PAGETWO

Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel of the Minnesota Catholic Conference

Adkins was commenting on legislation passed by the state House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, that initiates universal background checks for gun purchases, a red flag law allowing law enforcement to intervene when people are at risk of hurting themselves or others with firearms, and limits to “no-knock” warrants. The legislation also includes allocating $43 million for a four-year period to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to combat violent crime and $197.2 million for crime prevention, community engagement and juvenile justice initiatives. The Minnesota Legislature wrapped up its 2023 session May 22. Please turn to page 20 for the latest on the session from the Minnesota Catholic Conference. The Catholic Spirit will have comprehensive coverage of the session in its June 8 edition.

NEWS notes

FAITH, FAMILY AND BASEBALL Former Minnesota Twins infielder Al Newman shared his faith and love for baseball April 30 at St. Joseph in Waconia. Newman said his mother lived and shared her faith, and a Catholic education helped him learn to work hard and trust in the Lord. An infielder, Newman played on the Twins’ World Series winning teams of 1987 and 1991. The Waconia Knights of Columbus co-sponsored the event with the parish.

A noon Mass May 12 at the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul kicked off the celebration and inauguration ceremony for the university’s 16th president, Robert Vischer, former dean of the university’s law school. A community lunch was held, followed by the inauguration ceremony and a late-afternoon, student-run celebration with music, food trucks and entertainment.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda will celebrate the 10:30 a.m. Mass at the St. John the Evangelist campus of St. Gabriel the Archangel in Hopkins May 28 to mark the last Mass at the site. St. John and St. Joseph merged in 2013 to become St. Gabriel parish. Maintaining two campuses in Hopkins became financially untenable. St. Gabriel is seeking a buyer for the St. John campus’ church and school.

Troy Bell, who graduated from the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield in 1999, is the new varsity boys basketball head coach, the school announced May 19. Bell is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,491 points and is the state’s fourth leading scorer. He went on to play for Boston College and became that school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,632 points. After college, he was drafted by the Boston Celtics and traded on draft night to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he played in six games in the 2003-2004 season. “Holy Angels holds a special place in my heart,” Bell said. “Together, I believe we can build something that we can all be very proud of.”

WISCONSIN

CEMETERY CRUCIFIX

RESTORED Norbertine

Father Jim Baraniak, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in De Pere, Wis., raises the host and chalice during an outdoor Mass at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Ashwaubenon, Wis., on Ascension Sunday, May 21. Behind him is a newly refurbished crucifixion monument, which was blessed and rededicated during Mass. The marble statue of Jesus on the cross was damaged in June 2021. Father Baraniak said, “We don’t know if it was an act of vandalism, just old age or if it was a lightning storm that struck the original corpus on this cross.”

PRACTICING Catholic

On the May 19 “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley interviewed Father Francis Hoffman, “Father Rocky,” chairman and CEO of Relevant Radio, who gave an inside look at what makes a worldwide Catholic radio network tick. Also featured are Ann Marie Cosgrove and Christopher Santer, two Catholic artists who described the “Art-A-Whirl” May 19-21 in Minneapolis and how their faith plays into their work; and Lake City couple Paul and Sara Freid who talked about living their beliefs, including those that are core to the Catholic Worker Movement. Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingcatholicShow com or anchor fm/Practicing-catholic-Show with links to streaming platforms.

Clarification

ON THE COVER Tracy Plankers, left, and Julie McGinley, both of St. Patrick in Oak Grove, add their voices to the opening hymn of the May 20 Mass at the Activated Disciple Seminar in Minneapolis.

ONLY JESUS | FATHER CHARLES LACHOWITZER