The Catholic Spirit - September 10, 2020

September 10, 2020 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis SPECIAL REPORT

Black Lives Matter Catholics in the archdiocese and across the country, including Justina Kopp (above), work to understand and engage in the Black Lives Matter movement, which has gained momentum since the death of George Floyd in south Minneapolis May 25.

A special report examines the history and complexity of BLM-affiliated organizations and offers perspectives on how Catholics can support and take part in the fight for racial equality and justice.

thecatholicspirit.com

TEEN CROSSING

— Pages 9-11

Prayer power Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Cozzens to launch virtual, five-part ‘Praying with Scripture’ series Sept. 13 aimed at helping Catholics forge a ‘deeper union with God.’ — Page 5

Boxes of Joy

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

University of St. Thomas freshman leads push to pack 5,000 boxes of goods for impoverished children around the world.

— Page 6

Resist the devil New guide offers in-depth look at the ministry of exorcism, opening the topic to the general public.

— Page 14

‘Fatima’ hits the screen Movie ‘that everybody can embrace’ inspires devotion to the rosary, deeper dive into Marian apparitions in Portugal.

— Page 20

Dominic Romportl carries a 5-foot wooden cross while on a pilgrimage with 17 other teens from St. Michael and St. Mary parishes in Stillwater Aug. 29. The group, which also included Father Austin Barnes, at left next to Romportl, walked 22 miles from Stillwater to the Cathedral of St. Paul, ending the journey with Mass celebrated by Father John Ubel, Cathedral rector, and dinner in the Cathedral courtyard afterward. “The idea of pilgrimage is a reflection on our journey to heaven,” said Father Barnes, who was ordained a priest in May at the Cathedral and serves as parochial vicar at the two parishes. “And so, the Cathedral is representing heaven and our journey towards it. Even though the route is difficult at times and we get tired, we just keep going.” For more on the pilgrimage, see story on page 12.

COVID update: Priests can distribute Communion at usual time in Mass

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

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s of Sept. 5, priests in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have a third — and familiar — option for distributing Communion at Mass during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

They can now offer Communion in the usual manner — at the usual time during Mass to parishioners in Communion lines at the altar or other stations in the church, said Father Tom Margevicius, director of the Office of Worship, in a Sept. 4 memo to parishes and other institutions in the archdiocese.

Since public indoor Masses resumed in late May after a mid-March suspension to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19, Mass attendees have either received Communion after the final blessing as they exited the church, or they remained in their pews as ministers walked to them with the Eucharist. Each of these two methods has benefits and drawbacks, but for theological, liturgical and pastoral reasons, neither is ideal, Father Margevicius said.

Most priests at a meeting following the archdiocese’s July 30 Chrism Mass expressed their desire to return to distributing Communion in the usual manner, he said.

And because parishes have been

faithfully cooperating with pandemic protocols such as wearing facial coverings, washing hands and social distancing, with churches by and large not becoming “COVID hotspots,” parishes can return to the usual practice, he said.

“People are behaving,” Father Margevicius told The Catholic Spirit.

“They’re keeping their masks on for the most part, they’re using hand sanitizer, keeping social distance, so they’re able to engage in public activity in an interior space in a safe manner.”

But priests who are not comfortable with having parishioners return to the usual practice of Communion distribution are not required to offer it, Father Margevicius said. The other options remain legitimate, at the discretion of the pastor, he said.

All other hygiene practices to prevent spread of the virus remain in effect, including ministers and communicants wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and keeping 6 feet of distance between people not of the same household.

The usual obligation to attend Sunday Mass also remains suspended, to help protect people 65 or older and those with underlying health conditions, as well as those who care for them.

Public health officials and Gov. Tim Walz have been monitoring the pandemic in Minnesota, at some points shutting down businesses and incrementally

allowing them to reopen.

The archdiocese also has been taking incremental steps toward pre-pandemic norms since public Masses were suspended March 18. Archbishop Bernard Hebda issued a directive April 1 that celebrating Mass outdoors was a possibility if the faithful continued to practice social distancing, but such Masses could not include public distribution of Communion.

Indoor Masses returned with up to 10 people in the church May 18, but not all parishes participated. By May 27, public Masses could be held for up to 25% church capacity, or up to 250 people, and

by June 10, attendance could reach 50% capacity, up to 250 people.

On July 27, Archbishop Hebda said that parishioners, when at church and other church gatherings, should take into consideration Walz’s July 24 mask mandate for indoor public places.

In addition to guidance for distribution of Communion, the Sept. 4 memo from Father Margevicius covered four other topics: uEffective Aug. 29, per the Minnesota Department of Health, long-term health care facilities with no active COVID-19 cases in the past 28 days can allow non-essential personnel to visit. Each facility decides if it will allow nonessential personnel, and if so, who that would be. Some facilities meeting PLEASE TURN TO COMMUNION ON PAGE 13

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

PAGETWO NEWS notes

$200

The cost to have a loved one’s cremated remains interred at The Catholic Cemeteries’ Resurrection Cemetery chapel mausoleum in Mendota Heights in a special Bringing Them Home committal service Oct. 24. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will lead the service, which is held in recognition that costs or other considerations might have prevented families from interring their loved ones. Remains will be accepted from Catholic families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, or have held onto remains for five years or longer.

Arrangements for cremated remains must be made at the Resurrection Cemetery office no later than Oct. 2. Because of the pandemic, the service will not be open to the public, but it will be taped and placed on the Cemeteries’ website, catholic-cemeteries.org. For more information, contact the Cemeteries’ director of LifeTransition Ministries, Sister Fran Donnelly, at 651-255-0537.

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PRAYERS FOR LEBANON Pope Francis and Maronite Father Georges Briedi hold a Lebanese flag as they pray for the country — following an explosion in Beirut Aug. 4 — during the pope’s weekly general audience at the Vatican Sept. 2. Father Briedi, a member of the Congregation of Lebanese Maronite Missionaries, was escorted to the front of the crowd at the end of the audience to stand alongside Pope Francis. The pope then reminded people gathered in the courtyard or watching on television about the massive explosion at the port of Beirut that killed at least 180 people, wounded 6,000 and displaced as many as 300,000 others from their homes.

The date in September materials for the Archdiocesan Synod will be available free on a new app. Download the myParish app and search for “Archdiocesan Synod” to connect. The archdiocese is offering a five-part virtual series on praying with Scripture, led by Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens. A new video will be available on the app each week beginning Sept. 13 and a Prayer Companion with guided reflections will accompany the videos (see story on page 5). The series will be followed by a five-part virtual retreat beginning Oct. 18 on Healing and Hope. The materials will also be available via email. Learn more at archspm.org/synod.

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The number of Holy Land parishes helped by the annual Pontifical Good Friday Holy Land Collection, moved this year from a traditional Good Friday collection to Sept. 13 because of COVID-19 impact. Pope Francis approved the move, which falls one day before the Sept. 14 feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The collection helps maintain sacred places and shrines in the Holy Land, supports Catholic schools, provides charity for the poor, and funds pastoral and religious education in 29 Holy Land parishes. Also, in these times of crisis, the collection provides humanitarian aid to refugees. Contributions to the effort also can be made online at centerformission.org.

$100,000

The amount the OSV Institute awarded Catholic Sprouts, an apostolate for Catholic families founded by Nancy Bandzuch, a parishioner of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Delano.

Catholic Sprouts was one of 12 finalists and, ultimately, three 2020 Innovation Challenge winners. The apostolate is being recognized for its Domestic Church Project, a sixweek, in-home experience to help Catholic parents make their home a domestic church.

Bandzuch founded Catholic Sprouts in 2018 to help Catholics fulfill their role as the primary educators of their children, and to build and lead their own domestic church.

Catholic Sprouts’ free daily podcast is available via catholicsprouts.com. The OSV Institute is a project of Our Sunday Visitor, based in Huntington, Indiana. The OSV Innovation Challenge is a project of OSV Institute and Catholic Creatives, a movement of Catholic artists, filmmakers and other creative thinkers.

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DAMAGED CHURCH A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is seen outside of St. Pius X Church in Ragley, La., Sept. 1, with signs of damage from Hurricane Laura in the background. Days after the hurricane pounded southwest Louisiana and damaged dozens of churches, including St. Pius X, in the Diocese of Lake Charles, eight members of a priests’ support group came to the diocese to distribute donated water, food, soft drinks, paper goods, diapers, canned goods, ice and gasoline. The relief help also included hundreds of hot meals — mostly jambalaya and red beans and rice — cooked by parishioners of Annunciation in Bogalusa and passed out to more than 1,000 cars lined up for donations. “It’s simply the gift of the priesthood — people being generous to one another,” said Father Jeffrey Starkovich, spokesman for the Lake Charles Diocese and pastor of St. Pius X. “In a very real way, I was moved by the gift of the priesthood, because the priests brought the message to the people, and the people responded. It’s just the beauty of the priesthood.”

REDISCOVER:Hour On the show that aired Aug. 28, Rediscover:Hour host Patrick Conley interviews Roger Vasko, president of the St. Joseph’s Business Guild. Also appearing is the new president of the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence, Brian Ragatz. And, Catholic wedding photography duo, Katzie and Ben Photography, share about the importance of creative art within our faith. Listen each week on Fridays at 9 p.m., Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 2 p.m. on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. Find past shows at rediscover.archspm.org.

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The Catholic Spirit is published semi-monthly for The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Vol. 25 — No. 17 MOST REVEREND BERNARD A. HEBDA, Publisher TOM HALDEN, Associate Publisher MARIA C. WIERING, Editor-in-Chief JOE RUFF, News Editor

The number of Minnesota-based Catholic nonprofit organizations that recently reported a ransomware attack. Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation said they use the same database service provider, Blackbaud Inc., and it experienced data breaches that impacted nonprofits it serves across the globe. Catholic Charities and CSAF said no credit card or bank account information was compromised. But information accessed may have contained names and contact information, and a relationship history with Catholic Charities and CSAF, such as donation dates and amounts. Working with forensics experts and law enforcement, the vendor prevented full system access and implemented additional changes to protect data. Catholic Charities and CSAF encouraged people with questions to contact them.

Anyone noting suspicious activity or suspected identify theft also can notify authorities such as the Federal Trade Commission and state attorney general’s office.

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The number of Hail Marys in the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, a devotion promoted by Matt Wiederkehr before his death last year at age 90 on Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of Mary. A parishioner of St. Genevieve in Centerville, Wiederkehr sought to spread the devotion through a Facebook page, The Rosary Guy. Marking a year since Wiederkehr’s death, Archbishop Bernard Hebda prayed the special rosary with Wiederkehr’s daughters, Donna and Denise, on The Rosary Guy’s livestream Sept. 8.

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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 3

FROMTHEARCHBISHOP ONLY JESUS | ARCHBISHOP BERNARD HEBDA

Engaging in faith-filled, civil public discourse

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ecently, I had the opportunity to participate in one of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Community’s Tegeder Talks. As explained to me, the Tegeder Talks are held periodically to remember a former pastor of the parish, Father Michael Tegeder, by continuing his “legacy of encouraging adult conversations about vital topics.”

Back in February, not long after the Lutheran and Catholic bishops of Minnesota had published a joint message, Resettlement Policy: Create a Welcoming Society, Not More Barriers, for Refugees, the organizers of the Tegeder Talks invited Bishop Ann Svennungsen, the ELCA bishop of Minneapolis, and me to offer a joint presentation concerning what Lutherans and Catholics can do to create a welcoming society for migrants and refugees in Minnesota.

As initially envisioned, the event was to have been an in-person gathering at which participants would have first heard from a member of the local refugee community, who would have concretely articulated the experience of coming to the Twin Cities as a refugee. Thereafter, Bishop Svennungsen and I would each have had ample time for a presentation on the topic, followed by refreshments and discussion among those who had come for the event.

When we were hit by the global pandemic, St. Frances Cabrini pivoted to a virtual event. The format changed in an attempt to hold the attention of virtual participants. A very capable emcee gently and capably led Bishop Svennungsen and me through a discussion of three topics and then broke the 150 participants into more manageable groups for a discussion of what they had heard. We then came back together and attempted to answer some of the questions

Participar en un discurso público civil y lleno de fe

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ecientemente, tuve la oportunidad de participar en una de las Charlas Tegeder de la Comunidad Católica St. Frances Cabrini. Como se me explicó, las Charlas de Tegeder se llevan a cabo periódicamente para recordar a un antiguo sacerdote de la parroquia, el padre Michael Tegeder, al continuar con su “legado de fomentar conversaciones entre adultos sobre temas vitales”.

En febrero, poco después de que los obispos luteranos y católicos de Minnesota publicaran un mensaje conjunto, Política de reasentamiento: Crear una sociedad de bienvenida, no más barreras, para los refugiados, los organizadores de las Tegeder Talks invitaron a la obispa Ann Svennungsen, obispo de la ELCA de Minneapolis y yo para ofrecer una presentación conjunta sobre lo que los luteranos y los católicos pueden hacer para crear una sociedad acogedora para los migrantes y refugiados en Minnesota.

Como se había previsto inicialmente, el evento debía haber sido una reunión en persona en la que los participantes habrían escuchado por primera vez a un miembro de la comunidad local de refugiados, quien habría expresado de manera concreta la experiencia de venir a las Ciudades Gemelas como refugiado.

A partir de entonces, el obispo Svennungsen y yo habríamos tenido tiempo suficiente para una presentación sobre el tema, seguida de un refrigerio y una discusión entre los que habían asistido al evento.

Cuando nos golpeó la pandemia mundial, St. Frances Cabrini se convirtió en un evento virtual. El formato cambió en un intento de mantener la atención de los participantes virtuales. Un maestro de ceremonias muy capaz nos guió gentil y hábilmente al obispo Svennungsen ya mí a través de una discusión

that had been raised by those attending the virtual event.

From my perspective, it was an engaging evening even in its virtual form. It seemed that there was an honest discussion of some complex issues, drawing on Lutheran and Catholic experience and social teaching. While there wasn’t time to address all of the questions that were raised by the virtual audience, the range of questions suggested that there had indeed been a thoughtful “adult conversation” about a “vital topic.”

Interestingly, the bulk of the comments that I have received subsequent to the evening have focused not on immigration but on ecumenism. Many have expressed surprise that the Lutheran and Catholic bishops of Minnesota have been meeting annually for more than 30 years and that the idea for the joint message on refugees last Christmas had been the fruit of one of those meetings.

Even the organizers of the Tegeder Talks seemed intrigued when Bishop Svennungsen spoke to them about our joint Together in Hope pilgrimage to Rome in 2018, with an encounter with Pope Francis as one of the highlights.

While there are certainly issues today that could divide Lutheran and Catholic bishops (we hold different positions, for example, on ordination and marriage), there is far more that unites us. Lutherans and Catholics alike are part of the one Body of Christ, into which we are all incorporated through baptism. As Pope Francis reminded us in the course of his visit to Sweden to mark with the leadership of the Lutheran World Federation the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we together need to ask God’s help so that “we can be living members, abiding in him,” and “together we may bring his word to the world, which so greatly needs his tender love and mercy.”

The joint statement signed on that occasion states that “By drawing close in faith to Christ, by praying together,

de tres temas y luego dividió a los 150 participantes en grupos más manejables para una discusión de lo que habían escuchado.

Luego nos reunimos e intentamos responder algunas de las preguntas que habían planteado los asistentes al evento virtual.

Desde mi perspectiva, fue una velada atractiva incluso en su forma virtual. Parecía que había una discusión honesta sobre algunos temas complejos, basándose en la experiencia y la enseñanza social luterana y católica. Si bien no hubo tiempo para abordar todas las preguntas que planteó la audiencia virtual, la variedad de preguntas sugirió que efectivamente hubo una “conversación adulta” reflexiva sobre un “tema vital”.

Curiosamente, la mayor parte de los comentarios que he recibido después de la noche se han centrado no en la inmigración sino en el ecumenismo. Muchos han expresado su sorpresa de que los obispos luteranos y católicos de Minnesota se hayan reunido anualmente durante más de 30 años y que la idea del mensaje conjunto sobre los refugiados la pasada Navidad haya sido fruto de una de esas reuniones. Incluso los organizadores de las Tegeder Talks parecieron intrigados cuando el obispo Svennungsen les habló sobre nuestra peregrinación conjunta Juntos en la Esperanza a Roma en 2018, con un encuentro con el Papa Francisco como uno de los aspectos más destacados.

Si bien hoy en día existen ciertamente problemas que podrían dividir a los obispos luteranos y católicos (tenemos posiciones diferentes, por ejemplo, sobre la ordenación y el matrimonio), hay mucho más que nos une.

Tanto los luteranos como los católicos somos parte del único Cuerpo de Cristo, al que todos estamos incorporados a través del bautismo.

Como el Papa Francisco nos recordó en el curso de su visita a Suecia para marcar con el liderazgo de la Federación Luterana Mundial el 500 aniversario de la Reforma, juntos debemos pedir la ayuda de Dios para que “podamos ser

by listening to one another, by living Christ’s love in our relationships, we, Catholics and Lutherans, open ourselves to the power of the Triune God. Rooted in Christ and witnessing to him, we renew our determination to be faithful heralds of God’s boundless love for all humanity.”

I am grateful that the Tegeder Talk gave me an opportunity to once again experience Bishop Svennungsen as a “faithful herald of God’s boundless love.”

In this contentious election year, I am wondering if we as a nation could not learn something from our sisters and brothers engaged in the painstaking work of ecumenism.

More often than not, ecumenists build on commonality as they address the difficult issues that divide believers. In the political arena, it sadly seems more common to shout ad hominem attacks at those with whom we disagree than to look for any common ground and engage with them in “adult conversation” about the important things that divide us as a country. In the aftermath of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, I’ve received comments from both sides, outraged that a Catholic cardinal would have prayed with Republicans and calling for the excommunication of a Catholic priest who delivered an invocation at the gathering of Democrats.

I am grateful that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, responding to the disappointing tone of the prevailing national discourse, launched a non-partisan initiative, Civilize It: Dignity Beyond the Debate, to give voice to Americans’ desire for civility in public discourse.

Information about that project, as well as other election resources, can be found at the website of the Minnesota Catholic Conference mncatholic.org/resources/election.

Let’s do our part to promote the respectful, civil, “adult conversations” that are of such importance as we prepare for the election.

miembros vivos, permaneciendo en él, “Y” juntos podemos llevar su palabra al mundo, que tanto necesita su tierno amor y misericordia”.

OFFICIAL

La declaración conjunta firmada en esa ocasión establece que “Acercándonos en la fe a Cristo, orando juntos, escuchándonos unos a otros, viviendo el amor de Cristo en nuestras relaciones, nosotros, católicos y luteranos, nos abrimos al poder de la Trinidad Dios. Arraigados en Cristo y testificando de él, renovamos nuestra determinación de ser fieles heraldos del amor ilimitado de Dios por toda la humanidad”.

Estoy agradecido de que la charla Tegeder me haya dado la oportunidad de experimentar una vez más al obispo Svennungsen como un “fiel heraldo del amor ilimitado de Dios”.

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

En este polémico año electoral, me pregunto si nosotros, como nación, no podríamos aprender algo de nuestras hermanas y hermanos comprometidos en la laboriosa labor del ecumenismo. La mayoría de las veces, los ecumenistas se basan en elementos comunes al abordar los problemas difíciles que dividen a los creyentes. En el ámbito político, lamentablemente parece más común gritar ataques ad hominem a aquellos con quienes no estamos de acuerdo que buscar puntos en común y entablar una “conversación adulta” con ellos sobre las cosas importantes que nos dividen como país. A raíz de las Convenciones Nacionales Demócrata y Republicana, he recibido comentarios de ambos lados, indignado de que un cardenal católico hubiera rezado con los republicanos y pidiendo la excomunión de un sacerdote católico que pronunció una invocación en la reunión de los demócratas.

Deacon John Belian, assigned to exercise the ministry of a permanent deacon at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. This is in addition to his current assignment at the Church of Saint John the Baptist in New Brighton.

Estoy agradecido de que la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los EE. UU., En respuesta al tono decepcionante del discurso nacional predominante, haya lanzado una iniciativa no partidista, Civilize It: Dignity beyond the Debate, para dar voz al deseo de los estadounidenses de cortesía en el discurso público. Se puede encontrar información sobre

Effective August 25, 2020 Reverend Marc Paveglio, resigned from the office of pastor of the Church of Corpus Christi in Roseville. Reverend Michael Goodavish has been serving as parochial administrator of the same parish since August 1, 2020. Father Paveglio continues to serve as pastor of the Church of Saint Rose of Lima in Roseville.

Effective September 1, 2020

Deacon Joseph Michalak, assigned to exercise the ministry of a permanent deacon at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Saint Paul. This is a transfer from his current assignment at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Saint Paul.

Deacon Rip Riordan, assigned to exercise the ministry of a permanent deacon at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis. This is a transfer from his current assignment at the Church of Saint Ambrose of Woodbury.

Effective September 13, 2020 Deacon Jerry Little, assigned to exercise the ministry of a permanent deacon at the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Savage. Deacon Little is returning to ministry after a leave of absence. ese proyecto, así como otros recursos electorales, en el sitio web de la Conferencia Católica de Minnesota mncatholic.org/resources/election.

Hagamos nuestra parte para promover las “conversaciones adultas” respetuosas y civiles que son de tanta importancia mientras nos preparamos para las elecciones.

4 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

LOCAL LOCAL

4 • The Catholic Spirit

March 9, 2017

The face ‘Angel’ of Mary among us

SLICEof LIFE

SLICEof LIFE

Leila Ambrus, a senior at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, stands next to a statue of Mary bearing her likeness St. Josepha of Carondelet Avis following blessing of theSister statue and the Allmaras, center, talks with Rose Carter, Baldwin Family Prayer Grotto Aug. 28 at left,school and Irene Eiden atAmbrus Peace House in the courtyard. was one south Minneapolis Feb. 27.

Sister Avis of four students selected to be models goes the center weekly for thetomulticultural statue.and Thevisits other frequent guests like Carter.

Eiden, of three are senior Elijah Blaylark and St. William in Fridley, is a lay consociate recent graduates JunFen Freihammer of the Carondelet Sisters.

Peace Brother House is and Mathias Goddard.

Christian a day shelter for theuppoor Jerome Cox came withand thehomeless. idea for “It’sstatue, a real privilege to arts knowstudents these people the and visual and hear their stories,” Sister Avis said. “I from the school helped with the project. could not survive on the streets like It was funded by the Baldwin family,they do. ThereDeLaSalle are so many gifted people longtime supporters, including here.”

Said Carter of Sister Avis: “She’s Pat Baldwin, a 1953 graduate of the an angel.

She hides her wings under school, and his wife, Sandy, who arethat sweatshirt. is an angel.”

Catholic andShe livetruly in Brainerd.

Ambrus Davethe Hrbacek/The sees statue as aCatholic way of Spirit leaving her own legacy. “I’m excited I’m going to be part of DeLaSalle forever,” she said.

“It feels like a big honor because of National Catholic Sisters Week is and the everything the statue represents March 8-14. officialfamily component of faith that theAn Baldwin has. I want Women’s History her Month and and make to really embody (Mary) headquartered Catherine University sure that I haveata St. good impact in the in St. Paul, community.” the week celebrates women DeLaSalle religious and their contributions to the Church and society. View local events, including two art exhibitions, at www.nationalcatholicsistersweek.org.

Celebrating sisters

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 5

Ready to up your prayer game?

Synod’s ‘Praying with Scripture’ series launches Sept. 13

DEEPEN YOUR PRAYER The first “Praying with Scripture” video will be available Sept. 13. Subsequent videos will be posted each Sunday. Videos will also be streamed on Facebook and YouTube at 7 p.m. each Tuesday for the duration of the five-week series. The videos and resources can be accessed in two ways: • Download the myParish app and search for “Archdiocesan Synod.”

• Or, sign up at https://eva.us/archspm-fall2020 for weekly emails during the fall series and receive links to the videos, a prayer outline and prayer companion.

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit Bedtime prayers, grace before meals, quiet time before Mass. For many Catholics, prayer is woven into daily and weekly routines, and ebbs and flows depending on the challenges and blessings of life.

Nonetheless, throughout Prayer and Listening Events held from September 2019 to March 2020 in preparation for an Archdiocesan Synod, Archbishop Bernard Hebda repeatedly heard Catholics ask for guidance in improving their prayer lives.

In response, Archbishop Hebda is inviting Catholics to take part in a fivepart virtual series called “Praying with Scripture,” beginning Sept. 13. Through videos and written materials, participants will learn how to pray with passages from the Bible.

Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, chairman of the Synod Executive Committee, said participants in the “Praying with Scripture” series will gain tools to help them encounter the love of Christ more powerfully in Scripture.

“It’s a practical way to learn to pray with Scripture using all of the faculties of the soul, including the imagination,” he said. “The goal is to help them develop a daily prayer life that leads to deeper union with God.” The series has three components: five videos, talk outlines with discussion questions, and prayer companions.

Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Cozzens teach the series, and videos will include testimonials from Catholics throughout the archdiocese. For those who would like to follow the series in a group with family or friends, talk outlines with discussion questions will be provided for each talk.

In addition, 25 prayer companions will

TOM HALDEN | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Lekenka Beja, right, a parishioner of St. Peter in Forest Lake, is filmed speaking about prayer with Annie Smaron of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ communications office for “Praying with Scripture,” a five-part virtual series launching Sept. 13 as part of the pre-Synod process. Featuring talks from Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the series aims to help Catholics develop a stronger prayer life. be provided for use in prayer throughout the five-week series, each containing a Scripture passage with a guided reflection.

The videos and materials will be translated and provided in Spanish.

Following the Sept. 13 series premiere, new videos will be posted on the following Sundays. Each week’s video, between 45 and 60 minutes long, will also be streamed on the archdiocese’s YouTube channel and Facebook page on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. during the five-week series. The videos will be accessible via archspm.org/synod.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the formal Synod consultation process was pushed back one year to 2021-2022. The Parish Consultation with small groups will occur at every parish during fall 2021, a Deanery Consultation will take place in winter 2022, and the Synod Assembly will take place Pentecost weekend in June 2022.

Therese Coons, Synod director, said rescheduling the process created new opportunities this year to provide

resources requested in the Prayer and Listening Events, including the “Praying with Scripture” series. A separate, fivesession virtual retreat on healing and hope begins in October.

The Synod process is designed to help Catholics discern where the Holy Spirit is leading the local Church, Bishop Cozzens said. He hopes those participating in the process will grow in their prayer lives, so that the whole local Church will be led

by God and not just natural wisdom.

“In prayer, we learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit, not just our own human spirit — and there is a difference,” he said.

Interspersed throughout the video lessons are Catholics of different ages, backgrounds and ethnicities describing prayer and their prayer lives, how it has transformed them and impacted their lives, said Yen Fasano of St. AnneSt. Joseph Hien in Minneapolis and a member of the Synod Executive Committee and Synod Prayer Team.

“They represent all the features of

Weekly themes: •S ept. 13 Prayer is a personal relationship with God • Sept. 20 How to listen to God in our hearts •S ept. 27 Conversation with God: acknowledge, relate, receive, respond •O ct. 4 Discernment of spirits: consolation and desolation • Oct. 11 Overcoming obstacles our beautiful Church,” she said of the speakers. Some describe a strong encounter with Jesus or God the Father, or the power of prayer and how it impacted their lives, she said.

“It was a huge task because it required people to be vulnerable,” Fasano said, “and it was beautiful because people were really open and shared their hearts.”

Fasano said hearing people describe their prayer experiences was very powerful. “(Some) moved me to tears, to be honest, because you saw how the Holy Spirit spoke through them,” she said.

“You realize how beautiful the relationship and the encounter is with Christ that people get to experience, and then you realize all of the beauty, the wisdom you’re able to extract from them to learn how to better your prayer life and relationship,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a deeply moving prayer series.”

MCC aims to help voters make informed decisions ahead of election

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit Suzanne Bartels, a parishioner of St. Paul in Ham Lake, is deep into planning ways to help her fellow Catholics become better informed about political issues and candidates. After all, the Nov. 3 election is fast approaching.

Back in 2016, Bartels made a video for a parish parents’ group that referred to voting-related resources available to parishioners. They included those from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota. Her parish also posted information on bulletin boards and held five “‘Faithful Citizenship’ study circles” that summer to consider the U.S. bishop’s document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”

Bartels, who has a passion for religious freedom, said that information can empower parishioners to stand up for what they believe.

“I think as baptized Catholics, we’re called to invest that time and energy to form our conscience with these Catholic principles,” she said.

That’s why the work of the MCC is so important, “so we know what the themes of Catholic social teaching are,” she said. “Then we can act on them, especially in voting.”

In 2016 — the year of the previous presidential election — her parish used an election novena from the MCC website as one way to engage parishioners in that year’s election. The link to the election novena MCC developed is already posted on the parish website.

The novena covers nine policy areas, from religious liberty to life and bioethics, and from marriage and family life to health care. It includes prayers and reflection, and “discernment questions” that help voters consider candidates’ positions on important topics. For example, on life and bioethics: “Where does the candidate stand on the need to enact legislative limits on abortion?” “Where does the candidate stand on reducing practices that destroy innocent human life, such as assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, gun violence and wars of aggression?”

Essential to discernment is prayerful reflection, said Katherine Cross, MCC communications manager.

Bartels’ parish is considering hosting a candidate town hall this fall. The MCC website offers guidance on planning, conducting and promoting that type of event.

Cross encourages every parish to consider hosting a town hall for their state legislative candidates.

“Hosting a town hall not only gives people in the pews the chance to get to know where candidates stand on issues of life, dignity and the common good, but it is also an opportunity for each of us as Catholics to let candidates know that these issues matter to us,” she said.

The website also includes a link to a two-page handout that provides guidelines for parish and Church organizations’ political activity — types permitted and prohibited. It can be downloaded and copied as handouts or distributed with bulletins.

A link to the secretary of state’s website helps voters find their polling location, view which candidates and issues are on the ballot, and more.

The key to Catholics preparing for election day begins with forming one's conscience before even considering who is running for office, Cross said. The U.S. bishops, in their document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” linked from the MCC website, remind every Catholic that failing to form one’s conscience in the light of the truths of the faith and moral teachings of the Church can lead to making erroneous judgments, she said.

Voting is important, Cross said, but she advises Catholics to keep a certain detachment from the election results.

“Politicians are not saviors,” she said. “We only have one savior and it is Christ the Lord. Regardless of outcome, our responsibility of faithful citizenship in the public arena remains the same the other 364 days of the year. This is the only way to build up his kingdom, instead of what may only build up an earthly kingdom.”

To view MCC’s election resources, visit mncatholic.org/ resources/election

LOCAL

6 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SPETEMBER 10, 2020

UST student collects Boxes of Joy for children in need

By Debbie Musser For The Catholic Spirit Josh Mounsey knows firsthand the challenges faced by those living in undeveloped countries.

The 21-year-old is from St. Vincent and The Grenadines, a small island nation in the Caribbean where many residents live in poverty. Now a freshman at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in environmental studies and political science, Mounsey has not forgotten about those less fortunate than himself as he leads an effort to pack 5,000 boxes of goods for impoverished children throughout the world.

Mounsey began his studies at UST last spring after a long journey. Raised by a single mother, he focused on reaching his goal of coming to the U.S. for educational opportunities, working more than two years in aviation security at his country’s international airport while running a side business selling fruits and vegetables to hotels.

Now Mounsey is focused on his goal of bringing 5,000 Christmas boxes filled with school supplies, toys and essentials such as soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes to children in developing countries through Cross Catholic Outreach’s Box of Joy ministry.

“I was raised Catholic, to keep that close connection to God and to help others,” Mounsey said. “There were students in my school who didn’t have the school supplies and other resources to perform their tasks properly, so I know that for them, getting a Box of Joy Christmas gift is like a dream come true.”

Casey Gordon is program manager at UST’s Center for the Common Good, which connects students, faculty and staff at the university with community engagement opportunities. She first met Mounsey shortly after the protests and riots that took place in

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Josh Mounsey, a freshman, holds a Box of Joy Sept. 1 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He and other volunteers are working through Cross Catholic Outreach to collect items for children in need in developing countries. the Twin Cities following the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African American who died after being held down by the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer.

“He seemed incredibly passionate and determined to do something in his community to bring people together,” she said. “Josh seemed interested in starting something of his own, and I understood this desire to jump in head first. But we talked about looking around to find people who are already doing the work. …

Joining others in solidarity can be more impactful than starting out on your own.”

Mounsey took Gordon’s advice and began researching Catholic nonprofit organizations. He came across Cross Catholic Outreach, a Florida-based global relief and development nonprofit founded in 2001, and its Box of Joy initiative.

Last year, through the efforts of Catholic parishes, schools and groups across the United States, Cross Catholic Outreach collected and delivered gift-filled Boxes of Joy to 75,797 children in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Grenada, the Bahamas and Guatemala.

Mounsey and five volunteers have distributed just over 1,000 empty Boxes of Joy, primarily in Roseville, where Mounsey lived before moving to UST’s campus this fall. Recipients are asked to fill the boxes and return them to St. Cecilia in St. Paul, Mounsey’s parish, by the end of September. The boxes will then be picked up and loaded onto a flight to Cross Catholic Outreach in Florida.

“I’m so impressed by Josh and everyone I’ve talked to in his group for taking this on,” said Erika Kvak, Cross Catholic Outreach development officer. “It’s wonderful knowing we have young adults who want to be a part of something bigger and take care of others. These are the young adults that are going to make a difference.”

Thach Nguyen, 23, a UST junior majoring in electrical engineering, is helping Mounsey with distributing the Boxes of Joy throughout the community.

“I met Josh at an international student orientation session,” Nguyen said. “We often discuss problems that exist in today’s world, and I helped him brainstorm ideas for his ‘togetherness initiatives,’ which led to the Box of Joy project.”

Mounsey, who hopes to start his own nonprofit someday, has set an ambitious goal of collecting 5,000 Boxes of Joy before November.

Mounsey can be reached at Moun8237@stthomas.edu.

For more information on Box of Joy, go to crosscatholic. org/box-of-joy.

Archbishop Hebda, Lutheran bishop discuss welcoming refugees, migrants In a virtual format with about 150 people, Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Lutheran Bishop Ann Svennungsen Aug. 31 discussed scriptural and faith traditions that undergird both Christian denominations’ call to welcome migrants and refugees.

From the experience of the Israelites in Egypt to the Holy Family fleeing Herod’s rage, the scriptural basis for Church teaching about migrants and refugees is clear, said Archbishop Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“Jesus’ human experience is formed

from that as well, so it’s not surprising that when we hear the Lord speak about how we are to respond to the stranger, that we are responding to him,” Archbishop Hebda said.

Catholic tradition includes encyclicals such as Pope Leo XII’s “Rerum Novarum” in 1891, with its approach to social and economic justice and meeting the needs of refugees, Archbishop Hebda said. Pope Francis has highlighted the plight of migrants and refugees as well, he said.

Catholic tradition also makes clear that there is a right to migrate to sustain life and the life of families, as well as the right of nations to regulate their borders and control immigration, so long as that

is accomplished with justice and mercy, the archbishop said.

Agreeing with the archbishop, Bishop Svennungsen, of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, also encouraged treating each person with dignity and each nation doing its fair share in a global responsibility to welcome migrants and refugees. Bishop Svennungsen said children and families need special attention, and no one should face discrimination based on race or religion.

The two bishops were guests of St. Frances Cabrini in Minneapolis, which invited them as part of its Tegeder Talks series honoring its late pastor

Father Mike Tegeder, who died in 2016 and expressed to a Cabrini colleague his hope that if he left any legacy, it would be that of encouraging “adult conversation about vital things.”

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the bishops’ discussion was moved online, and those participating at one point were broken into small, online groups to discuss the topic. The bishops also addressed ways people can ease fear and hostility and help create a welcoming society for those uprooted from their homelands, particularly in light of the global pandemic and economic crisis.

To view the bishops’ presentation, go to cabrinimn.org/tegeder-talks.

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 7

NATION+WORLD St. Damien’s relatives speak up against criticism of saint’s statue in U.S. Capitol

By Patrick Downes Catholic News Service Upset by the suggestion raised by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, that St. Damien was a white supremacist colonizer, two of the saint’s Belgian relatives, representing his extended family, wrote her an open letter Aug. 20.

“Like many Belgians — fellow countrymen of Damien, who in 2005 elected him as ‘Greatest Belgian’ for his achievements at the other side of the world — we got a shock when reading in the newspaper that you chose, amongst the 102 statues in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, the one of our relative, Father Damien, as a ‘typical example of white colonialism, patriarchy and white supremacist culture,’” the letter said.

Father Damien, a missionary of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, was assigned to the Hawaii mission in 1864.

He spent the last 16 years of his life caring for the victims of Hansen’s disease, or leprosy, who were permanently quarantined in Kalaupapa, Molokai.

He died of the disease in 1889 and was canonized a saint in 2009.

The letter was signed by Rob Van den Broeck and Herman Van Roost, chairman and representative of the Father Damien family association, respectively. Both are descendants of daughters of Father Damien’s brother Gerard de Veuster.

They said they would send the letter to newspapers in Belgium and the United States and provide additional background information about St. Damien and his statue.

Descendants of St. Damien’s 10 nieces and cousins, the children of his brothers Leonce and Gerard De Veuster, are all part of the Father Damien Family Association.

Ocasio-Cortez on July 31 said: “Even when we select figures to tell the stories of colonized places, it is the colonizers and the settlers whose stories are told — and virtually no one else. This is what patriarchy and white supremacy culture looks like!”

“Check out Hawaii’s statue,” she said, without mentioning Hawaii’s second statue of King Kamehameha I. “It is Father Damien. This isn’t to litigate each and every statue, but to point out the patterns that have emerged among the totality of them in who we are taught to deify in our nation’s Capitol: virtually all men, all white, and mostly both.”

The New York congresswoman said that a better choice would have been Queen Liliuokalani.

The queen had presented Father Damien with the Royal Order of Kalakaua, a high honor, for his work among the Hawaiians with leprosy.

Upon conferring the commendation she wrote: “I desire to express to you my admiration of the heroic and distinguished service you are rendering to

CNS

A sculpture of St. Damien of Molokai is seen at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in this 2017 file photo. the most unhappy of my subjects; and to pay, in some measure, a public tribute to the devotion, patience and unbounded charity with which you give yourself to the corporal and spiritual relief of these unfortunate people, who are necessarily

deprived of the affectionate care of their relations and friends.”

The letter writers did not claim any authority to decide who should represent the 50th state in Statuary Hall but stressed that “nobody other than the Hawaiians themselves have the privilege to judge whether Damien still deserves to be their first representative in the Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, or to prefer a native Hawaiian queen: not our family association, but also not a U.S. representative from New York!”

The family members also pointed out that the “final Hawaiian choice for Damien in 1965 was very thorough, with the widest possible popular support, with opposing consideration of all counterarguments and without any exclusion of female native Hawaiian personalities.”

Others in the running when Father Damien was picked in 1965 to represent Hawaii included native Hawaiians Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, King Kamehameha I, who was also chosen, Bernice Pauahi Bishop and the early Hawaiian Christian Henry Opukahaia.

The writers expressed gratitude to Ocasio-Cortez “for reviving the worldwide attention for our famous relative. Your perfect sense of timing in this COVID-19 era allows us to explain his achievement like never before. Now the U.S. Capitol in Washington will receive visitors who come exclusively to salute the statue of Father Damien.”

Pope: Jubilee for the Earth a time for restoring bond with God, creation

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service The exploitation and plundering of the Earth’s resources at the expense of the poor and vulnerable cry out for justice and the forgiveness of debts, Pope Francis said.

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation Sept. 1 and the Season of Creation, which runs through Oct. 4, the pope said the observance is a time to renew, repair and restore humanity’s broken relationship with God and his creation.

“It is a time for restorative justice.

In this context, I repeat my call for the cancellation of the debt of the most vulnerable countries, in recognition of the severe impacts of the medical, social and economic crises they face as a result of COVID-19,” he wrote.

Since 2020 included the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the ecumenical team organizing the Season of Creation chose “Jubilee for the Earth” as this year’s theme.

In the Bible, the pope noted, a jubilee was a “sacred time to remember, return, rest, restore and rejoice.”

As a time of remembrance, he said, the day of prayer and the Season of Creation should call to mind “creation’s original vocation to exist and flourish as a community of love.”

“We exist only in relationships: with God the creator, with our brothers and sisters as members of a common family and with all of God’s creatures within our common home,” the pope wrote.

The call for a jubilee for the Earth, he said, is a call for repentance and

for restoring harmony with God by taking care of “our fellow human beings, especially the poor and the most vulnerable.”

“We have broken the bonds of our relationship with the Creator, with our fellow human beings, and with the rest of creation,” the pope wrote in his message.

He also said it was time to “heal the damaged relationships that are essential to supporting us and the entire fabric of life.”

“A jubilee is a time for setting free the oppressed and all those shackled in the fetters of various forms of modern slavery, including trafficking in persons and child labor,” he said.

Creation itself, he added, admonishes humankind “to return to our rightful place” as members and not masters of “this interconnected web of life.”

“The disintegration of biodiversity, spiraling climate disasters and unjust impact of the current pandemic on the poor and vulnerable: All these are a wake-up call in the face of our rampant greed and consumption,” the pope said.

Humanity, he said, must stop excessively consuming the Earth’s resources and “pushing the planet beyond its limits.”

“Our constant demand for growth and an endless cycle of production and consumption are exhausting the natural world,” the pope said. “Forests are leached, topsoil erodes, fields fail, deserts advance, seas acidify and storms intensify. Creation is groaning!”

The coronavirus pandemic, he added, “has given us a chance to develop new ways of living” and “has led us

POPE’S VISION OF ‘INTEGRAL ECOLOGY’ EXPLORED In a new book featuring his conversations with Pope Francis, Italian environmental activist Carlo Petrini said he hopes the published discussions will contribute to the groundwork laid out by “Laudato Si’.”

The book, titled “TerraFutura (Future Earth): Conversations with Pope Francis on Integral Ecology,” is meant to highlight the importance of the pope’s encyclical on the environment and its impact on the world five years after its publication in 2015.

“If we want to use human life as a metaphor, I would say that this encyclical is entering its adolescence. It has passed its infancy; it has learned to walk. But now comes the time of youth. I am confident that this growth will be very stimulating,” Petrini told journalists Sept. 8, presenting the book at the Vatican’s Sala Marconi.

In 1986, Petrini founded the Slow Food Movement, a grassroots organization that promotes the preservation of local food culture and traditional cooking to counteract the rise of fast food chains and food waste.

The activist and author told journalists that he

first spoke to Pope Francis when the pope called him in 2013, several months after his election.

The book features three conversations between Petrini and the pope from 2018 to 2020.

to rediscover simpler and sustainable lifestyles.”

Citing St. John Paul II’s assertion that corporate misconduct is a “new version of colonialism,” Pope Francis called for the protection of indigenous communities from business practices which “shamefully exploit poorer countries and communities desperately seeking economic development.”

“We must use this decisive moment to end our superfluous and destructive goals and activities, and to cultivate values, connections and activities that are life-giving,” the pope said.

The chairmen of two U.S. bishops’ committees said the bishops were united in prayer with Pope Francis and invited others “to increase efforts toward ecological conversion.”

In a conversation that took place May 30, 2018, the pope recalled the genesis of his encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” which he said began in 2007 during the Fifth Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops in Aparecida, Brazil.

Although many of the Brazilian bishops spoke passionately about “the great problems of the Amazon,” the pope admitted that at the time, he was often irritated by their speeches. Since then, he added, “much time has passed and my perception of the environmental problem has completely changed.”

The pope also agreed that many Catholics had the same reaction to his encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” so it was important to “give everyone time to understand it.”

“However, at the same time, we need to change our paradigms very quickly if we want to have a future,” he said.

— Junno Arocho Esteves

& H CARE

NATION+WORLD

8 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Bishop-elect of Duluth resigns following child sex abuse allegation The Catholic Spirit A priest slated to become the next bishop of Duluth has resigned due to an allegation of child sexual abuse in Rapid City, South Dakota, Church officials announced Sept. 7. Father Michel Mulloy, a priest of the Diocese of Rapid City, was scheduled to be ordained the 10th bishop of Duluth Oct. 1.

The Holy See announced Sept. 7 that Pope Francis had accepted Bishop-elect Mulloy’s resignation. The same day, the Diocese of Rapid City announced that on Aug. 7 the diocese received an allegation against the priest of sexual abuse of a minor in the early 1980s. According to the statement, Bishop Peter Muhich of Rapid City contacted law enforcement about the allegation, and Father Mulloy was directed to refrain from ministry.

An independent investigation commissioned by the diocese and reviewed by a lay-majority diocesan review board determined that the allegation warranted investigation under canon law, and Bishop Muhich informed the Holy See. “(Father) Mulloy received a summary of the specific allegation against him and submitted his resignation as Bishopelect of the Diocese of Duluth to the Holy Father, which has been accepted,” the statement said.

Pope Francis appointed Father Mulloy, 66, bishop-elect of Duluth June 19 following the Dec. 1, 2019, death of Bishop Paul Sirba at age 59. Father James Bissonette will continue to serve as the diocesan administrator of Duluth until Pope Francis appoints a new bishop for the diocese.

“We grieve with all who have suffered sexual abuse and their loved ones,” Father Bissonette said in a Sept. 7 statement. “I ask you to pray for the person who has come forward with this accusation, for Father Mulloy, for the faithful of our diocese, and for all affected. We place our hope and trust in God’s providence as we await, again, the appointment of our next bishop.”

Father Mulloy was ordained a priest for the neighboring Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1979 but primarily ministered in the Diocese of Rapid City. He officially became a priest of that diocese in 1986. He became its vicar general in 2017 and served as its diocesan administrator in 2019-2020 during an interim between bishops.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 lay state,” tweeted electoral commissioner Ciro Murayama.

Mexican politicians previously avoided public professions of faith and appearances with prelates.

HEADLINES u Sister McNamee, ‘one of the giants in Catholic education,’ dies at 89. Sister Catherine McNamee, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet and longtime Catholic educational leader, died Aug. 30. She was living at her order’s residence in St. Paul.

Sister McNamee, who was born in Troy, New York, and made her final profession of vows in 1965, dedicated much of her life to education. She was the first woman president of the National Catholic Educational Association from 1986 to 1996 and was president of St. Catherine University, a women’s university in St. Paul, from 1979 to 1984. Over the years, she also held a variety of other positions of leadership in Catholic education.

In 1987, she helped coordinate the meeting of St. John Paul II with U.S. Catholic educational leaders in New Orleans. At the gathering, the pope described U.S. Catholic education as “a gift to the Church and to the country” — a phrase that Sister McNamee often repeated throughout her presidency. During her tenure, NCEA convened the National Congress on Catholic Schools for the 21st century that gave rise to the Seton Awards, honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to Catholic education. She also established NCEA’s first communications office. She also led Catholic leaders in a meeting with President George H.W. Bush to advance school choice initiatives. u Pope will sign new encyclical in Assisi Oct. 3. The document will be titled “Fratelli Tutti” in Italian, and it will address the social, political and economic obligations that flow from a belief that all people are children of God and therefore brothers and sisters to one another. The encyclical is expected to echo many of the themes Pope Francis has been discussing in his general audience talks on Catholic social teaching in light of the pandemic: human fraternity, the equal dignity of all people, the preferential option for the poor, the universal destination of goods and the obligation of solidarity. Care for the environment and the virtue of peacemaking also are expected to be part of the encyclical. After Pope Francis signs the document on the eve of the feast of St. Francis, the text is expected to be published in a variety of languages the first week of October. u Mexican electoral body orders president to remove ad with papal reference. Mexico’s electoral authority ordered the president to remove a political ad that referred to Pope Francis and the Gospel. In an Aug. 31 decision, the National Electoral Institute’s complaints commission said the ad, which promoted President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s annual state-ofthe-nation address, violated rules regarding religious content.

The ad “strays from the obligatory religious neutrality of the

u Barred Belarusian archbishop says he has gotten legal advice about reentry. Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz said he had obtained legal advice about being barred from reentering Belarus and counted on Vatican help in correcting the illegal action against him. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz told Polish Radio in Bialystok Sept. 2 that he had often traveled abroad, with required permits, from his Minsk-Mohilev Archdiocese to attend religious events and conferences and had always been allowed back. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz, a Belarusian citizen appointed to Minsk in 2007 after serving as a bishop in Russia, was barred from crossing the border the day after his pastoral letter was read at churches. The letter warned of civil war, as security forces confronted demonstrators protesting the declared Aug. 9 election of President Alexander Lukashenko. The announcement of the election results led to massive street protests in multiple cities. Church leaders confirmed Catholic clergy and laypeople had been beaten and jailed during the protests. u U.S. bishops to meet virtually, not in person, in November.

Due to COVID-19, the U.S. bishops will conduct their annual fall general meeting virtually in November rather than meet in person as has been the bishops’ practice. The bishops had canceled a spring meeting set for Detroit in June due to the pandemic. The cancellation was the first time since the formation of the bishops’ conference in 1917 that a meeting of all bishops had been called off. The original dates for the fall meeting, which would have been held in Baltimore, were Nov. 9-12. No dates were announced in the Aug. 28 press release informing the public about the virtual meeting. u Profit over safety called ‘unjust’ in bishops’ Labor Day statement. Given the “somber” realities imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, for companies to put profits over safety is “unjust,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, in the U.S. bishops’ annual Labor Day statement. Even before the pandemic, “a significant number of Americans were trapped in low-wage jobs, with insecurity around food, housing and health care, and with little opportunity for savings or advancing in their career,” Archbishop Coakley said in the statement, issued Sept. 2. Archbishop Coakley quoted Pope Francis in his exhortation,”Evangelii Gaudium,” saying: “Today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills.’”

— Catholic News Service

Church of St. Patrick’s

Fall Festival in September Inver Grove Heights, MN The Church of St. Patrick’s Fall Festival will be the weekend of Sept.19-20

Saturday, September 19 - Sunday, September 20 JOIN THE

SATURDAY will feature food trucks, silent auction, pull tabs, and bingo, and those events continue Sunday.

Sister Act Challenge

SUNDAY’s activities will begin at 11:30 a.m. after Mass, and will include food trucks, kids’ games, and a bottle shoppe.

HOSPICE & HOME HEALTH CARE There will also be a CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW HOSPICE & & “DOUBLE GIFT H O M SCOOP” E H E A LT H C AYOUR RE from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm.

The Wasie Foundation has given us a generous CHALLENGE Grant.

Over the next 8 weeks, they will match donations up to $10,000.

All activities on the parish grounds.

3535 72nd St., Inver Grove Heights

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 9

SPECIALREPORT

What to make of Black Lives Matter

Is BLM a statement? An organization? And how should Catholics engage?

By Jonathan Liedl For The Catholic Spirit

T

he Men’s Ministry group at St. Peter Claver in St. Paul is a reflection of the parish it’s affiliated with, historically founded as a faith home for the city’s African American Catholics.

Most of the group’s nine core members are Black, though men from other ethnic backgrounds participate, too. What unites them is their faith and friendship in Christ. It’s motivated them to gather on the second Saturday of the month for over 20 years to pray, read Scripture and discuss current events.

But even with this common foundation, members of the group found themselves taking different viewpoints on the topic of conversation at their July 10 meeting: Black Lives Matter.

Circled up in the parking lot of St. Peter Claver (their normal meeting place, Day By Day Café, wasn’t available due to COVID-19 restrictions), the six men in attendance, along with St. Peter Claver’s pastor, Father Erich Rutten, shared their perspectives on this social phenomenon, which, from NBA courts to suburbia yard signs, has become a ubiquitous presence amid the nation’s ongoing conversation about racism and reform following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody May 25.

For some, like 79-year-old Cedric Waterman, “Black Lives Matter” is a statement of fact that needs to be said in a country where, even after slavery and discriminatory laws have been abolished, the lives of Black people still seem to be undervalued.

“It’s a cry of ‘What about me?’ Does my life matter?” said Waterman, who believes BLM is also a rallying call for reforming the way law enforcement interacts with the Black community.

Others, like Bill Butchee, 71, don’t disagree that they and their fellow African Americans face discrimination, but they question whether Black Lives Matter is the proper vehicle for change, and express deep concerns about what they perceive as an anti-family, antiChristian ideological agenda associated with the movement.

“They say they’re about saving Black lives, but when you stand back and look at it from a panoramic view, there’s more to it than that,” he said.

The conversation that took place in the parking lot of St. Peter Claver is one that is playing out within the Catholic Church across the country. From Catholic Twitter to bishops’ statements, parish bulletins to dinner conversations, Catholics are trying to make sense of Black Lives Matter and what a faithful response looks like.

I

t’s a task made difficult by confusion over what exactly those three words refer to: a simple message, a broad movement, or particular organizations and agendas that take the name?

Historically, “Black Lives Matter” first emerged as #BlackLivesMatter, a social media hashtag that began to be used after the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death the year prior of Trayvon Martin, an African American teen. The phrase provocatively makes the case that, despite the end of slavery and legalized discrimination, Black people still face unequal treatment in the United States, particularly in interactions with law enforcement.

The statement “Black Lives Matter” has been criticized by some for elevating the concerns of one group, and is sometimes rebutted with “All Lives Matter.” But those who use the phrase often argue that, because of the ongoing effects of systemic racism in the U.S., the injustices faced by African Americans deserve special attention. Some have made this point by comparing it to the Good Shepherd’s preferential treatment of the lost sheep in the Gospel parable.

Black Lives Matter can also be understood as a broad movement calling for racial justice, but even in common usage there are some discrepancies in how the

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Black clergy walk together on 38th Ave. in south Minneapolis June 2 during a prayerful march to the spot where George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers May 25. Dozens of priests serving the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis joined them, including Archbishop Bernard Hebda. movement is understood. Wikipedia describes BLM as a “decentralized movement” that uses non-violent civil disobedience to protest “incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against Black people,” while the dictionary.com entry states that BLM is “a political and social movement …, emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for Black people campaigning against various forms of racism.”

BLM made the transition from online moniker to a boots-on-the-ground movement after the 2014 police shooting of Michael Davis in Ferguson, Missouri, when protests and demonstrations began to be carried out under the BLM name. BLM demonstrations in Minnesota have included a 2015 march to the State Fairgrounds, a protest at the Mall of America later that year, and a 2016 demonstration that shut down I-94 in St. Paul.

The number of BLM-associated demonstrations has surged since George Floyd’s death May 25. The New York Times reported that between 15 and 26 million people participated in protests through the month of June, which would make BLM the largest mass movement in American history. A Pew Research Center analysis showed that #BlackLivesMatter was used 47.8 million times on Twitter between May 26 to June 7 alone. Public approval has also spiked, with Pew reporting that two-thirds of Americans now say they support the movement.

Complicating matters is the fact that a number of organizations, many of them having no formal relationship with one another, include “Black Lives Matter” in their name. The most prominent of these is Black Lives Matter Global Network, the organization whose webpage people will reach if they visit blacklivesmatter.com. BLMGN was founded by three self-described “radical Black organizers,” Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. Garza is credited with first using the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” and the organization, which was officially founded in 2014 following the establishment of local Black Lives Matter chapters throughout the country, presents itself as the legitimate development of that first seed. “We’ve quickly gone from a phrase, to a hashtag, to a global network,” said Cullors in a 2019 video produced by BLMGN. But the Global Network’s agenda and ideology have raised concern among Catholics. Its stated commitment to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure” and “dismantle cisgender privilege” is listed on its website’s “What We Believe” page. As part of its

#WhatMatters2020 election campaign, BLMGN includes “LGBTQIA+” rights as one of its areas of focus.

And a 2015 interview reveals that two of the three founders are “trained Marxists,” suggesting an adherence to a worldview rooted in atheistic materialism that reduces political analysis to questions of group power.

When Catholics criticize “Black Lives Matter,” many of them have in mind Black Lives Matter Global Network, other BLM groups or even particular activists associated with the broader movement. For instance, activist and writer Shaun King, who has championed the BLM movement over the years, caused controversy in June when he tweeted that statues depicting Jesus as Caucasian “are a form of white supremacy” that were “created as tools of oppression,” and should be torn down. No particular BLM organization condemned his comments, nor is King clearly affiliated with any particular group.

W

hen it comes to Catholic engagement with Black Lives Matter, there’s a consensus among some leaders that distinguishing between the broader movement and problematic organizations that bear the name is a key place to start.

In comments submitted to The Catholic Spirit, Bishop Shelton Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, said that the phrase “Black Lives Matter” “fits within Catholic social teaching regarding the intrinsic value of each person as created in the image and likeness of God,” and “places before us this reality that Black lives have not always been afforded intrinsic and equal value.” Bishop Fabre, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, added that “it is entirely possible to give a positive response to the concept of Black Lives Matter … without being beholden to an organization with objectives that are in conflict with the Catholic faith,” and that the Church must always respond to social issues “through a Christian worldview.”

This perspective was shared in an essay by Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, published online July 27 by America, the Jesuit review. After first raising concern about Black Lives Matter Global Network and platforms and strategies “in direct contradiction to Church teaching,” Archbishop Lori presents an interpretation of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” grounded in the Catholic social teaching principles of human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.

PLEASE TURN TO BLM ON PAGES 10-11

SPECIAL 10 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT BLM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 “To be sure, the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ mean different things to different people,” writes the archbishop in his concluding paragraph.

“Nonetheless, those same words should resonate with us as Catholics and indeed with all those who embrace the principles of Catholic social teaching.

More than that, they should spur us on to action.”

It’s presumably with this type of understanding that practicing Catholics have participated in Black Lives Matter protests. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso attracted headlines — and the attention of the Holy Father — when he was photographed kneeling with a homemade “Black Lives Matter” sign at a June 1 demonstration; two days later, Pope Francis called to express his approval. On June 8, priests, men and women religious, and two auxiliary bishops joined with hundreds of lay faithful in Washington, D.C., in a Catholiccentered Black Lives Matter protest in front of the White House. And in Minnesota, Archbishop Bernard Hebda and dozens of priests serving in the archdiocese took part in a June 2 interfaith clergy march in response to George Floyd’s death, which, while not explicitly described as a Black Lives Matter event, could be counted as participation in the movement according to standards being used by sociologists and journalists.

Many Catholics who’ve taken part in BLMaffiliated events say the focus is simple: protesting the perceived unjustified use of lethal force by police against Black people, and calling for reform. The topics that concern other Catholics about Black Lives Matter — Marxism, transgender ideology and even support for abortion rights — don’t necessarily come up.

“I went to three (BLM) events here in the Twin Cities, I heard a lot of speakers,” said Bernard Brady, a theology professor at the University of St Thomas in St. Paul. “I don’t remember hearing anything other than calls for racial justice and changes through the police.”

At St. Peter Claver, Father Rutten considered spray painting “Black Lives Matter” on the plywood when the parish was boarded up during looting after Floyd’s death. He said the phrase is important to many of his parishioners as a powerful, succinct expression of a deeply held conviction, and that the agenda of particular problematic BLM groups “doesn’t get talked about in regular life.” He adds that he is sometimes concerned that Catholics “write off” the entire idea of “Black Lives Matter” on the basis of the actions of individual groups and activists, as a way to excuse themselves from asking difficult questions about race and privilege.

For Justina Kopp, 29, the Black Lives Matter sign in her yard ties seamlessly together with the Marian garden outside the window of the master bedroom and the St. Francis of Assisi statue by the front step.

“Mary and Francis defied a lot of societal norms,” said Kopp, a parishioner of Holy Family in St. Louis Park. “And that’s what this moment calls for.” Kopp said the combination of Catholic piety with a call for racial justice “paints a very complete picture” of her faith and the way she wants to witness to her neighborhood.

“To acknowledge that racism is evil, I think you have to be able to say ‘Black Lives Matter,’” said Kopp. For her, the three words signify a message, though she adds there’s a “good heart” in the movement.

The sign in Kopp’s yard is only one of many different versions of “Black Lives Matter” signs, which all include the phrase but have differences in branding and fonts. This is explained by the fact that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected every application to trademark “Black Lives Matter” it’s received since 2015 on the basis that the phrase is already in widespread use by several unconnected parties. Different entities are allowed to produce and sell items with BLM branding.

Recent rulings by different federal agencies also support the idea of BLM as a decentralized

movement. For instance, in a decision that allowed federal employees to display support for BLM on the grounds that the movement is nonpartisan, the Office of Special Counsel described BLM as “an umbrella term for a constellation of ideas, objectives and groups.

There is no ‘leader’ of the BLM movement.”

B

ecause of the lack of a centralized, legal structure, groups with the Black Lives Matter name are able to exist independently of each other. For instance, in Minnesota, there are several groups with “Black Lives Matter” included in their name, but none are among the 16 official chapters listed on the Black Lives Matter Global Network website. Black Lives Matter St. Paul, for instance, is independently operated by Todd Gramenz, 30, a Catholic who grew up on the East Side attending Sacred Heart parish. Gramenz founded BLM St. Paul in 2014 as part of what he says is a religious calling to “help my Black people.”

“I just had this passion to be like Jesus to come and help all the people who are suffering and cast out and worth nothing, deemed nothing,” said Gramenz, who’s also helped establish the East Side Enterprise Center to aid businesses in the area.

The group’s mission, as described on its affiliated website, blacklivesmattertc.com, is “to bring a halt to the unjust killing of African Americans at the hands of police.” Gramenz said his group does this by drawing attention to the issue, whether through demonstrating at the Minneapolis-hosted 2018 Super Bowl or running an informational booth at the Minnesota State Fair, but also by advocating for legislative change.

He also hopes to establish a Black Lives Matter Ministry project that will bring a message of racial healing to different places of worship.

Gramenz operates the Black Lives Matter St. Paul Facebook page, which has over 17,000 likes, but he’s received pushback from other BLM organizations, including a different organization named Black Lives Matter St. Paul, whose previous leader, Rashad Turner, claimed in 2015 that Gramenz was a “fraud” and not part of the official movement.

To be sure, Gramenz eschews some of the typical tactics and positions of other BLM groups.

For one, he said he’s defied criticism from BLM Minneapolis leadership who told him he couldn’t be running a BLM group because he wasn’t a “gay woman.” He also avoids some of the confrontational tactics of other organizations, which he said are run by “wicked people” more concerned about creating controversy than working for practical change.

While Catholics who visit Black Lives Matter St. Paul’s website may find viewpoints to which they object, Gramenz said his organization won’t embrace BLMGN’s agenda on gender ideology.

“I don’t fold to other pressure,” he said regarding the possibility of someone offering him funding in exchange for adopting positions on gender and sexuality similar to BLM Global Network. “My website won’t ever have that stuff on it. That’s not what I’m (fixing to) have on there. Not in a million years.”

F

or some, the opposition Gramenz has faced might suggest that the BLM movement is less decentralized than it’s often presented. That’s certainly the impression given by Darren Sand’s 2016 6,000-word exposé for BuzzFeed News, “What Happened to Black Lives Matter?” Sands paints a picture of a movement that, at that time, was simultaneously disorganized, but also tightly controlled from the top.

“Repeatedly, activists interviewed for this story described a culture inside the Black Lives Matter organization that suppresses dissent, or hints of any disagreement that could be considered divisive on the outside,” Sands wrote, before quoting a BLM activist who said, “You do what you’re told. There’s a tyrannical element.”

Black Lives Matter Global Network did not respond to multiple requests from The Catholic Spirit for an interview.

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CA

ABOVE Bill Butchee of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul has regular discussions about race and the Black Lives Matter movement with other members of the parish Men’s Ministry group. He said he has deep concerns about some of the ideological positions held by organizations within the movement.

RIGHT A woman expresses her emotions May 28 at the site where George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers May 25. Memorials and flowers were placed at the site, and prayer gatherings and protests held to draw attention to Floyd’s death and to call for police reform.

At stake for different activists and groups is funding and clout. As the most prominent figurehead of the Black Lives Matter movement, BLM Global Network is in position to receive and, in turn, disperse significant funding. The group has received more than 1.1 million individual donations at an average of $33 per gift since Floyd’s death, and recently announced the establishment of a $12 million fund to support the work of local affiliates.

But this pales in comparison to the funding received by the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of at least 50 (accounts vary) likeminded groups that include BLMGN. In 2016, for instance, M4BL received a reported donation of $100 million from the Ford Foundation and another $33 million from the Open Society Foundations, both donations managed by the Minneapolis-based Borealis Philanthropy, which has established the Black-led Movement Fund to help connect donors with racial justice organizations that share a similar set of ideological commitments.

M4BL’s ideological commitments are clear, many of them in stark contrast to a Catholic vision of human dignity. The group lists “affirm gender self-determination in all aspects of life from birth” as one of its demands, and condemns both religious exemption laws and the rolling back of Obama-era policies that required schools to treat students on the basis of their preferred gender identity. “Access to abortion” is highlighted as an essential policy in M4BL’s campaign to “End the War on Black Women.”

M4BL does not view these issues as periphery

DAVE H

to its understanding of ra interview with Inside Phi resource coordinator, Cha outside the group someti “pinch” of M4BL’s policy only reason you would th you believe that you have said, “and I can only chal Blackness and white supr

Black Lives Matter Glob publicly prominent dimen ideologically committed a position to significantly in movement, but even wha justice” might come to m

There are indications th be happening. When ask disagree with BLMGN’s p and gender can still contr Justin Terrell, who made serving as executive direc state-funded Council for Heritage, basically said th anti-racist if you aren’t pr Terrell, who has since bee director of the Minnesota equating the racism faced America to society’s perce understandings of gender

Journalists have also do between the old guard of who tend to be Christian conservative views on sex of activists, who are more their views.

LREPORT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 • 11

LEFT Black clergy gather to pray June 2 at the site in south Minneapolis where George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers May 25. Joining them were priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, including Fathers Joe Gillespie, fourth from right, Doug Ebert, Brian Park and Peter Williams.

ATHOLIC SPIRIT

DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

One local Catholic, who agrees with the significance of the expression “Black Lives Matter” but doesn’t want to indicate any support for BLMGN, found an alternative way to demonstrate her solidarity with Black victims of police brutality and her commitment to racial justice. Kathleen Kirsch, a theology teacher at St. Agnes School in St. Paul, hangs a self-made “Black Lives Are Priceless” sign on the front door of her St. Paul home.

“I wanted to say something clear and direct,” Kirsch said, adding that the message is inspired by the Church’s teaching on human dignity.

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HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

acial justice. In an ilanthropy, M4BL’s arles Long, said people imes tried to take only a y principles. “I think the hink that way is because e a superior solution,” he alk that up to antiremacist thought.”

bal Network is the most nsion of this well-funded, apparatus. That puts it in nfluence not only the at a term like “racial mean in social discourse.

hat this shift may already ked how Catholics who positions on sexuality ribute to racial justice, his comments while ctor of the non-partisan, Minnesotans of African hey can’t. “You can’t be ro-transgender,” said en hired as the executive a Justice Research Center, d by Black people in eived unacceptance of r and sexuality as fluid.

ocumented the rift f Black civil rights leaders, n and hold more xuality, and a new wave e secular and radical in

BOTTOM Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, kneels at El Paso’s Memorial Park holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign June 1. After “taking a knee” during that demonstration in solidarity with George Floyd, Bishop Seitz received a call from Pope Francis.

CNS

“I can’t tell you how many times I have said something about God, only to be quickly told that God is not real or that worshipping God is a form of white supremacy,” said Lex Scott, founder of Black Lives Matter Utah, in a recent story by Deseret News on the absence of Black churches in the BLM movement.

This growing convergence of national influence and secular ideology leads some Catholics to conclude that it’s best to avoid the Black Lives Matter movement altogether.

“We have to recognize, without being naïve, how language is being used and when you have to just come up with something else,” said a Black theologian who teaches at a national Catholic university, and requested anonymity for fear of losing her job for comments critical of BLM. “And now is certainly the time to come up with something else.”

This theologian, who says systemic racism is real, believes that the vision of human flourishing promoted by the most influential voices in the BLM movement is “fundamentally opposed in every way” to the Church’s, concerned more with amassing power than in living in accordance with God’s plan. Furthermore, she expressed concern that BLM provides cover for “broad leftist causes that are just trying to get under one banner, under a seemingly innocuous phrase,” to advance an agenda.

She believes it’s not enough to qualify participation in the movement by distancing oneself from BLMGN, because the terms of discussion have already been set up in a way that distorts reality, defined by “critical race theory” that emphasizes hard distinctions and power imbalances between racial groups as the interpretive key for social analysis, and underlies much of the current secular discourse on racial justice.

“The Church has entered a stage with someone else’s already articulated narrow selfconsciousness, that does not necessarily correspond to reality, already imposed upon us, and now we’re expected to speak within that discourse, and that is a zero-sum game,” she said.

Rather than speaking in those terms, which reduces the Church’s prophetic vision to a kind of naturalism, this theologian said the Church needs to speak its own language, and advised that Catholics look for ways to work for racial justice at a local level, instead of following the lead of a national movement.

“People who really believe in God and love him aren’t racists,” she said. “So, what the Church should be doing is to double down on the supernatural aspect of this. Without God, there is no justice, there’s no peace, there’s no mercy, there’s no respect, there’s no friendship, there’s no solidarity. There’s just blind activism.”

ill Butchee of St. Peter Claver said he isn’t convinced that BLM, at least the Global Network, cares too much about Black lives, given its unwillingness to address violent crime and the demise of families in the Black community, the latter of which he believes is the greatest contributor to disparities between Black and white people in America.

Still, he’s grateful that the ascendancy of Black Lives Matter has kickstarted a national conversation about discrimination, particularly about policing practices that target Black men, which he believes is a reality.

Father Rutten at St. Peter Claver said the fact that “Black Lives Matter” can refer to both a simple saying and a specific organization presents a challenge for Catholics, and leaves the movement’s ultimate impact and direction somewhat up in the air. But rather than avoiding it altogether, he believes Catholics should be a part of the conversation.

“The contribution Catholics can make is to be bold and say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and we can play a part in actually deciding how that narrative plays out,” he said, noting that this is a challenge whenever the Church tries to collaborate with secular entities to work for a particular good. “If we abandon it, and just let it go, then the organization Black Lives Matter will definitely … advance their own agenda.”

Ultimately, there might not be an easy answer to the question of how Catholics perceive and engage with the Black Lives Matter movement. And the witness of the Men’s Ministry group at St. Peter Claver suggests that there might be room for disagreement, as faithful Catholics prudently discern how best to apply their faith to a complicated, real-life scenario.

“That’s what our group does,” Cedric Waterman said. “It’s great to be able to have a difference of opinions, but it not to become a situation that keeps us apart. It’s important to be able to meet and discuss these things. Very important.”

12 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

HEALTH+WELLNESS

Stillwater teens step into action 22-mile pilgrimage ends with Mass at Cathedral Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

T

he Gospel passage read at weekend Masses Aug. 29 and 30 came to life on one of the most picture-perfect weather days of the summer.

Heeding the words of Jesus in Mathew 16, who commanded anyone who wishes to be his follower to “take up his cross,” teenagers from St. Michael and St. Mary parishes in Stillwater carried a 5-foot wooden cross for 22 miles Aug. 29, starting at St. Michael and ending at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. It was a prayer pilgrimage organized by Father Austin Barnes, parochial vicar of the two parishes, to pray for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic and for a good school year.

The 18 teens and a handful of adult chaperones, including Father Barnes’ mother, Cathy, arrived at the Cathedral after the nine-hour journey tired but satisfied with the accomplishment, resting on the steps for an hour before attending the 5:15 p.m. Saturday vigil Mass.

“I am pretty exhausted,” said Sarah Ostrom, who went on the walk with her older sister, Ellie. But, “it was definitely worth it. I really enjoyed it.”

A highlight for her was the four rosaries the group prayed during the walk, plus a Divine Mercy Chaplet, one of her favorite prayers. But, the best part came last, when she walked through the doors and into the Cathedral. Her family moved to the Twin Cities a year ago from Wichita, Kansas, and she was seeing the Cathedral for the first time. She called going inside for Mass “a beautiful way to end” the pilgrimage.

Father Barnes formalized the plan for a prayer pilgrimage several weeks ago, patterning the journey after one he had taken in 2016 with a group of young adults. They went on a longer pilgrimage, starting north of Stillwater in Scandia and walking 33 miles to the Cathedral. He also had done part of the Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2015.

“With COVID, there hasn’t been a whole lot of camps or retreats or anything this year,” he said. “I was thinking this would be … kind of a retreat.”

The day started out with a 6 a.m. Holy Hour at St. Michael, followed by a brief gathering outside the church, with Father Barnes sprinkling holy water on each person. He then asked for a volunteer to be the first one to carry the cross. Danny Valerius eagerly agreed.

Though he felt the extra weight, he also experienced “little bursts of grace from God.” “It got difficult near the end,” he said. “I felt close to him (Jesus). I knew he was by me, and I knew that he was helping me carry the cross and walking with me.

The burden was light with him there.”

A long walk while carrying a cross is exactly the way these teens were able to carry out the message Cathedral Rector Father John Ubel preached in his homily, which was based on the second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. It includes St. Paul’s admonishment, “Do not conform yourselves to this age.” Father Ubel asked the congregation what that statement meant, then used the pilgrimage as an example.

“Everything about our society now is for convenience sake,” Father Ubel said in an interview with The Catholic Spirit after Mass. “And so, this is very countercultural for young people to walk more than 20 miles for anything.”

He spent time with the group after Mass and heard one teen talk about how carrying the cross helped him forget about the pain in his feet he developed while walking. Father Ubel called that an example of “trying to be selfless.” He also noted that this was one of the few pilgrimage groups to come to the Cathedral since the pandemic closed down churches in March. He called the experience of having this group journey to the Cathedral “wonderful to see.” He also bantered with the teens in the courtyard after Mass, asking how many steps they had taken. One member of the group shot

ABOVE Cecilia deLeon, left, and Danny Valerius (carrying the cross) lead the way at the start of the pilgrimage from Stillwater to St. Paul Aug. 29. Behind them is St. Michael church, where they started the day at 6 a.m. with a Holy Hour.

LEFT Sarah Ostrom, right, walks over a bridge as the group makes its way from North St. Paul to the Cathedral, following the Gateway Regional Trail.

In front of Ostrom is Mari O’Malley.

PHOTOS BY DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

back with an answer: about 52,000.

The first steps came just after sunrise, and a cool breeze refreshed the walkers as they made their way through the streets of Stillwater, passing St. Mary church a few blocks into the pilgrimage. At the edge of town, they connected with the Brown Creek Trail and later the Gateway Regional Trail, and followed the Gateway all the way to St. Paul, where they passed the State Capitol and proceeded down John Ireland Boulevard with the Cathedral in sight. Along the way, they stopped at Rotary Park in North St. Paul for pizza and a brief reflection and blessing by the pastor of the two Stillwater parishes, Father Michael Izen.

Matt Trom went on the pilgrimage with two of his sons, Jonathan and Josh. The pandemic has given him more time at home, and he took full advantage of the opportunity to be with the middle two of his nine children.

“It was just a blessing to be able to spend time with my boys, but then also with all these kids,” he said. “It’s really an encouragement to see happy and holy kids just spending time with one another.”

Trom also had gone on the walk from Scandia with Father Barnes in 2016. On that one, he said people were “practically crawling” by the end of the 12-hour walk.

He took a cautious approach on this one, joining the

group about five miles in. He made sure to take some footsteps while holding the cross, which was a fruitful time for reflection about the meaning of the cross in the spiritual life.

“When I imagine carrying the cross, I always think of it as torture,” said Trom, 46. “And, that’s what it was intended to be. But, carrying the cross today was a joy.

And, in some respects, I think that’s what it was for Jesus, too, knowing that this was for us, this was for our salvation.”

Nearly everyone got a chance to carry the cross. Mari O’Malley, who walked with her twin brother, Peter, and another brother, Thomas, carried the cross at her waist rather than on her shoulders, but still walked away with a sense of how heavy it must have been for Jesus. She enjoyed the communal aspect of the pilgrimage, and had one simple takeaway: “It makes me want to pray more with my friends.”

Praying as a group is what Vianney Nguyen, youth evangelization and discipleship coordinator, had in mind when he joined with Father Barnes to organize the event. And, he called Father Barnes’ idea of having each teen carry the cross “the best part.”

“We’re called to take our own crosses, but then we’re also called to share the suffering together,” Nguyen said.

“We’re all united through that suffering to our Lord.”

HEALTH+WELLNESS

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 13

Pandemic affects not just physical, but also mental health

By Susan Klemond For The Catholic Spirit

CATHOLIC THERAPISTS UNITE

A

s COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc physically, even bringing death into some people’s homes, the shutdown this spring and the virus’ continuing effects also have impacted mental health.

As a result, more people in the Twin Cities area, including those who hadn’t previously experienced mental illness, have sought counseling assistance during the crisis by phone, online and — as restrictions lifted — in person, said several therapists and priests in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“This pandemic brought obviously physical ramifications for some folks who got sick but (also) a lot of fear and anxiety,” said Father Matthew Malek, a Conventual Franciscan priest and counselor at St. Bonaventure in Bloomington. “A lot of folks have lost or been reduced in their degree of employment, worried about their children, worried about perhaps relatives or friends that live in care facilities — big disruptions.”

The disruptions have caused isolation, stress, anxiety, substance abuse and other problems, especially for those already diagnosed with mental illness, therapists say. And while faith has been a support, not receiving the Eucharist and other sacraments as people try to avoid contracting or spreading the virus has contributed to depression, especially for the elderly.

Isolation has been a major stressor that has resulted in more gaming, sexual and chemical addictions, therapists say.

“The lack of human connection is causing such distress,” said Melissa Nichols, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Family Attachment and Counseling Center in Chaska who belongs to St. Hubert in Chanhassen.

“What I see is increased anxiety with adults, particularly because all their stuff has moved online.

They are becoming more scattered towards the end of the day, more depressed and so they’re really looking at how to have contact.”

When people feel isolated, they tend to ruminate about what’s wrong or scary in life, and fear can almost be crippling if they’re already diagnosed with chronic mental illnesses, said Father Malek, who has helped people understand that it’s OK to admit they’re having difficulties and to get support.

Without distractions to keep them from thinking about problems, Nichols said some of her clients who have experienced trauma are more prone to suicide.

Suicide is on the rise overall, noted Dan Stokman, a therapist and director of Novare Counseling Center in St. Paul, because “too much isolation, too many losses, too much stress on the system and for too long lead to a breakdown and the resulting feeling of despair.”

Almost 11% of American adults surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control in June said they had seriously considered suicide during the previous 30 days. By comparison, another government survey showed that just 4.3% had thoughts about suicide in 2017.

In treating clients who may or may not have suicidal thoughts, Nichols said, she often pairs trauma therapy with a type of counseling that involves the client inviting Jesus into the image of their memory for healing. She also sometimes uses prayer therapy.

Another problem affecting more people is anxiety, which feeds on uncertainty, especially when people

COMMUNION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 that status now permit pastoral care visits and Communion distribution on a more regular basis. uWalz’s July 24 executive order requiring facial coverings in public indoor places does not provide an

Mental health professionals who are Catholic are finding professional and spiritual support through a new MinneapolisSt. Paul chapter of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association, and at the same time they’re considering ways to offer their expertise to parishes and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The local chapter of the international association formed two years ago and so far, roughly 50 mental health clinicians have expressed interest. While the chapter normally meets quarterly at Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis, because of the pandemic, members will meet virtually this fall for reading and discussion groups.

The local chapter is part of the Greeley, Colorado-based association, which has more than 450 clinical, academic, student, clergy, religious and affiliate members who share a common interest in promoting the integration of the study and practice of mental health-related disciplines with the Catholic faith, according to its website.

While some efforts are on hold because of COVID-19, the local chapter plans to compile a therapist directory, using member survey results, that could be used for referrals. It also is considering how the membership could be available to the local Church.

Father Daniel Griffith, Our Lady of Lourdes pastor and archdiocesan liaison for Restorative Justice and Healing, serves as the chapter’s chaplain. iSTOCK PHOTO | LUCALORENZELLI

have a low tolerance for the unknown, said Stokman, a parishioner of St. Joseph in West St. Paul.

Being home together was good for some families, but for others, anxiety, stress and substance use increased the risk of problems, such as domestic violence, Father Malek said.

Anxiety caused by losing jobs and struggling to provide for families has affected rural parishioners at Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery, which includes St. Canice in Kilkenny and is clustered with St. Patrick in Shieldsville, said Father Tom Niehaus, the pastor.

“The stress that creates and talking with them, (parishioners have said,) ‘We don’t have the money to pay our bills. We don’t know what this is going to look like, we’re not even talking week to week, (but) day to day,’” he said.

As he’s counseled these and other parishioners mostly over the phone and suggested faith-related resources, Father Niehaus, who has a background in psychology, said he’s tried to “boost them up a little bit and point toward the Lord (so) they can find their strength in him.”

Along with fear of contracting the virus, seniors who may have had undiagnosed depression and a limited social life before the pandemic are impacted by not being able to attend Mass or receive visitors, Father Malek said.

When parishes stopped offering in-person Masses in March because of the shutdown, some Catholics felt isolated and anxious, Father Niehaus said. Those who haven’t yet returned to church continue to feel stress about not being with their faith community, he said.

Despite the problems, COVID-19 has enabled some people to recognize what’s most essential and given others a needed break from busy routines, sources said.

Recognizing the pandemic’s effects on mental health helps people check on others, Father Malek said.

“It isn’t oftentimes about offering solutions or

exception for churches or weddings, except for some populations, including children under age 2 and people with compromised health conditions. A bride and groom need not wear a mask when they exchange vows and rings, as they would be considered “presenters” at that time.

For more information about the Catholic Psychotherapy Association, visit its website at catholicpsychotherapy.org.

— Susan Klemond

ADVICE FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES Mental health experts offered the following tips for coping with stress related to COVID-19. u Accept that the situation is tough and might continue to be for a while. Reach out to friends, family, counseling and medical professionals if necessary. Mental health is as important as physical health. (Father Matthew Malek) u Seek connection with God. COVID-19 challenges can be numbing, so spend time with him. Meditate on God’s provision and protection through the psalms and Bible passages such as Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Dan Stokman) u Increase capacity to accept uncertainty through meaningful connections with others and prayer. (Dan Stokman) u Control thoughts by practicing gratitude. The mind is a battlefield. Wake up and think of three things to be thankful for. In the evening, reflect on the day, identify three things that went well and thank God for them. (Melissa Nichols) u Do acts of kindness. It can benefit the giver as much or more than the one receiving a kindness. Helping others can be the biggest action taken against anxiety and depression because the feeling of doing something gives more control over those problems. (Melissa Nichols) — Susan Klemond

help,” he said. “Sometimes the most important part (is) being present and listening, and also perhaps if someone seems to be experiencing some really heavy symptoms … to encourage folks or support people in pursuing treatment.”

uClarification is provided about validity of baptisms based on use of an approved rite and correct matter and form. To overturn the presumption that a baptism was valid, there must be enough evidence to raise a prudent doubt, such as a video or audio recording of the wrong formula being used, the memo said.

uThe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee Against Racism urged Catholics to join a day of prayer and fasting Sept. 9, the memorial of St. Peter Claver. Father Erich Rutten, pastor of St. Peter Claver in St. Paul, hosted a virtual ecumenical gathering at 7 p.m. that day and invited participation at facebook.com/saintpeterclaver/live.

HEALTH+WELLNESS

14 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

Holy, not horror: New guide explains hidden ministry of exorcism

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

O

MOVIE REVIEWS TheCatholicSpirit.com

ne kind of ministry, by its nature but also Church mandate, shuns the limelight and remains discreet: exorcism.

Unfortunately, commercial interests and media have exploited that vacuum, offering sensationalized, spine-chilling and, yet, often inaccurate depictions.

“If an untrue image of the exorcist’s ministry has spread among the general public, this is due not to the discretion with which good exorcists proceed, but to the lack of professional honesty” in the media, said Father Francesco Bamonte, president of the Rome-based International Association of Exorcists.

Media outlets that “have not sought the truth in regard to exorcism, but, speaking about something they do not understand, they sensationalized it for ideological or simply economic reasons,” he told Catholic News Service in an email response to questions.

Now a new guide compiled by the international association and approved by the Vatican aims to provide an authoritative, up-to-date and accurate look at the quiet backstage ministry of exorcism.

Father Bamonte, a member of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, told CNS Aug. 12 that the association first created the guidelines as a response to the many questions, concerns and difficulties expressed over the years among its 800 members worldwide.

The aim of the Vatican-approved association is to help exorcists and their assistants share experiences and best practices among themselves. And while exorcists already have official texts to refer to in their ministry, the guidelines are meant to “clarify many obscure and mistaken aspects” about exorcism, he said.

“Guidelines for the Ministry of Exorcism,” a 300-page text, was originally published as a private reference book, reserved for “internal use only” by the group’s members.

However, Father Bamonte said many priests and some bishops asked that the text be made commercially available to the general public, too. They thought it would be a “good catechetical and pastoral tool that would counterbalance the many publications that emphasize the sensationalistic aspects of demonic activity,” he said.

The association got the green light to make it public from the Vatican dicasteries that approved the text and from Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, papal vicar of Rome, who granted the text’s imprimatur. The guidelines, currently only available in Italian, went on sale in mid-July; it will be “at least a year” before the Vatican-approved English version is published, Father Bamonte said.

CNS

Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome with an international profile who died in 2016, performs an exorcism shown in the 2017 documentary “The Devil and Father Amorth.” A new guide compiled by the International Association of Exorcists and approved by the Vatican aims to provide an authoritative, up-to-date and accurate look at the quiet backstage ministry of exorcism.

Unfortunately, it’s not just the general public that is poorly catechized about this ministry. It is even overlooked in most seminary formation and theological studies, he said.

“It almost always takes personal initiative” for someone to learn about this field, he said, and the new book provides an important introductory overview of the principles, theology and Gospel accounts of this ministry.

Exorcism, which is a specific form of prayer, is when the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in Christ’s name that a person or object be protected against the power of the devil and withdrawn from the devil’s dominion, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

In its simplest form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of baptism as part of preparing the candidate for receiving the grace of the sacrament of baptism.

However, the more solemn form, called “a major exorcism,” is what most people picture — the rite directed at expelling a demon or liberating someone from demonic possession through the spiritual authority that Jesus entrusted to his Church. It can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop, and he must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church.

It is “decidedly worrying,” Father Bamonte told CNS, that the reality of the demonic world gets such little attention or is even repudiated by some Catholic educators, especially if they are involved in the spiritual, pastoral and theological formation of seminarians and candidates for religious life.

The widespread “ignorance” of demonic activity and phenomena results in “a great impoverishment in formation,” he said.

It means the majority of ordained men are not immediately able: “to guarantee profound spiritual direction;

to offer an appropriate catechesis to the faithful on the existence and activity of the devil; and to address the serious problems related to the increase in occult practices,” which has opened the door to “increasingly virulent,” extraordinary activity by the devil, he said.

A priest who shows compassion, wisdom, prudence and integrity is not enough, he said; priests and seminarians must have specific preparation and guidance, including following Church instructions regulating this ministry, which the new guidelines provide.

The priority of every priest is evangelization with Christ at the heart, he said.

But, authentic evangelization does not clash with “the mystery of iniquity” and must include a reflection on the origin, presence and meaning of evil in the universe, which was “created good by God.” During their studies, Father Bamonte said, seminarians should meet at least once with an exorcist priest, who explains his ministry, so that “the figure of the exorcist priest would become more familiar to future priests, setting up a future and more fruitful collaboration between them, for the benefit of our brothers and sisters afflicted by the evil one.”

An exorcist is not “superman” or a magician, “he is a simple priest, minister of Christ and his Church,” he told SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference, July 30.

And, unlike its shocking or violent movie versions, the rite of exorcism “creates a very profound experience of faith, in which one touches, almost with your hand, the living presence of Jesus, Our Lady, the angels and saints,” he told SIR. The feeling is one of “peacefulness and intense joy, which has nothing at all to do with what one sees in theaters and on TV, distorting reality,” he said.

HEALTH+WELLNESS

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 15

Godfather of Kenyan running teaches life lessons during pandemic

By Fredrick Nzwili Catholic News Service

I

n the Kenyan town of Iten, more than 7,800 feet above sea level, Irish Patrician Brother Colm O’Connell is working to motivate athletes overwhelmed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brother O’Connell, 72, a native of Mallow, Ireland, has turned many young runners into Olympic and world champions. The godfather of Kenyan running, as he is known, must now convince athletes that some aspects of their lives are outside their control.

“Many of the athletes are anxious and concerned about the (pandemic) situation. They didn’t expect it would continue for this long. Like everyone, they thought it would be over within a short time,” Brother O’Connell said Aug. 21 in a telephone interview. “I am telling them to see the other side of things and learn something positive about their lives during the COVID-19 period — how they better their lives — their health and wellness.”

Iten, in the western Rift Valley, is known as the “Home of Champions” and, before March, foreign athletes had begun training there in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.

Hundreds of Kenyan runners, some BROTHER Brother O’Connell proteges, were COLM O’CONNELL also on the training track, but the government suddenly ordered the closure of the camps to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

The ministry of education also shut all schools, a move that meant the suspension of the schools’ athletic competitions. Each year, the competition injects young runners into Kenya’s athletic scene, but that will be missed this year.

“A generation of athletes has been lost, and it will take a long time for things to come back to normal,”

Young athletes in Kenya run during a recent training session in a field in the town of Iten. Irish Patrician Brother Colm O’Connell has been turning youths like these into Olympic and world champions.

CNS

said Brother O’Connell.

Brother O’Connell arrived in Kenya on a missionary trip in 1976 and began teaching geography at the St. Patrick’s Boys High School in Iten. He taught there for 17 years, seven of which he was the headmaster. In the late 1970s, without prior knowledge of coaching or experience in athletics, he started training the boys as a way of getting to know them better. He still lives in a small house in the school compound.

In late July, the government relaxed social distancing measures, allowing some local athletes to resume training. Unlike normal times — when barefoot children, women and men would be running in Iten — the fear of COVID-19 has significantly reduced the numbers. Those who turn up have to follow COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing and wearing masks.

“It’s now when some are starting to train in small groups,” said Brother O’Connell. He said ElgeyoMarakwet County, where Iten is located, has the fewest

cases of COVID-19 in Kenya, but that does not mean the county is safe.

“I keep a keen eye on the situation and demand that the social distancing measures are strictly followed,” said the brother, who now is working with three athletes instead of the usual 10.

He said the training is not rigorous since there are no major competitions in sight. The Olympics have been postponed until 2021. Those who are running are doing so for their health and fitness.

Brother O’Connell explained that for successful careers, athletes should exercise patience, learn from failures and disappointments, and be willing to make sacrifices.

At the same time, he said he sees faith as central to the athletes’ running careers. Faith enables and empowers the athletes to see their talent as a part of overall lifestyle, and that failure is part of life and can keep them grounded, he said.

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16 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

FOCUSONFAITH SUNDAY SCRIPTURES | FATHER ALLAN PAUL EILEN

Celebrate God’s mercy that forgives debts, and then do likewise This weekend, my community of St. Patrick in Oak Grove finally gets to celebrate the elimination of our parish debt — after 20 years, thanks be to God! We actually made our last payment at the end of June, but with restrictions on gatherings because of COVID-19, we deferred the festivities until September, in place of what would have been CountryFest, our annual fall festival.

Being grateful for such a milestone cannot go unrecognized — despite masks and social distancing — because four pastors later, after numerous campaigns (some successful, some not), and lots and lots of prayers, sacrifice and generosity, God, in his kindness, mercy and compassion, has helped us to eliminate our debt.

In this Sunday’s Gospel parable, Jesus relates how the master’s compassion and our Father’s forgiveness are like eliminating or forgiving a huge, unpayable debt. But, unlike parish debt, no matter how much we try to promise to do so on our own, we are incapable of removing or forgiving our entire debt due to sin. Infinitely more so than paying off parish debt, such an underserved act of the Father’s gratuitous love and forgiveness must be celebrated as the very meaning of good news.

“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive?”

Peter’s question in Matthew 18:21 is one we all wrestle with from time to time — I sometimes do. When wronged — whether perceived or real — it troubles and hurts us, and we seek some form of justice and healing.

It all goes back to the commandments being written on our heart.

As early as childhood we have a built-in sense of justice, like a red flag alerting us when life isn’t fair. Oftentimes the wound and pride of unforgiveness occurs because we put the attention on us, rather than remembering that any offense against us — even if true — is first and foremost always an offense against God. As a result, if I want my entire debt of sin to be forgiven, I must become compassionate (merciful) like the Father.

This might explain why Peter and the rest of us find practicing forgiveness difficult for small debts, not to mention huge debts. For as often as we try — even promise ourselves — that we can somehow pay off the debt, Christ the King knows that, in our pride, we are seeking to do the impossible, something that only a compassionate and loving God can do.

When we finally grasp that none of us can ever justify ourselves before God — we are all sinners who owe God a huge, unpayable debt — only then does the way forward and the path of mercy become clear for us.

“O happy fault!” If not for sinful humanity, God couldn’t have revealed to us his great and tender mercy.

This week, I invite you to meditate on the virtue of gratitude — to focus on what you have and not on what you don’t have. For when we focus on what we have — God’s forgiveness of our huge debt — we have every reason to celebrate, to give praise and thanksgiving to God. On the other hand, when we focus on what we don’t have, it turns us away from God. Beginning today, God’s merciful love is something we will all be eternally grateful for, something we must all ask for, share and trust in. Not just seven times, but 77 times.

Father Eilen is pastor of St. Patrick in Oak Grove.

ASK FATHER MIKE | FATHER MICHAEL SCHMITZ

A disciple is a decision-maker

Q I made the decision to go on a trip with

friends during this pandemic. We were planning on being safe, of course, and I came across the words “don’t cancel the trip” randomly in a book I was reading. But now I feel uneasy and I wonder if the Holy Spirit is trying to tell me something, or if it’s just me overthinking, or even the bad spirit trying to confuse me and raise doubts.

A Thank you for writing and for your question. Right off the bat, I

would like to share something I was taught many years ago. This line has stuck with me, and I have returned to it multiple times every single day of my life. It is this: “A disciple is a decision-maker.”

And this is what you and I are called to be: disciples who make decisions.

One of the things that the rest of your letter indicated was the number of “signs” that seemed to indicate that you should go: a thought that occurred to you while in prayer, another person telling you that you should go on the trip, and a couple of others. You also indicated that there were some “signs” that seemed to indicate that you shouldn’t go: an uneasy feeling and your tendency to overthink and over-analyze your decisions. This should be addressed first.

First, the positive. We do believe that the Lord continues to speak to us. God is active in our lives and he definitely does communicate with his people. He hears our prayers and can answer them in any number of ways. In addition, it is true that God can speak through signs, through dreams, through other people and through our desires. And sometimes he does.

We need to affirm those points.

And yet, we also need to affirm that God always speaks in clarity.

What I mean by that is that, if God has a definite will for you at a given moment, he will make it absolutely clear to you what his will is. This doesn’t mean that he will always speak in an audible voice (I’ve not yet experienced that particular blessing, but I know many people who have), but it does mean that you will know his voice and what it is that he is saying. When a decision falls under the perfect will of God, he gives you all that you need to know that will and choose it. That is one of God’s many gifts of grace: his speaking in clarity and giving the strength to do his will.

The ordinary way in which God communicates this knowledge

and strength is through the Church. He has revealed his heart and character, his will and commands, through sacred Scripture and sacred tradition. He also gives us his grace through the sacraments.

We don’t know everything, but we know enough to be able to choose his will.

But while God’s perfect will is real, and we always want to be attuned to doing it, there are many decisions that fall under the permissive will of God, situations in which God does not necessarily will “this not that,” but instead, permissively, wills “this or that (or that or that or that).” We often have multiple options that could all fall under the category of God’s permissive will. God gives us an overwhelming amount of freedom. He gives us a choice.

In fact, exercising this freedom honors him. God has created us with an intellect and a will. The perfection of these gifts lies in knowing God and choosing his will above all things. But the normal exercise of these gifts is another way that we honor him. By gathering input and counsel, by weighing our options and consequences, and by freely choosing as best we can, we are using the gifts that God has given us.

There is no “perfect” choice. At least not in the sense that most of us use it. Many of us are tempted to desire the perfect choice in order to spare ourselves. We think, “If I just make the perfect choice with regard to career/college/spouse/etc., then I will be happy.” But the “perfect” choice (in that sense) does not give us a life free of pain and suffering. In this world, “perfect” simply means “in line with God’s will.”

I could be mistaken, but it seems like you are looking for signs rather than using your intellect to examine the data, assessing what needs to be assessed and then making your own decision. Sometimes we do this because we want some sort of certainty or guarantee that everything will be OK. What this will come down to is noting that you may want certainty more than anything else, but this world is not certain. I invite you to become more and more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Because this world is dangerous. To make a decision like this is dangerous. To not make a decision like this is dangerous.

Since God has not spoken about the evil or good of traveling when there is a virus, we simply do our best to make an informed and wise decision. And then we take responsibility for any consequence that follows our decision.

Of course, keep praying and asking the Lord to enlighten you, but he doesn’t need to give “signs.” He has already given you his Church and a brain. A disciple is a decision-maker.

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.

DAILY Scriptures Sunday, Sept. 13 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sir 27:30–28:7 Rom 14:7-9 Mt 18:21-35 Monday, Sept. 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross Nm 21:4b-9 Phil 2:6-11 Jn 3:13-17 Tuesday, Sept. 15 Our Lady of Sorrows 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a Jn 19:25-27 Wednesday, Sept. 16 St. Cornelius, pope and martyr, and St. Cyprian, bishop and martyr 1 Cor 12:31–13:13 Lk 7:31-35 Thursday, Sept. 17 1 Cor 15:1-11 Lk 7:36-50 Friday, Sept. 18 1 Cor 15:12-20 Lk 8:1-3 Saturday, Sept. 19 1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49 Lk 8:4-15 Sunday, Sept. 20 Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 55:6-9 Phil 1:20c-24, 27a Mt 20:1-16a Monday, Sept. 21 St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 Mt 9:9-13 Tuesday, Sept. 22 Prv 21:1-6, 10-13 Lk 8:19-21 Wednesday, Sept. 23 St. Pius of Pietrelcina, priest Prv 30:5-9 Lk 9:1-6 Thursday, Sept. 24 Eccl 1:2-11 Lk 9:7-9 Friday, Sept. 25 Eccl 3:1-11 Lk 9:18-22 Saturday, Sept. 26 Eccl 11:9–12:8 Lk 9:43b-45 Sunday, Sept. 27 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ez 18:25-28 Phil 2:1-11 Mt 21:28-32

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 17

COMMENTARY TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI

Theology of home: an invitation to reclaim what matters most

The color-coded books first caught my eye.

It’s become one of my favorite flourishes in interior design, one that always stops me in my Instagram scrolling. And here it was, on the cover of a book titled “Theology of Home: Finding the Eternal in the Everyday.” Four built-in shelves held coordinating books: reds, whites, greens and blacks. From there, my eye wandered to the massive stone fireplace with a Blessed Mother icon above it and a crackling fire below.

Ahhh! It was as beautiful as any issue of “Magnolia Journal.” And yet … could it be? The content was aimed at Catholic women, to help them embrace their homes. It featured more than 100 professional photographs of the homes of Catholic women across the country.

“Home, by its nature, is meant to be a foreshadowing of heaven,” reads the introduction, written by the book’s three authors, Carrie Gress, Noelle Mering and Megan Schrieber.

They then quote G.K. Chesterton, who described home as “something much smaller in size and much larger in scope” than any business.

They hooked me with the color-coded books, they kept me with the Chesterton quote.

I wasn’t the only one drawn to “Theology of Home,” which was published last September by TAN Books. Word spread quickly — text by text, post by post.

“I’ve had people say, ‘I opened the book and I was

SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY

Building positive family ties with your in-laws

Family is at the heart of our happiness in life. St. John Paul the Great reminds us, “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

When we have disagreements with family members and in-laws, we can find ourselves in opposition to what our Catholic faith proposes is the building block to living a good and holy life. We may not know what to do when we have difficulties with those to whom we are closest in life and how to resolve misunderstandings before they become too complex to address easily.

Barbara Greenberg, a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of adolescents and their exhausted parents, offers a few suggestions for building a more positive relationship with in-laws.

First, she reminds us not to blame our spouse for his or her family’s behavior. Spouses grew up with these shortcomings and are likely as frustrated as you are by what has happened.

Second, if your relationships with your in-laws are affected, try not to escalate the situation further by

We have all this antagonism toward being a homemaker, and yet everybody loves their home and they want it to feel like a sanctuary. We’re trying to connect the dots.

This doesn’t happen just because you have a well-furnished home. There’s got to be someone bringing this to life.

Carrie Gress in tears,’” said Carrie Gress, 47, a Catholic mom of five from Virginia. “They finally see themselves in media, in something concrete.”

Little did Carrie know that, in a matter of months, a pandemic would find us trapped in our homes. saying something you will regret later.

Third, keep your expectations of your in-laws reasonable and realistic. Don’t expect something from them that is unlikely and impractical. Rather, extend grace.

Fourth, you may want to give your in-laws a role in your lives, which gives you an opportunity to offer appreciation, which everyone enjoys.

Fifth, try to find the right amount of time that is satisfying to spend with in-laws. Rather than an entire weekend at the cabin, perhaps a drive up for the day is best for your family.

Greenberg states that taking the high ground and working to see the best in others, assuming that their intentions were honorable, is always a better approach than looking for ways to blame someone for an infraction. If we look for the best in people, it’s much more likely that we will find it rather than continuing to feed an overworked negative narrative.

In addition, children benefit from positive contact with healthy adults in their lives, so do all you can to keep your interactions positive and enriching.

Finally, try to arrange an activity that everyone will enjoy, whether that involves a visit to grandparents for movie night, or an outing to a local park with fun activities. Be aware of preferences, and do your best to include your in-laws when possible, facilitating a more positive outcome, thereby cultivating the next family outing.

Encouraging positive interactions with family members who are new to your circle will help everyone feel included and valued. You may have some idea of the history your new in-laws experienced in their ancestry, but we can never know the full story, because what we know will always be second-hand knowledge. When we hear

The uplifting images and wise meditations on home would be needed more than ever.

“We had no idea how timely it would become,” Carrie told me. “It’s one of those things where the Holy Spirit is out front.”

Soon she found herself mapping out the book’s sequel. If the first edition focused on the elements of home — light, nourishment, comfort, balance — the second one, she figured, could focus on the homemaker.

Carrie had just arranged a bowl of lemons in her dining room and was struck by the idea of fruitfulness. “It’s such a foreign concept, and yet we can’t really understand the Blessed Virgin Mary without understanding fruitfulness, and I think we can’t even understand ourselves as women without understanding it. It’s written into us biologically, spiritually and mentally.”

To begin, Carrie was determined to reclaim the much-maligned term “homemaker.”

“We have all this antagonism toward being a homemaker, and yet everybody loves their home and they want it to feel like a sanctuary,” she said. “We’re trying to connect the dots. This doesn’t happen just because you have a well-furnished home. There’s got to be someone bringing this to life.”

The book makes clear that being a homemaker applies to all women — including those who are not biological mothers but spiritual ones, including the many faithful moms who work outside the home. It lauds homemaking as “a life spent developing not just a specific skill but the very skill of being a human in full.”

Titled “Theology of Home II: The Spiritual Art of Homemaking,” the book will be released later this month. Carrie and Noelle will also be releasing a Theology of Home planner and continuing their daily e-newsletter, available through theologyofhome.com.

It’s the perfect season to dig deeper, breathing in the beauty of autumn and finding ways to reflect it inside, said Carrie, a prolific author. “Out of all of my books, this is the one I could give to just about anybody and have them appreciate it. I’m excited.”

Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.

ACTION CHALLENGE Offer your in-laws empathy and compassion rather than judgment and negativity.

Be on your best behavior with in-laws, thereby facilitating the best possible relationship.

stories, we must use compassion and empathy for people who are new to our family, and do all we can to understand the impact of the legacy they carry throughout life.

When I was in college, I was struck by this quote: “Everyone has a reason for what they do.” This quote has come to me many times throughout my life, especially when interacting with someone who was difficult for me to understand. When I illumined the interaction with these words, I was able to relate to them through curiosity rather than judgment.

When your in-laws act in ways you don’t understand, try to use understanding and curiosity rather than judgment and hostility. You will find that building a more positive present and future through extending good intentions benefits everyone involved.

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

18 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

FAITH AT HOME | LAURA KELLY FANUCCI

How to live through history

“You are living through history.”

I tell this truth to our kids over and over — while we’re grabbing face masks to head out to the car, making plans for school this fall or talking about the latest protests in the headlines.

I remind them that 2020 is a year for the history books.

Of course, it’s obvious; any given moment becomes part of history as soon as it passes. But even the kids know these are times of heightened intensity and importance for our nation and the whole world.

Early in quarantine, when our family would take daily walks, itching to get outside and catch a glimpse of other humans, the kids were full of frustrations. Why couldn’t they see their friends? Why couldn’t they go to school?

Why did we have to stop our normal routines of church, work, errands and activities?

We talked about the common good: the need to care for the whole community, not just ourselves. We talked about public health: the need to prioritize the most vulnerable.

We remembered how God calls us to do the right thing, even when it’s not easy or popular.

But every conversation came back to the same refrains: “You are living through history. One day you’ll tell your kids and grandkids about this time. Right now, the world is changing, and we are part of it.”

Children see with clearer eyes. One of our kids asked why grocery stores hadn’t always reserved early shopping hours for people who were older or had health concerns.

Didn’t it make sense to let those who needed it most go first?

Another asked if we should poll our neighbors about how Black people are being treated in our country and then send a letter to the president, because wouldn’t he want to know if people were suffering?

ALREADY/NOT YET | JONATHAN LIEDL

The thread that binds At the end of August, a couple nights before a good friend’s wedding, I had a chance to take part in his “dedication.” The dedication is a practice of the Community of Christ the Redeemer lay group, of which his now-wife is a part, during which a man is affirmed and advised by other men as he prepares to enter into married life.

When it was my turn to offer an affirmation, I noted what many of us knew: This friend’s life had not followed a “normal trajectory.” It had included a profound conversion in early adulthood, a move across the country to Minnesota to explore life with a priestly fraternity, multiple times in and out of seminary, and was now taking on a definitive character as he embraced the vocation of marriage.

To some, this kind of journey through life might appear disorienting, as if there was never a clear goal in mind, vacillating between such radically different states of life as celibate priesthood and marriage. However, to those of us who know this man well, and know how the Lord sometimes works, it’s clear that he was always after the same thing: selflessly serving the Lord with everything he had. Throughout his journey, throughout its different seasons, this was the thread that tied it all together.

The Church has another name for this thread, this common element: holiness. A major theme of the Second Vatican Council was that the universal call to holiness is the primary vocation of every baptized person.

Granted, God leads us into permanent “states of life,” like priesthood, marriage and consecrated life, from which we can love in a more concrete and “given” way. But often we only reach our “Big V” vocation by being faithful to the daily “vocation,” or calling, to personal holiness, and by following that thread where it leads.

I remember being struck by this truth last year at this

COMMENTARY Another child prays at night for all who are dying from the coronavirus, especially those who have no one to pray for them. In his innocence he could never imagine that his petition might be seen as political if it were prayed aloud in a parish.

But these are historic times. One day, God willing, I hope they get to tell their children and grandchildren what it was like to live through the turmoil of 2020.

History has come alive in their eyes. We talk about past pandemics, and suddenly the plague or the 1918 flu are no longer dry words in dusty books. We learn about the civil rights movement, and figures transform from names on a page to real Americans who worked for change.

Even Bible stories and saints’ lives we retell have become more vivid and relevant. Plagues and pestilence, fierce storms and reluctant prophets, martyrs and sacrifices — all seem ripped from the headlines this year.

Throughout human history, God is working to bring life from death and light from darkness. The battle against evil, sin and suffering has been with humans from the beginning, and each generation is called to take up the fight.

But, we do not fight alone. The God of peace, justice and mercy spurs us on, and we believe that God’s ways will triumph.

People talk about “wanting to be on the right side of history.” For those of us who follow Christ, the stakes are even higher. We want to be at the right hand of the Son of Man when he comes in glory. We yearn to be counted among the sheep, not the goats, so that we will enjoy eternal life with God. But to be on God’s right side, we must feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, care for the sick and visit the prisoner (Mt 25:34-36). We must hear the cries of the poor and respond with compassion. We must change our lives for the sake of others.

What stories will we tell about this moment in history?

What stories will be told of us? God is always renewing the world. It is never too late to act.

Fanucci is a writer, speaker, and author of several books including “Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting.” Her work can be found at laurakellyfanucci.com. time, watching biopics on Italian saints as part of my orientation to life in Rome. What was significant was that, though these saints had different vocations — Giuseppe Moscati, for instance, was a lay doctor, while Philip Neri became the founder of a priestly congregation — I detected the same thread of holiness. The state of life differed, but the dynamic seemed the same.

St. Philip Neri, in fact, is a compelling example of this kind of fidelity to God’s daily call above all else. Though he came to Rome as a young man in 1533 to study for the priesthood, he soon shelved these plans and committed himself to a life of prayer and service as a layman. It wasn’t until 1551, after a group of laypeople had formed around him as their spiritual father, that Philip accepted the urgings of his confessor and was ordained a priest.

From a worldly perspective, a life like Philip’s may seem hackneyed and haphazard. But what was constant was his faithfulness to God’s call; his fidelity, in the words of a local priest, “to what God had put into him”; and his willingness to be bold in following.

For some of us, following God’s pull will look less dramatic. The choice of a vocation or a spouse or a career or a religious community will be rather straightforward.

For others, the only clear constant will be our openness and surrender to the Lord, as he leads us down an unconventional path. (For my part, my effort to follow this thread has led me to take a step back from seminary, hence the change in my photo and tagline).

God does want to lead us to a stable state of self-giving love. But we can only reach this place by being faithful to him here and now. He is the needle that pulls the thread, and cooperation with him and his love is the thread that holds it all together. The sanctity of our lives, then, is not primarily a work of our own doing; nor is it an external plan imposed upon us, which we simply need to “stick to.” What we are tasked with is simply being faithful to what the Lord begins, sustains, and brings to completion within us.

I pray that you and I will be bold in following where he pulls.

Liedl lives and writes in the Twin Cities.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

LETTERS No ‘cure’ for racism One letter writer has indicated that we haven’t heard much from the archdiocese regarding curing racism. I would disagree, as there has been much written in the local and national Catholic press on the subject. I would tender the thought, however, that you cannot cure racism. It isn’t a disease. But you can teach history to get a better understanding of our human background, you can move in wider circles of humanity that will put you and your family in contact with people of other cultures and ethnicities, and you can read and study to learn about societies including our own. To cure (slippery slope ahead), racism would have to be diagnosed. Diagnosing “racism” in an individual would be impossible because our present society, with its predefined politically correct assumptions, doesn’t treat all segments of society alike. To cure on a broad scale? See above.

Art Thell St. Joseph, West St. Paul

Mask mandate We were extremely disappointed in the article

by Mr. Ruff and the statements by Archbishop Hebda and Father Tom Margevicius, the director of worship for the archdiocese (“Archdiocese calls attention to mask mandate,” July 30). Father Tom notes that the “Catholic tradition teaches that the Church should collaborate with public officials to serve public health and the common good, unless directives are unreasonable, impractical or discriminatory.” Nevertheless, Father Tom goes on to note that the Archdiocese only “encourages” the use of masks, not following the governor’s order mandating mask wearing in indoor public places, including places of worship. Mr. Ruff notes that “Even though he (Archbishop Hebda) recognized that the utility of masks was controversial in the scientific and medical communities, the archbishop argued that individuals should consider wearing a mask out of respect for their neighbor, especially those most vulnerable. Many Catholics chose not to follow that advice, offering arguments that at times took a political tone. “Horsefeathers” as my grandmother used to say. There is no medical or scientific controversy over the use of masks. Wearing masks helps save lives in this pandemic. While masks are not sufficient, scientific and medical experts have consistently held that the combination of wearing masks, physical distancing, hand washing, isolating or quarantining while sick, and getting tested if symptoms present or there is close contact with infected persons is the only way that the pandemic can be contained until a vaccine is available. We don’t believe that “many Catholics” have chosen not to follow the scientific and medical advice. We believe that most Catholics are choosing to wear masks, based on our observations and conversations. “While it falls to the diocesan bishop to regulate the liturgy in his own diocese …”, how does wearing a face covering fall within liturgical jurisdiction? Face masks add an important margin of safety against contracting COVID-19. The archdiocese should follow the governor’s order and mandate the use of face masks in all church gatherings, especially the Eucharist. Catholic social teaching and tradition holds that all life is sacred. If so, how can we not do the few easy things to keep our brothers and sisters safe?

Mike Hansel Cami Smalley Craig Svendsen Guardian Angels, Oakdale Share your perspective by emailing TheCatholicSpirit@archspm.org.

Please limit your letter to the editor to 150 words and include your parish and phone number. The Commentary pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Catholic Spirit.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • 19

CALENDAR Church of St. Timothy online silent auction — through Sept. 13.

Go online to 32auctions.com/StTim2020. Raffle tickets will be sold at 763-784-1329. churchofsttimothy.com Archdiocesan Synod: Praying with Scripture Series — Sept. 13-Oct. 17: This virtual five-part series on praying with Scripture offers practical tools for growing in holiness, drawing upon the rich tradition of the Catholic Church. Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens will teach the fundamentals of praying with Scripture and explain how to use a Prayer Companion resource to enrich the prayer experience.

Watch as an individual, with family or friends. Videos will be posted online and available on the Archdiocesan Synod app beginning Sept. 13. The videos will also be livestreamed Tuesdays at 7 p.m., beginning Sept. 15, on Facebook and YouTube. More information at archspm.org/praying-with-scripture-series The Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life — weekly starting Sept. 15: 8–9:30 a.m. or 7–8:30 p.m. Hosted online by St. Thomas More in St. Paul. Traditionally, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius involve attending a 30-day retreat. Retreats "in daily life" allow participants to experience the prayer exercises with a spiritual director over the course of nine months. Small group or one-on-one options. morecommunity.org/spiritual-exercises-retreat “Voting and Values: Integrating Faith in the Public Arena” — Sept. 16: 7–8:30 p.m. Join online co-hosts Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Risen Savior in Burnsville, and presenter Father Warren Sazama, SJ, pastor of St. Thomas More in St. Paul, to examine how faith informs civic life and voting. Also will cover voting essentials, barriers and advocacy, and having informed and intentional conversations. risensavior.org/event/voting-and-values Twin Cities Prison Ministry free virtual forum — Sept. 19: 9–10:30 a.m. This virtual forum will address the topic "Christian Prison Ministry in a Time of Change: Finding the Future Together." The forum panel features Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Commissioner Paul Schnell of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, and four others. tcprisonministry.com/coming-soon Church of St. Jerome: Celebrating our Faith - 80 years — Sept. 20: Outdoor Mass at 9:30 a.m. at 380 Roselawn Ave. E., Maplewood. Drive in or bring a chair. Food trucks available after Mass. stjerome-church.org Braver Angels virtual workshop — Sept. 22: 7–9 p.m. online hosted

by St. Thomas More in St. Paul. Many families and friends are divided in this deeply polarized political climate. This workshop will teach skills to having more fruitful conversations with people on the other side of the political aisle. morecommunity.org/braver-angels-workshop Together in Contemplation — Sept. 22: 7–9 p.m. Hosted by St. Paul's Monastery. This virtual group experience is geared to anyone wanting to grow more quiet and find companions along the spiritual path. Its goal is to deepen relationships with God through contemplative practice, spiritual readings and the sharing of journeys with other like-minded individuals. benedictinecenter.org

CALENDAR submissions

in REMEMBRANCE

DEADLINE: Noon Thursday, 14 days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. We cannot guarantee a submitted event will appear in the calendar. Priority is given to events occurring before the next issue date.

Former Twin Cities pastor, hospital chaplain dies in native India

LISTINGS: Accepted are brief no­tices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and organizations. If the Catholic connection is not clear, please emphasize it in your submission. Included in our listings are local events submitted by public sources that could be of interest to the larger Catholic community.

The Catholic Spirit

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

“Praying with the Psalms: A Retreat in Daily Living” — Tuesdays Sept. 22-Oct. 27: 9 a.m. online hosted by St. Thomas More in St. Paul.

It has been suggested that the psalms are the prayer book of the Church.

Throughout this six-week at-home retreat, participants will meditate on the psalms and share the fruits in weekly group meetings. morecommunity.org/psalms-retreat KC Mary's Meals fundraiser — Sept. 24: 6–7:30 p.m. at Guardian Angels, 8260 Fourth St. N., Oakdale. Enjoy mini desserts from the Lake Elmo Inn and view the newly released Mary's Meals documentary film "Love Reaches Everywhere." $10 donation for dessert and event. Preregistration required to Debra Waldera, 651-772-6935, or marysmealsmn@gmail.com. guardian-angels.org.

“Wounded Hearts Love Best” — Sept. 25-27: Christ the King Retreat Center, 621 First Ave S., Buffalo. Join Catholic health care professionals for a weekend of renewal, quiet reflection, Mass, confession and a series of compelling talks by retreat master Father Justin Kizewski. Two nights lodging and meals, with appropriate health precautions. curatioapostolate.com/2020/06/fall-2020-retreat St. John the Baptist Fall Fest — Sept. 26-27: 835 Second Ave. NW, New Brighton. Socially distanced, safe events and opportunities for community-building at the 2021 Fall Fest. The signature pig roast and Booya will be takeout-style. A variety of virtual events available, including “Grill the Priest” and livestreamed Masses. stjohnnb.com SoulCollage Sunday Circles — Sept. 27: 1:30–4 p.m. online through St. Paul's Monastery. Casual afternoons (via Zoom) give participants time, space and silence for creativity and reflection. Sessions include spiritual reflection, collage making and creative exercises. benedictinecenter.org

A priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and longtime pastor and hospital chaplain died Aug. 26 in southwestern India, his home country. Father George Thoomkuzhy was 77. He ministered in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 2005 to his retirement in August 2014.

Born in 1943 in Chemmalamattam, India, Father Thoomkuzhy was ordained for the Syro-Malabar Eparchy, or diocese, of Palai in 1972 and later incardinated to the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Ujjain. (The Syro-Malabar church is an Eastern rite of the Catholic Church based in the Indian FATHER GEORGE state of Kerala.)

THOOMKUZHY He was incardinated to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 2005.

He ministered at St. Peter, North St. Paul (February to September 1996); St. Mary, Waverly (September 1996 to April 1997); St. Bernard, Cologne (April 1997 to June 2005); as chaplain for United Hospital in St. Paul and Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis (June 2005 to October 2007); and as chaplain for St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Paul (October 2007 to August 2014).

Following his retirement, Father Thoomkuzhy returned to India, where he ministered in two parishes in the SyroMalabar Eparchy of Faridabad in the Delhi region.

Franciscan Clarist Sister Jancy Nedumkallel got to know Father Thoomkuzhy from 2002 to 2005, when he served his last three years as pastor at St. Bernard and she started working as principal at the parish school.

“I thoroughly enjoyed working with him, his personality, his prayerful life,” she said. Sister Jancy said Father Thoomkuzhy spent a great deal of time in prayer.

Father Thoomkuzhy had a great mission spirit, Sister Jancy said. “I would say evangelization was his main goal.”

“The sacraments were really important to him, too,” she said. He cared about the elderly, and regularly visited the homes of elderly parishioners, bringing them Communion and hearing confessions.

“He was a good man,” she said, “and we miss him. We need priests like him to be compassionate of other people.

That’s why he went back to India, where he cared for the poor and the lonely and depressed.”

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20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

THELASTWORD

For some viewers, ‘Fatima’ film has sparked devotion, faith

By Denis Grasska Catholic News Service

T

he producers of the movie “Fatima,” which was released in theaters and premium video-ondemand Aug. 28, could not have asked for a better endorsement than the standing ovation the film received earlier this year at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Portugal.

But another, and perhaps more compelling endorsement, is the movie’s impact on the faith of those who have seen advance screenings.

“I have a very deep and fervent belief in the capacity of film to inspire change in people,” said one of the film’s producers, Natasha Howes.

Dick Lyles, another producer, said some moviegoers have told him they had previously failed to recognize the importance of the rosary, but after seeing the film, they began praying it daily. Others said they want to delve more deeply into the Fatima story.

He also said that some fallen-away Catholics have told him that they were inspired to begin attending Mass again, while non-Catholics said they wanted to know more about Catholicism.

These viewers are not alone. Working on the project has affected changes in Lyles’ own life.

In the early days of the project, as he was researching Fatima, he and his wife made a commitment to pray the rosary every day, doing so together whenever possible. Even when they are geographically separated, he said, they sometimes pray it over the phone.

It seemed like “the least we can do,” he said.

Ultimately, he sees the film as something that is capable of uniting Catholics and producing “a major uptick in the morale and the commitment of Catholics around the world.”

“The Church has so many controversies today,” Lyles said. “This is something ... that everybody can embrace and can basically give Catholics the confidence to be Catholic,” he told The Southern Cross, diocesan newspaper of San Diego.

“What’s not to like about this story?” he added. “What’s not to like about the message?”

Lyles said the Shrine of Fatima had declared the film to be both historically and theologically accurate and had praised its cinematic depiction of the Marian apparitions reported in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.

“I think this movie brings glory and honor to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary and speaks about issues of faith with incredible reverence,” Lyles said.

The project took about 13 years from the concept stage to the film’s completion.

Filmed entirely in Portugal, “Fatima” dramatizes the story of three young shepherds, 10-year-old Lúcia dos Santos and

CNS

Jorge Lamelas, Alejandra Howard and Stephanie Gil star in a scene from the movie “Fatima.” her younger cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and the Blessed Virgin Mary’s six appearances to them between May 13 and Oct. 13, 1917.

The Fatima visionaries said that the Blessed Mother had called upon humanity to stop offending God and to pray the rosary daily to bring about world peace. During her final appearance, tens of thousands of onlookers experienced a phenomenon known as the Miracle of the Sun; the sun appeared to spin in the sky and even plummet toward earth before returning to its rightful place.

While Catholics are not required to believe in private revelations, the Church has deemed the Fatima apparitions “worthy of belief”; Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who were among the casualties of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, have been declared saints; and the canonization cause for Lúcia dos Santos is currently underway.

Lyles described the apparitions as “probably one of the most important events of the 20th century.”

“I think the world received a message from heaven,” he said, “and ... I don’t think the world has totally internalized that message.

I think there’s still a lot of people who either haven’t heard the message, or don’t understand it, or don’t embrace it.”

That is where the new film comes in.

Howes, who has worked on several Fatimarelated projects, including the 2009 feature documentary “The 13th Day,” said the makers of “Fatima” wanted “to breathe new life into a very well-known story” and to share it with “mainstream audiences” — a goal that the Shrine of Fatima recognized and was willing to assist by providing an advisory team and access to historical documents.

In the new film, the miraculous events of 1917 are presented in the form of an extended flashback as an aged Lúcia (Sonia Braga), now a cloistered nun at a Carmelite convent in Portugal, recounts her experiences to Professor Nichols, a fictional academic portrayed by Harvey Keitel.

Lyles said the casting is “one of the strengths” of the film. He especially praised the work of Stephanie Gil, who portrays the young Lúcia, and said the Spanish child actress “carried this movie.”

For more information, visit fatimathemovie.com.

A CLOSER LOOK “Fatima” (Picturehouse), a fact-based drama from director and co-writer Marco Pontecorvo, recounts what may rank as the most remarkable series of religious events of modern times. Namely, the 1917 apparitions of the Virgin Mary (Joana Ribeiro) to three shepherd children near the Portuguese city of the title.

Despite a few flaws, believers will find Pontecorvo’s chronicle congenial fare that’s suitable for all but the youngest viewers.

The narrative is told in flashbacks during a 1980s interview between fictional Professor Nichols (Harvey Keitel), a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic, and the only one of the trio to have survived into adulthood, Carmelite Sister Lúcia dos Santos (Sonia Braga). As the two spar over the reality of what Sister Lúcia experienced, the scene shifts to the very different times of her childhood.

The screenplay, on which Pontecorvo collaborated with Valerio D’Annunzio and Barbara Nicolosi, emphasizes the context of World War I within which Mary’s message of prayer and repentance as the path to peace was delivered.

Thus, we see the young Lúcia (Stephanie Gil) accompany her mother, Maria (Lucia Moniz), to the periodic public announcement by Fatima’s mayor, Arturo (Goran Visnjic), of local casualties in the global struggle. Though devout, Maria is consumed by anxiety over the fate of Lúcia’s older brother Manuel (Joao Arrais) who is serving with the Portuguese forces.

The other primary focus of the script is on the family and community conflicts that arose when news of Mary’s appearances to Lúcia and her two younger cousins, Jacinta (Alejandra Howard) and Francisco (Jorge Lamelas), spread. Initially, both Maria and the local parish priest, Father Ferreira (Joaquim De Almeida), are understandably doubtful and try to convince the kids to recant.

So, too, does Arturo. As an official of Portugal’s nascent First Republic, established in 1910, Arturo is charged with carrying out its anti-clerical and more broadly anti-religious policies. So alleged visits from the “Lady of the Rosary,” as Mary identified herself to Lúcia and her companions, are the last thing he needs.

“Fatima” successfully portrays piety without yielding to sentimentality. But it fails to wrap up the loose ends of its story.

The justly celebrated “Miracle of the Sun” that occurred during Mary’s last appearance on Oct. 13 provides the movie with a spectacular built-in conclusion.

Yet the gentle dispute between Sister Lúcia and Professor Nichols is left hanging — nor do we get a sense of resolution about the strained relationships that prevailed before the children’s veracity was so strikingly vindicated.

This sense of incompleteness notwithstanding, “Fatima” is a welcome affirmation of faith in the midst of worldwide challenges to health and tranquility. If nothing else made it timely, the reflection that Jacinta, age 9, and Francisco, a year older, both perished in the influenza pandemic that began in 1918 would serve to do so.

Sister Lúcia, by contrast, lived a long life, dying in 2005 at 97. Her cousins were canonized on the centennial of the first Fatima apparition, May 13, 2017. The cause to raise her to the same status is currently active.

The film contains mature themes and bloodless images of combat violence.

The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

— John Mulderig, CNS