September 27, 2018 • Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Archdiocese’s $210 million settlement plan approved
Child protection checkup As the spotlight shines nationwide on how the Church has fallen short in keeping kids safe, local leaders weigh in on policies and procedures of the archdiocese. — Pages 10-11
Survivor speaks Archbishop Hebda invites clergy abuse survivor to address hundreds gathered for prayers of reparation and healing at Cathedral of St. Paul. — Page 5
Archbishop Hebda apologizes for hurt, thanks survivors for helping change Church By Maria Wiering The Catholic Spirit The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ plan for reorganization, including a $210 million settlement for victim/survivor remuneration, was approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Sept. 25. PLEASE TURN TO REORGANIZATION ON PAGE 5
MARIA WIERING | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Headed to Hartford Puerto Rico native surprised by call to become a bishop By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit
Basilica celebrates First Minneapolis Catholic church west of the Mississippi starts 150 years ago in a wooden shed, grows to become co-cathedral. — Page 6
Enjoying retirement Four priests who recently left fulltime ministry share reflections on decades of service, plans for the future. — Pages 13-14
Archbishop Bernard Hebda, left, speaks to media alongside Thomas Abood, chairman of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ finance council and Reorganization Task Force, following the confirmation of the archdiocese’s plan for reorganization Sept. 25 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
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ather Juan Miguel Betancourt Torres was meeting with a seminarian the afternoon of Sept. 11 when his phone rang. He ignored it. When it continued to ring, he checked the number and saw an unfamiliar area code. It was from Washington, D.C. Father Betancourt, a vice rector of spiritual formation at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, took the call as the seminarian stepped out of the room. He thought it might be the superior general of his religious community, Servants of the Holy Eucharist and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Instead, it was the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre. He informed Father Betancourt that Pope Francis had appointed him to be an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut. “And then he said, ‘Do you know where that [Hartford] is?’” Bishop-elect Betancourt
DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
recalled. “And, we started laughing. ‘Yes, Archbishop, that’s Connecticut.’” Replying to Archbishop Pierre that he is a “man of the Church,” Father Betancourt accepted the role. Six days later, he flew to Hartford to meet people from the archdiocese and Archbishop Leonard Blair. He will be ordained 2 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford. The 48-year-old native of Puerto Rico came to the U.S. in 2006 to serve in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and
Minneapolis both at the seminary, where he teaches Scripture, and as pastor of St. Francis de Sales in St. Paul. He said he did not see this appointment coming. “It was, for me, shocking, and confusing, too, because you don’t expect that call,” he said. “My mind was just spinning,” But, he was reassured of his ability to handle the role when he called Archbishop Bernard Hebda later that day to discuss the appointment. He also gained strength and resolve from his next move after
Bishop-elect Juan Miguel Betancourt Torres said “there’s sadness” about leaving the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to serve as an auxiliary bishop in Hartford, Conn., but he plans to “enjoy every single minute with the people that I have here, both at the seminary and at the parish, and my religious community.”
getting the nuncio’s phone call, when the seminarian, Chris Grow of the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, came back into the room to continue their meeting. Bishop-elect Betancourt couldn’t tell Grow why, but “I said, ‘Let’s go to the chapel,’” he recounted. “So, he accompanied me to the chapel, and I went directly to the Blessed Mother [statue]. And, I just stayed there in prayer.” He added, “I just offered myself: ‘Blessed Mother, this is PLEASE TURN TO BETANCOURT ON PAGE 7