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MAY 10, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
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Meeting prompts parents to register CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5A
Seminary honor Archbishop John Nienstedt, right, receives the honorary degree of Doctor of Christian Letters, presented by Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron, at Sacred Heart Major Seminary’s commencement event April 28 in Detroit. Archbishop Nienstedt is an alumnus of Sacred Heart and prior to his episcopal appointment was also its ninth rector/president from 1988 through 1994. Under his leadership, the institution was re-founded as a major seminary in 1988 by adding on its Graduate School of Theology to complement its College of Liberal Arts. Photo courtesy of Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Issues addressed for the good of all CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2A pect a more pro-active stand on such issues. I think it can be said that there are ample reasons for the action that the CDF has taken. After four years of research, it cannot be said that there was any haste in addressing the matter, nor was it a situation of simply “jumping to conclusions.”
Benefiting Body of Christ For my part, I have benefited greatly from the ministry of consecrated religious, who educated me in my grade and high school years. In many ways, they made me who I am today. I also feel blessed with the collaboration and dedication of women religious here in this archdiocese. As with any school accreditation visit, if there are issues to be addressed with its administration, then those should be addressed for the overall good of the institution. So, too, in the Body of Christ, we need to be clear that our preaching, teaching and Gospel witness accurately reflect the revelation that has been passed down to us from the apostles. It is by being faithful to that revelation that our future salvation is assured. It is in that context that this assessment has been formulated. So let us all thank religious women for their witness of faith. Let us also trust that from this renewed engagement, God will, in time, bring forth even greater goods for the Church. God bless you!
Obituaries Father Dittberner, longtime seminary professor, dies Father Jerome Dittberner, who was a full-time member of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity faculty for 39 years, died May 7. He was 74 years old. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese on Feb. 16, 1964, and joined the seminary faculty in 1970. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Loyola University FATHER DITTBERNER in Chicago and received his STL and STD in Rome. In 2009, he was given professor emeritus status upon his retirement from fulltime teaching. Funeral Mass information was not available when The Catholic Spirit went to press. Watch for more information on THECATHOLICSPIRIT.COM.
Father Schneider served in Chaska Franciscan Father Conran Schneider, who grew up in Victoria and ministered at Guardian Angels in Chaska, died April 23. He was 87. Arthur Schneider followed his older
brother Franciscan Father Fred Schneider into the seminary and Sacred Heart Province of the Order of Friars Minor. He was given the name Conran July 2, 1943, and professed final vows July 5, 1947. He was ordained a priest June 24, 1951, in Illinois. He served in parish ministry for 42 years and then as a hospital chaplain, before retiring from full-time ministry. A funeral Mass was celebrated at Guardian Angels, April 26, with interment at St. Victoria cemetery in Victoria.
Father Cal Giesen served in St. Paul Franciscan Father Cal Giesen, who served six years (three as pastor) at Sacred Heart in St. Paul, died April 30. He was 90. Norbert Giesen was born on Dec. 3, 1921, in Union Hill. He was baptized and confirmed there at St. John Parish. He entered the novitiate for Sacred Heart Province of the Order of Friars Minor on Aug. 14, 1944, receiving the name Callistus, which he later shortened to Cal. He professed solemn vows Aug. 19, 1945, and was ordained a priest Dec. 19, 1947, in Springfield, Ill. He taught at the high school and minor seminary level before serving in parish ministry across the country. A funeral Mass was celebrated May 9 at St. Wenceslaus in New Prague with interment at St. John’s Cemetery, Union Hill.
ACCW member works to attract more young women CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8A from the Capitol to us.” Cramer served as cantor at the ACCW’s anniversary Mass that kicked off the 2012 conference. She’s a trained auto mechanic, but with the clear, strong voice she showed at that Mass, she admits cantoring is a gift she wants to develop. Her volunteer role, as she sees it, is to help the ACCW use modern communication methods to share its messages. “They put me on the publicity and communications, so we can get more on the Internet,” she said. “We want to start opening up a bit and making what the ACCW is and does more known and available to people who have a value in web communications.”
As she’s helping the organization set up a Facebook profile, Cramer understands the cultural and demographic challenges the ACCW faces with many younger women working. But she doesn’t see the organization as desperate. “We’re trying to create an environment where younger people can join and feel welcome,” she said. “I’m hoping we can communicate and run events that will create a natural attraction for younger Catholic women because they support what we believe.”
What younger adults seek Cramer and her husband Josh are members of St. Austin in north Minneapolis, but they are involved in the young adult group at the Basilica of St. Mary, too.
What she’s observed with her peers is that what interests them are opportunities to mix pleasure with activities and activism. “Young adults have a lot of energy and they like to talk about their faith,” she added. “They like discussions where their voice can be heard — and socializing.” When it comes to communications, young people are into being constantly in contact. For the ACCW, that means posting everything online, and making it possible for events, activities and information to be accessible by phone, “centralizing information and getting more symbiotic” in how the organization communicates, Cramer said.
And Father Michael Rudolph, St. Michael pastor, said parents were relieved to find out the cost of tuition, which is competitive with other schools. They also were pleased to know financial aid would still be available, he said. Lieser said tuition assistance is very important to the families. “We anticipate that more than 50 percent of our students will be on free or reduced lunch . . . and will likely need assistance to afford a Catholic education,” Lieser said. “I think the public meeting [in January] helped a lot.” The day after the January meeting, parents started registering their children, Charley said. A telephone campaign by committee members prior to the January meeting was used to ask parents what they needed to know at that meeting, Kane said. “We knew up front what was important to people and what the priority was for answering questions,” she said. “When the three [principals] did that presentation, they hit the high points.” People were heard, answers were given and work continued to be done, Kane said. Scholarship money for Community of Saints totaling $30,000 — $10,000 for each of the collaborating schools — came from the AIM Higher Foundation, Lieser said. The scholarships are a “differencemaker” for many of the students who will be attending the school, he said. Georgann and Mark Henjum are among those who have gotten to know other parents through some of the combined school activities, through the schools’ combined sports teams and, in Georgann’s case, by serving on the board of the school’s planning committee. Although it will be sad for Georgann to see her daughter Ann leave St. Matthew at the end of this year, she said that at least, next year, the parents can all cheer for one team: “The Saints.” Registration information for Community of Saints is available at WWW.SPRCS.ORG.
BT Believers promote school CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5A With traditional public schools, charter schools, online schools and language immersion programs, today’s parents have many choices for their child’s education. “Parents tend to rely on the recommendations of friends and family,” said Terry Braun, BT development director and alumnus. The BT Believers want to make sure that the people in their community consider Blessed Trinity as an option. O’Keefe added, “It’s one thing for me to promote the school, but the message has deeper resonance if people hear it from their friends and neighbors. . . . We need to work harder and smarter to tell the story and engage those who can help us continue the work that we do.” To support the BT Believers in their mission, the attendees received a Believer’s kit that included T-shirts, bumper stickers, story cards and a Catholic education fact sheet. The school intends to sponsor three BT Believer events each year.