The Prairie Catholic April-May 2022

Minnesota’s Most Rural Diocese Diocese of New Ulm Vol. 36 No. 6 April/May 2022

(photo by Christine Clancy)

“The Aroma of Christ” (2 Cor 2:15)

Handmaid of the Heart of Jesus Sister Maria Luz kneels beside five-year-old Frederick Schneider of New Ulm as he experiences the smell of the fragrant balsam that was to be mixed with the Chrism oil during the annual Chrism Mass held on Thursday, April 7, 2022, at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm. Looking on is sibling, Abigail Schneider, a second-grader at St. Anthony Elementary School in New Ulm. As the diocese awaits a new shepherd, Bishop Emeritus John M. LeVoir returned to the cathedral to celebrate the Mass and bless the oil of the Sick, the oil of the Catechumens, and consecrate the Sacred Chrism.

(More coverage on the Chrism Mass, page 11.)

Conflict Resolution

(Photo by Christine Clancy)

Seasoned Diocese of New Ulm Marriage Preparation Program presenters Roger and Deb Schroeder of Marshall role-play a “heated discussion” for their audience of engaged couples during their presentation on conflict resolution.

Minnesota’s Most Rural Diocese

Diocese of New Ulm

(More on the diocesan Marriage Preparation Program, page 7.)

Vol. 36 No. 6 April/May 2022

U.S. bishops to launch three-year Eucharistic Revival

Eucharistic procession on Feast of Corpus Christi to inaugurate revival in diocese

by Fr. Aaron Johanneck Diocesan Director of Worship

the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

NEW ULM – On Sunday, June 19, 2022, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, better known as the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Diocese of New Ulm will be taking Our Lord Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist into the streets of New Ulm! And you are invited to attend!

The National Eucharistic Revival is a three-year project which officially begins on June 19. The first year will be a diocesan year (2022-23), which will allow every diocese to have diocesan-wide events and catechesis to strengthen and equip those who love the Eucharist to be able to share their love.

On this day, the diocese will host a Corpus Christi Eucharistic procession which will begin at 4 p.m. at the Diocesan Pastoral Center and conclude at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm. The procession will kick off the National Eucharistic Revival, an initiative organized by

inside

Celebrating

1972 2022

Y E A R S of the

Diocesan newspaper!

(Anniversary coverage, pg. 8)

Visit us online! www.dnu.org

The second year (2023-24) will be a parish year and will equip those who understand the Eucharist to share that love of the Eucharist with those Catholics who do not fully understand. This year will have catechetical and evangelistic opportunities in every parish.

(Art by Jules Breton)

The parish year culminates in the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, July 17-21, 2024, where it is hoped to gather 80,000100,000 Catholics of all ages

to celebrate the great gift of the Eucharist and to enkindle in them a missionary fire to share the love of Christ in the Eucharist with our country. The final year is the Year

of Going out on Mission, which will take place until Pentecost of 2025.

(Continued on page 2.)

Bishops meet with state leaders to advocate for families, the poor and vulnerable, and the common good

engaged in civil dialogue as all recognize that these are complex issues with myriad considerations.

The Church’s advocacy is principled, not partisan, allowing Catholics to work collaboratively across the political spectrum.

by Minnesota Catholic Conference Each spring, the bishops from Minnesota’s six dioceses which comprise the Minnesota Catholic Conference, convene in St. Paul to meet with the Governor and key state legislators. The annual day of meetings, which typically occurs around the mid-point of the legislative session, helps give momentum to the advocacy of MCC staff, who are tasked with bringing the bishops’ legislative concerns to the attention of lawmakers.

This year, the bishops focused their conversations with Gov.Tim

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Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, and other key legislative leaders on strengthening family economic security by creating a Minnesota Child Tax Credit, combating homelessness by assisting the work of emergency shelters, l

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providing equitable funding to nonpublic pupil aid programs, and opposing the legalization of online sports gambling.

As always, these conversations showcase an excellent model of faithful citizenship. Even during points of disagreement, the bishops and legislative leaders

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The policy advocacy of our bishops offers a credible witness to the Gospel and is an expression of their pastoral care for all people in the community, especially the poor and vulnerable. By modeling principled advocacy, our bishops help our elected officials come to (Continued on page 10.)

diocesan church

On good ground cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord. It is a prayer of thanksgiving and trust not spoken with our lips but lived through the work of our hands.

by Monsignor Douglas Grams Diocesan Administrator I am reminded of the creation story of Genesis, in which God created every temporal good in the Garden and then entrusted them to Adam to cultivate and nurture. Adam was the caretaker of the Garden, receiving God’s gifts gratefully, entrusted with cultivating them responsibly. As the diocesan administrator for the past nineteen months, as we await the appointment of our fifth bishop, I also serve as caretaker of the temporal goods given to the Diocese of New Ulm for the Lord’s work.

In fact, as Christian stewards, we all receive God’s gifts gratefully,

p ra rie The

catholic

The Prairie Catholic, the official newspaper for the Diocese of New Ulm since May 1972, is published every six weeks, Sept.-June.

Publisher: Msgr. Douglas Grams Editor: Christine E. Clancy Submission deadline is the 1st of each month prior to publication.

Publication office: Diocesan Pastoral Center, 1421 6th Street North, New Ulm, MN 56073; phone: 507-359-2966, Email: dnu@dnu.org Website: www.dnu.org Postmaster: Send notice on Form 3579, “The Prairie Catholic,” 1421 6th Street North, New Ulm, MN 56073-2071.

Periodical postage paid at New Ulm and additional mailing offices.

USPS 926-760.

The Prairie Catholic is available online at www.dnu.org

This month we present our annual diocesan financial report (see page 3 in this issue), for the year ended June 30, 2021, in the spirit of transparency and thanksgiving for God’s blessings and the selfless support of our benefactors. The finances of the diocese are under the oversight of Deacon Rick Christiansen, interim director of Finance, the College of Consultors, and the Diocesan Finance Council. Independent auditors have issued an opinion that the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Diocese of New Ulm and the results of its operations and cash flows.

We are pleased to report that the Statement of Activities for the year reflects a strong financial position, with net assets on June 30, 2021, of $17,992,000. Our net

assets grew $3,307,000 year-overyear.

received generous gifts from estates during the year.

We see God’s blessings through the strong investment climate this past year and the government programs which supported us during the pandemic. Gains in the value of endowments and other invested funds accounted for $2,216,000 of that increase. The vast majority of parishes, schools, and the Diocesan Pastoral Center received SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans which were forgiven during the 202021 fiscal year. The Statement of Activities includes $248,000 PPP loan forgiveness income received directly by the diocese.

The diocese strives to be a good steward of these gifts through its ministries. Administration of the diocese accounts for 37% of its total expenses. Evangelization and Catechesis ministries used $448,000, Worship and Spiritual Life ministries used $81,000, Social Ministries used $567,000, and formation and care of clergy used $569,000.

The diocese was also blessed through the generosity of our benefactors. Parishes directly supported the work of the diocese through $1,573,000 contributions to the Diocesan United Fund (DUF). The Diocesan Ministries Appeal (DMA) applied $785,000 of donor gifts to support the work of several outreach ministries.

DMA donations remain restricted by donors only to be used for those purposes. The diocese also

The diocese has emerged from bankruptcy on strong financial footing. We have been very prudent in controlling costs during that time, and we now look forward to expanding ministries that build up the Body of Christ when our new bishop is appointed as shepherd of the faithful in the Diocese of New Ulm. May God richly bless the work of our hands, and may he pour his Spirit upon us as stewards and caretakers of the temporal goods he has entrusted to us for his glory.

It is his promise that the Lord will not be outdone in generosity.

Prayer for a new bishop Almighty God, Who by the Holy Spirit moves the hearts of Your people, Direct the counsels of those who are appointed to choose a bishop for the Diocese of New Ulm, that we may be given a pastor who in faithfulness and wisdom shall lead Your people in the way of holiness.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us

Eucharistic Procession - “A time to boldly proclaim our faith and love for Christ in the Eucharist” (Continued from page 1.)

According to the USCCB website for this initiative, “The bishops of the United States are calling for a three-year grassroots revival of devotion and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.” The website states that “the bishops believe that God wants to see a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist - and sent out in mission ‘for the life of the world’” The Church teaches that the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives as Catholics. The Eucharist is central. It is the great gift of His Presence given to us by Christ, who desires to remain with us always and encourages us to remain with him and receive and be nourished by him. This great gift at the heart of the Church is the source of all true renewal. A revival in Eucharistic faith and devotion will bring about healing

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and a great renewal in the Church!

The Eucharistic Procession on June 19 will begin the diocesan Year of Eucharistic Revival here in the Diocese of New Ulm. Following the procession there will be prayers and Benediction at the Cathedral followed by a barbecue in Washington Park, across the street from the Cathedral. Parking will be at the Cathedral. Bus transportation from the Cathedral to the Pastoral Central will be provided from 3:00 to 3:45 p.m.

Come early to pray the 14 devotions at the beautiful Diocese of New Ulm’s Way of the Cross located behind the New Ulm Medical Center which leads up the hill to the Diocesan Pastoral Center in New Ulm. This historic shrine has been part of diocesan history for 118 years. Its 14 stations, with statues imported from Bavaria depicting the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus, provide a quiet, reflective walk l

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up a 700-foot brick path to a chapel dedicated to the Mother of Sorrows.

The Diocese of New Ulm Eucharistic Procession is meant to be a celebration! Consider making it into a parish or area faith community pilgrimage.

Let’s get a huge crowd together from all over the diocese to inaugurate this great revival in

the diocese and boldly proclaim our faith and love for Christ in the Eucharist by taking Him to the streets!

For further details and updates regarding the Diocese of New Ulm Eucharistic Procession on June 19 (Corpus Christi), visit the diocesan website, www.dnu.org.

Learn more about the USCCB document on the Eucharist Watch a free online course

A free course instructed by Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens, bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, Minn., and head of the USCCB Committee for Evangelization and Catechesis, will help you unpack the USCCB document on the Eucharist.

Visit eucharisticrevival.org for more resources on the revival, including a document entitled “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church.”

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diocesan church

Diocese of New Ulm

Statement of Activities (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021)

2020-2021 Revenues $5.7 Million

Grants and Other Income 58%

2020-2021 Expenses $2.6 Million

Diocesan United Fund 28%

Personnel 22%

Diocesan Ministries Appeal 14%

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Social Ministries 21%

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Worship and Spiritual Life 3%

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Administration 37%

Evangelization and Catechesis 17%

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En Tierra Buena por Monseñor Douglas Grams Administrador Diocesano Me acuerdo la historia en el libro de Génesis cuando Dios creó el huerto del Edén y lo confió a Adán para que lo cultivara y lo cuidara. Su trabajo fue de cuidar la creación de Dios. Adán cuidaba del jardin y recibia los regalos de Dios con gratitud, cultivandolo responsablemente. En mi caso, como Administrador Diocesano durante los últimos diecinueve meses y mientras esperamos el nombramiento de nuestro quinto Obispo, también soy el guardian de los bienes temporales entregados a la Diócesis de New Ulm para la obra del Señor.

De hecho, como administradores cristianos, todos recibimos los regalos de Dios con gratitud, lo cultivamos responsablemente, compartiendo amorosamente en materia de justicia con los demás y devolver en creces al Señor. Es una oración de agradecimiento y confianza no dicha por nuestros labios sino vivir por el trabajo de nuestras manos.

Este mes nos enfocamos con el resumen de los estados de cuentas de finanzas en la Diócesis de New Ulm (ver página 3). Este resumen corresponde al año que finalizó el 30 de junio del 2021, dentro de este marco de transparencia y agradecimiento por las bendiciones de Dios y el apoyo desinteresado de nuestros benefactores. Las finanzas de la diócesis están bajo la supervisión del Diácono Rick Christiansen, Director Interino de Finanzas, el Colegio de Consultores y el Consejo Diocesano de Finanzas.

Les informo que el estado de actividades del año refleja un estado de finanza sólida, con activos netos al 30 de junio del 2021 de $17,992,000. El activo neto creció $3,307,000 en el curso de los años.

El año pasado vimos las bendiciones de Dios como resultado de una inversion sólida y con los programas gubernamentales que nos apoyaron

durante la pandemia. Las ganancias en el valor de los fondos invertidos representaron $2,216,000. La mayoría de las parroquias, escuelas y el pastoral diocesano recibieron préstamos a traves del Programa de Protección de cheques de pago (PPP), prestamos que fueron perdonados durante el año fiscal 2020-21. La declaración de actividades incluye $248,000 PPP prestamos perdonados recibidos directamente por la diócesis.

La diócesis también fue bendecida gracias a toda la generosidad de nuestros benefactores. Las parroquias apoyaron el trabajo de la diócesis a través de sus contribuciones de $1,573,000 al Fondo Diocesano (DUF). La Campaña para los Ministerios Diocesanos (DMA, por sus siglas en inglés) utilizó $785,000 de las donaciones para apoyar el trabajo de los diferentes ministerios. Las donaciones del DMA permanecen restringidas para los ministerios designados solamente. La diócesis también recibió generosos obsequios durante el año.

La diócesis se esfuerza por ser un buen administrador de estos regalos a través de sus ministerios. La administración de la diócesis representa el 37% de sus gastos totales. El ministerio de Evangelización y Catequesis utilizó $448,000, el ministerio de Adoración y Vida Espiritual utilizó $81,000, el Ministerio encargado de las cuestiones sociales utilizó $567,000 y la formación y el cuidado del clero de $569,000.

La diócesis ha salido de la bancarrota con una base de finanza bien sólida. Hemos sido muy prudentes en controlar los gastos durante ese tiempo y ahora esperamos ampliar los ministerios para edificar el Cuerpo de Cristo cuando el nuevo obispo sea nombrado como el pastor de los fieles en la Diócesis de New Ulm. Que Dios bendiga abundantemente el trabajo de nuestras manos, y que derrame su Espíritu sobre nosotros como administradores y cuidadores de los bienes temporales que nos ha confiado para su gloria.

Retirement celebration On Sunday, June 12, there will be a celebration in honor of Fr. Keith Salisbury’s recent retirement from active ministry. A Mass of Celebration will be held at 12 noon at the Church of St Leo in St. Leo. A reception will follow from 1-4:00 p.m. in the church basement. Fr. Salisbury retired March 31, 2022.

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Priest to mark 50 years of service to diocese Monsignor Lozinski was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of New Ulm on May 28, 1972, at the Church of St. Leo in St. Leo by Bishop Alphonse J. Schladweiler.

Monsignor Eugene Lozinski Monsignor Eugene Lozinski will mark his 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood on May 28, 2022. There will be a Mass of Celebration on Sunday, June 12, at 2:00 p.m. at the Church of St. Mary in New Ulm followed by a reception in the church basement.

A native of Canby, Minn.,

Following ordination, he served at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm, St. Gregory the Great in Lafayette, St. Dionysius in Tyler, St. Genevieve in Lake Benton, St. Catherine in Redwood Falls, St. Pius X in Glencoe, St. Mary in Sleepy Eye, St. Paul in Comfrey, Japanese Martyrs in Leavenworth, St. Michael in Morgan and the oratory of St. Joseph in Clements. He currently serves as parochial administrator for the Corpus Christi Area Faith Community (St. Mary in Arlington, St. Michael in Gaylord, St. Joseph in Henderson, St.

John-Assumption in Faxon Twp., St. Brendan in Green Isle, and St. Thomas (Oratory) in Jessenland).

On the diocesan level, he has served as Defender of the Bond and Associate Judge of the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal, and the Bishop’s Delegate for the Permanent Diaconate. Monsignor Lozinski holds a Licentiate and Masters Degree in Canon Law. He has served as Chancellor of the diocese since 2004.

Monsignor Lozinski currently serves as Spiritual Advisor for the New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women.

In 2005, he was named Chaplain to His Holiness with the title of Monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI.

Deacon Stalboerger part of diocese’s first ordination class of permanent deacons held on March 21 at the Church of Our Lady of the Lakes in Spicer, with burial in the church cemetery.

Deacon Kenneth Stalboerger SPICER – Deacon Kenneth Stalboerger, a member of the Diocese of New Ulm’s first ordination class of permanent deacons, died on March 13, 2022, at his home near New London, Minn. He was 75.

A Mass of Christian Burial was

Deacon Stalboerger entered the Diocese of New Ulm’s permanent deacon formation program in the fall of 2007 as an aspirant, and one year later was admitted to candidacy for Holy Orders by Bishop John M. LeVoir. He was ordained a permanent deacon on April 21, 2012, by Bishop LeVoir at the Church of St. Mary in Sleepy Eye. He was assigned to his home parish, the Church of Our Lady of the Lakes and assisted in the Jesus Our Living Water Area Faith Community (St. Clara, Clara City, St. Mary, Willmar, Our Lady of the Lakes, Spicer.)

Deacon Stalboerger was born on July 6, 1946, in Mahnomen, Minn. He grew up on the family farm near Waubun and attended Waubun High School, graduating in 1964. He attended North Dakota State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and Economics.

On Aug. 23, 1969, he married Yvonne Trnka. They had two daughters, Kim and Kirsten. The couple made their home in Fargo and later divorced. On Dec. 16, 1977, he married Elta Solem.

They had three children, Kelsy, Kate, and Kurt. The family resided in Thief River Falls before moving to New London in 2000.

Clergy receive new parish assignments NEW ULM – Upon the recommendation of the Priest Personnel Board, Monsignor Douglas Grams, administrator of the Diocese of New Ulm, has made the following priest assignments.

Effective July 1, 2022 Fr. Shawn Polman to serve as parochial vicar to the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Marshall as well as the other parishes in the Bread of Life AFC (St. Clotilde, Green Valley l

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and St. Mary, Cottonwood) and the parishes of Our Lady of the Prairie AFC (St. Mary, Tracy and St. Michael, Milroy.)

Fr. Cornelius Ezeiloaku to serve as parochial vicar to the Church of St. Catherine in Redwood Falls as well as the other parishes in the Light of the World AFC (St. Anne, Wabasso and Our Lady of Victory, Lucan). In addition, he will serve as a fill-in for priests needing

April/May 2022

weekend and holy day assistance in our diocese.

Fr. Zach Peterson to serve as parochial vicar to the Church of St. Aloysius in Olivia as well as the other parishes in the Heart of Jesus AFC (St. Mary, Bird Island and Holy Redeemer, Renville.) In addition, he will assist with Hispanic ministry at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar as requested by the pastor.

diocesan church

Ordinations 2022: Soon-to-be priests ready to serve the Church

by Abbigail Saffert Prairie Catholic correspondent Three Diocese of New Ulm seminarians will be ordained priests on Saturday, May 28, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. at the Church of St. Mary in Sleepy Eye. If a new bishop of the diocese has not been appointed at that time, Bishop Emeritus John M. LeVoir will return to the diocese to ordain the men.

Deacon Thooft Thoughts about the priesthood came early for Deacon Tanner Thooft. It was in second grade, when he attended regular Saturday night Mass with his family, that he wondered what it was about the priest celebrating Mass that drew so many people there each week.

“I remember being really intrigued by that,” Thooft says. “There must be something special, something different here.”

Thooft questioned his parents about it afterward. Living and working on a farm with his family were the two most significant features of his life, so he asked where his parish priest’s family and farm were. When his parents told him that the parish and community were the priest’s spiritual children, Thooft initially thought that this path wasn’t for him. But yet, he wondered what would make someone give up a family to pursue the priesthood?

The question of what was so important about the priest’s role stuck with Thooft through Catholic school and into high school when he had the opportunity to go on a retreat.

At the time, he wasn’t much interested in the retreat. “I didn’t want to get anything out of it - just get out of school.”

However, during a time of quiet prayer on the retreat, Thooft found himself walking the Stations of the Cross and feeling the sense that something in life wasn’t quite right. “I couldn’t put my finger on it,” he recalls. “I’ve got friends, good grades, teachers like me; I love my family. But there’s something that’s off.” In praying and speaking with God, Thooft realized that doing things his way wasn’t leading to happiness, and that proved to be the turning point that led him to seminary.

In seminary, Thooft was

influenced by the example of faithfulness and holiness from his father. He recalled his dad bringing the problems and decisions of everyday farm and family life to Mass each week and laying them at the foot of the altar.

“This is what you do as a priest,” Thooft says. “You have nothing of yourself to offer. You bring the parish to the Lord, lay them at the foot of the altar, and offer the sacrifice of the Mass for them.”

Thooft also drew on the lessons of the farm. “With the farm, you really have to learn to rely on God,” he says. “You do your best. . .work and do everything perfectly, but it’s still up to God whether things work out.”

This focus on God in everyday life is also one of the aspects of the priesthood Thooft is looking forward to most.

“One of the great joys will be to visit with farmers and families, to walk into their everyday life, into the joys, sorrows, great things, disasters. And I am bringing Christ into this situation, whatever is happening. Even something like fall harvest, to put in the bulletin that Father’s day off is Monday, and he would love to help in the fields. The Lord loves these things.

He’s given you the vocation to be a farmer, so do it well, and you’re serving Christ - when you go to work, to the grocery store, whatever you’re doing.”

Deacon Hansen Deacon Nathan Hansen started to consider the priesthood after watching his father become a permanent deacon for the diocese in 2012.

“As I was thinking about what I wanted to do and what my mission is, I started praying and asking God what His plan was, so I just kept my heart open,” Hansen says.

“I kind of thought about the Old Testament stories, where God calls you, but no one had called me like that.”

While thinking and praying about the decision, Hansen enrolled in a community college in Hutchinson, Minn. On the drive to and from school, he listened to clergy speak on Relevant Radio and thought he could see himself as a priest.

“There’s a lot of good a priest can do, and I found myself with a

Deacon Tanner Thooft

Deacon Nathan Hansen

Scott & Debbie Thooft St. Edward, Minneota

desire to help people,” he recalls.

Hansen remembers falling asleep one night thinking that he had no desire to spend his life behind a desk. “There’s no peace; there’s no joy there. I told my parents and said I think I might be called to be a priest instead of spending the year trying to become an engineer.” With his parents’ support, they all went out to coffee to discuss this new path. Through this conversation, Hansen decided to take a year off to discern. “That was really life-giving for me to have that time to process and discern,” he says.

The discernment led Hansen to begin speaking with the vocations director for the diocese, but he remained unsure. He took a construction job, but “as much as I enjoy working with my hands, there was still no joy or peace.”

Hansen’s next step finally became apparent on a TEC retreat (Together Encounter Christ) where young adults explore and deepen their faith. “I encountered a guy who said ‘seminary is a place for young men to pursue the ways of God.’” “That was clear,” Hansen said.

“That’s where I want to be.” He called the vocations director and entered the seminary.

Hansen jokes that studying philosophy in seminary “wasn’t what got me out of bed in the morning.” At one point while studying in Rome, he recalls seeing another man who loved philosophy and thinking: “Lord, I’m not like him. Why should I keep going?” Hansen remembers walking by a little chapel and having the sense of the Lord saying, “Nathan, I call who I call.”

“It’s not I who chose Him, but He who chose me,” says Hansen.

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Deacon Joshua Bot

Deacon John & Ruthann Hansen St. John, Darwin

Deacon Bruce & Juanita Bot St. Edward, Minneota

Through this and many other moments, God continued to lead Hansen through seminary. He remembers praying, “Well Lord, if you want me to go, you’ve got to make it happen.”

fraternity they had. It was different from any other group of guys that I had been a part of up to that point. It was a group of guys who all wanted to grow in holiness and serve God’s Church, while supporting one another in doing so.”

Hansen looks forward to seeing the Lord’s work as a priest in the people around him. As a kid, he remembers going with his parents to daily Mass and listening to the older generations telling stories over coffee and donuts afterward.

“What every priest needs to do is listen to his people. I think I learned that when I was young,” says Hansen, recalling the stories and lessons from those early times. He continues to look forward to “really encountering the people, being with them and seeing what God is doing with their lives.” He also hopes to be a good administrator and to be a faithful steward of the gifts his parish staff brings to the table, “to help take that from being a job to being a vocation and having an encounter with the Lord, learning to thrive with the Lord and doing his work.”

Deacon Bot For Deacon Joshua Bot, discernment started with a game of chess. When his parish priest came to the family’s home for dinner, Bot, then a secondgrader, challenged him to a chess match. “I lost in two moves, which immediately earned my respect and admiration for him,” remembers Bot. “However, I started from that time to see priests as more approachable, which eventually led me asking myself whether I might be called to that.”

Bot pursued that question by visiting St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul to consider whether to enter. “I got to know the seminarians, and I saw that

April/May 2022

Bot decided to enter the seminary, and in his third year, he spent time studying and praying in Rome.

While there, a retreat experience became a turning point for him.

“I was just praying to God asking him if this was something that I could really do, and be fulfilled in doing,” said Bot. Being a husband and father was also something Bot had a deep desire for, so he spent time praying for clarity. “As I prayed that prayer, I closed my eyes and saw myself as a husband and father in a perfect family, with an awesome job. However, even though everything was perfect, I didn’t feel fulfilled,” he recalls.

When thinking of himself as a priest, though, even imagining a situation where everything was going badly, Bot still found a sense of peace and fulfillment. “It was as if God was saying, ‘Even if all you had left was me, I would still be enough for you.’ It was at that point that I really made my decision.”

Bot is looking forward to many aspects of being a priest. “I look forward to serving God and living my life giving myself to Him and his people by saying Mass, hearing confessions, and serving the people of God.”

The Diocese of New Ulm priest ordination on May 28 will be live-streamed at www.dnu.org. A recording of the Mass will remain on the website for on-demand viewing.

social concerns

Laudato Si’ Action Platform seven years to sustainability businesses, organizations, and P ope Francis’ encyclical religious orders) over seven Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home, was published May 24, 2015, and first released on June 18 of that year. Laudato Si’ means “Praise be to You,” which is the first line of a canticle

by Saint Francis that praises God with all of his creation.

In his papal letter, the Holy Father unites social justice, economic inequity, and various issues related to ecology and the environment. The first encyclical of its kind, the pope’s words in Laudato Si’ have reached well beyond the Catholic Church and have been highly praised by people of all faiths.

Deacon Tim Dolan, director of Social Concerns for the Diocese of New Ulm, recently agreed to a question and answer for The Prairie Catholic with environmental activist Judy Schindler of Bird Island about Laudato Si’ and the pope’s sevenyear Action Platform.

Q. In 2021, six years after its

release, the Vatican officially launched a seven-year Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP), a new global campaign to bring the message of this 2015 encyclical more fully into the lives of the faithful. What are the seven goals of LSAP?

A. Discerning a response to the ecological crisis is a profound act of care. In his encyclical, the Holy Father states this: “Caring for our brothers and sisters means caring for the home we share.” At this point, action is needed, and the seven goals found in Laudato Si can guide our actions and call for both a spiritual and cultural revolution to realize essential ecology.

The seven goals of this vital Action Platform are: 1. Response to the cry of the earth; 2. Response to the cry of the poor; 3. Ecological economics; 4. Adoption of sustainable lifestyles; 5. Ecological lifestyles; 6. Ecological spirituality; and 7. Community resilience and empowerment.

Q. The pope’s encyclical

is addressed to all people of goodwill. The LSAP is addressed to seven sectors (families, parishes, schools, hospitals,

years. Any significance to the number seven?

A. In sacred Scripture, the number seven signifies fullness or completeness. Think of the seven days of creation or the seven sacraments. The LSAP suggests the first year should be for planning, assessing where we are now, and what we want to do to make progress towards the goals.

The next five years are for putting into action the changes needed to move towards those goals. The seventh-year is to be a time of celebrating!

Q. Who can use the LSAP, and

how does one join the Platform?

A. Parishes, schools, families,

organizations, and individuals are encouraged to learn all they can about the LSAP. They can do this by going to www.laudatosi. org, where they will find much information, including a short video of Pope Francis inviting everyone to begin a seven-year journey to total sustainability.

They will learn about what is already happening worldwide in response to the pope’s encyclical and practical ideas for moving towards greater sustainability.

Q. What do you suppose

inspired Pope Francis to write Laudato Si’? To whom is it addressed?

A. Interestingly, as a young man, the Holy Father trained to be a chemist and worked as a technician in a food science laboratory. To understand how he was led to write Laudato Si, we need only to look back to previous popes. Pope Francis included some of their documents, writings, and quotes that focused on environmental concerns in his encyclical. For example, in 1971, Saint Pope Paul VI referred to the ecological concern as “a tragic consequence” of unchecked human activity: “Due to an ill-considered exploitation of nature, humanity runs the risk of destroying it and becoming, in turn, a victim of this degradation.” Saint John Paul II became increasingly concerned about the environmental issue.

He warned that human beings frequently seem “to see no other meaning in their natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption.”

Subsequently, he would call for global ecological conversion.

The Prairie Catholic

The Laudato Si’ Goals

1. Response to the Cry of the Earth - Adoption of renewable energies and energy sufficiency measures, carbon neutrality, protecting biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and access to clean water for all.

2. Response to the Cry of the Poor - Defense of human life from conception to natural death and all forms of life on earth, with special attention to vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, migrants, and children at risk through slavery.

3. Ecological Economics - Sustainable production, fair-trade, ethical consumption, ethical investments, divestment from fossil fuels and any economic activity harmful to the planet and the people, and investment in renewable energy.

4. Adoption of Simple Lifestyles - Sobriety in the use of resources and energy, avoid single-use plastic, adopt a more plant-based diet and reduce meat consumption, greater use of public transport, and avoid polluting modes of transportation.

5. Ecological Education - Re-think and re-design educational curricula and educational institution reform in the spirit of integral ecology to create ecological awareness and action, promoting the ecological vocation of young people, teachers, and leaders of education.

6. Ecological Spirituality- Recover a religious vision of God’s creation, encourage greater contact with the natural world in a spirit of wonder, praise, joy and gratitude, promote creation-centred liturgical celebrations, develop ecological catechesis, prayer, retreats, and formation.

7. Emphasis on Community involvement - and participatory action to care for creation at the local, regional, national and international levels (promote advocacy and people’s campaigns, encourage rootedness in local territory and neighbourhood ecosystems.

Benedict XVI likewise proposed “Eliminating the structural causes of the dysfunctions of the world economy and correcting models of growth which have proved incapable of ensuring respect for the environment.” He asked us to “recognize that the natural environment has been gravely damaged by our irresponsible behavior and we need to recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves.”

Q. The whole climate issue

is pretty overwhelming. Do you feel there is a connection between climate change and the issue of right-to-life? And what are some steps ordinary people can start doing right now to help slow the climate change process?

A. As a Catholic, the issue of right-to-life holds a high standard.

I agree with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) website, www.unep.org, when it states: “Human rights and the environment are intertwined; human rights cannot be enjoyed without a safe, clean, and healthy environment; and sustainable environmental governance cannot exist without the establishment of and respect for human rights.”

One way to make a positive change is to reduce the amount of single-use plastics such as grocery bags, straws, and takeout containers that we use. A l

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typical family uses hundreds of plastics every year, much of which ends up in our landfills. The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is an excellent start to help encourage communities throughout our diocese and beyond to begin individual efforts like this. I am hopeful that the Action Platform will inspire significant change and spark new ideas suitable to our planet earth. As Pope Francis wrote, “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements, and talents” (LS 14).

United Nations report paints a dire picture of our future.

According to a United Nations report on April 4, 2022, we learned that if we do not reduce pollutant-bearing emissions and other contaminants across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. Though this report tends to paint a dire picture of the future, it also indicates that there is still time to mitigate the most severe consequences of climate change.

Positive changes made now can allow for a livable future, and it is important that each one of us take the time to learn what we can do as a society that will stimulate us to do what must be done to clean up “our common home.”

April/May 2022

Editor’s note: Judy Schindler is a member St. Mary’s in Bird Island.

During the 1980s and 1990s, she served on various diocesan committees, including the Ecumenical Committee, the Adult Education Advisory Committee, and the Evangelization and Catechesis Committee. She also served as the New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (NUDCCW) International Affairs Commission chairperson and as NUDCCW vice-president.

Laudato Si’ Week May 22-29, 2022!

Learn more about this special week at www.laudatosiweek. org. This year’s theme is Integral Ecology: Pursuing the Common Good for our Common Home. For resources, ideas, and inspiration, visit The Catholic Climate Covenant website, www. catholicclimatecovenant.org/.

For more information about the LSAP, contact the diocesan Office of Social Concerns, tdolan@dnu.org; (509) 2335326.

family life

Diocese of New Ulm Marriage Preparation Program provides tools to build a strong and healthy marriage for engaged couples

by Katie Ballalatak Prairie Catholic correspondent NEW ULM – Each year, the Diocese of New Ulm Office of Family Life conducts up to six Marriage Preparation Programs that allow engaged Catholic couples to study and understand the richness and beauty of the teachings of the Catholic Church on marriage and family.

These one-day programs feature committed Catholic married couples who present on the topic of marriage. They bring these teachings to life through the sharing of their own experiences – all to help engaged couples prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage.

Roger and Deb Schroeder, parishioners of Holy Redeemer in Marshall, and Deacon Russ and Debbie Blaschko, parishioners of St. Peter in St. Peter, have served the diocese as marriage preparation presenters for 20 and 34 years, respectively. Both couples consider this opportunity a gift – one they genuinely love giving again and again to Catholic couples throughout the year.

The Marriage Preparation Program focuses on six C’s. s Commitment unfolds marriage as a sacrament, a visible sign of God’s love, that is faithful, fruitful and forever. s Communication explores ways for couples to share themselves, their values, ideals, and hopes for their own relationship, their family and beyond. s Conflict resolution explores skills to restore harmony in relationships in a Christ-like and charitable manner. s Career and finance speaks of time, talent, and treasure and the sharing of those in the family, the Church, and the world. s Children and parenting highlights the relationship of family and how the couple is enriched through their use of natural family planning (NFP), as they seek to parent their children. s Church explores faith and spirituality in marriage, highlighting interfaith issues and the importance of prayer.

Sr. Candace Fier, ISSM, is the director of the Office of Family Life for the Diocese of New Ulm. She holds a masters degree in Marriage and Family and is also a nurse and a certified

CrM FertilityCare practioner.

Beyond coordinating the Marriage Preparation Program and its presenters, she spends considerable time collaborating with other diocesan Family Life offices throughout the state. “We as family life directors have ongoing conversations about how we think we can most effectively reach our couples today. What are the specific needs of our couples that are coming to us? How do we respond to the needs that society presents?”

As a result of these discussions, all Minnesota dioceses have a standard pre-marriage preparation program, and each meets the requirements needed to get married in the Catholic Church.

This allows engaged couples to attend any of the pre-marriage programs in the state, should scheduling conflicts come into play.

“I think that’s been a real positive for us in the sense that it makes it much easier to serve our couples,” says Sr. Candace.

Sr. Candace Fier (front), director of the diocesan Office of Family Life is pictured with her team of marriage preparation presenters (front-back) Roger and Deb Schroeder and Debbie and Deacon Russ Blaschko.

(Photo by Christine Clancy)

Above all, Sr. Candace says it’s important for the diocese to provide engaged couples with good role models and support from couples living strong faith lives. “All of our presenters view their presentation as a gift to the future marriage of each couple.

I encourage couples to take advantage of that – to take the time to ask questions and really be enriched by what those couples can give.”

During their years of marriage presenting, the Schroeders have primarily spoken on communication and conflict – topics they say they “fell” into but consider of the utmost importance.

“Communication is just so key and so important in a marriage.

It’s something we’ve worked hard to keep open in our own marriage,” said Deb.

Meet the Schroeders Married for 28 years and the parents of seven children, Roger and Deb ultimately became involved in marriage ministry to give back to engaged couples in the Catholic Church. Twenty years later, their intention remains the same. “We believe so strongly in the sacrament of marriage,” said Roger. “We know the joys of being married and the importance of staying together, and we like helping where we can.”

Deb agrees: “We love having the opportunity to share our experiences and some of our own ups and downs of marriage with others so they can gain information that could potentially help them in their own marriages,” she said.

The Prairie Catholic

In between presentations, Roger and Deb make themselves available and have had couples approach them to talk about addiction, family life, or specific questions they didn’t feel comfortable bringing to a larger group setting.

The Schroeders’ time spent in marriage ministry has helped build and strengthen their marriage as well: “Every time we are preparing to present, we see things from a different light which has just enriched our own marriage along the way,” said Deb. When it comes to fostering a marriage after the wedding, Roger and Deb encourage couples to continue to dedicate time to the relationship, specifically through marriage retreats. “That time dedicated to your relationship is l

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important. It might not always look like a retreat. But especially after kids and careers take over our lives, it’s so important to have dedicated time as a couple,” said Roger.

Meet the Blaschkos Deacon Russ and Debbie, who will celebrate 40 years of marriage in September, started presenting in 1988.

At that time, the couple presented on finances and career due to Deacon Russ’ background in banking. Today, they continue to give the career talk, but also speak about children and natural family planning, something they really have a passion for “because it’s healthy, effective, and a gift,” said Deacon Russ.

When it comes to finances, the Blaschkos recommend and work with the couples through the idea of “family backgrounds” and how an individual’s family background may affect how a couple interacts with each other.

The common theme of sacramental grace weaves throughout the Blaschkos’ presentations. “We invite them to ask for the grace of matrimony. A

April/May 2022

marriage is not easy. You need the grace of matrimony to survive the long haul,” said Deacon Russ.

Like Roger and Deb, Deacon Russ and Debbie’s years in marriage ministry have also positively affected their family life. “I feel like this is the perpetual marriage class,” says Debbie. “Because we always have to go through our talks and update things, and then we’re forced to discuss things.”

For Deacon Russ, the experience of marriage ministry always reminds him that his children are constantly watching their marriage. “They have been learning by how we interact, how we embrace each other, how we solve our problems,” he said.

“All married couples should live their lives knowing their children are going to imitate the way they worked through marriage. If I live my marriage with joy and hope and reconciliation, I can hope my children will observe that and will do the same.”

Editor's note: Couples interested in becoming a Marriage Program presenter should contact the Office of Family Life, cfier@dnu.org, (507) 233-5328.

education

Extra! Extra! The Prairie Catholic celebrates 50 years of pastoral news

by Christine Clancy The Prairie Catholic

T

he year was 1972, and the first issue of NEWSLETTER rolled off the press!

Here’s the rest of the story. . .

On Nov. 18, 1957, the Diocese of New Ulm was established. Bishop Alphonse J. Schladweiler was appointed to shepherd the newly formed diocese. Up until 1972, the majority of the news about the new see was relayed to the diocesan faithful through a single-page information sheet maintained by a close association with The Catholic Bulletin, (renamed The Catholic Spirit in 1996), the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul. (The archdiocese was renamed the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 1966).

Early in his leadership, Bishop Schladweiler expressed his desire to have greater communication with pastoral leaders and the diocesan faithful he was entrusted to care for. Acting on the recommendation of the diocesan Liturgical Commission, the bishop gave his approval for a “news sheet” that would be mailed once a month, free of charge, to every registered Catholic household. It would include information about the activities of parishes and significant diocesan and parish events.

After several years of planning by numerous clergy, religious, and laypersons, the first edition of the eight-page NEWSLETTER was printed on May 27, 1972. It was produced ten times per year, September through June, and was mailed to households of the nearly 70,000 registered Catholics in

The NEWSLETTER was the result of several years of planning by clergy, religious, and lay people. The newspaper’s first editorial team included Margaret Knutson, (left), Bill McGarry, Fr. Donald Eichinger-editor, Fr. Henry LeMay, Lois Willette, and Fr. Eugene Brown.

(Photos from Prairie Catholic archives) the 15 counties comprising the Diocese of New Ulm. The newly formed newspaper’s production team included the editor, Fr. Donald Eichinger, who at the time was also serving as pastor of the Church of the Japanese Martyrs in Leavenworth, Margaret Knutson of Hutchinson, Bill McGarry of Appleton, Fr. Henry LeMay who was also serving as pastor of the Church of St. Andrew in Granite Falls, Lois Willette of Olivia, and Fr. Eugene Brown who was also serving as pastor of the Church of St. Leo in St. Leo. Newspaper a concerted effort.

Regional secular newspapers in the diocese pitched in to help with the production of the NEWSLETTER, which was being financially supported by the Diocesan United Fund, an annual parish assessment that helps support all of the ministries of the diocese.

For the first number of issues, A.J. Henle of the Lyon County Independent in

Marshall, Minn. allowed the NEWSLETTER production team to use his company’s printing press. Mailing labels were provided

by Dave Theisen of the Crow River Press in Hutchinson, Minn.

When the Marshall newspaper changed hands that same year, Fr. Eichinger arranged for the printing and addressing of mailing labels to be done by Mickelson Media of New Ulm. By the end of the first year, the entire printing of the NEWSLETTER was managed by the House of Print in Madelia, Minn. The Prairie Catholic continues to be printed in Madelia.

In his first pastoral letter published in the NEWSLETTER, Bishop Schladweiler expounded on the newspaper’s mission. He wrote: “Today, the diocese ventures into journalism. There has been a long period of expectation. Our priests and people have greatly desired this paper. I look upon it first of all as a reflection in print of our holy faith and of the Catholic way of life. Is there

Above: Front page of NEWSLETTER’s premiere issue on May 27, 1972. In 1986, the paper was renamed The Prairie Catholic. a need for another publication in our midst?

There is because this paper will be storied applications of our day-to-day Christian experiences. No other paper tells of this daily struggle and the triumphs and failures of the people of God in the Diocese of New Ulm.” Newspaper gets a new name!

In 1975 Bishop Schladweiler’s request for retirement was accepted by Pope Paul VI, (Continued on page 9.)

Pope Francis expresses ‘sorrow and shame’ for Catholic role in abuse against Indigenous peoples; meets Canadian Indigenous leaders at the Vatican

by Catholic News Agency Editor’s note: On April 1, 2022, at the Vatican, Pope Francis made a historic apology to Indigenous peoples for the “deplorable” abuses they suffered in Canada’s Catholicrun residential schools and said he hoped to visit Canada in late July to deliver the apology in person to survivors of the Church’s misguided missionary zeal.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has expressed his “sorrow and shame” for the role Catholics have played in the abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada, especially in residential schools. During a meeting with representatives of the Métis, Inuit, and First Nations groups at the Vatican on April 1, the pope condemned colonization,

saying he was sorry for the historic evil committed against Canadian Indigenous peoples.

Pope Francis, who had private meetings with the Métis, Inuit, and First Nations delegations, said “listening to your voices, I was able to enter into and be deeply grieved by the stories of the suffering, hardship, discrimination and various forms of abuse that some of you experienced, particularly in the residential schools.”

“It is chilling to think of determined efforts to instill a sense of inferiority, to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the personal and social effects that this continues to entail: unresolved traumas that have become intergenerational traumas,” he said.

The Prairie Catholic

He condemned the colonization which broke the Indigenous peoples away from their native land and ways of life, stating that “in this way, great harm was done to your identity and your culture, many families were separated, and great numbers of children fell victim to these attempts to impose a uniformity based on the notion that progress occurs through ideological colonization, following programs devised in offices rather than the desire to respect the life of peoples.”

The pope said that learning about these situations made him feel deep indignation and shame, “because it is not right to accept evil and, even worse, to grow accustomed to evil, as if it were an inevitable part of the historical process.”

“I feel shame – sorrow and shame l

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– for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values,” he stated.

“All these things are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he underlined. “For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry.”

“Clearly, the content of the faith cannot be transmitted in a way contrary to the faith itself: Jesus taught us to welcome, love, serve and not judge; it is a frightening thing when, precisely in the name of the faith, counter-witness is

April/May 2022

rendered to the Gospel,” he added.

“It is my hope,” Francis continued, “that our meetings in these days will point out new paths to be pursued together, instill courage and strength, and lead to greater commitment on the local level.

Any truly effective process of healing requires concrete actions.

In a fraternal spirit, I encourage the Bishops and the Catholic community to continue taking steps towards the transparent search for truth and to foster healing and reconciliation.”

“I wish to tell you that the Church stands beside you and wants to continue journeying with you,” Pope Francis said.

Catholic life

A final farewell

New Council president installed at April convention Those of us serving on the NUDCCW board continued to make plans for upcoming events, which often had to be canceled.

We went from meeting in person to meeting via Zoom, which provided yet another new adventure for many of us board members. It was a presidency that provided many twists and turns (not unlike those who came before me), but it was definitely different.

by Barb Mathiowetz former NUDCCW president This is my last article as the New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (NUDCCW) president, a position I have held for two years.

My term began at the end of April 2020, which was also the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, no one knew what the months ahead would entail for NUDCCW and like everyone else, we took it one day at a time.

As I am writing this, final preparations are being made for the annual NUDCCW Convention, which will have taken place on April 30. I would like to thank the women of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church for all their hard work and dedication in the planning and hosting this day which they had initially planned for in 2020 and then re-planned for 2021 and planned again for 2022!

New president installed.

At the April convention, Jackie

Finstad, a member of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm, was installed as the new NUDCCW president. She has served on the NUDCCW Board as president-elect since last summer.

(More about Finstad and the convention will appear in the June issue of The Prairie Catholic.)

Jackie is a warm and welcoming, faith-filled woman who will bring a fresh perspective that breathes new life into the Council of Catholic Women.

As I write these final words, I would like to thank all those in the Diocese of New Ulm who do so much through the DCCW. I am inspired by your faith and the love you bring to our Church and communities. With a sincere and grateful heart, I say my final farewell as the president of NUDCCW. May God’s blessing be upon each one of you.

Newspaper a key instrument of evangelization (Continued from page 8.) and a new shepherd was named.

Bishop Raymond A. Lucker was installed on Feb. 19, 1976, as the second bishop of the diocese.

Recognizing the growing interest and a need for improved communication with the people of the diocese, in 1979 Bishop Lucker formed the diocesan Office of Communications and appointed Fr. Dennis Labat to serve as part-time director while remaining associate pastor of the Church of St. Mary in Sleepy Eye and teaching at St. Mary’s High School.

In 1984, Paula Marti was hired to serve as the first full-time director of the Office of Communications and assumed the newspaper editor responsibilities shortly thereafter.

In 1986, NEWSLETTER readers were invited to participate in a “Name the Diocesan Newspaper” contest. The expectation of the contest was to find a name that would more clearly reflect what the diocese was – A people and a place in one of the most rural dioceses in the nation.

Out of the nearly 300 names submitted, Betty Heymans of Sleepy Eye won with her entry, The Prairie Catholic. The new masthead appeared in the September 1986 edition of the newspaper.

From 1986 to 2017, The Prairie Catholic continued publishing ten times a year, September–June. In March of 2017, when the diocese filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to manage legal expenses and facilitate settlements with clergy sexual abuse survivors, the Communications office was downsized to a staff of one, and the newspaper was reduced to seven issues published every six weeks (September-June).

The diocesan newspaper continues to be financially supported by the Diocesan United Fund (DUF), in addition to donor contributions to the annual United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Catholic Communications Campaign, as well as an annual Home Missions Grant. The newspaper continues to be mailed free to all registered Catholic households in the diocese.

Valued teaching tool.

Throughout these past 50 years, the diocesan newspaper has been a

valuable teaching tool that aims to assist the bishop and his diocesan staff, clergy, and parishes. It has remained a key instrument of evangelization and an essential presence in the life of the Diocese of New Ulm. For some in the diocese, the newspaper is their only means of Catholic education and spiritual formation.

Although e-newsletters, websites, social media, blogs, and email have become an essential part of any Church communications strategy, by the grace of God and the financial support from the faithful in the pews, the diocesan newspaper will continue to make an imprint in helping those in our parishes deepen their understanding of their Catholic faith and be a part of the life of the Church.

Editor’s note: Christine Clancy is editor of The Prairie Catholic.

She has served the Diocese of New Ulm Office of Communications since 1987.

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They have witnessed their friend, their hoped-for savior die; they have seen their community scattered; they have understood their trust in God to have been misplaced. What is left for them now?

Jesus, of course, turns them around – quite literally. The encounter with the risen Christ means a renewed encounter with hope; that God is not done yet; that darkness and suffering do not have the final word.

Indeed, this story continues to unfold in our own time. We look out at a world wracked by hunger, poverty, war, injustice and we, too, feel like walking away. Where should we place our hope when the challenges seem insurmountable?

This is the story of resurrection.

We encounter Christ daily in the faces of our neighbors, of those we meet in our work, our home, on our streets, those whom we have yet to meet face to face but with whom we are intricately tied

as members of God’s one human family.

We encounter Christ, too, within ourselves. And in these encounters, we have reason to hope. Because God is not done yet – and so long as we have strength to continue the work of building a culture of encounter, of responding to our Gospel call, neither are we.

How are you called to join with others to “turn around” and challenge injustice that you see or experience?

How can you work with others to be a sign of Christ’s Resurrection in your community?

Editor’s note: This reflection was first published in CRS Rice Bowl’s Encounter Lent: Theological & Scriptural Reflections and appeared on WeAreSaltAndLight.org.

Summer Camps tCamp Beloved - Girls’ Camp

July 23-25 (grades 6-8) July 26-29 (grades 9-12)

July 3-Aug. 1 (grades 6-8) Aug. 2-5 (grades 9-12)

The Prairie Catholic and the NEWSLETTER are now available digitally through an online archive. Be sure to check out this great resource for documented voices, events, and Christian teachings that have shaped the Diocese of New Ulm for the past 50 years. Visit www.dnu.org - The Prairie Catholic

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W

hen the risen Jesus encounters his disciples on the road to Emmaus, it is quite clear that their journeying away from Jerusalem is in fact a journeying away from hope.

tCamp Greatness - Boys’ Camp

Newspaper archives now available

The Prairie Catholic

Easter - a time to encounter the Resurrection of our Risen Lord

Held at Schoenstatt-on-the-Lake in Sleepy Eye Online registration is available through the diocesan Office of Youth & Young Adult Ministry, www.dnu.org/youth, or contact Kevin Losleben, director, klosleben@dnu.org, (507) 233-5327.

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April/May 2022

education

Ask a Canon Lawyer This month’s question:

“In addition to celibacy, what are the Church’s other

expectations for the way a priest should live, such as poverty?”

by Fr. Mark Steffl, STL, JCL

T

here is a significant portion of the Code of Canon Law that deals with things relating to the lives of priests, as well as specific duties and obligations relating to different assignments priests may receive (such as to serve in a particular parish or as a chaplain to some specific group) or offices that they may hold (such as vicar general or judicial vicar for a diocese).

In addition to what is in the Code of Canon Law, the Holy See has issued a “Directory for the Ministry and Lives of Priests.”

National conferences of Catholic bishops can regulate specifics of priests in a certain country and each diocese can (and usually does) have its own policies

governing what is expected of and provided for priests. (One can imagine, for example, that a priest in a missionary area of the world might require very different remuneration for basic personal expenses than someone in an urban area of a developed nation.)

Relating to the specific area of the question, we can find much of our answer in canon 282 of the Code of Canon Law, in a chapter titled “The Obligations and Rights of Clerics” (see inset box).

It is important to start with the misconception that all priests make vows of poverty. There are certain religious congregations wherein members make a vow of poverty, meaning that they have nothing that they themselves can own.

But diocesan priests that make up the great majority of the priests

Bishops advocate for families (Continued from page 1.) view the Church as a home for people to know, love, and serve the Lord.

Opposition to sports gambling platforms Minnesota’s Catholic bishops joined a coalition of faith leaders from Minnesota’s Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant communities to express their opposition to the legalization of commercial sports gambling via a letter delivered to the governor and every member of the Minnesota House and Senate.

The letter – which was spearheaded by MCC’s partner organization, the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) – lays out concerns not only from a moral perspective, but also addressing the very real costs of gambling and the damage that would be created by normalizing mobile gambling.

dozen faith leaders ranging from rabbis in Duluth, to rural area Protestant leaders, to Muslim imams in the Twin Cities, highlights the underreported reality that the push by sports gambling companies to enter Minnesota is not as widely embraced as lawmakers may have been led to believe.

The full letter can be read at www.mncatholic.org/gambling.

Action Alert!

Lawmakers are attempting to make Minnesota the land of anytime, anywhere gambling by allowing sports betting through mobile apps. A new source of addition and depravation must not be unleased just so a privileged few can have a bit more fun watching a ballgame.

Please visit MCC’s Action Center to find ways to get engaged on this important issue, at www. mncatholic.org/actioncenter.

The fact that the letter was signed by a diverse array of nearly two

The Prairie Catholic

that are serving in parishes in the Diocese of New Ulm do not make such a “vow of poverty” but instead are bound to live a “simple way of life and to avoid anything that has a semblance of vanity or worldliness” as the first section of canon 282 prescribes. (Diocesan priests are specifically referred to in the Code as “secular priests” to differentiate from “religious priests” who belong to a religious institute such as the Benedictines or Jesuits.)

Diocesan priests receive a small salary which is intended to cover the expenses that they have in their personal upkeep and to provide for their personal and pastoral needs, such as to have a car, clothes and other necessities.

Housing is provided for a priest who is assigned to work in a parish, usually in the form of a rectory or other accommodations which the parish provides,

Can. 282 §1. Clerics are to follow a simple way of life and avoid anything that has a semblance of vanity or worldliness. §2. Goods which they receive on the occasion of the exercise of an ecclesiastical office, and which are over and above what is necessary for their worthy upkeep and the fulfillment of all the duties of their state, they ought to use for the good of the Church and for charitable works. including furniture. Health insurance and a stipend for food and groceries are other examples of things that are also supplied to priests who are assigned to a parish.

The “simplicity of life” that is expected of a priest means that he does not get weighed down with the things of the world that would be a distraction either for him or the Christian faithful that he serves. For example, a priest needs a car and clothing, but there is a difference between different models and brands of cars that might be seen as a luxury rather than a basic need. It is easily seen that the Lord has this expectation of his apostles when he sends them out with very specific instructions as to what they are to take and not take along in their mission, such as in Luke 9:2 when the Lord says, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a

bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics.”

In section 2 of canon 282, the Church directs that anything above the needs of a priest should be used “for the good of the Church and for charitable works.”

These are some challenging words to the priest so that he will learn to trust in the Lord and better live a life of service to the Christian faithful.

Editor’s note: Fr. Mark Steffl is a canon lawyer and serves as judicial vicar of the diocesan Office of the Tribunal. If you have a question regarding Canon Law for Fr. Steffl, email The Prairie Catholic, cclancy@dnu.org.

NEXT ISSUE: What is the relationship and difference between an archbishop and a bishop?

U.S. Bishops’ Migration Chairman addresses termination of Title 42 WASHINGTON – On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order terminating the use of Title 42 of the U.S. Code to prohibit certain noncitizens from entering the United States, effective May 23, 2022. Originally begun in a purported effort to reduce COVID-19 transmission, this policy has led to the expulsion of more than one million migrants by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2020, including many asylumseeking children and families.

In implementing this policy, DHS has overridden normal immigration proceedings and skirted due process protections, forcibly returning vulnerable individuals to places where their lives are in danger.

Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, issued the following statement: l

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“We welcome the end of this harmful policy. In its place, my brother bishops from along the U.S.-Mexico border and I have long urged policies that are supported by sound scientific rationales, respect migrants’ intrinsic dignity, preserve human life, and provide for safe, orderly, and humane immigration, all while acknowledging the right of nations to maintain their borders.

“Let us be clear: any perceived or actual increase in vulnerable migrants seeking refuge at our border in the coming months will not be a direct result of this change. Many are already at our door, having been forced to languish in Mexico for an indefinite period of time, unable to avail themselves of the opportunity to seek protection in accordance with U.S. and international law. Persecution, violence, natural disasters, and other root causes of migration will continue to force people to seek protection until more robust

April/May 2022

efforts are undertaken to address them.

“We urge the Biden Administration to implement a comprehensive plan for the border that ensures the humane treatment of all persons and respects their God-given dignity, while safeguarding due process. This can only be achieved successfully through government-led preparations made in close coordination with border communities and civil society across the country, especially organizations providing humanitarian support.

“In less than two weeks, we will celebrate the Solemnity of Easter. In preparing our hearts to encounter Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, let us ponder his unwavering love for us and allow it to move us toward that same outpouring of charity when faced with the challenges of our time.”

around the diocese Lenten parish mission challenges faithful to live an authentic Christian life

by Madison Field Prairie Catholic correspondent WATKINS – In March, St. Anthony’s Catholic Community in Watkins, located in the far northeast corner of the Diocese of New Ulm, along with the Area Catholic Communities of Eden Valley and Paynesville, both located in the Diocese of St. Cloud, joined for a Lenten parish mission titled “Into the Deep,” led

by Deacon Ralph Poyo, founder of New Evangelization Ministries (NEM).

Prior to the mission which ran from March 27-30, 2022, Deacon Poyo preached at all of the weekend Masses to encourage mission attendance.

The congregation interacted with responses and laughter as he shared his experiences and related Bible passages to today’s modern experiences.

Deacon Poyo admitted that we often go through the motions or do what we think ‘good Catholics’ should do but do not deeply know God or our faith. “If you don’t want to spend time with God now, what makes you think you will want to spend the rest of eternity with Him in Heaven?” he asked.

Deacon Poyo promised to show what God intends for the lives of his people during the four-day Lenten mission.

An hour of adoration preceded

each evening’s mission talk on God’s saving plan, spiritual warfare, living in the Holy Spirit, and discipleship. Each presentation brought attention to ways we tend to leave God out of our lives and how we can put Him back into our lives with great love and authenticity.

Small group leader session The Saturday morning before the mission, about a dozen parishioners attended a training session hosted by Deacon Poyo on how to be a small group leader. The session began with sharing experiences and a time for discussion, helping Deacon Poyo to get to know the parish staff, pastor, and parishioners.

Deacon Poyo also shared some common problems he has seen as he travels around the country.

For example, for decades, small groups and Catholic education programs have been content-driven, when 85 percent of evangelization should be relationship-building and purposedriven. “Content is a vehicle” that “challenges you to go deeper than the script,” the deacon explained.

“As we work to be purposedriven, we should be creating a desire for the depths of God in those we meet,” he said.

Relationships and trust are key.

Deacon Poyo believes two things are necessary for effective small

to live an authentic Christian life,” said Fr. Aaron Nett, pastor of St. Anthony and Assumption parishes. “It is our foundational base. We must live it, and then we can proclaim it by our personal witness.”

Deacon Ralph Poyo speaks to those attending “Into the Deep,” a four-day Lenten mission in the Catholic Community of Watkins in the Diocese of New Ulm and Eden Valley and Paynesville in the Diocese of St. Cloud.

(Photo by Madison Field) groups and evangelization – genuine relationships and trust, allowing love to flow. He said that authentic Catholicism requires us to take off our “mask” of being a “perfect Catholic” and begin sharing the things that are hard to talk about, the things we are struggling with and would bring to the sacrament of confession.

“When we talk about it, it creates a longing for healing. This is the power of small groups!” he exclaimed.

Deacon Poyo said relationships and trust are where we desperately need each other and the Lord.

“Satan has trained everyone to reject Jesus every day,” he warned, later explaining that what we hide from God and others

hinders our ability to love and experience true freedom. On the contrary, “Your vulnerability opens it up for others, casting light for the Holy Spirit to work,” and then “people become lights for others.”

“If it is authentic, there is value.

That’s the thing we aren’t providing. Value is what people really want and need,” Deacon Poyo said.

Deacon Poyo said that parish leaders are called to model these values and enforce expectations of confidentiality as their members are asked to keep going deeper.

“I really liked his [Deacon Poyo] approach to challenging people

“Catholics have the duty of making disciples and bringing Christ into our daily life, relationships, and every place we go,” said Fr. Nett. “People want to. You can hear it when they talk about wanting their children to come back [to the Church].”

During Saturday’s session, Deacon Poyo encouraged time to “debrief,” which he said is done by cultivating our language and ability to speak about the ways God is working in our lives, a point he also stressed throughout the four-day mission. Processing how we have encountered God and giving words to our experience is something he sees Catholics not always good at doing. As people encounter God, it is helpful to ask: “What just happened to you?” or make the statement: “that ‘something’ you are feeling is called the Holy Spirit!”

According to Deacon Poyo, “Authentic conversion is always from the inside out. Let him [the Holy Spirit] have that freedom and watch what happens!”

Faithful gather for annual Chrism Mass

by Christine Clancy The Prairie Catholic

Sunday, May 15

“Love Ya Mom: Getting to Know Mary” Hail Mary, full of grace. . . You have said the prayer a thousand times, but have you ever stopped to consider what it means? Sr. Cecilia will tell us more about Mary and why we need her.

Sr. Cecilia, ACJ

The Prairie Catholic

NEW ULM – Bishop Emeritus John M. LeVoir returned to the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm on April 7, 2022, to bless the oil of the Sick and the oil of the Catechumens, and consencrate the Sacred Chrism during the annual Chrism Mass – the first such celebration in two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The oils will be used in parishes throughout the year.

Bishop LeVoir’s homily reflected on being more “internal,” which is something he said Pope Francis has been asking all of us to do.

The bishop said that we need to “really concentrate on asking Christ to come and dwell within us and let all of our actions be manifested from that presence of Christ in our souls and our hearts.

That is a big challenge!” he said.

The bishop continued, “Things l

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are very busy in this world, busy for all of us. We get so immersed in the material, the details that we do, the obligations that we have, responsibilities that we have to fulfill that sometimes that gets neglected - and really it shouldn’t,” he said.

The bishop emphasized that the most important aspect of our lives is our union with Jesus Christ.

“If that is not there, there Bishop LeVoir breathes over the vessel is not much good that is going to happen,” he said. containing the Chrism oil during the Chrism “I think that is why Pope Mass. The gesture symbolizes the Holy Spirit coming down to consecrate the Francis is asking us to Chrism.

(Photo by Christine Clancy) think about our interior spiritual life and invite Christ every day into the inner A recording of the Chrism Mass core of our being.” and photo highlights are available at www.dnu.org/2022chrismmass

April/May 2022

MANKATO, Minn. – The School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) Central Pacific Province announced March 14, 2022, the next steps for sisters living at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Mankato, Minn., and their property there.

The sisters currently living there will move to Benedictine Living Community in Shakopee, Minn. In addition, the religious order is in negotiations with a developer for the purchase of the property at Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Since 2014, the SSNDs have been working on a visioning process based on continuing their mission in light of current realities. “Of utmost importance is the sustainability of our mission

guided by dialogue, collaboration, community life, service, prayer and communal discernment, ecological sensitivity, and openness to change,” said Sister Debra Sciano, Provincial Leader.

“The initial goal of the SSND Good Counsel Work Group was to find quality healthcare, ideally in the Mankato area, in a facility that kept the sisters together and was financially feasible,” said Sister Mary Kay Gosch, Campus Administrator. However, she said “It became evident that the hope of living in one facility, at Our Lady of Good Counsel or elsewhere in Mankato, was not possible.”

On April 14, 2022, Florida Gov.

Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill protecting the unborn from abortion after 15-weeks gestation. The state’s Catholic bishops praised DeSantis for his “commitment to defend unborn children and their mothers” and for his leadership in encouraging the Legislature to take up the bill and pass it and for his own support of the measure.

Handy and Terrisa Bukovinac of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) first told reporters on April 5 that they obtained 115 aborted babies from a driver for a medical waste company outside a D.C. abortion clinic, Washington Surgi-Clinic, with the intention of giving the unborn children a dignified funeral and burial.

About a week earlier, the bishops welcomed a judge’s ruling upholding a 2015 state law that gives women 24-hours to reflect on information provided by physicians before proceeding with abortions.

Five of the babies, who appear to be of late-term gestation, were located by the Metropolitan Police Department on March 30. PAAU says it arranged for the D.C. police to collect and examine the babies, fearing that the babies’ injuries could be evidence of illegal abortions.

Regarding the 15-week abortion ban, the “historic law,” as the bishops termed it, takes effect July 1 and includes provisions to improve infant health and to analyze and reduce fetal and infant mortality. It replaces a previous law that allowed abortions until 24 weeks of pregnancy.

During the governer’s remarks, he referred to the aborted babies recently found in Washington, D.C. “What we’re doing today is saying that we will not let that happen in the state of Florida,” the Republican politician said.

Anti-abortion activists Lauren

Since then, lawmakers have sent multiple letters calling for a full

investigation and autopsies of the babies’ bodies. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has given no indication that the city intends to autopsy the remains.

DeSantis addressed what he called a “terrible scandal” “They found all these remains of babies, and they found five who were basically infants, premature. . . they would have been able to survive outside the womb,” he said. “Yet Washington, D.C. is treating that just like we would treat the trash from our lunch or something like that.”

“It’s really horrifying to see that that could go on in our country, but particularly in our nation’s capital,” he concluded.

Video Easter Reflections by Msgr. Douglas Grams - www.dnu.org