thecatholicspirit.com
November 7, 2019 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Saved by St. Therese Veteran says ‘Little Flower’ kept him alive during months of bombing runs. — Page 17
Restorative justice Law symposium panel explores archdiocese’s approach to healing as well as justice in clergy sex abuse crisis. — Page 5
Finding ‘forever families’ Reel Hope project focuses on helping children in foster care move to a permanent home. — Page 10
Priest formation During National Vocations Awareness Week Nov. 3-9, a look back at St. Paul Seminary’s 125-year history. — Pages 12-13
AFTER THE AMAZON SYNOD
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Pope Francis accepts a plant during the offertory as he celebrates the concluding Mass of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican Oct. 27.
Observer: Final synod document should be read as a whole By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
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WHAT’S NEXT?
with the people of the Amazon, “standing with them as they’re victimized, helping them understand the love and mercy of God in their souls, helping them build up communities in places which are often very, very remote.” “That’s what this was,” Bishop McElroy said in an interview with Catholic News Service after the synod’s final Mass. “To make it anything less is a disservice.”
“To say that the Amazon Synod has caused a stir in the Church is an understatement,” Father Michael Johnson, the archdiocese’s judicial vicar, writes in a guest commentary examining the synod and expectations for Pope Francis’ forthcoming document that will direct the Church’s efforts in the Amazon Basin. — Page 21
Papal chronicler
ishop Robert McElroy of San Diego said the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon was an examination of ways “to best evangelize with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this moment, in this place.” Focusing on an issue or two in the synod’s final document, he said, would mean missing the whole pastoral point of the Catholic Church finding ways of being
Journalist Austen Ivereigh to speak in St. Paul as he promotes newest book on Pope Francis. — Page 18
Ahead of 2020 election, campaign stresses why civility is important
Called to prayer The only monastery of Cistercian nuns in U.S. includes two Twin Cities natives. — Page 14
By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service
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ancor in politics, especially these days, may be the norm, but a nationwide effort is underway to remind people that civility in political discussions is a virtue. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched the Civilize It campaign Nov. 3 at parishes around the country. It stresses that respectful dialogue — rather than name-calling and nasty barbs — can occur among people with differing political views. “In part, this campaign is really in response to the vitriol that we see in public discourse on both sides of the aisle,” said Jill Rauh, director of education and outreach in the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development. “Civility is something that we, at least in theory, should all agree on,” she said. “Catholics don’t always come down on the same side in terms of where they discern to
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be voting. But everyone should agree that we can be modeling love for neighbor and we can be modeling the example of Christ.” The date of the program’s introduction is significant because it is precisely one year from the 2020 presidential election. The idea for Civilize It originated in the Social Action Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2016. Its success in Ohio caught the attention of the USCCB, which this year decided that the model could be introduced nationwide. Rauh said about a dozen dioceses were expected to move quickly to adopt the campaign starting at Masses Nov. 2-3, with others expected to follow during the next several months. Minnesota Catholic Conference will be promoting Civilize It, said Katherine Cross, its communications manager. The effort will incorporate the U.S.
bishops’ quadrennial document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” The document remains unchanged this year, but the bishops will vote on a letter and four short video scripts to supplement it during their annual fall assembly in Baltimore Nov. 11-13. The campaign’s cornerstone is a three-part pledge that individuals can take to respect civility, to root political views in the Gospel and a well-formed conscience, and to encounter others with compassion. Personal reflection is a significant component of the program. Resources developed by Rauh’s office will help guide participants in the tradition of an examination of conscience so they can better understand how they can respond to people with whom they disagree. The campaign “is a way the Church can be an example,” Rauh said. “We can bring our moral voice to the public square.”