall. Based in Dallas, NCCS works with the Boy Scouts of America to assure effective use of scouting in the Church. The NCCS offers 32 Catholicthemed patches.

“They were thrilled that we’ll be able to offer an activity patch that helps our youth understand human dignity,” said Theresa Dirig, chair of religious activities at the NCCS. Johnson also sent her project to Tolly Patten, chair of the National Catholic Committee on Girl Scouts and Camp Fire, a national coed scouting program

for youths and teens, hoping the committee would adopt the patch at its February 2020 national meeting and make it available next spring.

NCCGSCF offers 22 Catholic-themed patches, and Patten said she believes Johnson’s patch would be a great addition. It will “really get girls talking about life” issues, she said.

Patten and Dirig said Johnson is the first scout to create a Catholic-themed patch. Typically, the Catholic committees create the patches.

“This is the first time that we’ve ever had a student come through and recommend one and actually do the work,” Dirig said.

And the patch is not just for scouts.

Once it is posted on the national Catholic scouting organizations’ websites, anyone can learn how to earn the human dignity patch, Johnson said.

NCCGSCF also can offer the human dignity patch to Catholic parishes and schools as a member of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry.

A Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, NFCYM supports youth ministry nationwide.

Johnson’s mother, Mary Jo Johnson, who leads Troop 53688, said the

patch’s theme is “so basic to respecting life that it’s not just a Catholic thing.

Everybody should be interested in this.

I think it’s fantastic.”

Johnson was also creative in her project for the Silver Award, Girl Scouts’ second-highest honor, when she started an art club for middle school students at St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater. Johnson said she enjoys Girl Scouts because she can try different activities, earn patches and badges, and spend time with friends.

Johnson is active in organizations beyond Girl Scouts. At Hill-Murray, she participates in choir, theater and tennis. She also volunteers with the St. Mary parish festival, and the holiday craft fair and parish festival at St. Michael, also in Stillwater.

Johnson tested her new patch and its requirements with a Lion Cub Scouts troop and Girl Scouts Juniors and Cadettes troops, all in Stillwater. She also had her three brothers, two of whom are Eagle Scouts, complete the patch program.

Dirig said Johnson’s thoroughness and testing of the program impressed the NCCS. Johnson’s section of the patch program on gender equality in particular grabbed the committee’s attention because of its title, Dirig said. Johnson developed that section to foster respect for men and women being made in the image and likeness of God, recognizing their differences and the equal dignity between the sexes.

“I think that it’s important that everyone knows those and appreciates them,” Johnson said.

It hearkens back to her overall vision of working for the patch. Johnson said she hopes that scouts and others who earn the patch take away “that everyone is loved by God, and that every single person God loves no matter what.”