Why World Mission Sunday matters for Jamaica • C section October 8, 2015 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Bishops arrive in procession for the opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the family in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 4. CNS
With family in focus, synod begins
On the heels of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, the world Synod of Bishops reconvened in Vatican City Oct. 4 for its second gathering on familyrelated issues. Marriage preparation; pastoral responses to people who are divorced or homosexual; and the family’s vocation and mission in the world are among topics expected to be addressed in the coming weeks. — Page 9A
ALSO inside
Fusing football with faith
Vowing to defend life
Pope Francis makes mark
Benedictine Sister Linda Soler gives Hill-Murray’s team a higher goal as its ‘spiritual coach.’ — Page 6A
Four University of St. Thomas grads have recently joined the New York-based Sisters of Life with a focus on protecting the unborn. — Page 8A
The Catholic Spirit commemorates the pope’s first U.S. visit through the lens of local pilgrims who encountered him. — B section
PAGE TWO
2A • The Catholic Spirit
October 8, 2015
in PICTURES “Only in Jesus Christ can we find the highest display of masculine virtue and strength that we need in our personal lives and in society itself.” Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, Arizona, in his Sept. 29 pastoral letter to Catholic men, “Into the Breach.”
“I would have expected a lot more involvement by the Vatican; the time for cautious diplomacy is at an end.” Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, urging more support from the Vatican amid Russian troops entering Ukrainian territory.
NEWS notes • The Catholic Spirit PET BLESSING Father Mark Underdahl, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Lake St. Croix Beach, blesses a pair of dogs as part of the pet blessing at the parish Oct. 3. The annual event honors the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, known for his kindness to animals. Various parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis held similar events to honor the feast, which was Oct. 4. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit
White Mass to honor health care workers Oct. 10 Catholic health care workers are invited to the annual White Mass at 5:15 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. A short reception will follow Mass. The Mass is sponsored by the St. Paul and Minneapolis Guild of the Catholic Medical Association in cooperation with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Marriage, Family and Life. For more information, contact Sonya Flomo at 651-291-4488 or flomos@archspm.org.
Mother Mary Assumpta to speak Oct. 22 The prioress general of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mother Mary Assumpta, will speak about the new evangelization in Catholic education Oct. 22 at Rush Creek Golf Club, 7801 County Road 101, Maple Grove. The event begins with a 6 p.m. rosary and Mass at St. Anne Church, 200 Hamel Road, Hamel, followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. and the talk at 8 p.m. The event is part of the Catholic Thought lecture series at Ava Maria Academy, a prekindergarten through eighth grade Catholic school in Maple Grove. Cost is $75 per person. To RSVP, contact LectureSeries@ AveMariaAcademy.org or 763-494-5387.
West Metro Theology on Tap begins Oct. 13
GOLDEN FOOTBALL Former NFL player Matt Birk, center, visited Cretin-Derham Hall High School, St. Paul, Sept. 22 to acknowledge the school’s NFL Golden Football, which is given by the NFL to high schools throughout the country that have had a positive impact on the game of football. Birk, who graduated from CDH in 1994, played for both the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens, where he won a Super Bowl in 2013. Pictured with Birk are this year’s CDH football captains: seniors Josh Panek, left, Kenneth Udoibok, Daniel Greenheck and Kevin Hartman. Photo courtesy Cretin-Derham Hall
WHAT’S NEW on social media Watch recent videos of a pep rally, pet blessing and African dance at www.facebook.com/TheCatholicSpirit/videos. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is distributing prayer cards for a new archbishop at its listening sessions. See a preview @TheCatholicSpirit.
The Catholic Spirit is published bi-weekly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 20 — No. 19 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher United in Faith, Hope and Love
MARIA C. WIERING, Editor
West Metro Young Adults are presenting a “six pack” of Catholic speakers Tuesday nights, Oct. 13-Nov. 17 at Champps Minnetonka, 1641 Plymouth Road, Minnetonka. Speakers include John Martens, Nic Davidson, Elizabeth Kelly, Father Tom Margevicius, Father Joseph Johnson and Luke Spehar. Topics range from personal testimonies to Church teaching on purgatory, sex, and women and the priesthood. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with speakers beginning at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.westmetroya.com.
MILESTONES Editor’s note: Look to this space for parishes and schools celebrating anniversaries in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. 150 years — St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Delano. Merged in 2014 from St. Peter and St. Joseph churches, the parish’s history dates back to 1865, when Father John Ireland (later to become archbishop) was hiking through the Big Woods from Waverly Mills to Watertown and realized he was lost. Following sounds coming through the woods, he came upon a newly erected church, St. Peter. There, he encountered a Catholic congregation without a priest, praying and singing hymns. Eventually, the two parishes half a mile apart would serve the area’s French, German and Polish communities. The parish will celebrate Oct. 17 with a 5 p.m. Mass concelebrated by Bishop Andrew Cozzens and Father Nathan LaLiberte, pastor, followed by a reception and concert at St. Peter’s Church, 217 S. Second St., Delano. For more information, visit www.delanocatholic.com.
Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by The Catholic Spirit Newspaper. Subscriptions: $29.95 per year: Senior 1-year: $24.95: To subscribe: (651) 291-4444: Display Advertising: (651) 291-4444; Classified Advertising: (651) 290-1631. Published bi-weekly by the Office of Communications, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102 • (651) 291-4444, FAX (651) 291-4460. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional post offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102. TheCatholicSpirit.com • email: catholicspirit@archspm.org • USPS #093-580
October 8, 2015
FROM THE APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATOR
The Catholic Spirit • 3A
Copeland’s words signal core of faith, archdiocese’s future
“C
ome and soak the feet of the poor with me.” Were this a Jeopardy clue, I could easily imagine a contestant responding, “What did St. Francis say to St. Clare in 12th-century Assisi?” or “What did Jesus say to his disciples in the Upper Room?” In reality, it was the invitation extended by the Twin Cities’ very own Mary Jo Copeland to Pope Francis at their recent meeting in Washington, D.C. (See Bishop Andrew Cozzens’ reflection on page 2B.) While others may have been debating the finer points of papal protocol, Mary Jo’s heart spoke plainly to the heart of Pope Francis in the language they both seem to know best: that of humble, Christ-centered service. In our preliminary listening sessions, a hope has repeatedly been voiced that the Holy Father will send this archdiocese a shepherd who will be able to restore trust, who will be capable of uniting and reviving a flock that, to some, seems fragmented or fatigued by all the talk of investigations, bankruptcy and settlements. A leader who, “like Pope Francis,” can speak to the young and the not-so-young, the devout and the distant, the affluent and the struggling, and offer us hope — all while making us “feel proud again to be APOSTOLIC Catholic.” Talk about big shoes to fill! I’m already ADMINISTRATOR praying daily for the next archbishop, whoever he Archbishop might be, and hope that you are, too. Bernard Hebda
Palabras de Copeland llegan a lo profundo de la fe católica y al futuro de la arquidiócesis “Ven y remoja los pies de los pobres conmigo.” Si esto fuera una pista para el juego de Jeopardy, podía imaginar fácilmente un concursante responder, “¿Fue eso lo qué le dijo San Francisco de Asís a Santa Clara en el siglo XII?” O “¿Fue eso lo qué le dijo Jesús a sus discípulos en el Cenáculo?” En realidad, fue la misma Mary Jo Copeland de las Ciudades Gemelas quien extendió la invitación al Papa Francisco a la reciente reunión en Washington, D.C. (Ver reflexión del Obispo Andrew Cozzens en la página 2B). Mientras que otros pueden haber estado debatiendo los puntos más finos del protocolo papal, el corazón de Mary Jo habló claramente al corazón del Papa Francisco en un lenguaje que los dos parecen conocer bien: el lenguaje del servicio humilde y
Archbishop Bernard Hebda, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, greets Pope Francis Sept. 23 after midday prayer with U.S. bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C. L’Osservatore Romano While I, as a newcomer, wouldn’t pretend to know enough about this local Church to even begin to offer the next archbishop any advice, I have a hunch that the path forward is going to begin at Mary Jo Copeland’s Sharing and Caring Hands or Catholic Charities’ Dorothy Day Center or at the countless parish outreach programs that bring us into contact with Christ present in our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. Pope Francis began his pontificate calling for “a poor Church for the poor” not because he exalts human misery but because he knows from experience, as well as from sacred Scripture, that it is among those in need that we are going to find Jesus, the only one who can unite us and revive us and heal us. I am inspired as I hear about this Catholic
centrado en Cristo. En nuestras sesiones de consulta preliminares, se ha expresado en repetidas ocasiones la esperanza de que el Santo Padre envíe a esta arquidiócesis un pastor que sea capaz de restaurar la confianza, que sea capaz de unir y revivir al rebaño que, para algunos, parece dividido o fatigado por todo lo referente a las investigaciones, la bancarrota y los y las pagos acordados. Un líder que, “al igual que el Papa Francisco,” puede hablar con los jóvenes y los no tan jóvenes, con los devotos y los distantes, con los que tienen en abundancia y los que pasan dificultades, que nos ofrezca una esperanza — al mismo tiempo que nos haga “sentir nuevamente orgullosos de ser Católicos.” ¡Hablamos de la gran responsabilidad que va a tener! Yo ya estoy orando todos los días por el próximo arzobispo, sea quien sea, y espero que usted también. Mientras que yo, como un recién llegado, no pretendo saber lo suficiente acerca de esta Iglesia local como para empezar a ofrecer algún consejo al próximo arzobispo, tengo el presentimiento de que el camino hacia adelante va a comenzar con el programa de Mary Jo Copeland Manos que Cuidan y Comparten o el Centro Dorothy Day de Caridades Católicas o con los innumerables programas que
community’s longstanding commitment to service — a story told as much by the bricks and mortar of the Catholic schools, hospitals and social service centers that dot the archdiocese as by the countless hours of volunteer service still offered by Catholics throughout its 12 counties. It’s when we are focused on the needs of others and are pouring ourselves out in service that we come closest to Christ and touch the core of who we are as Catholics. It’s then that we’re going to be energized and unified, it’s then that we’re going to be able to preach with credibility, and it’s then that we’re going to know the joy that flows from living out our vocation as disciples. “Come and soak the feet of the poor with me.”
existen en las parroquias que nos ponen en contacto con Cristo, presente en nuestros hermanos y hermanas más vulnerables. El Papa Francisco comenzó su pontificado pidiendo “una Iglesia pobre para los pobres” no para resaltar la miseria humana, sino porque sabe, por experiencia, así como por la Sagrada Escritura, que es en medio de los más necesitados donde vamos a encontrar a Jesús, el único que puede unirnos y darnos vida y sanarnos. Me inspira el escuchar sobre el antiguo compromiso de servicio de la comunidad católica — una historia contada tanto por los ladrillos y el cemento de las escuelas católicas, hospitales y centros de servicios sociales que marcan la arquidiócesis así como por las innumerables horas de servicio voluntario que aun ofrecen los católicos de todos sus 12 condados. Cuando más estemos enfocados en las necesidades de los demás y estemos inmersos en el servicio es cuando estamos más cerca de Cristo y llegamos el centro de quienes somos como católicos. Es entonces cuando vamos a estar motivados y unidos, cuando vamos a predicar con credibilidad, y cuando vamos a conocer la alegría que brota de vivir nuestra vocación de discípulos. “Ven y remoja los pies de los pobres conmigo.”
OFFICIAL His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bernard Hebda, has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis:
Effective September 25, 2015
Effective September 28, 2015
Arrivals
• Reverend Michael Byron, appointed temporary parochial administrator of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Saint Paul. This is in addition to his current appointment as pastor of the Church of Saint Pascal Baylon in Saint Paul.
• Reverend Robert Nygaard, appointed temporary parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Andrew Kim in Saint Paul. The previous pastor, Reverend Raymond Won, has returned to his home diocese of Seoul, South Korea.
• Deacon Aaron Meszaros, C.Ss.R., granted faculties of the Archdiocese and assigned by his religious superior to the Redemptorist Community at the Church of Saint Alphonsus.
• Reverend Steven Borello, granted faculties of the Archdiocese and assigned to Saint John Vianney Seminary. Father Borello is a priest of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois.
• Reverend Paul Coelho, SJ, granted faculties of the Archdiocese and assigned by his religious superior as regional vocation director for the western area of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus.
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4A • The Catholic Spirit
October 8, 2015
SLICEof LIFE
Out of Africa
From left, Florence Ndeti of the Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, talks with Bernadette Fossen of Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville, Vivian Dake and her daughter Danielle, also parishioners who are originally from Ghana, after a Mass Oct. 4 at Mary, Mother that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the partnership between the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Kitui. Fossen and her husband, Chuck, hosted, Ndeti during the delegation’s visit to the Twin Cities. “It was wonderful,” Fossen said. “I understand the partnership now.” Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit
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LOCAL
The Catholic Spirit • 5A
in BRIEF VATICAN CITY
Local seminarian studying in Rome ordained deacon at Vatican Oct. 1 Paul Haverstock, a seminarian of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in formation at the North American College in Rome, was ordained to the diaconate Oct. 1 at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican with 39 other transitional deacons. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York presided. Haverstock was raised Lutheran, but joined the Catholic Church in 2006 at the Easter Vigil Mass at the University of Kansas Newman Center in Lawrence, Kansas, where he studied Latin and Greek. He earned a law degree at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis before entering seminary in 2010. Haverstock expects to be ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St. Paul in May 2016 with the transitional deacons studying at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. His home parish is St. Agnes in St. Paul.
ST. PAUL
Listening sessions underway Archbishop Bernard Hebda launched a series of listening sessions Oct. 5, with the first two held at St. Catherine University and St. Stephen, Anoka. A third session was held the afternoon of Oct. 6 with consecrated men and women, with another scheduled that evening at Pax Christi in Eden Prairie. Archbishop Hebda, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, initiated the two-hour sessions to get feedback from Catholics throughout the archdiocese ahead of Pope Francis’ appointment of its next archbishop. Archbishop Hebda plans to share summaries of the listening sessions with the U.S. papal nuncio, as well as the next archbishop and Catholics in the archdiocese. “I was impressed by the willingness of people to share their thoughts and insights,” Archbishop Hebda said after the initial sessions, adding that he “was really encouraged by the experience,” and he hopes the sessions draw a broad cross section of Catholics. Upcoming listening sessions are Nov. 2 at St. Peter, Forest Lake; Nov. 3 at Divine Mercy, Faribault; and Nov. 4 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
St. Catherine University president plans to leave institution in July Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Andrea Lee plans to end her 18-year tenure as president of St. Catherine University July 1, 2016. In a Sept. 30 letter to friends and colleagues at the university, Sister Andrea noted that retiring from her post at the St. Paul university will allow her to transition into other work she has planned before officially retiring. “While there is never a good time to leave a place I love, colleagues I deeply respect, and a mission that compels my enthusiastic commitment, I will leave next summer knowing that St. Catherine’s is in a very strong position and will present an attractive call to a new leader,” she said in a statement. “Significant evidence of St. Catherine’s health and positive momentum signals that it is the right time for this transition.” Karen Rauenhorst, chair of St. Catherine’s board of trustees, said the university will announce plans soon for a national search to select its next president. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet founded what was then the College of St. Catherine in 1905 for women. It is now the nation’s largest baccalaureate college for women. It enrolls men in its associates, graduate and continuing education programs.
Cathedral rose window reinstalled Craftsmen reinstalled sections of the Cathedral of St. Paul’s south-facing rose window the week of Sept. 28 following a comprehensive restoration. The Cathedral commissioned Gaytee-Palmer Stained Glass Studio in northeast Minneapolis to work on two of the church’s iconic rose windows after it became clear they were structurally unsound. Erosion from weather and pollution, as well as weighty braces added five decades ago, caused glass in all three windows to
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York ordains seminarian Paul Haverstock of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis during the ordination of 40 transitional deacons from the Pontifical North American College in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 1. CNS separate from their connective leading, said Al Palmer, who owns Gaytee-Palmer. In early July, Gaytee-Palmer employees removed the 18-foot-diameter, southfacing window section by section. The pieces were cleaned, scraped of old leading, repainted as necessary, releaded and cemented — an onerous, timeconsuming process done by hand. The Cathedral Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit separate from the Cathedral parish, is fundraising the $209,000 cost for the north and south window restoration.
Prayer for next archbishop encouraged with newly composed text The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is encouraging Catholics to pray for their next archbishop. To that end, Archbishop Bernard Hebda wrote a prayer that the archdiocese is making available on prayer cards. “Good and gracious God, giver of all good gifts, grant to this Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis an archbishop who will unite us in our diversity and call for those gifts with which you have so richly blessed this family of faith,” it begins. The prayer goes on to ask that he be a “shepherd” and servant who is gentle and courageous, and whose life “radiate[s] the joy of the Gospel.” The prayer is being used at the archdiocese’s listening sessions and cards are available for parish use.
‘Keepers of the Fire’ to pray for Archdiocesan Youth Day attendees Catholic men, especially fathers, are invited to gather for fraternity and prayer Oct. 24 during the Archdiocesan Youth Day. Participants will tend a bonfire while praying for schools, culture and youth, especially those attending the youth event. Called “Keepers of the Fire,” the initiative is the brainchild of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, and is being launched in partnership with the Office of Marriage, Family and Life. The initiative aims to encourage men to be protectors of the family through prayer and witness. Men 18 and older are asked to sign up for one-hour commitments between 1-9 p.m. at one of two locations: Transfiguration, Oakdale; and All Saints, Lakeville. For more information, call the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis at 651-291-4411.
Oct. 11 named ACCW Sunday Archbishop Bernard Hebda designated Oct. 11,
2015, the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women Recognition Sunday in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In an Aug. 13 proclamation establishing the commemoration, the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator wrote that the archdiocese “wishes to recognize the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women’s immeasurable contributions to the progress and welfare of families, parishes, communities and the poor of the world.” He also commended the organization for continuing “to encourage affiliates to work closely with their respective parishes in meeting spiritual and human needs by creating a spirit of unity through prayer, enrichment and service in fulfilling the Mission of Christ.” The ACCW is marking the 165th anniversary of its founding by Archbishop John Murray.
SHAKOPEE
Priest marks birthday by running marathon to raise funds for parish For the second time, Father Erik Lundgren, parochial administrator at Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee, ran the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon to celebrate his birthday. The first time, in 2012, it fell Oct. 7, the day of his 30th birthday. This year, it fell three days earlier, but, for Father Lundgren, the timing was still significant. “This is for my 33rd birthday — the glorious year in which our Lord died and rose again,” said Father Lundgren, whose time was 4 hours, 51 minutes. He aimed to raise $33,000 for his parish. As of Oct. 6, he had reached $32,000. Funds will be used to cover a program fee for children preparing to receive their first Eucharist. The amount is $30 per child, and he estimates the cost will be a total of $3,300 for this year’s group. “With $33,000 in gifts, we could eliminate that fee from our budget going forward,” he said. “I offered it up on Sunday and pray that we can continue to improve the quality of our catechesis and keep lowering the costs. My goal is that, like St. Paul, we can ‘offer the Gospel free of charge.’” In 2012, he was able to raise $50,000 for Divine Mercy in Faribault, his assignment at the time. The annual marathon passes the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and concludes near the Minnesota State Capitol. Also running the marathon were Susan Mulheron, chancellor for canonical affairs for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Father Paul Shovelain, associate pastor of St. Peter in Forest Lake. — The Catholic Spirit
6A • The Catholic Spirit
LOCAL
October 8, 2015
Benedictine Sister Linda Soler gives a high five to Hill-Murray senior Garrett Kaelin before a game against Simley Oct. 2. Kaelin, a kicker, is holding Sister Linda’s “football rosary,” which she carries with her while walking the field before games to cheer on and pray with the players. Dave Hrbacek/ The Catholic Spirit
Sister and her ‘football rosary’ patrol the gridiron at Hill-Murray By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, has “Touchdown Jesus.” Hill-Murray High School in Maplewood has “football rosary.” The beads shaped and painted like footballs belong to Benedictine Sister Linda Soler, who takes them onto the field before every game as part of her new job as the team’s spiritual coach. But, she brings much more than Hail Marys to the Pioneers and their coaches. She carries onto the field her passion and zeal for helping the boys become not only the best players they can be, but also the best people. “They love having her,” said Head Coach Rick Frykland, 32, in his first year with the Pioneers. “She’s great not only to have on the sidelines, but she comes to our chapel service that we do every week on Thursdays to echo the message of the week that we always have. She’s always a person that people can talk to. I’m not in the school right now [during the day], so the boys definitely stop in to her office and just check in with her.” Hill-Murray may be the only high school football team in the state to have a religious sister on its coaching staff. The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth has one: Sister Lisa Maurer, also a Benedictine. Coincidently, Sister Linda’s football rosary came from St. Scholastica’s monastery. Although Sister Linda has been embraced by players and coaches alike, there was some uncertainty at first about her presence on the field. “When I first heard it, I was like, ‘OK, this is kind of weird,’” said junior running back Will Sonntag. “But, so far, it’s been great. . . . She embraces us, we embrace her. She does help the team be better. If guys are in bad spirits, she lifts
the mood.” She’s had to do a lot of mood lifting this year. The Pioneers have lost their first seven games, the latest a 56-44 loss to Simley Oct. 2. Yet, there are a lot of smiles on the field, and perhaps none bigger than Sister Linda’s. It has to do with the fact that she, along with the coaches, do not emphasize wins and losses as much as faith and character on the field. She wants them to be their best and play their best, and has found a helpful tool to boost their performance. “Sometimes, I say, ‘Play the game, not for yourself, but for someone who has been an influence in your life,’” she said. “‘Just play as hard as you can for that person.’” The word “family” is used often to describe the bonds coaches want the players to have with each other and their coaches. Players say it’s working, with Sister Linda being somewhat of a big sister. “I know it sounds weird, but you can feel her spirit at practice,” said senior center Ben Pults, who is trying to recover from a sprained ankle before the team’s final game of the regular season later this month. “She’s there for you. She’s really uplifting and really a pleasure to be around. Definitely, having Sister here is one of the best things to help this football team this year.” She has been especially helpful to the kickers, with whom she spends perhaps the most time before and during games. At every level, kickers are known for having fragile psyches that can cause kicks to sail wide of the goal posts. But, Sister Linda has a coaching tool that helps them boot it straight. “I told the kickers, ‘You’re supposed to kick the evil out of the ball, and Jesus is the goalpost,’” she said. “And, they make the sign of the cross before they
kick. It’s not for the points as much as it’s a reminder of what it’s all about and who we are about, and about Jesus, his presence through the sign of the cross.” A tangible reminder of God’s presence on the field is the football rosary, which she keeps tucked in her pocket and will pull out when it’s time to bless players before games. She also has helped the boys embrace the spirit of St. Benedict by encouraging them to carry medals in their helmets, wristbands, shoes or pads during games. This is exactly the type of thing Frykland had in mind when he brought Sister Linda on board in August, after walking over to the Benedictine Monastery near the school one afternoon with a whistle and coach’s T-shirt in his hands, ready to bring a sister onto the gridiron. “We need to facilitate the development of all aspects of our student-athletes. And an area that is often neglected is that spiritual side,” said Frykland, who played football for St. Thomas Academy in Mendota and was an assistant coach there before taking the Hill-Murray job. “To me, being a kid who’s a product of a Catholic school, a teacher in a Catholic school, a believer in the Catholic faith, I needed to have someone who could teach our boys and model for our boys what’s really important.” Once the season ends, there could be more spiritual coaching opportunities for Sister Linda, who is the student service coordinator in the school’s campus ministry department. That’s just fine with her. “That is totally up to the Holy Spirit,” she said. “I would be open to whatever Hill-Murray would ask me to do. My calling will always remain open.”
Catholics called to communion with animals, nature By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit Plants are eaten and animals are killed or die — sharing their nutrients so that others might live. Some species adapt to changing conditions while others fail to adapt and die out, allowing the adapters to develop and thrive. These facts of the natural world are not unlike the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, theologian and author Sister Elizabeth Johnson proposed. A member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood in New York and professor at Fordham University there, she Sister Elizabeth delivered the JOHNSON Myser Lecture Sept. 25 before an audience estimated at 1,400 at The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. “Death is deeply structured into the creative advantage of life,” she said. When a plant or animal dies, “the nutrients of one support the other,” Sister Elizabeth said. In both the natural world and in belief in faith, therefore, death is not in vain. “God is there with the promise of something more,” she said. “Jesus of Nazareth shared the fate of all living things,” Sister Elizabeth said, and his death was a redeeming grace, one that offered “a gleam of life to all others who suffer” that extends to all creation. “The good news of Easter is projected into the whole natural world,” she added. “It was the redemption not only of human beings, but of all creation. Christ is the first-born of all the dead of Darwin’s tree of life. Nature’s affliction, even at its worst, does not have the last word.” Moving from the theological to the tangible world, Sister Elizabeth decried the loss of species — 23,000 annually, according to a United Nations estimate — due to human behavior. She praised Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’” for addressing ecological issues. “This destruction is profoundly sinful,” Sister Elizabeth said. “Sacrilege, desecration are not too strong a designation.” She quoted the encyclical in pointing out that a God-centered world has other species in its circle, and she called for a new theology that re-envisions humans not at the top of the pyramid of life but as an integral part of all creation. “Within our circle of compassion we need a capacity for communion with the natural world,” she said.
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October 8, 2015
The Catholic Spirit • 7A
Pro-life advocate: End of Planned Parenthood not ‘if,’ but ‘when’ By Bridget Ryder For The Catholic Spirit Pro-life activism must continue to propel the momentum gained over the summer by the release of videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s practice of selling fetal tissue from abortions. That was the message of Lila Rose, a pro-life media activist who has been leading undercover journalism investigations of Planned Parenthood since 2008. She shared her message Oct. 5 with a sold-out banquet room of approximately 400 people at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. Rose, the president and founder of Live Action, was the keynote speaker at Pro-Life Action Ministries’ Banquet for Life. “Now is a crucial moment,” Rose said. “People ask me, ‘Is this the end of Planned Parenthood?’ I say it’s not the end of the end, but it’s the beginning of the end or the middle of the end. It’s not a matter of if Planned Parenthood is defunded, but when.” Rose compared abortion to an irritating wound beneath the surface of society that the Center for Medical Progress exposed by releasing undercover videos that appeared to show an abortionist from a Planned Parenthood facility negotiating the sale of fetal body parts. These videos were especially effective because they brought the child to the forefront. “When you dig beneath the surface and expose the humanity of the child, that tension comes to the surface. It is the power of the encounter with the humanity of the child that changes minds,” she said. Rose also said the media firestorm from the videos has caused internal dissension in Planned Parenthood, as their spokespeople tout that abortion is only 3 percent of their services. “[Abortionists] don’t like that talking point,” Rose said. “They don’t want to feel like the bosses upstairs are ashamed of them because abortion is more than 50 percent of Planned Parenthood’s income; it’s the backbone.”
“It is the power of the encounter with the humanity of the child that changes minds.” Lila Rose
Lila Rose was the featured speaker at Pro-Life Ministries’ Banquet for Life Oct. 5 in Brooklyn Center. Rose is the president of Live Action, a media nonprofit dedicated to ending abortion and building a culture of life. Photo courtesy Live Action Rose, a Catholic convert, also encouraged activists to continue to foster hope. “If we don’t dare to imagine it, God respects our freedom. We have to foster in our hearts the vision of a country freed from abortion,” she said. Brian Gibson, executive director of Pro-Life Action Ministries, said the reaction to the recent videos has brought record numbers of people to their rallies. At the Aug. 22 rally, 4,500 people surrounded the Planned Parenthood in St. Paul. The attendance was double what
Gibson expected and the largest one in the country. He said the momentum must continue to be successful. “We’ve only just started,” Gibson said. “Our presence at Planned Parenthood and the governor’s mansion are for naught if we don’t continue.” PLAM also rented a billboard in Albertville to advertise online links to the videos so that more people will see them for themselves. They tried to rent the billboard across the street from the St. Paul Planned Parenthood, but the billboard company denied them. “Every billboard company in the metro refused our message,” he said. Rose’s pro-life social media platform has more than 1 million Facebook fans and 52,000 Twitter followers. Rose has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, The Sean Hannity Show, The Laura Ingraham Show and major news outlets including CBS and CNN. Rose’s keynote was her second at the annual banquet of the Minnesotabased pro-life organization that coordinates rallies, sidewalk counseling and prayer at abortion facilities. Underway is Forty Days for Life, the communitybased campaign that involves prayer, fasting and outreach to end abortion, and another rally is planned for 3 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Planned Parenthood in St. Paul. For more information, visit www.plam.org.
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8A • The Catholic Spirit
CONSECRATED LIFE
October 8, 2015
With pro-life passion, UST alums join NY religious order By Bridget Ryder For The Catholic Spirit Four Minnesotans are among the young women preparing to dedicate themselves to the pro-life cause as Sisters of Life, a religious community based in New York City focused on helping women in crisis pregnancies and promoting a culture of life. In September, Caroline Stiles, 22, of Sacred Heart in Owatonna; Paula Thelen, 25, of Transfiguration in Oakdale; and Elizabeth Schmitt, 23, of St. Mark in St. Paul, became postulants in the community. Fellow Minnesotan Sister Magnificat Rose, baptismal name Jillian Wayland, of Divine Mercy in Faribault, is in her second year of the novitiate with the community. All four women graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, where they also crossed paths in their studies and dormitories. After three years of formation, these women, along with six others postulants and 18 novices, hope to take not only the three traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, but also a fourth vow particular to the Sisters of Life — to protect and enhance the dignity of the human person and human life. Thelen called their pro-life work “prayer and fasting and accompanying women.” Feeling called to religious life, each of the sisters-inthe-making left the Midwest for the Bronx with a desire to serve the most vulnerable in society and promote cultural change. Thelen had heard of the Sisters of Life while in college, but at the beginning of her vocational discernment she didn’t think the community was for her. “I looked at orders that did things that I had more experience in, [such as] caring for the elderly and teaching, until someone explained to me the Please turn to WORK on page 15A
October is Respect Life Month
Four women from Minnesota have recently entered the Sisters of Life religious order in New York. From left are Caroline Stiles, Paula Thelen, Sister Magnificat Rose and Elizabeth Schmitt. Courtesy Sisters of Life
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October 8, 2015
Back to the synod: Year for discernment included debate By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Pope Francis planned two gatherings of the Synod of Bishops to focus on the family and urged participants to use the year between the assemblies as a time for “true spiritual discernment” with both study and prayer. In the months leading up to the opening of the world Synod of Bishops Oct. 4, dozens of books about the Catholic Church and families were published, consultations were conducted, conferences held, groups formed, petitions were circulated and study days were sponsored. “Spiritual discernment” sounds like a quiet, peaceful pursuit, but screaming headlines and reports of “shadow synods” and conspiracies by forces allegedly trying to overturn Church doctrine or to keep it in the Dark Ages probably made such discernment a challenge for many participants. Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, synod general secretary, told reporters Oct. 2 that Pope Francis invited Church members and all people of goodwill to discuss the theme of the family. “It is not surprising then that there were positions and statements that contrast with each other or focus on different aspects. This was foreseen.” “Obviously, it can appear that there is turbulence on some themes, but we are on the high seas, so there is some turbulence,” he said. The cardinal also said that, partially in response to accusations that the extraordinary synod’s discussions were manipulated — at least in its controversial midterm report — changes have been made. Each of the three chapters of the working document will be dealt with separately: There will be an introduction, a “testimony” by a couple or a layperson, speeches in the hall and discussion in 13 small groups. The small group reports will be published. A 10-member commission will summarize the findings and draft the synod’s final report, which will be voted on and given to Pope Francis. Part of the commission’s task, he said, is to exercise vigilance to ensure what is written at the end of each stage and at the end of
The Catholic Spirit • 9A
Pope Francis: Synod not parliament, but place to listen to Holy Spirit By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
Francesco and Lucia Masi and their family members give a testimony during a prayer vigil for the Synod of Bishops on the family in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 3. The couple from the Diocese of Pisa have been married 35 years and have five children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. CNS the synod reflects the speeches in the hall and the discussion in the small groups. The synod ends Oct. 25.
Wide scope In the year between the synods, much of the turbulence in the media and particularly in the Catholic blogosphere focused on the Church’s outreach to homosexual men and women, and to people who have been divorced and civilly remarried without an annulment. But Pope Francis told reporters traveling with him that the agenda was much wider than that and focused on helping an even broader range of Catholics. “There is the issue of second marriages, the divorced who enter a new union,” he told reporters Sept. 27 during his inflight news conference from Philadelphia to Rome. However, “the problem of new unions on the part of the divorced is not the only problem.” The synod working document “mentions many” other topics, he said. “For example, young people are not getting married. They don’t want to get married. This is a pastoral problem for the Church. Another problem: the affective maturity needed for marriage. Still another problem is faith.” Do young people really believe marriage is forever when they approach the altar? Marriage preparation is a big and important topic for the synod, Pope
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Francis said. “I often think about how preparation for becoming a priest takes eight years, and then, it is not definitive; the church can remove someone from the clerical state. But for marriage, which is for life, we offer four courses, four meetings. Something is not right there.” At the end of last year’s extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis told participants that Church leaders and members had a year “to mature, with true spiritual discernment, the proposed ideas and to find concrete solutions to so many difficulties and innumerable challenges that families must confront; to give answers to the many discouragements that surround and suffocate families.” But he also insisted that the “joy of the Gospel” includes the joy of the family. Speaking Sept. 27 in Philadelphia to an international gathering of bishops who had attended the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis said, “As pastors, we bishops are called to collect our energies and to rebuild enthusiasm for making families correspond ever more fully to the blessing of God which they are. We need to invest our energies not so much in rehearsing the problems of the world around us and the merits of Christianity, but in extending a sincere invitation to young people to be brave and to opt for marriage and the family.”
The world Synod of Bishops on the family is not a parliament where participants will negotiate or lobby, Pope Francis said, but it must be a place of prayer where bishops speak with courage and open themselves to “God, who always surprises us.” Opening the first working session of the synod Oct. 5, the pope said the synod’s 270 voting members need courage, “pastoral and doctrinal zeal, wisdom, frankness and to keep always before our eyes the good of the Church and of families and the supreme law — the salvation of souls.” Pope Francis welcomed to the synod hall the members, delegates from other Christian communities and the men and women who will serve as experts and observers. The synod is not a convention or a parliament, Pope Francis said, “but an expression of the Church; it is the Church that walks together to read reality with the eyes of faith and with the heart of God.” Synod members must be faithful to Church teaching, “the deposit of faith, which is not a museum to be visited or even simply preserved, but is a living spring from which the Church drinks to quench the thirst and enlighten” people, he said. The synod hall and its small working groups, he said, should be “a protected space where the Church experiences the action of the Holy Spirit.” In a spirit of prayer, the pope said, the Spirit will speak through “everyone who allows themselves to be guided by God, who always surprises us, by God who reveals to the little ones that which he has hidden from the wise and intelligent, by God who created the Sabbath for men and women and not vice versa, by God who leaves the 99 sheep to find the one missing sheep, by God who is always greater than our logic and our calculations.”
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House passes measure to allow states to defund Planned Parenthood The U.S. House of Representatives Sept. 29 passed the Women’s Health and Public Safety Act to give states the authority to defund Planned Parenthood. Speaking from the House floor in support of the measure, which was sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, and Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, Smith cited the pope’s Sept. 24 address to a joint meeting of Congress. “Pope Francis admonished a joint session of Congress to follow the Golden Rule — to ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ — and said that the Golden Rule compels us to ‘protect and defend human life at every stage of development,’” Smith said. State and federal funding of Planned Parenthood has come under scrutiny after a series of videos, filmed undercover, were released by the Center for Medical Progress, based in Irvine, California. “States should have the freedom to choose who they subsidize and why,” Smith said in his remarks before the House passed H.R. 3495. A companion bill awaits action in the Senate.
PORTLAND, Oregon
‘Unite suffering’ with those grieving, archbishop says after campus shooting St. Joseph parish in Roseburg hosted an emotional Mass the evening of Oct. 1 for 10 people who died in a shooting that morning at Umpqua Community College. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith traveled from Portland for the liturgy. Authorities in Roseburg, 180 miles south of Portland, identified the shooter Oct. 2 as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, but did not give details about him. Nine others were wounded. FBI investigators say the gunman brought six legally-
October 8, 2015 purchased weapons to the small college and was wearing a flak jacket. A witness reported he asked students what their religions were before he began shooting. If they said Christian, they were shot in the head. If they gave some other answer, they were shot elsewhere. The attack ended when police shot the gunman on campus. Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample rushed a letter to the people of Roseburg hours after the shooting, telling Catholics to “unite their suffering” with those directly affected and to pray for healing and strength of those who lost loved ones. Many Catholic parishes in Oregon are sending “Posters of Hope” to St. Joseph Church in Roseburg.
VATICAN CITY
On synod’s eve, Vatican official declares his homosexuality On the eve of the start of the Synod of Bishops on the family, a Polish monsignor who works in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith publicly declared he is homosexual and has a stable partner. Msgr. Krzysztof Charamsa, 43, gave interviews to Polish and Italian media Oct. 2. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said Oct. 3 that Msgr. Charamsa and his reflections on his life and sexuality were deserving of respect, but “the decision to make such a pointed statement on the eve of the opening of the synod appears very serious and irresponsible, since it aims to subject the synod assembly to undue media pressure.” He continued, “Msgr. Charamsa will certainly be unable to continue to carry out his previous work in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the pontifical universities. The other aspects of his situation shall remain the competence of his diocesan ordinary,” the bishop of Pelplin, Poland. Most priests, like Msgr. Charamsa, in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church promise to remain celibate.
October 8, 2015
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The Catholic Spirit • 11A
Chinese nuns say orders face curbs on work, decrease in vocations By Jonathan Luxmoore Catholic News Service Catholic female religious orders have expanded rapidly in China over the past decade, but are now facing restrictions and a decrease in vocations, said religious sisters from various parts of China. “Religious sisters are highly important here — they do most of the missionary work in parishes, as well as providing educational and medical help,” said Sister Teresa Yu, a member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “But the government is now demanding licenses, so conditions have become more difficult. Some of our clinics and homes have had to close, and we fear more curbs will follow, while people are less willing to see their children enter religious orders because of the [government’s] one-child policy.” Sister Yu and other Chinese sisters spoke to Catholic News Service in midSeptember during a European Catholic China colloquium, co-organized by Germany’s Catholic China-Zentrum, which fosters encounters and exchanges between cultures and religions in the West and in China, and the Polish Catholic Church’s Sinicum institute. The colloquium brought together Catholics from China, clergy and scholars from the United States and a
dozen European countries. Sister Yu told Catholic News Service that nuns run catechism and Bible study classes in most Chinese parishes, as well as help the sick, homeless and elderly, but were frequently impeded by “unnecessary restrictions.” Another nun said religious sisters were allowed to run summer schools for children in her native Hebei province, but were barred from similar work in other provinces. “The extent of religious freedom very much depends on the region — while we can generally conduct activity inside church premises, we face problems as soon as we step outside,” said Holy Spirit Sister Hyacinta Zhang Yunling. “But we’re also lacking recruits and novices, especially in rural communities where economic conditions are hardest. While some Catholic families don’t fully understand the Church’s teaching on the religious life, their Chinese neighbors can also be unhappy when a local woman wishes to become a nun,” she said. China’s Catholic Church, estimated unofficially at 14 million members, has around 100 dioceses with 104 bishops, of whom 35 are not recognized as bishops by the Chinese government. The country is also home to around 4,000 priests, with 860 seminarians. Although male religious orders are
banned in China, diocesan female orders are permitted under strict control and currently number more than 5,000 members, roughly the same as before the 1949 communist revolution. Church sources said China’s religious orders of women run 120 clinics, 30 homes for the aged, 20 kindergartens, six orphanages and 14 family care centers, as well as units for drug rehabilitation, AIDS and leprosy. Sister Yu said women’s congregations had “sprouted like bamboo in the springtime” since official policies were liberalized in the 1980s and had helped confront the “psychological emptiness” felt by many Chinese. However, their material dependence on local dioceses caused difficulties, Sister Yu said, while disputes between Catholics and China’s regime-approved Catholic Patriotic Association had “enormously reduced the power of evangelization.” “Most congregations just woke up and started walking, their feet on thin ground, having only a vague understanding of their charisms, unable to make ends meet, and without any formal clear-cut model to follow,” she said. “For people who’ve professed religious vows, such a China with its rapidly developing economy, its dominance of material values, its hedonistic mentality, consumerism and
vast spiritual emptiness brings a great deal of tension and trial.” Sister Yu said continuing restrictions on religious life posed particular problems for younger nuns, who longed to be allowed to wear their habits in public without being apprehended by police. She added that older nuns needed the fellowship of convent communities, but were usually forced to live separately in parishes with private families. “Although ordinary people generally respect the work of Catholic nuns, we still have very few opportunities to get out, evangelize and interact with society,” she said. “Legally, we can do nothing without a license, and if we try to act outside church confines, we’ll always be taking a risk. So we’re hoping and praying for religious freedom — so that, through the consecrated life, we can provide a light of holiness in today’s challenging environment of secularism and materialism.” Fears of new religious curbs have grown since local officials began tearing down crosses in Zhejiang province in 2014. Catholic sources said several churches had also been bulldozed and numerous Christians, including Protestant pastors, arrested for opposing the moves.
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12A • The Catholic Spirit
SUNDAY SCRIPTURES Deacon Charles Fitzpatrick
Detachment key to discipleship Nearly six years ago, a young man from California shocked the sports world. At 23 years old, his story made headlines in newspapers all across America. After playing just three years in the minor leagues, this young man, one of the Oakland Athletics’ top prospects on the verge of being called up to the major leagues, retired from professional baseball to study for the priesthood with the Norbertine Order of in Silverado, California. Grant Desme, the now former baseball player, says he has found great peace living out the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He was able to give up his attachment to worldly things — in
his case a guaranteed chance at worldly fame and fortune — to follow Jesus in a vocation to which he felt the Lord calling him. This is something the rich man in the Oct. 11 Gospel could not bring himself to do. The Scripture reads, “he went away sad because he had many possessions” (Mk 10:22). What message are we to take away from this Gospel? After the rich man went away sad, Jesus said to his disciples, including Peter and the other apostles, “how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God”
October 8, 2015
(Mk 10: 24-25). His disciples were thrown for a loop when they heard this. Their amazement at what Jesus said was likely rooted in the long-held belief, often expressed in the Old Testament, that wealth was a sign that one was favored by God. But Jesus’ words put to rest the notion that the rich have a special claim on entrance rights into heaven. The disciples were saying among themselves, “Then who can be saved? Our Lord’s instruction to the rich man — sell all you have and give the proceeds to the poor, then come follow me — would be very difficult for anyone to do, not just the rich.” Jesus’ response to their question gives us the key to the answer. “For human beings it is impossible,” he said, “but not for God. All things are possible for God” (Mk 10:27). What he meant was that it is not wealth and material things themselves that are obstacles to salvation, but our attachment to them. Money and things are temporary; heaven is eternal. So don’t get attached to the former; rather, focus on the latter.
Sunday, Oct. 11 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings
• Wisdom 7:7-11 • Hebrews 4:12-13 • Mark 10:17-30 Our broken human nature, the result of original sin, makes it impossible to give up our attachments to worldly things and comforts. It is only by centering our lives on Christ and cooperating with his grace that we can hope to accomplish this seemingly monumental task in order to follow the disciples’ way of detachment. For the true Christian there is only one resource: faith in God, who can do all things. Deacon Fitzpatrick is in formation for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary for the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois. His teaching parish is Holy Name of Jesus in Medina. His home parish is Most Holy Redeemer in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Oct. 11 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Wisdom 7:7-11 Hebrews 4:12-13 Mark 10:17-30 Monday, Oct. 12 Romans 1:1-7 Luke 11:29-32
Tuesday, Oct. 13 Romans 1:16-25 Luke 11:37-41 Wednesday, Oct. 14 Romans 2:1-11 Luke 11:42-46 Thursday, Oct. 15 St. Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church Romans 3:21-30 Luke 11:47-54
Friday, Oct. 16 St. Hedwig, religious, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin Romans 4:1-8 Luke 12:1-7
Sunday, Oct. 18 Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 53:10-11 Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45
Saturday, Oct. 17 St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr Romans 4:13, 16-18 Luke 12:8-12
Monday, Oct. 19 Sts. John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, priests, and companions, martyrs Romans 4:20-25 Luke 12:13-21
SEEKING ANSWERS Father Michael Schmitz
For those who suffer, God is on your side Q. I’ve been hurting a lot lately,
not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. It seems like no matter what I do, nothing changes. If God has been trying to teach me a lesson, I think I’ve learned it by this point.
A. Before anything else, I need to make one brief note: When a person is in the midst of pain, there are virtually no arguments or formulae or explanations. There is often just the hurt. Because of this, I know that my words might sound hollow. Nothing I write here is meant to be dismissive; there is no simple answer to the problem of human suffering. In fact, the Catechism states that there is no element of the Christian story that is not, in part, an answer to the problem of pain. But there are some things that might be able to help us approach pain, and we all need to learn these things, because all of us will experience pain and suffering.
Every one of us will lose everything that we have at some point. If we don’t know why or where God fits into this, not only could we fall into the trap of allowing our pain to drive a wedge between ourselves and God, but we also will miss out on the power in the suffering. One of the first things we need to understand is that God does not directly will suffering. He did not make evil and cannot will evil. In fact, evil is not even considered a “thing.” This is not a random side point. God only wills the good. Evil is either the absence of a good that God wills or a distortion of a good that God has willed. For example, the physical evil of blindness is not a thing in and of itself, it is the lack of a good thing (sight) and gluttony is the distortion of a good thing (food and eating) that God has willed. The moment God created a world outside of himself, he allowed the possibility of evil. Further, the moment that God freely created beings outside of
Tuesday, Oct. 20 Romans 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21 Luke 12:35-38
Friday, Oct. 23 Romans 7:18-25a Luke 12:54-59
Wednesday, Oct. 21 Romans 6:12-18 Luke 12:39-48
Saturday, Oct. 24 St. Anthony Mary Claret, bishop Romans 8:1-11 Luke 13:1-9
Thursday, Oct. 22 St. John Paul II, pope Romans 6:19-23 Luke 12:49-53
himself who have free will, he allowed for the possibility that those free beings could choose evil. God never directly wills evil, but he allows evil. God has the ability to bring good out of evil. You already know this. God was able to use the evil of Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery to bring about the good of saving the people of Israel. God allowed St. Paul to be thrown into jail, but Paul said it offered him the chance to proclaim Jesus (Phil 1:13). And it sounds like you know that the Bible has revealed that there are a number of possible reasons why God would allow us to suffer. These reasons are not always present in every suffering. For example, there are times we suffer as a consequence of our decisions. In Bible terms, this is called “reaping what you sow.” I have brought suffering upon myself (or another has brought suffering upon me) due to bad decisions. Another reason for suffering is that it is a potential remedy. There are times when God allows us to experience the Fall now in order to “wake us up” and draw our attention to him. C.S. Lewis put it this way: “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: “It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Pain can also bring us wisdom. Suffering can be a teacher. This is one of those things that is revealed in the Bible, but almost all of us have noticed it in people of great wisdom; they
Sunday, Oct. 25 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Jeremiah 31:7-9 Hebrews 5:1-6 Mark 10:46-52
have suffered and have allowed their suffering to bring them to a depth and understanding of themselves and the human experience that would have been impossible without it. But what if a person has corrected all they know to correct and has learned all they think they can learn? To them, and to you, St. Paul writes, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. And in my body I am making up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the Church” (Col 1:21). This reveals that there is another meaning to suffering. God could have saved the world through a single word, but he didn’t. God saved the world by taking on a human body, living a real life and experiencing real suffering and death. He rose in that body. In doing so, God didn’t take away suffering — he transformed it. God’s willingness to embrace suffering out of love has given suffering a meaning and a power that it did not have. Even more, Jesus has called every person who belongs to him to share in this power. He has invited all who love him to share in his mission. What this means is that God is on the side of those who suffer. Even further, the New Testament and the story of the Church reveals that suffering does not reveal a lack of God’s love. Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Reach him at fathermikeschmitz @gmail.com.
COMMENTARY
October 8, 2015
FAITH IN THE PUBLIC ARENA Jason Adkins
A political examination of conscience Pope Francis’ recent speeches to Congress and to the United Nations were models of Church engagement in the public arena. By re-framing the task of politics and anchoring policy debates to the natural law, both messages were radical critiques of the prevailing culture of each institution and should serve as an examination of conscience for public officials at all levels of government.
Politics serves common good From the beginning of his remarks to Congress, Pope Francis stressed that the task of politics is to serve the common good. This may seem obvious, but the reality is that modern political thought has often characterized politics as a battle for power. For example, when one hears the word “politics,” the first thing that often comes to mind is elections, rather than a rational debate about how we order our lives as a community. Pope Francis is reminding us of the classical vision of politics and the nobility of its task. Politics, as he has said, is one of the highest forms of charity because it serves the common good. According to Pope Francis, we need public figures who have a spirit of openness and pragmatism, leaders who can put aside political ideology and the
concerns of special interests to work for the well-being of everyone, and not just the well-being of donors, parties, interest groups or their own ambitions. In other words, politics requires persons of virtue. Surely, this was the message the U.S. Congress needed to hear above all others.
Models of political virtue Rather than speaking abstractly about the necessary virtues needed to renew American public life, Pope Francis highlighted the witness of four Americans who embody these virtues: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. Pope Francis indicated that both Lincoln and Dr. King are models because they called on America to create “a new birth of freedom” for everyone and without exclusion.The ordered liberty for which they called is rooted in America’s founding principles, namely, that all people are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Lincoln repeatedly stressed that the American experiment in selfgovernment and ordered liberty was a proposition, not a fact, meaning that it had to constantly be proven true. Dr. King reminded us in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail that our measuring stick in this task of renewing
TWENTY SOMETHING Christina Capecchi
Life after the convent: finding the courage to start over
There is no scrapbook of Kathy Webb’s life as a Dominican sister. No picture frames or friendship bracelets, no nun memorabilia perched in a closet or buried in a trunk. The only artifact from her convent days is the long apron she wore to protect her white habit, bearing her former identity on a tiny tag sewn onto the back: “Sister Cora Marie 558.” The rest is muscle memory: the smell of the incense, the sound of the highpitched bells, the memorized prayers that still flow out of her. “O sacred banquet in which Christ is received. . . .” There is her intimate knowledge of the sisters, idiosyncrasies perceived amid the uniform: the prioress general’s brisk walk, Sister Marie Josephine’s incurable cough, the way Sister Marie Caritas’ veil
crinkled up and Sister Mary Angela’s veil stuck out and Sister Mary Kevin’s veil lay over her shoulder. There were 275 Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in their Nashville convent when Kathy Webb lived among them, and during her first two years, it felt like home. But when she professed her first temporary vows on a Sunday morning in August 2010, becoming an official Catholic sister, everything changed. The Mass was supposed to mark the culmination of a call the 28-year-old from Lexington, Kentucky, had first experienced in high school, a public and unabashed yes to the Lord. As the mother superior placed her hands on Kathy’s, a feeling of dread seized her. “Whatever grace had sustained me while I had been there
the American experiment is the Bible and the natural law. Building on this theme in his speech to the U.N., Pope Francis stressed the importance of the natural law as the guiding principle of that body’s international development goals. Paradoxically, Dorothy Day was cited by Pope Francis as a model of political virtue even though she rarely voted. She embodied the principle that politics is about civic friendship and showing solidarity with others, particularly the poor, rather than the power struggles of elites. She calls us to encounter those at the margins and live among them. Rather than focus on top-down political schemes to change society, we must build a new society from the bottom up, starting with one’s own soul and then reaching out to the local community. Finally, Pope Francis called attention to the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, whose witness is a deep challenge to the noise and rancor that pollutes our daily environment, especially our political discourse. In the quiet of the contemplative life we may, with Thomas Merton, discover the inner wellspring of grace to be people of peace — people who reach out across divides and overcome obstacles to bring reconciliation and dialogue. Such prayerful witnesses may forge new paths once thought unthinkable. For those troubled by the Church’s presence in the public arena, Dr. King clarified that the church does not seek to run the state, but instead to be the conscience of the state. Pope Francis’ political examination of conscience reminds us of the political virtues necessary for the challenges of today. Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. was completely gone,” Kathy said. She didn’t dare articulate that awful feeling, so she proceeded in social mode, posing in group photos with a tight smile on her freckled face, catching up with friends, eating with her grandparents. When she retreated to her room for the night, she tried to explain away her feelings — typical jitters, sure to diminish — and eventually fell asleep. It wasn’t until the following week, when she had begun losing sleep and struggling with her new teaching position, that Kathy shared her concerns with her superior, beginning a painful process of discerning out of the vocation she had once felt so sure about. It seemed liked a strange reversal. Was she now saying no to God? Had she fallen from grace? Did that make the bride of Christ the shamed ex-wife? Four months after professing her vows, Kathy moved into her parents’ basement. “I felt like I had a scarlet letter on me,” she said. She attended daily Mass with her mom, experiencing a profound wave of peace each time she received Communion. She started to rebuild her life. Today, after five years, heaps of prayer, regular spiritual direction, countless convent dreams and some
The Catholic Spirit • 13A
Protect women: Support the licensing and inspection of Minnesota abortion facilities. Call Governor Mark Dayton at 800-657-3717 and ask him to support HF 606/SF 616. Share this message: • “Please support legislation HF 606/SF 616 to promote the health and safety of Minnesota women. Ensure abortion providers are following laws related to abortion and the disposition of fetal remains. This legislation applies similar, common-sense regulations to abortion facilities that other outpatient surgical centers must follow. Existing regulations are not enough.” • All abortion facilities should be held to the same basic standards of patient care as other facilities that perform outpatient surgery. The bill applies existing state licensing requirements for outpatient surgical centers to abortion facilities that perform 10 or more abortions per month, and authorizes the commissioner of health to perform inspections of abortion facilities (no more than two times per year). • The state already regulates facilities ranging from hotels and nursing homes to cosmetology salons and tattoo parlors. Why should women who are entering abortion facilities be excluded from the type of protection we offer women who are entering a nail salon? • Unsafe abortion facilities and unscrupulous abortionists have been discovered in numerous other states. Our state lacks the ability to determine if the same dangerous conditions are present in certain Minnesota facilities. • Ensure Minnesota abortion providers are not profiting from the sale of fetal tissue.
counseling, Kathy loves life again. She lives with a friend in an apartment near Minneapolis, teaches preschool, attends a Catholic studies master’s program and communicates with guys on CatholicMatch. Marriage, she says, is a genuine desire of her heart, not a default vocation. She’s waiting on God’s perfect timing, having recognized the flawed thinking that you can make something work, mistaking the avoidance of red flags for the absence of them. Some of the most defining decisions of your 20s, Kathy says, are not the paths you commit to but the ones you walk away from. In every brave no, God can carve out a beautiful new yes. Kathy is keenly aware of the many fruits she continues to reap from her chapter in consecrated life, especially as it informs her teaching. And whenever she bakes cookies, she pulls out her apron from Nashville, a reminder of a past she’s neither hiding nor dwelling on. “It’s really effective,” she says simply. Splattered with peanut butter and chocolate, the apron is still serving its purpose. So is she. Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights, and the editor of www.SisterStory.org.
CALENDAR
14A • The Catholic Spirit Dining out
7 p.m. in Guardian Angels’ Peter O’Neill Hall, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale.
CALENDAR submissions
St. Pascal’s Men’s Club Booya — Oct. 18: 10 a.m. at 1757 Conway St., St. Paul. Information: 651-774-0892 or rjhoffman43@msn.com. All-you-can-eat Polish dinner — Oct. 24: 3–6 p.m. at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 2114 Fifth St. NE, Minneapolis. Information: 612-781-9328. Knights of Columbus Respect Life Dinner — Oct. 24: 6–9 p.m. at St. Albert Parish Center, 11400 57th St. NE, Albertville. Reservations required by Oct. 19. Information: Jim at 763-497-3909; Marlene at 763-497-2265; or www.kc4174.org. Osseo/Maple Grove Women’s Source breakfast fundraiser — Oct. 25: 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul School gym, 9100 93rd Ave. N., Brooklyn Park. St. John the Baptist Sausage Supper — Oct. 25: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at 110 Main St. W., Vermillion. Information: www.stjohns-vermillion.com.
Parish events Sacred Heart Treasure Hunt Sale — Oct. 15-17: (Oct. 15) 5–8 p.m.; (Oct. 16) 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m.; (Oct. 17) 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m. in the Sacred Heart Activity Building, 4087 W. Broadway, Robbinsdale. Study and faith sharing on Pope Francis’ “Joy of the Gospel” — Oct. 19, Nov. 2 and Nov. 16: 6–8 p.m. at St. Olaf Church, 215 S. Eighth St., Minneapolis. Information: 612-332-7471 or Joan Miltenberger, jmiltenberger@saintolaf.org. St. Cyril Ladies Guild fall rummage sale — Oct. 21-23: (Oct. 21) 3–6 p.m.; (Oct. 22) 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; (Oct. 23) 9 a.m.–12 p.m. in the basement of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, 1315 Second St. NE, Minneapolis. Donations accepted 3–6 p.m. Oct. 12- 21 (leave by elevator door on north side of church). Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University — Tuesday evenings through Nov. 24: Holy Spirit Church, 515 Albert St. S., St. Paul. For more information and to register: www.daveramsey.com/fpu/locations/ class/1001027/atid/l_ln or call 651-698-3353.
DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. Recurring or ongoing events must be submitted each time they occur. LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and institutions. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your press release. ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication in the calendar: • Time and date of event • Full street address of event • Description of event • Contact information in case of questions ONLINE: www.thecatholicspirit.com/calendarsubmissions MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102
A note to readers As of Jan. 1, 2016, The Catholic Spirit will no longer accept calendar submissions via email. Please submit events using the form at www.thecatholicspirit.com/ calendarsubmissions
Parish festivals St. Albert Fall Festival — Oct. 11: 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at 11400 57th St. NE, Albertville. Information: www.churchofstalbert.org.
Prayer and worship
“How to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ” half-day retreat with Father Michael Becker — Oct. 31: 7:30 a.m.–12 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 4030 Jackson St. NE, Columbia Heights. Free. Information: www.ICCSonline.org or 763-788-9062.
Taize Prayer — Oct. 16: 7–9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. Information: www.stpaulsmonastery.org; or 651-777-7251 or benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery.org.
Women’s Weekend Retreat: “Come Away and Rest A While” — Nov. 6-8 at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Information: www.franciscanretreats.net/ womens_retreat.aspx.
Taize Prayer — Nov. 11: 7–9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. Taize Prayer — Nov. 20 and the third Friday of every month: 7 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood.
Garage sale — Oct. 8-9: (Oct. 8) 8 a.m.–8 p.m., (Oct. 9) 8 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 20000 County Rd. 10, Corcoran. Information: Alice at 763-420-3349.
Women’s Weekend Retreat — Oct. 9-11: 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Information: www.franciscanretreats.net/womens_retreat.aspx.
Church of St. Paul Boutique and Bake Sale — Oct. 24: 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. at 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake. Information: www.churchofsaintpaul. com.
“Always The Seeker: The Spirituality of Thomas Merton” men’s silent retreat — Oct. 16-18: Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Information: 952-447-2182 or www.franciscanretreats.net.
Visitation of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima — Oct. 10: 8 a.m.– 3 p.m. at St. Peter Church, 1405 Sibley Memorial Hwy., Mendota. Information: www.fatimaonline.org.
Bishop Robert Barron’s ‘Mystery of God: Who God Is and Why He Matters’ — Tuesdays through Nov. 10 at Holy Spirit Church, 515 Albert St. S., St. Paul. Information: www.holy-spirit.org.
St. Joseph Church CCW Christmas Bazaar — Nov. 14-15: 9 a.m. at 171 Elm St., Lino Lakes. Information: www.mystjoes.org.
October 8, 2015
Retreats
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend — Oct. 9-11: Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave. S., Buffalo. Information: www.wwme.org. Women’s Day of Renewal — Oct. 10: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. at Holy Name of Jesus Church, 55 County Rd. 24, Medina. Information: www.hnoj.org/womens-day-renewal.
Eucharistic
Miracles
of the World
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend — Nov. 20-22: Franciscan Retreat and Spirituality Center, 16385 St. Francis Lane, Prior Lake. Information: www.wwme.org.
Speakers “Raising Christian Children in a Secular World” — Oct. 19: 7 p.m., presented by Mary Ann Kuharski, director of ProLife Across America, at St. Joseph Church, 13900 Biscayne Ave. W., Rosemount. Father Nels Gjengdahl presents “Being Catholic in the 21st Century” — Nov. 7: 5:30 p.m. at St. Jerome Church, 380 E. Roselawn Ave., Maplewood. Information: www.stjerome-church.org.
Conferences, seminars, workshops Who is Pope Francis? Series — Oct. 8, 15 and 29:
• 126 historically documented, photographic Eucharistic Miracles from various countries since the Last Supper • Visible proof of Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist • 40 hours of Eucharistic Adoration during exhibit
Vatican International Exhibition
• All faiths welcome
November 13, 14, 15 & 16 8 am to 8 pm
• For field trip scheduling please call 651-353-7190
sjmiracles@gmail.com
• Free Admission
Church of St. Jerome • 380 East Roselawn Ave • Maplewood, MN
Graced & Gifted Catholic Women’s Conference — Oct. 10: 9 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, 4625 W. 125th St., Savage. Information: www.gracedandgifted.eventbrite.com. Parenting series — Wednesdays in October and November: 10–11:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus Church, 155 County Road 24, Medina. Information: www.hnoj.org/ParentGroup, or Chris Kostelc at ckostelc@hnoj.org or 763-745-3489. “How to Listen with the Ear of Your Heart” — Oct. 18: 1–3 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. Information: www.stpaulsmonastery.org; or 651-7777251 or benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery.org. Catholic Perspective on Dying: Renewing End of Life Care and Obligations of a Holy Death — Oct. 21: 5 p.m. at the University of St. Thomas – Center for Catholic Studies Chapel and McNeely Hall, southwest corner of Summit and Cleveland Avenues, St. Paul. Information: visit www.curatioapostolate.com, or contact 612-840-7066. Life in the Spirit seminar — Thursdays through Oct. 22: 7 p.m. in the chapel at Church of St. Paul, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE, Ham Lake. Information: cosplifeinthespirit@gmail.com. Workshop on Thomas Merton: “Christianity and the True Self” — Nov. 19: 7–9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. Cost is $25. Information: www.stpaulsmonastery.org; or 651-777-7251 or benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery.org. Career Transition group meeting — Third Thursday of every month: 7:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Community, 155 County Road 24, Medina. For more information, visit www.hnoj.org/career-transition-group. Faithful Spouses support group — Third Tuesday of each month: 7–8:30 p.m. in Smith Hall of the Hayden Center, 328 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul. For those who are living apart from their spouses because of separation or divorce. Information: 651-291-4438 or faithfulspouses@archspm.org.
Singles Singles 50+ Second Sunday Supper — Oct. 11: 5 p.m. social hour, 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. Eleanor Ostman, food writer for St. Paul Pioneer Press and author of “Always on Sunday Revisited” at St. Joan of Arc, 4537 Third. Ave. S., Minneapolis. Cost is $10. Information: Karen at 952-884-5165.
Other events Dementia Support Group — Nov. 10 and the second Tuesday of every month: 7–9 p.m. at The Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, 2675 Benet Road, Maplewood. Information: www.stpaulsmonastery.org; or 651-777-7251 or benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery.org.
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October 8, 2015
The Catholic Spirit • 15A
Work includes assisting pregnant women spiritually, practically Continued from page 8A difference between a charism and an apostolate,” she said. “Looking back, I realized I always desired to serve the vulnerable.” Her three years of teaching school after graduation also taught her the importance of the family. She found most of the behavioral problems of the children in her classroom linked to a breakdown in their families. “If we can put the family back together, everything else will follow,” she said. Stiles, too, sees a connection between pro-life issues, the family and cultural trends such as the widespread use of contraception. “I think ever since contraception and the loss of the understanding of the beauty of the love between a man and woman, the dignity of life has really gone down,” said Stiles, whose brother, Father James Stiles, was ordained in May for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “The family is the most sacred unit of culture, so we need to protect it.” For Schmitt, the decision to enter the Sisters of Life meant a switch in her approach to the pro-life cause. She had felt called to work in the pro-life movement since she was in high school, when she started a prolife club and became a Birthright ambassador. In college she interned with Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, but the Sisters of Life helped her to see beyond the political battle. “With the sisters, it just clicked,” Schmitt said. “It made sense because there’s only so much you can do in politics. [Abortion] is a devil, and a senator can’t
“With the sisters . . . it made sense because there’s only so much you can do in politics. [Abortion] is a devil, and a senator can’t cut it down.” Elizabeth Schmitt, postulant with the Sisters of Life
cut it down,” she said. A change in her idea of mission led Sister Magnificat Rose to join the community. With her long-standing devotion to Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, she had often dreamed of doing missionary work in a foreign country. Then she met the Sisters of Life while serving with West St. Paul-based NET Ministries. “I was reading about Mother Teresa speaking about the unborn and realized we have some of the poorest of the poor here in this country with the unprotected unborn,” she said. “I wanted to protect life and remind people of the joy to be alive and live in the Lord. When I met the sisters, it became real — they were joyful, real, young women.” Sister Magnificat Rose entered in September 2013 and expects to make her first profession of vows in the summer or fall of 2016.
Sisters of Life was started in 1989 by Cardinal John O’Connor, archbishop of New York from 1984-2000. In his previous assignment as archbishop of the military archdiocese, he visited the remains of the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, Germany. As he reflected on the terrible loss of life from the Holocaust, he thought, too, of all the unborn lives lost through abortion. He knew he had to do something. Inspiration struck him years later while reading the passage in the Gospel of Mathew when the disciples complain to Jesus that they could not cast out a certain demon. “This kind of demon can only be cast out by prayer and fasting,” Jesus replied. “He realized he needed a religious order to pray and fast for the pro-life cause,” Sister Magnificat Rose explained. He [Cardinal O’Connor] then outlined his vision for a new religious community in his column in the archdiocesan newspaper. He titled it, “Help Wanted: Sisters of Life.” Women responded, and the cardinal found the eight women who became the first Sisters of Life in 1991. The community now numbers 93 women working and praying in eight convents. Their apostolates in Manhattan, the Bronx, Connecticut, Toronto and Denver include offering spiritual and practical assistance to pregnant women; retreats for youth, men and women; evangelization activities; and serving in the Family Life/Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of New York. For more information about the Sisters of Life, visit www.sistersoflife.org.
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THE LAST WORD
16A • The Catholic Spirit
October 8, 2015
Affordable | Serious | Catholic
The ‘Mutts’ comic strip logo. CNS
‘Mutts’ comic strip features a week’s worth of Pope Francis’ quotes By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service
What is W
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Those uninterested in the news coverage of Pope Francis’ U.S. visit might have ditched the front page and turned to other sections of the newspaper for a break. Not likely. Patrick McDonnell, creator of the “Mutts” comic strip that appears in 700 newspapers, used the week of Sept. 21 — the week of the papal visit — to feature seven quotations from Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si.’” The reception was terrific, according to McDonnell, a Catholic born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1956. “We posted the cartoons on our Facebook page. We just had an amazing response, a phenomenal response of people reading it and enjoying it,” McDonnell said. “The people that run my Facebook page said it was one of the most successful as far as getting people liking and responding.” Nor did McDonnell get much pushback from his editors at King Features Syndicate about the source of the quotations. “Actually, none at all,” he said. How did such a pairing come about? “Right off the bat, when he first became pope and he took the name ‘Francis’ after St. Francis — St. Francis being the patron saint of animals and obviously that was very important to me — I was interested in him,” McDonnell said. “Laudato Si’” further impressed him. “That was powerful stuff about animals and the environment,” he said. “In ‘Mutts’ a lot of the time, I illustrate them and I just thought that paper [encyclical] was filled with wonderful thoughts about animals and I thought of all the things I could do. And I thought, ‘I don’t know how much of the public might have read that paper.’” With Pope Francis’ pending journey to the United States, the time seemed ripe for McDonnell to use quotes from the encyclical. He found “Laudato Si’” so rich with material, McDonnell said, “I probably could have done three months of quotes. I realize I had such a wealth I thought a week would be good. So I decided . . . after reading that and seeing his thoughts there, that I would do it. It was a joy for me.”
LOVE
is our
mission
Pope Francis challenges U.S. to strengthen families, embrace the immigrant and foster a ‘culture of encounter’
An image of the Holy Family is seen as Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia Sept. 27. CNS/Paul Haring
Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to the U.S. Sept. 22-27, 2015 INSIDE • Bishop Andrew Cozzens reflects on meeting Pope Francis with Mary Jo Copeland and the call to mission — 2B • What Pope Francis’ U.S. journey said about who he is — 3B • Pilgrims from the archdiocese make small sacrifices, find great joys on Philadelphia visit — 4B
• Local Catholics who saw Pope Francis reflect on the moment — 8B • Schools in the archdiocese meet the pope through studying his words — 9B • Does seeing the pope in person matter? Pilgrims say yes — and no — 10B • Commemorative poster — Centerpiece
thecatholicspirit.com
October 8, 2015 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
For photos and exclusive coverage of the World Meeting of Families and papal visit, visit us on Facebook and Instagram.
2B • The Catholic Spirit
POPE FRANCIS
October 8, 2015
Encountering Pope Francis through beauty and joy By Bishop Andrew Cozzens For The Catholic Spirit
T
he last full week of September felt like our entire country had an encounter with a saint. People I met who were paying attention to the visit of our Holy Father were surprised by joy. Many could not explain what was happening in them as they watched Pope Francis on TV or waved at him from a crowd. But they knew it was beautiful. This is what happens when you encounter a saint. Bishop Andrew You experience a little more about COZZENS the truth of God’s love and the truth of yourself. You experience joy, the joy that is born of knowing that love is real and can change the world. This experience of love brings out the best in you, and you want to be a better person. This was my experience of meeting Pope Francis.
Pope Francis arrives at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in the East Harlem area of New York Sept. 25. CNS
Humility of heart I felt it first when he walked into the Cathedral of St. Matthew, and I was there with all the bishops of our country. There was a palpable joy in the room. His speech — in my opinion one of his best — let me see the beauty of the humility of his heart. He spoke about the bishop as imitating Jesus, who is “meek and humble of heart.” His words helped me understand his actions, especially when he spoke about dialogue. He pointed out that Jesus, who was God himself, came to us in humility and so “the richer the heritage which you are called to share with ‘parrhesia’ [boldness or freedom], the more eloquent should be the humility with which you should offer it.” He asked us always to remember that the “brother or sister we wish to reach and redeem, with the power and the closeness of love, counts more than their positions, distant as they may be from what we hold as true and certain.” It is not that we doubt our positions — we know they are true and certain because we preach Christ and not ourselves — but we are always willing to listen and to meet others with love. As he said, “We need to learn from Jesus, or better to learn Jesus, meek and humble; to enter into his meekness and his humility by contemplating his way of acting; to lead our churches and our people — not infrequently burdened by the stress of everyday life — to the ease of the Lord’s yoke.”
Sharing a servant’s joy Then there was the privileged moment I had with Pope Francis when Mary Jo Copeland, along with her husband, Dick Copeland, and I got to go to the Vatican Embassy in Washington to meet Pope Francis personally. We were in a room of about 12 people who all had different reasons for being invited to this brief but intimate encounter. When the Holy Father came in, I was once again overwhelmed by the sense of love that emanated from him.
“I felt so much the love of his heart and was very consoled to know that he knows the difficulties we have gone through.” Bishop Andrew Cozzens
He slowly went through the room and greeted each of the people individually. He was not in a hurry, and he listened to everyone and met their eyes even if he did not say much. In Spanish, I introduced Mary Jo to him, and she asked him for a blessing to continue Christ’s work for the poor, which he freely gave, and then embraced her. Then she invited him to come to Minneapolis to soak the feet of the poor with her. He smiled and embraced her again. Then he turned to me, and I had a chance to speak to him personally. I told him I was from a diocese where two bishops had recently stepped down. He asked, “Which diocese?” I said, “The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.” He nodded knowingly and embraced me. He said he was praying for us. I felt so much the love of his heart and was very consoled to know that he knows the difficulties we have gone through.
The beauty of family The whole week reached a summit with Pope Francis coming to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families. His speeches there were once again simple but profound. Rather than entering into all the debates about marriage and family that have troubled our culture, Pope Francis simply put before us the beauty of the family as an instrument of God’s love. As he said on Saturday night, “All that is good, all that is true and all that is beautiful brings us to God. Because God is good, God is beauty, God is truth.” Then he went on to show how this happens in the family: “The most beautiful thing God made — so the Bible tells us — was the family. He created man
and woman. And he gave them everything. He entrusted the world to them: ‘Grow, multiply, cultivate the earth, make it bear fruit, let it grow.’ All the love he put into that marvelous creation, he entrusted to a family.” And when God wanted to pour out love on the world by sending his Son, God also did this through a family, he said: “And where did he send his Son? To a palace, to a city, to an office building? He sent him to a family. God came into the world in a family. And he could do this because that family was a family with a heart open to love, a family whose doors were open.” Pope Francis went on to explain that he is well aware of families’ struggles, remarking with a smile “sometimes we throw dishes.” Yet even though the family is affected by sin, the family is still our way to grow in love through learning to embrace the cross. When we learn to love in our families through struggle, the family becomes a “workshop of hope.”
Teaching like Jesus When, still basking in the joy of encountering Pope Francis, I read the Scripture verse for Monday morning Mass, I was struck that Pope Francis taught the way Jesus did. When Jesus’ disciples were arguing about who was the greatest, he did not argue back. Rather, he took a little child and put it in their midst and said “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me” (Lk 9:48). Jesus put before them the beautiful humility of the child, teaching them through the image of truth, beauty and goodness. Pope Francis was doing the same thing. He held up before us in his talks and in
his life the beautiful image of the family as a place of love where a mother and a father, children and grandparents, all become instruments to help us grow in Christ’s love. He did not debate with us but offered us an image of truth, goodness and beauty. How was Pope Francis able to have this profound effect on so many of us? He was radiating the love of Jesus Christ! He is so filled with Jesus, he has encountered Christ so profoundly, that when he comes close to us, Jesus Christ also comes close. His presence teaches because his heart is open to Jesus. However, as Pope Francis himself said in the “Joy of the Gospel,” this call is not just for him, but for all of us: “The primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him. What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known? If we do not feel an intense desire to share this love, we need to pray insistently that he will once more touch our hearts.” Perhaps as we celebrate World Mission Sunday Oct. 18, we can reflect on Pope Francis’ visit, and we can experience the call anew, which he gave us to be missionary disciples. We can commit ourselves, with humility and meekness to sharing with others the beauty, truth and goodness of a relationship with Jesus Christ. We can also support those missionaries who are trying to give this witness in far off lands. Then when people encounter us, they will also encounter a saint. Bishop Cozzens is an auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
October 8, 2015
POPE FRANCIS
The Catholic Spirit • 3B
Memory and motion: Pope Francis shows Americans who he really is By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
P Pope Francis touches the stomach of a pregnant woman as he meets guests after a meeting with U.S. bishops in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington Sept. 23. CNS
LEFT Pope Francis greets a student during his visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School in the East Harlem area of New York Sept. 25. RIGHT A student shows Pope Francis a lesson on the environment during his visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School. CNS
ope Francis speaks often about memory and motion, the importance of remembering where you came from and setting off without fear to share the Gospel. That’s what he did in the United States. He circled the Statue of Liberty in a helicopter and flew over Ellis Island not preparing to condemn the world’s great superpower, but to reflect on its history and promise as a land that welcomes people, makes them part of the family and allows them to thrive. Over the course of six days in the United States, Pope Francis let the U.S. public see who he really is with touching blessings, strong speeches, prayerful liturgies and an unplugged proclamation of the beauty of family life, even when it “causes dishes to fly.” With constant television coverage and a saturated social media presence, Pope Francis was no longer just the subject of screaming headlines about the evils of unbridled capitalism and a “who-am-I-to judge” attitude toward behaviors the Catholic Church describes as sinful. Instead, he repeatedly admitted his own failures and reminded people that they, too, have fallen short. He urged them to trust in God’s mercy and get a move on proclaiming that to the world — first with gestures and maybe with words.
Sin and sacredness
Pope Francis visits prisoners at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia Sept. 27. He insisted that no one is perfect and without need of forgiveness. CNS
Pope Francis delivers his homily during the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia Sept. 27. CNS
Sin is sin even for Pope Francis. Human life is sacred at every stage of its development, and that includes the lives of convicted murderers, he said during the visit. People are blessed and at their best when they are part of a family composed of a mother, a father, children and grandparents. The well-being of a nation is served by businesses and enterprises that make money, but do not make money their god. The pope’s proclamation of the Gospel in Washington, New York and Philadelphia Sept. 22-27 focused on reinvigorating people’s faith, hope, trust and commitment to loving God, serving others and living up to the founding ideals of the United States: equality, opportunity for all, religious liberty and the sacred dignity of every creature — human especially, but also the earth. Pope Francis had never been in the United States before landing in Washington, D.C., Sept. 22. He was welcomed to the White House and became the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress. He joined leaders of other religions in honoring the dead and comforting their surviving family members at ground zero in New York. He addressed the United Nations. At Mass in Madison Square Garden, the pope urged the congregation to go out into the city, to seek the face of Jesus in the poor and suffering and to share the joy of the Gospel with all. “Go out to others and share the good news that God, our father, walks at our side,” the pope told them. “He frees us
from anonymity, from a life of emptiness and selfishness” and moves people to encounter and to peace instead of competition. And, in Philadelphia, he called for respect for religious freedom and for ethnic and cultural differences. At home and abroad, Pope Francis scrutinizes people and identifies something good and beautiful in them. He affirms their core concerns, and he challenges them to grow.
Breaking down walls For the Catholic Church — in the United States as elsewhere — the key challenge is “not about building walls, but about breaking them down,” as he told the bishops, clergy and religious of Pennsylvania Sept. 26. From the beginning of his trip — Sept. 19 in Havana — the pope made it clear that with all the important meetings he would have, his primary purpose was to join the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia Sept. 26-27. The big challenge, he told more than 100 bishops who came to the meeting from around the world, is to recognize just how many beautiful families God has blessed the Church with. “For the Church, the family is not first and foremost a cause for concern, but rather the joyous confirmation of God’s blessing upon the masterpiece of creation,” he told the bishops Sept. 27. “Every day, all over the world, the Church can rejoice in the Lord’s gift of so many families who, even amid difficult trials, remain faithful to their promises and keep the faith.” Tossing aside the text he had prepared for the nighttime Festival of Families Sept. 26, Pope Francis had tens of thousands of people watching him with awe or with laughter or with tears as he described the blessing of real-life families. “Some of you might say, ‘Of course, Father, you speak like that because you’re not married,’” he said. But he proved he knew what he was talking about. “Families have difficulties. Families — we quarrel, sometimes plates can fly, and children bring headaches. I won’t speak about mothers-in-law,” he quipped. But mothers-in-law deserve a break and understanding, if one applies the pope’s words to the bishops the next morning and to hundreds of thousands of people gathered on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the event’s closing Mass. Trust the Holy Spirit, he told the crowds. Recognize that God is at work in the world. Treasure the little daily gestures that show love within a family. Affirm all those who do good, whether or not they are “part of our group.” “Anyone who wants to bring into this world a family which teaches children to be excited by every gesture aimed at overcoming evil — a family which shows that the Spirit is alive and at work — will encounter our gratitude and our appreciation,” he said, “whatever the family, people, region, or religion to which they belong.”
4B • The Catholic Spirit
POPE FRANCIS
Catholic school students watch and learn Pope’s congressional address gives DeLaSalle students food for thought By Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit
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uniors and seniors came to Mary Joy Zawislak’s Faith and Society class at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis Sept. 24 with questions for Pope Francis. Senior Keenan Moore wanted to know what the pontiff suggests Americans can and should do given the ISIS-inflicted violence and persecution of Christians in the Middle East. “It’s a very pressing issue in our world right now,” he said, adding that he wasn’t expecting an answer, merely hoping for some insight. Kyle Thompson, also a senior, would have liked to ask Pope Francis how he can strengthen his faith amid the Church’s clergy sexual abuse crisis. “I would like to hear what he has to say because I’ve heard he has a zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and action,” Thompson said. Although the students didn’t get to pose the questions to the pontiff, they did have the opportunity to hear if he answered any of them during his address to a joint meeting of Congress Sept. 24. The students were dismissed from first hour to join others from theology and social studies classes in the commons and listen to what Pope Francis had to say not only to members of Congress, but to all Americans. Back in class after the address, many students admitted they weren’t able to clearly understand what Pope Francis was saying because of his accent, but they were able to decipher bits and pieces of his speech, which lasted just under an hour. Senior Camryn Speese pointed out how open-minded Pope Francis seemed. “It’s evident in the way that he stands, the way that he approaches many different topics,” Speese said. “Most popes probably wouldn’t have addressed some situations that he did today in the way he did. Most people probably would’ve not used Moses [as a religious reference]; they would’ve used Jesus or stuck to the Catholic side of things instead of being more open to faiths not
At St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Savage, staff member Tina Keller and thirdgraders (from left) Frank Schaffer, Hazel Kubisiak, Brookelynn Weichman and Levi Jacquemart pose with Flat Francis to celebrate Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. Courtesy St. John the Baptist Catholic School
Keenan Moore, right, a senior at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, states a question he would like to ask Pope Francis during Faith and Society class Sept. 24. Seated next to Moore is senior Claudia Blohm. Teaching the class and leading the discussion is theology teacher Mary Joy Zawislak. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit from the same background.” Fiona Donnelly, also a senior, said it wasn’t until she watched his address that she realized how much the entire country — not just Catholics — anticipated and appreciated Pope Francis’ visit. Zawislak said as part of ongoing classroom discussions, she plans to ask students how the pope challenged them. Describing Pope Francis as simple, a prophet and a peacemaker, Zawislak said it’s important that students are seeing a “multifaceted” pope. “They’re starting to see him as a real person, not as a figurehead who’s untouchable,” she said. “Kids like that. They don’t like phonies. Who he is and how he presents himself accentuates his messages.” DeLaSalle President Barry Lieske likened the students’ experience of watching the address to his memories of watching the civil rights movement in the 1960s. “When our students have those opportunities, those memory hooks will be in them for a lifetime,” he said. Given the bankruptcy and clergy sexual abuse issues in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Lieske hopes students felt a sense of pride that the leader of the Catholic faith was given such a prominent platform to speak through the Church’s voice to the nation’s leaders. “They [students] needed that. Catholic schools needed that,” he said. He also hopes the pope’s address to Congress sends a bigger message that faith “can’t be compartmentalized into a worship experience on Sunday mornings.” Rather, “faith is in and through everything that we do. That’s the significance for us as a school,” he said. “It’ll be fun to watch how they use it,
relate to it, even challenge it,” he added. Around the archdiocese, Catholic schools celebrated Pope Francis’ trip to the U.S. through prayers, lessons, games and watching his addresses via live streaming. Spinning of off the “Flat Stanley” sensation, students in several Catholic grade schools made “Flat Francis” cutouts to pose with in their schools. They included Frassati Catholic Academy in White Bear Lake, Holy Spirit Catholic School in St. Paul, St. Charles Borromeo School in St. Anthony, St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Savage and Transfiguration Catholic School in Oakdale. Preschoolers at Highland Catholic School in St. Paul made puppets of Pope Francis, calling them “Pope-ets.” Our Lady of the Lake School in Mound and St. Peter Catholic School in North St. Paul had life-size cutouts of Pope Francis. At St. Croix Catholic School in Stillwater, kindergartners learned about the zucchetto that Pope Francis wears and then made their own. They also plan to make a card of their virtual pilgrimage and have it hand-delivered to Rome via a classroom mom. Second-grade students at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Vermillion made pope miters. As part of activities surrounding U.S. papal events, students at Convent of the Visitation in Mendota Heights viewed and reflected on a different page from the school’s Heritage Edition of the St. John’s Bible each day of the pope’s visit. In Washington, Visitation alumna Amy (Rauenhorst) Goldman, ’82, was among representatives of St. John’s University to stand with Pope Francis in presenting an Apostles Edition of the St. John’s Bible to the Library of Congress.
October 8, 2015
Mary Jo Copeland hugs Pope Francis Mary Jo Copeland, founder of Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis, met Pope Francis during a private audience Sept. 24 at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C. Pope Francis met with and greeted 15 people, including Copeland, her husband, Dick, and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who translated her message in Spanish for the pope and took a photo of her and the pope with his cell phone. “His hug was like God hugging me because Jesus is in him and so alive,” said Copeland, a parishioner of St. Alphonsus in Brooklyn Center. “And, I told him I wanted him to pray for me because I’ve got a lot of work to do, and if he could come here to the Twin Cities, we can soak feet [of the poor] together and take care of all the kids [at Sharing and Caring Hands and Mary’s Place].”
St. Nicholas parishioner calls pope’s immigration focus ‘dream come true’ Having emigrated from Mexico eight years ago, Maria Negreros is concerned about immigrant families trying to make it in the United States. She has been happy to hear that Pope Francis shares her concerns, and she was excited to be one of 60 people from a metro interfaith group that traveled to Philadelphia for his visit. ISAIAH, a statewide ecumenical organization of congregations, clergy and people of faith that promotes racial and economic justice in Minnesota, sent its delegation to Philadelphia to begin preparing members to respond to the pope’s “call to action for an economy and society of inclusion,” it stated. Negreros, a parishioner of St. Nicholas in Carver, said Pope Francis’ message is one of love. “We need to start to open our hearts again,” Negreros said. “And the pope is the voice of those who don’t have a voice, especially the poor people.” Negreros said respect is part of the larger immigration conversation. “We really want to tell legislators that people need respect,” she said. “The pope’s message is that immigration is important. To hear him talk about what’s important to us is a dream come true.” – The Catholic Spirit
For more local coverage of Pope Francis in the U.S., visit www.TheCatholicSpirit.com.
October 8, 2015
POPE FRANCIS
The Catholic Spirit • 5B
Whether planned or not, stops leave mark on Americans WASHINGTON, D.C.
NEW YORK
SEPT. 22
SEPT. 24
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND: Upon Pope Francis’ first trip to the United States, he was welcomed in Washington, D.C., by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, their families, and several U.S. Catholic prelates, including Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington.
ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL: During an evening prayer service, Pope Francis thanked the nation’s priests, brothers and women religious for their service and gave particular thanks to women religious saying, “Where would the Church be without you?” He encouraged those with religious vocations and also acknowledged the pain of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Church.
SEPT. 23 WHITE HOUSE: Before a crowd of more than 11,000 on the White House lawn, Pope Francis drew cheers with his acknowledgment of the role of immigrants in his life — his parents emigrated from Italy to Argentina before he was born — and in the history of the United States. Talking about climate change and the legacy it might leave future generations, he observed that millions of people live under a system “which has overlooked them.” President Obama and Pope Francis exchanged gifts; among the gifts Pope Francis was to take home was a key belonging to the Maryland home of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. ST. MATTHEW’S CATHEDRAL: Pope Francis met the U.S. bishops, including Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, for midday prayer. In his speech, delivered in Italian, he acknowledged the real challenges and burdens the U.S. bishops face in their ministry. Pope Francis shared with them his own experience as a pastor and urged them to keep their eyes focused on Jesus and their hearts open to others. LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR: Pope Francis made a previously unannounced 15-minute stop at a Washington residence operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor, where he met with about 45 sisters. The sisters’ spokeswoman said Pope Francis’s message to the group was about the Little Sisters’ “mission to the elderly” and “how important it is in a society that tends to marginalize the elderly and the poor.” BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: At the Mass where Pope Francis canonized St. Junipero Serra, an 18th-century Franciscan who founded missions in California, he called on all Catholics to be missionaries. “Mission is never the fruit of a perfectly planned program or a well-organized manual,” he told the crowd of about 25,000 people. “Mission is always the fruit of a life which knows what it is to be found and healed, encountered and forgiven.”
SEPT. 24 U.S. CAPITOL: Making history by being the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress, Pope Francis introduced himself as a son of the American continent. In his speech, he condemned legalized abortion, the death penalty and unscrupulous weapons sales. He called on Congress to “seize the moment” by moving forward with normalizing relations with Cuba. He also pleaded for greater openness to accepting immigrants. Showing he had studied the U.S. before the visit, he used four iconic Americans as relevant models of virtue for Americans today: Abraham Lincoln, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. “A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did; when it fosters a culture which enables people to ‘dream’ of full rights for all their brothers and sisters as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work; the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton,” the pope said. ST. PATRICK & CATHOLIC CHARITIES: “We can find no social or moral justification, no justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing,” Pope Francis told an audience of about 200 clients of Catholic Charities gathered at St. Patrick Church. After his remarks at St. Patrick’s, he blessed the chapel at the archdiocesan Catholic Charities agency and stopped at the line of homeless clients waiting for a meal. He told them with a smile, “Buen apetito!” — “Enjoy your meal!” — to applause.
SEPT. 25 UNITED NATIONS: Helping to celebrate the organization’s 70th anniversary, Pope Francis visited its headquarters and pleaded with government leaders and U.N. officials to keep the dignity and sacredness of every human life and the value of all creatures at the center of their concern. “Above and beyond our plans and programs,” he told the U.N. General Assembly, “we are dealing with real men and women who live, struggle and suffer and are often forced to live in great poverty, deprived of all rights.” Pope Francis called for real, concrete action to stem climate change; respect for every human life and for “the natural difference between man and woman”; economic decisions that place the needs of people before profits; and greater controls on weapons sales and the elimination of nuclear weapons. 9/11 MEMORIAL: In Pope Francis’ 20 minutes outside the 9/11 Memorial before praying with religious leaders inside the museum, he prayed silently next to a candle by the memorial’s south reflecting pool, then greeted about 20 people, including first responders and victims’ family members of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The pope blessed them and gave them rosaries. In the museum, he said meeting the families of victims was a concrete reminder that “acts of destruction are never impersonal, abstract or merely material. They always have a face, a concrete story, names. . . . In those family members, we see the face of pain, a pain which still touches us and cries out to heaven.” EAST HARLEM: Pope Francis encouraged an audience of students and immigrants at Our Lady Queen of Angels School to live with joy and dare to dream. He also highlighted the immigrant experience in a way children could understand, comparing it to seeking acceptance and making friends in school, not always an easy place for them to fit in or find their way. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: True peace in a big city comes from seeing the vast variety of people not as a bother, but as a brother or sister, Pope Francis said in his homily during Mass at “The Garden” where 20,000 people gathered to pray with him. In his homily, the pope said Jesus urges his disciples “to go out and meet others where they really are, not where we think they should be. Go out to others and share the good news that God, our Father, walks at our side. He frees us from anonymity, from a life of emptiness and selfishness.”
PHILADELPHIA SEPT. 26 CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF STS. PETER AND PAUL: Pope Francis encouraged Pennsylvania’s Catholic clergy and women and men religious to challenge young people to develop “high ideals, generosity of spirit and love for Christ and the Church.” Pope Francis recalled St. Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia heiress who entered religious life, formed a religious community and used her family inheritance to educate blacks and Native Americans throughout the U.S. after Pope Leo XIII had challenged her to serve the Church by asking, “What about you?” INDEPENDENCE HALL: Pope Francis urged the people of the United States to continue to “proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof,” as the Liberty Bell’s inscription says. Meeting with members of the Hispanic community and immigrants at Independence National Historical Park, the pope said when governments respect human rights
and freedoms, especially the right to religious liberty, they benefit from their citizens’ respect and care for others. He spoke from the same lectern President Abraham Lincoln used for the Gettysburg address. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PARKWAY: At the Festival of Families, which followed on the heels of the eighth World Meeting of Families Sept. 22-25, Pope Francis threw away a prepared text and spoke from the heart about the challenges and love that come with being part of a family. “A witness given in order to serve is thoroughly good, it makes us good persons, because God is goodness,” he said. It is “worth being a family.”
SEPT. 27 CURRAN-FROMHOLD CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: Pope Francis began his one-hour stop by inspecting a large chair the inmates had made for him. He smiled and gave the inmates a sincere thumbs up. He said prisons must focus on rehabilitation, and he insisted that no one is perfect and without need of forgiveness. Speaking in Spanish, he addressed the inmates, who were chosen from among those with records for the best behavior. The pope told the inmates he was visiting as a pastor, “but mostly as a brother,” and urged them to dedicate their time in prison to “getting back on the right road” and preparing to rejoin society. ST. CHARLES BORROMEO SEMINARY: In a meeting with cardinals, bishops, priests and seminarians, Pope Francis prefaced his address on the importance of the family by saying he had met with a group of survivors of sexual abuse. The Vatican said the 30-minute meeting, with three women and two men abused by members of the clergy or their families or their teachers, was held at the seminary shortly before the pope addressed the bishops. He told the survivors they were an inspiration and “ministers of mercy.” He also prayed with them and said he shared their pain, suffering and shame. “I continue to feel an overwhelming sense of embarrassment because of those who had in their care the little ones and caused them great harm. . . . I am deeply sorry. God cries,” he said. He said he is committed to holding accountable those who harmed children. “We owe each of them and their families a gratitude for their great courage to bring the light of Christ to the sexual abuse of children,” he told the bishops. ST. JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY: Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at the Jesuit-run school, greeting campus officials, students and religious leaders. He also blessed a statue that commemorates the 50th anniversary of “Nostra Aetate,” the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PARKWAY: Pope Francis urged the hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families to serve and care for each other as freely as God loves the human family. The pope called upon the faithful to embrace signs that the Holy Spirit can work through everyone. “To raise doubts about the working of the Spirit, to give the impression that it cannot take place in those who are not ‘part of our group,’ who are not ‘like us,’ is a dangerous temptation,” the pope said. Pope Francis held up the family as vital to building the Church for the future. “That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith,” he said. PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Pope Francis ended his trip to the United States with a call for Catholics to keep the enthusiasm of the visit, while continuing to welcome newcomers and care for creation. “Do not let your enthusiasm for Jesus, his Church, our families, and the broader family of society run dry,” Pope Francis said prior to flying back to Rome. “I pray that our days of prayer and reflection on the importance of the family for a healthy society will inspire families to continue to strive for holiness and to see the Church as their constant companion, whatever the challenges they may face.” — Excerpts from Catholic News Service
“Like happiness, holiness is
always tied to little gestures.”
– Pope Francis
Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he makes his way to celebrate the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia Sept. 27. CNS/Matt Rourke
8B • The Catholic Spirit
POPE FRANCIS
October 8, 2015
In their own words: Pilgrims react to Pope Francis’ U.S. visit The Catholic Spirit The Catholic Spirit asked pilgrims from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who encountered Pope Francis during his apostolic journey in the U.S. to reflect on the meaning of his visit. The following are a selection of their responses. Read more at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com. The responses were edited for length and clarity. As thrilling as it was to see Pope Francis in person and to hear his inspiring words, what really inspired me was the friendship and caring that we pilgrims showed each other throughout our journey. We were lucky to partner with Catholics from the archdiocesan Commission of Black Catholics; our groups bonded immediately. All through our travels I saw fellow pilgrims who were younger and more able partner with pilgrims who were perhaps older and slower, ensuring they kept up and weren’t lost in the great crowds. Ken, a parishioner from St. Mary’s, pushed one of the ACBC members in her wheelchair through all of Philadelphia, relieving others of that task. It was such a blessing to get to know each other and to share this experience with such wonderful people. Sheila Kelly St. Mary of the Lake, White Bear Lake [I found most memorable] Pope Francis’ final U.S. homily, with the message of “little miracles” not going unnoticed and that they begin in families. I love my family deeply and they’ve guided me through a lot. However, my relationship with them has been tested, especially when I lost my faith. When I regained my faith, my relationship with them grew stronger. Now, I look back on how I get through my struggles today and it is due to my family’s continuous “little miracles” of guidance because they contain unconditional levels of support, love and forgiveness. Those are the “little miracles” I continuously try to spread to others. Connor Theisen Junior, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul The very impressive moments on the papal visit were the parades and the papal blessings, which remind me of the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ. His [Pope Francis’] speeches on love are so fascinating, especially his affirmation that “love is the measure of faith.” The experience was like a dream come true; my mother told me that I was conceived after St. John Paul II visited Nigeria in 1982. She believed that my conception was the effect of papal blessing. I totally agree with Pope Francis that we need to reflect on the ministry of marriage; we are all miracles of God’s love. Those difficult moments in families take us to God’s love and goodness. This is important because we need to support our youth and families in their faith journey. Emelda Okafor St. Cecilia, St. Paul When Pope Francis spoke at the Festival of Families on Saturday night, I really heard his message about the importance of families in our spiritual life. When he said “families are factories of light” and “families are factories of resurrection” it reminded me how much my family planted the seeds of faith in my childhood and continues to build me up and support my faith life. How often do our families brighten our lives or guide us to holiness? It can’t be counted! Justin Kelly St. Mary of the Lake, White Bear Lake I will always remember the joy people shared during Pope Francis’ visit. It didn’t matter where you went or who you talked to; everyone was so joy filled and so happy just to be there, and even more joy filled to be Catholic. Even after waiting in long lines for hours surrounded by tired people, everyone was still cheerful about being together celebrating his visit to
Pilgrims in Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia react to Pope Francis’ visit. CNS the States. We don’t always get an opportunity to be surrounded by people who are so happy to be Catholic. I think Pope Francis is bringing some joy back to our Catholic faith! Emily Klinker St. Victoria, Victoria [I learned] you can even find God’s peace in a basketball arena. I handle communications for Minnesota Catholic Conference. Because of the enormity of managing the media during the pope’s visit, I went to assist the USCCB and Archdiocese of New York communications team. I have been to papal “mega” Masses before and so it was of little consequence for me to be working on the Madison Square Garden media bridge, far above the throng of Massgoers. Yet, once the pre-Mass rosary started and the lights dimmed, the crowd of 20,000 shrunk under my feet. It was a gentle reminder that the peace and holiness of Mass can be found in the most unlikely places. Jessica Zittlow St. Agnes, St. Paul It was such a joy to see Pope Francis in person as he drove by in the popemobile, but the moment that made the biggest impression on me was watching on TV his visit to the correctional facility Sunday morning. He stopped and talked to each inmate and radiated the love of Jesus and the human dignity of each one of them. I could feel them being healed of the wounds that brought them to this place. They had been instructed to stay seated but some just had to stand and hug him, and he hugged them back. Carol Rusinko Sacred Heart, Robbinsdale Our group from St. Pius had an amazing, Holy-Spirit led pilgrimage, from its inception nearly a year ago through all the various twists and turns that happened on the way to and from Philadelphia. God
asked us to take the next step — often a different step than we were planning to take — but his plan was better than we could have ever imagined. On the pilgrimage itself, despite all the unexpected turns of events, even adversity, physical pain and fatigue, our pilgrims lived out the fundamental message of Pope Francis: We showed love and kindness to one another in the challenges and joys of life, and grew closer to one another, as well as in faith, hope and love. And, in keeping with the theme of family, it was great to share all this with my parents, who joined us on the pilgrimage. Father Joe Bambenek Pastor of St. Pius X, White Bear Lake Being blessed by Pope Francis at the end of the Mass was the highlight for me. Knowing that he is representing Peter as the keeper of the keys to the kingdom of heaven, it gives me goosebumps just thinking of being in his presence, so what could be better than getting his personal blessing? I had the privilege of being in an audience with Pope Benedict XVI while passing through Rome on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and knew then that I would never miss an opportunity to be in the presence of the pope. Jack Kuhn St. Patrick, Oak Grove From my experience of traveling to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia for the papal visit, I will always remember the reaction of our country. While the vicar of Christ was on American soil, everyone took notice and wanted to see him and hear his message for us. Sometimes we cheered and rushed to catch a glimpse of him, and at other times you could hear a pin drop out of reverence for his office and the sacred moments of liturgy and prayer. Pope Francis’ visit to the United States brought a renewed hope for us and a challenge to live the fullness of the Gospel. Chad VanHoose Seminarian, St. Paul Seminary; St. Joseph, West St. Paul
POPE FRANCIS
October 8, 2015
The Catholic Spirit • 9B
In Philadelphia, pilgrims encounter Pope Francis and his challenge to love By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit
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at Shannon counted the steps. Nine that time, he said. It was a big move for the pilgrims who had been standing in a massive crowd waiting to go through security to join Pope Francis’ Mass on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway. They’d arrived shortly before noon, but they’d covered less than two blocks in three hours. They began wondering if they’d actually get through the gates in time for the 4 p.m. liturgy. Behind them, the crowd stretched back as far as they could see. The afternoon was the culmination of a pilgrimage that began Tuesday, Sept. 22, with a 5:30 a.m. flight from Minneapolis to Philadelphia. From the airport, the 23 pilgrims traveling as part of an Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis delegation went straight to the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the World Meeting of Families’ opening Mass and keynote speaker — Bishop Robert Barron, known for his “Catholicism” video series and its umbrella ministry, Word on Fire. “Authentic Christianity is a faith on the march,” said Bishop Barron, who was ordained a bishop last month for Los Angeles. He set the tone for the World Meeting, challenging Catholics to reveal with their lives who they are: people made in the image and likeness of God — in Latin, the “imago Dei.” “The family is the place where the ‘imago Dei’ is burnished, where the ‘imago Dei’ is brought to life,” he said.
‘Love is Our Mission’ St. John Paul II launched the World Meeting of Families in 1994 “to look at strengthening the sacred bonds of the family unit across the globe,” according to the 2015 conference organizers. The event was the principal reason Pope Francis visited the U.S., a point he reiterated throughout his tour. With the theme “Love is Our Mission,” the 2015 World Meeting of Families drew more than 18,000 participants, far exceeding the attendance at prior World Meetings. Minnesota pilgrims joined others from more than 100 countries over the course of the congress, which included daily Masses with long processions of concelebrating bishops, opportunities for reconciliation and eucharistic adoration, and more than 80 presentations with topics from childrearing and family finances to divorce and caring for elderly parents. Two speakers were from the archdiocese: Teresa Stanton Collett, a University of St. Thomas law professor who spoke on the contrasting use of the word “dignity” in Catholic social teaching and current law; and Father John Echert, pastor of Holy Trinity in South St. Paul, who drew on his experience as a military chaplain to outline ways families can stay connected during long periods of separation.
‘By the grace of God’ The weightiness of the topics addressed at the World Meeting struck a chord with many pilgrims; several shared hope that their adult children
would return to the faith, while others sifted through the difficulty of divorce, a spouse with dementia or the untimely death of a child. Pat and Christine Shannon, one of two couples on the archdiocese’s pilgrimage, reflected on their own story as they waited in line for Sunday’s Mass. Parents of three and grandparents of eight, they said they’ve had their share of joys and challenges in 46 years of marriage. “We started our marriage off with not good marriage preparation, so it was by the grace of God” that they have the marriage they do, said Christine, who transitioned last year from her longtime role coordinating family life programs to directing faith formation at their parish, St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony. “Often, we feel like we’re lifted up and carried around, like that ‘Footsteps’ holy card you see.” They were drawn to the World Meeting because of their general concern for the family. But the couple’s connection to family ministry is also rooted in teaching — first, natural childbirth, and later, natural family planning. Learning NFP was pivotal for their marriage, the Shannons said. They came to understand and appreciate why the Church proscribes artificial birth control, and embracing the teaching benefited their marriage, they said, as well as the 1,400 couples they taught. They became more “others centered,” Christine explained. “All of a sudden there was an awareness that God has a plan. Just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” she said. “The Church, in its wisdom, teaches you to go along with God’s plan.” The young families they saw at the World Meeting gave them hope for the Church, they said, because they seemed eager to be Christian witnesses. With that came a dose of humility, but also an awareness of the opportunity they have as grandparents. “We could have been a lot better along the way,” said Pat, a medical writer. “You don’t know what goes on in families, but all of the families with little kids here — I feel surrounded by holy people.”
Family challenges One of the biggest challenges facing the family is the lack of “credible witnesses” — Catholics worthy of emulating, said Jean Stolpestad, director of the archdiocese’s Office for Marriage, Family and Life. She sees many parents hitting a roadblock as witnesses when it comes to helping their children develop a relationship with Jesus. “Every generation has to find Christ for themselves,” said Stolpestad, who led the archdiocesan pilgrimage to Philadelphia. “Faith can be lost in a single generation. Every person has to claim it and discover it like it’s brand new.” The impact of presenters’ stories was key for many pilgrims. A speaker who particularly resonated was 58-year-old Cardinal Luis Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines. He gave a keynote presentation Sept. 24 titled “The Family: Home for the Wounded Heart.” “Our wounds will make us, if we
“Often, we feel like we’re lifted up and carried around, like that ‘Footsteps’ holy card you see.” Christine Shannon, who attended the World Meeting of Families with her husband, Pat want them to, avenues of understanding, compassion, solidarity and love,” he told an audience of thousands. Father Kevin Kenney, pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault and the pilgrimage’s chaplain, said as a pastor he is frequently asked to help people address their wounds, including divorce and economic hardship, and is grateful when he can serve as a “listening post.” With that, he said, comes mercy. “The biggest thing I’m taking back with me is the whole issue of God’s forgiveness, God’s love,” he said. “I think for centuries we as Catholics have put guilt on one another, and too much ‘sin, sin, sin!’ But if God is as merciful and forgiving as they’ve talked about here — which I truly believe — then there’s nothing to be afraid of when you confess your sins, there’s nothing to be afraid of when you go before God to tell him you’re sorry.” When Father John Floeder arrived at the World Meeting on Thursday, he was among the handful of participants who had already encountered Pope Francis during his U.S. visit; most attendees were anxiously awaiting Saturday’s Festival of Families, where Pope Francis would join them. An instructor of moral theology and dean of seminarians at the St. Paul Seminary, he had traveled with a group of seminarians to the Sept. 23 canonization of St. Junipero Serra in Washington, D.C. Father Floeder said he was impressed by the World Meeting’s speakers, but his focus was on the pope. “What struck me about Pope Francis was his ready smile as he’s walking through and people are trying to grab him,” he said, adding that it was “a fatherly presence.” “But as he’s preaching, he just speaks from the heart and preaches with conviction,” Father Floeder continued. “You can see it in his face. He’s not simply reading from a script. He truly wants to be a shepherd and pastor to us, and it’s palpable, tangible to people with him.” By Saturday, other groups of pilgrims
from the archdiocese had arrived in Philadelphia for papal events and secured places along his route to get a view, most waiting hours. When the popemobile passed, many people said the moment happened too quickly. What they anticipated would be a leisurely parade complete with stops to kiss babies was actually a swift motorcade. Several said they had misplaced their priority on getting a photo, rather than focusing on really encountering Pope Francis. That night, the crowd heard stories of families from around the world who shared with Pope Francis their joys and struggles. The brief testimonials compelled the Holy Father to drop his prepared remarks and speak from the heart, quipping about family struggles, but also challenging them to live in love. “Families have a citizenship that is divine,” he said. “The identity card that they have is given to them by God so that within the heart of the family truth, goodness and beauty can truly grow.”
Practice in patience By noon the next day, the archdiocesan delegation was back at the parkway, waiting to get through security ahead of the afternoon Mass. It was then that Pat Shannon started counting aloud the group’s steps, which in the standstill crowd felt like milestones. The group finally got through at 4:45 p.m. in time to hear Pope Francis preach. They missed not only the first half of the liturgy, but also the entrance hymn composed by archdiocesan priest and University of St. Thomas professor Father Jan Michael Joncas. With “withering hours of thousands pressing through security checks and jumbotron-only views of His Holiness,” Pat Shannon said the most memorable part of the pilgrimage was the World Meeting of Families and the friendships formed among fellow pilgrims. In a written reflection following the trip, he called the conference “stirring.” For other pilgrims, the fleeting glimpse of the pope was well worth the hassle. Justin Duda, whose right arm was in a sling due to a sports injury, joked ahead of seeing Pope Francis that he would try to jump the barrier for a blessing — and maybe a miraculous healing. While waiting for the pope to pass by Saturday night, he was sobered by a parent holding a child with cancer and a 13-year-old from Peru with a handwritten letter for the pope, he said. Despite their efforts, neither was able to interact with the pontiff as he headed to the stage. For Duda, a student at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth and a FOCUS missionary from Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville, seeing the pope was enough. “My first thought was, ‘I can’t believe I’m here,’” he said. The World Meeting of Families also exceeded his expectations. “It makes me feel like I can do my work as a missionary more and more, and it’s arming me with the tools and spirits and courage to go out and do my work.”
10B • The Catholic Spirit
POPE FRANCIS
October 8, 2015
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4 1 Pope Francis embraces the Walker family of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept. 27 in
Philadelphia. Catire, Noel and their four children — Cala, 12, Dimas, 8, Mia, 5, and Carmin, 3 — traveled 13,000 miles to be with Pope Francis during the World Meeting of Families.
2 Pilgrims wave cardboard cutouts of Pope Francis as they gather outside the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul to see the pope in Philadelphia Sept. 26.
3 Doug Bauman talks on his phone as he waits for the arrival of Pope Francis for the
closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families Sept. 27 in Philadelphia. The father of three traveled with his family from Indianapolis for the world meeting.
4 New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan stands with Pope Francis as he visits the South Pool of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum Sept. 25 in New York.
5 Pope Francis greets Sister Marie Mathilde, 102, during his unannounced visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor residence in Washington Sept. 23.
6 A girl hugs Pope Francis as he visits with people at St. Maria’s Meals Program of Catholic Charities in Washington Sept. 24.
7 Pope Francis stops to kiss a child as he makes his way in the popemobile to Independence Hall in Philadelphia Sept. 26. All photos courtesy CNS
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POPE FRANCIS
October 8, 2015
The Catholic Spirit • 11B
Does seeing the pope matter? Pilgrims say yes — and no By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit Jean Stolpestad and her husband, Craig, have made sure all of their three sons have had the chance to see the pope. One of them has seen all three of the men to hold the position in his lifetime. Jean, however, hadn’t seen one before going to Philadelphia. The director of the Office of Marriage, Family and Life for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Stolpestad hoped for a glimpse of Pope Francis during a pilgrimage her office organized for the World Meeting of Families, Sept. 22-27. She got that glimpse — as well as an unexpected ticket to a muchJean coveted seat near the altar for the World Meeting of Families’ closing STOLPESTAD Mass Sept. 27, the pontiff’s final public event during his whirlwind U.S. tour. The ticket belonged to Teresa Stanton Collett, a University of St. Thomas law professor and consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Family. She was assigned a seat with other representatives of the council, which organizes the triennial World Meeting of Families. When Collett had to leave Philadelphia earlier than expected, she gave her ticket to Stolpestad, who was giddy about the opportunity. Stolpestad compared her desire to see the pope to children’s desire to be with their parents. “To be in his presence is so exciting,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “This is the first time I get to meet my papa. . . . I get to be with my spiritual father, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to experience.” Stolpestad saw him for the first time with other pilgrims from the archdiocese as he drove down a Philadelphia parkway during the Festival of Families. Her eyes shone as she described screaming with the
crowd, chanting “Pope Francis! Pope Francis!” as Father Kevin Kenney, pastor of Divine Mercy in Faribault and the pilgrimage’s bilingual chaplain, shouted “Papa Francesco! Papa Francesco!” next to her. She stood on a collapsible stool to get a better view, steadying herself on the shoulder of another onlooker. When Pope Francis came by, she snapped a photo — of a tree, because she was waving her arms.
“I get to be with my spiritual father, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to experience.” Jean Stolpestad Tens of thousands of people crowded the parkway the night of Sept. 26 as musicians including Marie Miller, the Fray, and Aretha Franklin performed for Pope Francis, and families from around the world shared stories of their struggles and joys. Pope Francis extemporaneously addressed the crowd, calling the family “a factory of hope,” where “difficulties are overcome with love.” The next day, elation over that special seat almost turned into deep disappointment as dense crowds nearly dashed Stolpestad’s hope she would make it through security check points in time. She was able to secure her seat right before Mass began, giving her a good view of the altar and Pope Francis. “I had a deep sense of beauty — the beauty of Christ present in the people around me and in the Holy Father, [and in the] gift of the Church and our faith,” she said. “It wasn’t ecstatic or overly emotional. It was just this profound sense of joy.” Other pilgrims said seeing Pope Francis made a deep impression, even if they depended on a jumbotron for a view of the stage. Beatriz Lopez, a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales in
St. Paul and formation coordinator for the archdiocese’s Latino Ministry office, said she was amazed by the reverence of the crowd at the papal Mass and grateful to have been able to receive Communion. Lopez, 47, also relished “the second” she saw Pope Francis drive past before the Festival of Families. In that moment, she said, all the energy of the pilgrimage that had built up inside her flooded out. “He needs to represent Jesus Christ, and you really find that in this pope,” she said. “He really wants the unity of the Church. He really wants to reflect Jesus. That is important for me.” Gerrie Soine, a parishioner of St. Paul in Ham Lake, said she didn’t go to Philadelphia with the aim of seeing Pope Francis, and she didn’t, beyond a screen. Being in the same area with him was enough, she said. She waited five hours to get through security into the Mass and missed most of the liturgy. “I didn’t come all this way to see the pope. I knew he was going to be here, but I wanted to be with my shepherd in the area, because I knew it would be holy ground,” she said. “But I also wanted to be . . . with a crowd of people, who were, like me, looking for hope no matter what.” In 1984, she made her first pilgrimage to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to see St. John Paul II, even though she had skipped what would have been a shorter trip to Des Moines, Iowa, where he visited in 1979. “Before we knew he was there, we knew he was there,” she said. “It was holy ground. We knew he was on the ground. I could sense it.” In Philadelphia, Soine, 71, saw the top of the passing popemobile skim the crowds on Saturday. What could have been a huge letdown for other pilgrims didn’t faze her. “The surprise for me was all the people I encountered in this city . . . . They were all excited for the pope to come,” she said. “Everyone’s looking for God to fill that need. “Hope was given, and this pope gives hope.”
Catholic Charities CEO: Message to Congress a call to action By Bridget Ryder For The Catholic Spirit As a guest of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Tim Marx, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, was seated in the gallery of the U. S. Capitol Sept. 24 to hear Pope Francis address a joint meeting of Congress. Marx said he planned to bring inspiration and affirmation from the pontiff home to Minnesota. “The pope’s message is what Catholic Charities does and will continue to do,” Marx said of its mission to help the poor, resettle refugees and advocate for immigrants. Marx also witnessed the effect the pope’s address had on Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), who was a close collaborator of Martin Luther King Jr., one of four Americans the pope referenced in his address. “When he mentioned Martin Luther King, I was looking right down on Congressman John Lewis. He was visually moved by it, as were those around him,” Marx said, adding that people reached over to give Lewis a hug or a pat on the back. “It’s not often the Holy Father calls out something you were personally involved in that is a marker for social justice,” he said. Marx said the Holy Father’s use of four Americans — Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. — as examples showed the pope had worked hard to make his address relevant to his audience.
Pope Francis addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington Sept. 24. CNS “His message [and] the way it was delivered should make his message come alive for Americans and Minnesotans in a way that it hadn’t before. It was so joyful and a call to action,” he said. Marx also attended the official White House greeting ceremony and the Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., as a representative of Catholic Charities.
Senator heard ‘spiritual, captivating’ message Sen. Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) spent a few minutes with Pope Francis Sept. 24 when he arrived at the Capitol building to address Congress. “It was an amazing experience,” Klobuchar said. “I’ve never seen anything like it before in Congress. It was amazing to see these senators
known to have big egos nervous waiting for the pope.” Klobuchar was part of a special greeting committee that met the Holy Father before he entered the chamber of the House of Representatives to deliver his address. Pope Francis gave the group a blessing before they accompanied him into the room. Klobuchar was struck by his kindness and gentleness. “We’re used to political leaders with booming voices, but you had to strain to hear him,” she said. But she didn’t miss the message that his soft voice delivered. “He didn’t spell out exact policy changes, but gave us a call to action,” she said. Instead of delivering a list of policies for the legislators to adopt, which “wouldn’t have worked with this crowd, anyway,” Klobuchar said, he gave Congress “a spiritual message that was captivating.” Klobuchar summarized the pope’s address this way: “The United States is a great country with an obligation to work for social justice.” She hopes the pope’s address will be a rallying point for compromise and cooperation among legislators. Looking back over the text of the talk, the pope’s definition of a good politician, which he said is “one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism,” stood out to her. “I like that he said ‘pragmatism’ because we need it,” she said. “I thought he was pretty specific to working together.”
12B • The Catholic Spirit
POPE FRANCIS
October 8, 2015
TOP LEFT A woman displays her message on a prayer ribbon at the Knotted Grotto outside the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul during the World Meeting of Families Sept. 25 in Philadelphia. Thousands of visitors added their prayer intentions to the project that was inspired by the image of “Mary Undoer of Knots.” BELOW LEFT Leah Pepsin, 6, and Lucas Daniel, 6, both from Philadelphia, look through prayer ribbons at the Knotted Grotto. RIGHT A man views prayer ribbons at the Knotted Grotto. CNS By Elizabeth Fisher Catholic News Service
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n front of Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul stands a visible representation of Pope Francis’ favorite religious image: “Mary, Undoer of Knots.” The Knotted Grotto is a dome-shaped lattice-work frame that stands about 10 feet high with an approximately 20-foot circumference and features tens of thousands of white ribbons knotted into the structure. In an unplanned gesture before the papal Mass Sept. 27 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the pope stopped his motorcade to visit the grotto devotion, which by then had 100,000 ribbons tied to it. When the World Meeting of Families opened Sept. 22, more then 10,000 ribbons were being added daily. Each ribbon represents a prayer intention, which visitors may read and offer in their prayers, as well as add a new ribbon. Above all the ribbons hangs a large portrait of Mary, the mother of God, as one who unties the knots of people’s lives. Project HOME, the Philadelphia organization serving homeless people in the city, collected the pieces of cloth throughout the Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, regions.
Knotted Grotto inspired by Pope Francis’ Marian devotion
“We need God’s grace to untie the knots,” she said.
Grotto an exercise of prayer, charity
Donna Crilley Farrell, executive director of the World Meeting of Families, said helping the poor was a priority for both Pope Francis and Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. “As I look at the thousands of knots in this grotto, it just takes your breath away,” she said. “Each of these knots represents the hopes and prayers of the people. It is incredibly moving. People from around the world will be able to share in the artwork.” Devotion to Mary as “Undoer of Knots” is tied to an 18th-century painting of Mary unraveling a long white ribbon, its tangles symbolic of people’s struggles. The image has been venerated since the together and share school pride and values.” early 1700s in the Church of St. Peter in Perlach, One prison inmate penned his hope to be free of Augsburg, Germany, where Pope Francis viewed it as a addiction and be able to make a life for himself after student in the 1980s and developed a devotion. he is released. Some petitioners asked for healing from In the second century, St. Iraneaus, bishop of what anxiety or cancer, or other physical and mental is now Lyon, France, gave the Church an image of disorders. Mary undoing knots, writing, “The knot of Eve’s Project HOME commissioned artist Meg Saligman to disobedience was loosened by the obedience of Mary.” create the grotto to help draw attention to those in The contemporary devotion, however, is said to have need, especially members of society for whom Pope originated in the marital struggles of a husband and Francis focuses much of his concern. It was dedicated wife of German nobility in the 1600s. Sept. 3. At that time, the marriage ritual included the tying Prayers from prisons, soup kitchens of the couple’s arms to represent unity for life. The Sister Mary Scullion, executive director of Project Over the past several months, the group also troubled husband brought his wedding ribbon to a HOME, conceived the project as a way for people to canvassed prisons, soup kitchens and workshops, priest, who proceeded to untie the knots. The ribbon remember each other — and the poor — in their collecting petitions that reflect poignant prayers for prayers, following the example of Pope Francis, whom became white, and the couple’s marriage survived. topics ranging from personal issues to social justice to she met when he stopped in front of the grotto on his The painting was commissioned by the couple’s health concerns. last day in the United States. descendant for a family altar donated A few examples include: “I am to St. Peter in Perlach, where today the asking for prayers for my whole image draws droves of pilgrims and “Each of these knots represents the hopes and prayers of the family”; “Let there be food for all . . . inspires novenas to Our Lady, Undoer bountiful food for all”; “More faith in of Knots. people. It is incredibly moving.” God and more belief in God’s love”; “For school communities, that — The Catholic Spirit contributed to Donna Crilley Farrell students, teachers/professors can come this story.
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BEYOND THE BEACHES It’s a different world past Montego Bay. The Catholic Church is deeply committed to walking with the poor there. And there’s a role for us to play, too. By Deacon Mickey Friesen
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he small Caribbean island nation of Jamaica is a popular winter getaway and port for cruise ships that is known for its beautiful resort beaches and exquisite rum drinks. What is less known is that beyond the resorts and tourist stops there is another Jamaica. Jamaica is the second poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti. This second-place ranking and a resort destination status often keep it off most people’s radar as a place with many challenges. High poverty and unemployment in the mountains make life difficult for many families to find peace, security and stability. Jamaica is also a mission Church. Catholics make up less than 1.7 percent of the Jamaican population, but the Church is reaching into the lives of many Jamaicans on several levels by serving their material and spiritual needs as they strive to make Jesus known. The young and developing Catholic mission Diocese of Mandeville, Jamaica, for example, is served almost entirely by foreign-born ministers. The bishop is from New York. The priests, sisters and lay missioners come from Kenya, Poland, India, the U.S. and other parts of the world. Much of the support to further this missionary church is provided by people like you and me. Together, we help to advance the Church’s call to bring good news to the poor, heal the sick, lift up the downtrodden and liberate those who are burdened or trapped by the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Mission our common cause The Church in Jamaica is a wonderful example of how the missionary Church grows today. By the sharing of many gifts from many hands and lands around the world, God’s plan of salvation is being realized. It is all the Church for all the world. On World Mission Sunday we have an opportunity to celebrate the missionary nature of our faith and our common cause with Catholics around the world to bring Christ to the least and the greatest — to the ends of the earth. In a couple of months we will also be marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council and the anniversary of its decree on mission called, “Ad Gentes,” which means, “To The Nations.” This document declared that the Church does not “have” a mission, but rather “is” a mission. We are baptized into God’s mission of love revealed in Jesus, who poured out his life for us on the cross Oct. 8, 2015
Sacred Heart of Jesus Sister Rita Kurdziel from Holy Spirit Church in Maggotty, Jamaica, makes a house call. Courtesy Sisters, Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and made us whole in his resurrection. The Spirit is poured out on the Church to receive and continue this mission. Each of us is called in our own way to be a missionary disciple according to our state in life. Together we are the body of Christ — building up our members and equipping one another to go forth into the world. On World Mission Sunday we renew our baptism as missionary disciples. We are one body of Christ in mission that transcends geography and language, culture and economic status. We are part of the Spirit’s movement in the world that is greater than any one member, but needs each of us to share our own gifts. As we here in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis offer our prayers and financial support for missionaries around the world, Catholics in Jamaica, Rwanda, Vietnam and in Papua New Guinea will be doing the same on the same day. We are all the Church commissioned by the Spirit to pour ourselves out for the whole world. When we are able to reach beyond the many borders that separate us and cooperate together for God’s purpose, we are sending a message and giving witness to God’s plan that all may be one in Christ. Let us be true to our missionary nature as members of Christ’s body and share our gifts in the global family of faith.
World Mission Sunday is Oct. 18
All the Church for All the World
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Deacon Friesen is director of the Center for Mission in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and archdiocesan director of the Pontifical Mission Societies and Catholic Relief Services.
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Polish priest with a machete gave Catholic school in Maggotty its start Today the children of the poor, rural Jamaican town get lots of help, thanks to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The Church there even has a sausage factory that makes kielbasa.
• Montego Bay
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By Eric Simon
program began to develop, Father Bzinkowski wanted to find a way to respect their dignity and avoid giving charity. hy aren’t you in school?” asked Father Marek Bzinkowski of a couple of With the help of newly arrived Polish volunteer Marta children in Maggotty, Jamaica. Socha, they developed an agricultural/educational “Because we don’t have any money or food,” they program that enhanced the dignity of all. Parents answered. promise to work in the Holy Spirit farms one day every For 17 years, Father Bzinkowski has been other month, and in exchange for the day’s work, their encouraging children to attend school as an important children receive necessary money for food, path out of poverty. And poverty is quite severe in transportation and other items for school, which they Maggotty, where unemployment is 70 percent. must attend regularly. Father Bzinkowski, ordained in Kielce, Poland, Holy Spirit gets crops of pumpkins, sweet potatoes, followed his passion for mission to Ukraine. With the peanuts and hot peppers to sell for the education encouragement of the Passionist community and program and families in need. Bishop Paul Boyle of the newly created Diocese of Father Bzinkowski fondly remembers one young girl Mandeville, he arrived in Jamaica in 1998 to bring the whose parents were unemployed with little education. good news of Christ to a community where Catholics She expressed interest in being a teacher or a lawyer. are 1.7 percent of the population. The staff of Holy Spirit was so touched by her passion Father Bzinkowski went to live within the that they decided to “walk with her dreams” and community of Maggotty to build the body of Christ. supported her with food, books and transportation. After he cleared the property with a machete, Holy “Sometimes it was difficult,” admitted Father Spirit Church grew to what it is now: church, health Bzinkowski, “but we stuck with her.” clinic, retreat center, farm, sausage factory and several Today, she is a teacher in Maggotty and the education facilities. neighboring community of Santa Cruz, and is a mentor Why are we highlighting this location for World for the students. Mission Sunday? The program has been successful, educationally and The education facilities, including a library, spiritually. Today, 96 out of 100 children are in school. computer lab and homework program, are all The program has grown to include over 200 children. supported by grants from the Society for the Socha and other volunteers continue to work closely Propagation of the Faith, which is mostly supported with students in the educational facilities. Spiritually, through Pontifical Mission Societies collections. the Church at Maggotty is also blossoming. All the activities at Maggotty have demonstrated to Education first Jamaicans what the Catholic faith cherishes: the dignity and flourishing of the whole person. When Father Bzinkowski arrived, he found that education was a low priority Now, Mass attendance is as families dealt with the growing and the community daily struggles of survival. celebrated 23 baptisms last They had little available spring. funds for necessary When one adult was asked transportation and lunch for why she decided to be school. As a result, only four baptized, she answered, out of 100 children were “Because this is how I want to attending school regularly, live.” and very few could read. The World Mission Sunday Father Bzinkowski collection encourages the recognized the importance World Mission Sunday, organized by the growth of the body of Christ of nourishing the entire Society for the Propagation of the Faith, is a through enhancing spiritual person spiritually and day set aside for Catholics worldwide to and material health in materially to enable them to recommit themselves to the Church’s mission dioceses like “hear” the word of God. missionary activity through prayer and Maggotty, Jamaica. This year sacrifice. At first, Father Bzinkowski we celebrate World Mission told a couple of children that Sunday on Oct. 18. An Offerings from Catholics in the United States, if they would agree to attend envelope has been included on World Mission Sunday and throughout the school, he would leave a in this issue of The Catholic year, are combined with offerings to the little money and a sandwich Spirit for your convenience. Society for the Propagation of the Faith for them after Mass. This Please help these young worldwide. grew quickly as other and struggling mission The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is children desperately desired dioceses. one of the Pontifical Mission Societies. an education, he recalled, adding, “We will never say Simon is mission promotions Mission dioceses — about 1,100 at this time no to a family who needs manager on the staff of the — receive funds to be used for catechetical us.” programs, seminaries, the work of religious Center for Mission in the Jamaicans are proud, communities, communication and Archdiocese of St. Paul and dignified people, and as the transportation needs, and the building of Minneapolis. chapels, churches, orphanages and schools.
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History of colonial rule and slavery found to haunt Jamaican culture
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A ‘mental slavery’ lingers in the people who live in the poor, rural area of the Diocese of Mandeville, a part of the island where a native Jamaican named Hope offers the needy her ‘very caring heart.’
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By Bob Zyskowski The Catholic Spirit
get ahead. “It’s a mental slavery,” Wood-Salmon said. To counter the slave mentality, ministries in the aring for the human needs of the people of rural Diocese of Mandeville take the approach that all are Jamaica and sharing the Catholic faith with them equal irrespective of ethnicity, color or creed, Woodcalls for a heightened sensitivity to the history Salmon explained. and culture of the Caribbean’s second-largest island Diocesan programs focus on empowerment and — and second poorest nation. raising the standards of living, she said. It’s why Hope Wood-Salmon doesn’t judge people but She pointed to funding for microbusinesses to enable works with them as they are, using what her bishop people to become self-sufficient and support their described as “her very caring heart” when she visits families; to education assistance for students to assist homes to assess people’s needs. with tuition, busing, books and lunches; and to shelters It’s also why Bishop Neil Tiedemann of the Diocese of for the poor, health clinics, a home for the aged and a Mandeville in the south-central region of Jamaica said, home for disabled children, among others. “In everything we do we try The diocese is able to offer to be the hands of Christ these services thanks to touching people.” prayer and financial support Wood-Salmon, who from the United States manages the Bishop Boyle through donations on World Outreach and Resource Mission Sunday, Bishop Center of the diocese, is a Tiedemann said, and does so native Jamaican who spoke of while respecting people and her culture as “our way of life, their dignity. the soul of the nation, the “We have financial and story of our struggles and physical challenges,” the achievements.” bishop said, “but we strive to It’s a culture captured in the make sure that all we do we food, folklore, language, do as brothers and sisters, music, dance, art and craft, sharing God’s love.” “and in the resilience and For example, at the four spirit of the Jamaican people,” clinics the diocese operates, Wood-Salmon told The “It’s really Jesus reaching out Catholic Spirit. “Even though people are not aware to the people,” he said. “We Historical and cultural of their chains and shackles, over want to walk with and be struggles, however, are still with the people.” with many Jamaicans, time what has been left is that To respect the local culture remnants of conquering and and the dignity of the persons feel they are not good slavery by the Spanish and Jamaican people, sharing life then the British, she said. enough.” and faith is what is asked of Christopher Columbus those who come to volunteer Hope Wood-Salmon destroyed the culture and in or visit the Mandeville civilization he found on the diocese, explained Bishop island in the 15th century, Tiedemann, a Passionist imposing the Spanish way of The Catholic Spirit asked Mandeville, missioner who hails from life and bringing diseases that Jamaica, diocesan minister Hope WoodBrooklyn, New York. decimated the native Salmon, “If you could tell Minnesota Just as a group of 12 from population at the time, she Catholics about the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of St. Paul said. Jamaica in just a few sentences, what would and Minneapolis will be Slaves brought to Jamaica you tell them?” Her answer: visiting at the end of January to work the sugar cane fields under the auspices of the had to be obedient to their “The Bible exhorts us to be the hands and Pontifical Mission Societies, colonial masters. “The ravages feet of Christ. As Jamaican Catholics and few individuals, parish and are still part of us,” Woodin numbers (2 percent), the call to service is as diocesan groups who come to Salmon said. relevant as any other time. We are undaunted help get an orientation when “Even though people are by our numbers as the focus is on making the they arrive, the bishop said. not aware of their chains and Gospel of Jesus Christ come alive and to impact “We encourage them to see shackles, over time what has and transform lives, particularly of the poor and what they are doing as a been left is that persons feel dispossessed. The vibrancy of our worship is collaboration with local they are not good enough,” reflected in our gratitude to God for his people, working together she said. faithfullness and providence to us as a nation. with them and with mutual Some Jamaicans bleach We coexist peaceably and show respect for each respect,” Bishop Tiedemann their skin, she said, because other’s individuality and right to existence. We said. “And we want them to they think their complexion are the Church and service is our hallmark. In think, ‘What gift do I receive is too dark and they have to the words of our former bishop, Bishop Gordon have a lighter complexion to from my visit to Jamaica?’” Bennett, “We do what we do, not because they are Catholics, but because we are Catholics.”
C 1 Marta Socha, a volunteer from Poland, oversees children in her role as principal of the Holy Spirit Homework Centre in the town of Maggotty, Jamaica.
2 Parents whose children receive aid through the donations to the Holy Spirit School’s education fund work on the church’s farm and help with harvesting.
3 Children learn about the sacraments, liturgy, prayer and Christian living.
4 A shack in Maggotty on the list to be rebuilt. 5 A Maggotty home built with help from the diocese. Photos courtesy Eric Simon/Center for Mission
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assionist Father Jim Price is an American priest serving in south-central Jamaica in the impoverished rural mission Diocese of Mandeville. He coordinates both the Pontifical Mission Societies and the evangelization office for the diocese, where Catholics make up less than 2 percent of the population. “The Catholic population is small,” Father Price explained, “but our outreach is vast regarding education, medical aid and various forms of assistance.” As the Center for Mission in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis organizes a January visit to the Mandeville diocese to experience a mission diocese that receives support from the Pontifical Mission Societies, The Catholic Spirit Father Jim interviewed Father Price via email PRICE about the Jamaica diocese, about ministry there and how the diocese is aided by donations on World Mission Sunday. These are excerpts from that interview. The full interview can be read at www.TheCatholicSpirit.com.
BEYOND THE BEACHES
Q&A
To learn more about the Mandeville Diocese, The Catholic Spirit interviewed its Pontifical Mission Societies director Father Jim Price Interview by Bob Zyskowski
A. The Diocese of Mandeville is a young, very small mission diocese that has been re-focusing its energies on evangelization, vocations, outreach to youth and inviting the people to a better sense of ownership, meaning that although most of its priests and religious are not native Jamaicans, the goal is to build up a Church that reflects the face of Jamaica.
A. What I have observed is that Jamaican Catholics feel that they have to defend themselves since Catholicism is a tiny minority in the country and the perception of the Church is not always positive. I think many Americans would be very surprised to see some of the very overt expressions of a lack of respect for the Catholic Church in Jamaica regarding belief and the depth of our teaching. Everyone knows that the Catholic Church does incredible outreach (distribution of food, housing, education, medical clinics), but many non-Catholics do not look on us as a religion, but more of a social agency or a “handout” Church. Q. What are the greatest needs you see? What are your biggest challenges? A. The needs are endless. And when we begin to help and reach out, the challenges that come with the requests for assistance pile up. The needs generally begin with the material like food, clothing, shelter and funds for education, and the everyday necessities of life. But there is also need for interior support for families and children. Some of the biggest challenges are dealing with what Pope Francis mentioned in his recent address to Congress, namely helping people to find alternatives to the cycle of poverty that is so pervasive with many of our rural people. Q. How does the diocese benefit from the work
Q. What does the upcoming visit from Catholics from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis mean to the people of the Diocese of Mandeville?
Q. When the delegation from Minnesota visits in January, what do Catholics in Jamaica want to be the takeaway for the Minnesotans about the Catholic culture and the Church in Jamaica?
Q. What makes Mandeville a mission diocese?
Q. What would surprise Americans to know about Catholics in Jamaica?
The challenge this poses for me personally is to never take for granted that people know what it means to be Catholic or what the Church believes. It also challenges me not to measure the “success” of the Church by numbers. The two parish churches I administer have 30 people at Mass on Sunday. This can make you defensive or serve as an invitation to find a more effective and engaging form of evangelization that focuses on the notion of missionary discipleship that Pope Francis calls us to in the “Joy of the Gospel.”
A. To me it means that other people care so much that their concern goes beyond pity to saying, “We can actually do something?” To me it means that others who do not even know us want to share themselves in a way that reflects action, solidarity, and looking beyond our own personal needs and truly making a sacrifice that reflects the love of Christ. It also means that we have an opportunity for a new relationship to develop, a relationship that has as its goal a shared mission of people from the same faith.
Q. How would you describe the Church in the Diocese of Mandeville?
A. The Diocese of Mandeville can only generate approximately 5 percent of its income. Therefore, we rely heavily on funds and assistance from outside of Jamaica to help sustain what we do. What makes us a mission diocese more than the funding is the fact that the Catholic population is small, but our outreach is vast regarding education, medical aid and various forms of assistance.
October 8, 2015
Maggotty, Jamaica. Courtesy Eric Simon/Center for Mission of the Pontifical Mission Societies/Propagation of the Faith?
A. The diocese benefits greatly from the Pontifical Mission Societies especially through the Missionary Childhood Association assistance for programs for our children, (lunch program in basic schools [ages 2-6], books, shoes and school supplies program, after school program, youth retreats), and specifically through the Propagation of the Faith: our biblical animation program, teaching people how to pray the Sunday Scriptures; the building of churches in deep rural areas, and training people to lead in their parish communities. Q. Why are so few Jamaicans Catholic? Does that lack of a faith relationship present barriers to the Church’s work? A. This is a question that demands a lot of reflection. Part of it is historical. Jamaica was an English colony for many years, and unlike the countries in the Caribbean that have a heavily Spanish background, Jamaica was influenced by the Anglican Church. Migration is also a part of the reason since so many Jamaicans have left for the U.K., Canada and the U.S. The deeper reason is intertwined with some of the more anti-Catholic elements of some of the fundamentalist “pop up” churches in Jamaica that have a deep suspicion of Catholicism, largely based on misperceptions and a lack of understanding of the Church. The majority of Jamaica’s Catholics are in the Archdiocese of Kingston. The fewest Catholics are in the Diocese of Mandeville, a mostly rural diocese.
A. Stories of snow, ice and long winters do not exist in Jamaica. But natural beauty, mountains, the Caribbean Sea, the landscapes and the people, its greatest resource, do exist, and the people from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis can take away this great gift with them. The culture of Jamaica is complicated but rich. The culture of marriage, the relationship between men and women, the lack of male support systems that challenge and invite men to be more present to their families, are one aspect, yet the deep closeness of families and the role of the mother are a crucial part of Jamaican life. Yet, there is another reality: violence against women and children, and a lack of alternatives to grinding poverty and unemployment are part of the complicated aspect of Jamaican culture. The natural beauty of Jamaica that is a great expression of their culture is undergoing unwelcome changes, namely a lack of access to adequate water and a scorched and dry earth as a result of terrible, long droughts that become worse every year. The richness of Jamaican culture is something that needs to be experienced. Their love for stories and music, the pride they take in the beauty of their land — “our common home” — and the Caribbean Sea, the ties of family, and even though there is a lack of understanding of what Catholicism is about, the very comfortable mention of God and prayers at public events shows a great sense of the presence of God in our midst. Whenever I visit the hospital each week and make my stop to all the patients’ beds, all I ask how a person is. The response is always the same: “I am blessed.” Even in the midst of suffering and pain, illness and uncertainty, Jamaicans will tell you they feel blessed. I know that the group from St. Paul will bless our people by their mere presence, and I pray that they, too, will feel the blessing of the Jamaican people as they begin this new relationship, friendship and expression of solidarity.