Newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Fighting hunger
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The Catholic Spirit News with a Catholic heart
February 16, 2012
GETTING READY FOR
LENT
Photo illustration by Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit
Ash Wednesday, which is Feb. 22 this year, marks the start of Lent. Easter Sunday is April 8.
Give something up AND practice good works By Father Michael Van Sloun For The Catholic Spirit
This Lent, don’t be stuck in a rut. If we want things to be different — i.e. better — we must do things differently. A fresh approach can be invigorating. Consider a two-part plan for starters. ■ Part 1: Give something up for Lent. About this time of year I brace myself for my one big pre-Lent pet peeve. As Ash Wednesday approaches, several people will whisper their little secret to me: “Father, I’m not going to give up anything for Lent this year. All of this denial stuff is too negative.” And then they proudly declare, “I am only going to do something positive this Lent.” I realize it is not nice to say in reply, “Bad plan,” but it truly is misguided. Lent
More inside See The Catholic Spirit’s Lent section, pages 11-14, for more Lenten articles: ■ Pope’s message ■ Fasting and abstinence regulations ■ 40-day reflection calendar ■ Operation Rice Bowl Also turn to page 20 for a listing of area fish fries and Lenten retreats.
is a penitential season, and self-denial is an indispensable penitential practice.
Make this your best Lent ever Looking to deepen your Lenten experience this year? Sign up at HTTP://BIT.LY/LENT2012EMAIL to receive an email each day during Lent with a reflection question and occasional links to brief Lenten-themed videos produced by The Catholic Spirit.
tention to our evildoing, but we must. Jesus said “repent” in his opening statement in Mark’s Gospel (Mark 1:15).
Repentance is important
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel” is
The “negative” part of Lent is the focus on sin. It is not very “positive” to pay at-
PLEASE TURN TO WITH GOOD ON PAGE 2
Champion for racial equality
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USCCB official: Revision in coverage still violates liberty By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service
A revision in a federal health care mandate that would shift the payment of contraception and sterilization coverage from religious employers to health insurance companies still infringes upon religious liberty and must be addressed, said an official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The mandate’s narrow exemption for religious organizations and how the revision Read pertains to self- reaction from insured parties, like many dioce- Minnesota ses and Catholic Catholic organizations, Conference could still force entities morally on page 6 opposed to contraception to pay for such services, said John Carr, executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development. “The fact is we have to go back to the beginning,” Carr told several hundred people during the opening session of the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering Feb. 12. “The best way to get out of this is to not get into it. We should not have the government deciding what’s a ministry or not. We need the administration to revise it, we need the Congress to repeal it, or we need the courts to stop it.”
Intensive criticism President Barack Obama announced the revision Feb. 10, after three weeks of intensive criticism over a federal mandate that would require most religious institutions to pay for coverage they find morally objectionable. The rule allows religious employers not to offer such services to their employees but would compel insurance companies to do so. Shortly after the change was announced, Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York, USCCB president, called it “a first step in the right direction,” but said “we reserve judgment on the details until we have them.” But Carr told the social ministers that the USCCB leadership subsequently scrutinized the new rule and PLEASE TURN TO BISHOPS ON PAGE 6
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FEBRUARY 16, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Appointments Two priests and four deacons given new assignments Father Kevin Magner began serving Jan. 9 at St. Stephen in Anoka. Most recently, he served at Immaculate Conception in Lonsdale. Since he was ordained in 2003, Father Magner also has served at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, St. Charles BorFATHER MAGNER romeo in St. Anthony, St. John the Evangelist in Hopkins and St. Anne in Hamel. Father John Meyer was named pastor of St. Timothy in Maple Lake, effective Feb. 21. He has been serving at the Cathedral of St. Paul and the Hmong community at the St. Vincent de Paul campus. Father Meyer was ordained in 2008 and has also served at St. Charles Borromeo in St. FATHER MEYER Anthony. Deacon Larry Lawinger was appointed Jan. 20 as deacon representative for a three-year term on the Comprehensive Assignment Board. Deacon Lawinger, who was ordained in 2010, serves as deacon at
Good Shepherd in Golden Valley. Deacon Russell Kocemba was named permanent deacon to Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, effective Feb. 6. After his 2004 ordination, he was appointed deacon at Our Lady of the Lake in Mound. Deacon Mickey Friesen, who is director of the archdiocesan Center for Mission, was named deacon at St. Thomas Becket in Eagan on Feb. 13. He most recently served at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in Minneapolis. Deacon Friesen, who was ordained in 1997, has also served as deacon at St. John Neumann in Eagan. Deacon Michael Martin was appointed to Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood, effective Feb. 13. He had been serving at St. Gregory in North Branch, where he was assigned after his 2008 ordination. OFFICIAL Archbishop John C. Nienstedt, has announced the following appointments in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Effective Jan. 9, 2012 Rev. Kevin Magner, assigned ad nutum episcopi as parochial vicar of the Church of Saint Stephen of Anoka, Minnesota. Effective Jan. 20, 2012 Deacon Larry Lawinger, assigned to
serve a three-year term as Deacon representative to the Comprehensive Assignment Board. Effective Feb. 6, 2012 Deacon Russell Kocemba, assigned ad nutum episcopi to exercise the ministry of a permanent deacon at the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord. Effective Feb. 13, 2012 Deacon Mickey Friesen, assigned ad nutum episcopi to exercise the ministry of a permanent deacon at the Church of Saint Thomas Becket (Eagan). This is a transfer from his assignment at the Church of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini of Minneapolis. Deacon Michael Martin, assigned ad nutum episcopi to exercise the ministry of a permanent deacon at the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Saint Paul, Minnesota. This is a transfer from his assignment at the Church of Saint Gregory (North Branch). Effective Feb. 21, 2012 Rev. John Meyer, appointed pastor of the Church of Saint Timothy of Maple Lake, Minnesota. This appointment is for a six-year term. This is a transfer from his current assignment as assistant priest of the Cathedral (parish) of Saint Paul.
Read Archbishop John Nienstedt’s column on page 2 of the Catholic Services Appeal section accompanying this issue of The Catholic Spirit.
The Catholic Spirit
The Shroud of Turin
The Catholic Spirit’s mission is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It seeks to inform, educate, evangelize and foster a spirit of community within the Catholic Church by disseminating news in a professional manner and serving as a forum for discussion of contemporary issues.
Vol. 17 — No. 3 MOST REVEREND JOHN C. NIENSTEDT Publisher ©1978 Barrie M. Schwortz Collection, STERA, Inc.
BOB ZYSKOWSKI Associate publisher
JOE TOWALSKI Editor
Materials credited to CNS copyrighted by Catholic News Service. All other materials copyrighted by Catholic Spirit Publishing Company.
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With good works, be ‘sneaky and invisible’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the formula for the signing with ashes. Repent means, “Quit sinning,” “Be sorry for sin” and “Change for the better.” It takes tremendous self-control and self-denial to stop sinning. We may not like self-denial, but Jesus demands it: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself” (Mark 8:34). Self-denial is extremely beneficial because it teaches self-mastery and builds strength to battle temptation. It is relatively easy to give up a little pleasure. Select something different to give up this year. It could be sweet rolls, cookies, popcorn at bedtime or a favorite TV program. We all have something we really like that we really do not need. Make a firm resolution to give it up for 40 days, no exceptions. Our desires should not control us, God should. If the item is a sweet roll, when it comes to mind, it is a moment to be mindful of God because our goal to please God is the motivation behind our self-denial. And, we need to practice saying, “No!” As we get better and better at refusing the sweet roll time after time throughout the day, we gain spiritual mastery over our preferences, particularly our sinful ones, and we become increasingly adept at saying no when temptation comes knocking. ■ Part 2: Do something positive for Lent. The people who only wanted to do something positive for Lent had a good idea, but it was incomplete. A balanced approach is both negative and positive — we should give something up and do good works.
Secret Santa for Lent When it comes to good works, try to be sneaky and invisible. In the Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday, Jesus tells us, “Be on guard against performing religious acts for people to see” (Matthew 6:1). Jesus wants us to be invisible. He also advises, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). He wants us to be sneaky — in a good sense. The purpose of our good works should not be to gain the admiration or thanks of others. If our good works are “sneaky,” they will be a pleasant surprise to someone, and if they are “invisible,” the person will have no idea who did it and be unable to offer a compliment, sing our praises or return the favor. Surprise blessings of unknown origin are gifts from God. When we are sneaky and invisible, we are like angels — God’s messengers bringing God’s blessings. It is like Secret Santa for Lent. Leave an encouraging note in someone’s cubicle at work. Put a candy bar on someone’s desk or a little gift in someone’s mailbox. Let someone else go first. Anonymously pay for the meal of someone at another table. The possibilities are endless. Be creative in finding new ways to be kind to others, and be so clever as to go unnoticed. Then, to God goes the glory! Father Michael Van Sloun is pastor of St. Stephen in Anoka.
“Everyone soon or late comes round by Rome.” Robert Browning
Local The Catholic Spirit
News from around the archdiocese
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
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‘To the thresholds of the apostles’ Archbishop Nienstedt, other bishops from region to travel to Rome to meet with pope, pray, review local church life
In another address to bishops from the eastern United States, the pope warned of “radical secularism” that threatens the core values of American culture — including religious freedom — and he called on the U.S. church, including politicians and other laypeople, to render “public moral witness” on crucial social issues.
By Joe Towalski The Catholic Spirit
Archbishop John Nienstedt and Bishop Lee Piché of St. Paul and Minneapolis will travel to Rome next month for a weeklong visit that will include a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI and Mass at the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. The local prelates will be there from March 4-11 with bishops from nine other dioceses comprising Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota as part of their “ad limina” visit, which bishops from around the world are required to make approximately every five years. The visits combine prayer and liturgy with more business-oriented meetings with officials of key Vatican agencies. These include the congregations in charge of doctrine, clergy, bishops, worship, education and religious orders, and pontifical councils that deal with ecumenism, the family and laity. The meetings are an opportunity to review church life in the bishops’ particular part of the world. The meeting with the Holy Father is one of the highlights of every “ad limina” visit, and Pope Benedict “is putting his own stamp on things,” Archbishop Nienstedt said. Instead of meeting individually with bishops, he is meeting with them in groups and engaging them in a conversation during which he listens and asks questions on relevant themes and topics. “Ad limina” visits for U.S. bishops began last November. Of the 15 groups that will make the trip, the pope planned to give a formal speech to only five. Archbishop
Other opportunities
L'Osservatore Romano
During his last “ad limina” visit in 2004, Archbishop John Nienstedt, who was bishop of New Ulm at the time, met with Pope John Paul II.
Nienstedt was recently notified that the pope has chosen to address his regional group.
past addresses hint at what he might say to the bishops from Minnesota and North and South Dakota.
While it isn’t known what Pope Benedict will talk about in his speech, the overall theme of the U.S. bishops’ “ad limina” visits is the new evangelization — discerning the best ways to deliver the Gospel message anew in a secularized society. His
In a November speech to bishops from the state of New York, Pope Benedict encouraged them to speak out “humbly yet insistently in defense of moral truth” on a wide variety of issues, including the institution of marriage.
The name of the visits comes from the Latin phrase, “ad limina apostolorum” (to the thresholds of the apostles), a reference to the pilgrimage to the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome that the bishops are required to make. This will be Archbishop Nienstedt’s third “ad limina” visit. He made his last one in 2004, when he was bishop of New Ulm, and his first when he was an auxiliary bishop in Detroit. This will be the first “ad limina” visit for Bishop Piché, who was ordained a bishop in 2009. Archbishop Nienstedt said “it will be a pretty full week” due to all the scheduled meetings, but he hopes to visit seminarians and friends in Rome as time allows. The bishops will be staying together at the Pontifical North American College, near Vatican City. Another Minnesota prelate, Bishop John Kinney of St. Cloud, said he was also planning to meet with his diocese’s seminarians studying in Rome. Bishop Kinney said he looks forward to meeting with Pope Benedict as well as spending time together with his brother bishops. “I think it’s a very important week for us as bishops to be together,” he said. “We will concelebrate Mass together at St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Paul Outside the Walls and probably at several other major PLEASE TURN TO REPORT ON PAGE 6
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Obituary Father Weber inspired generosity By Pat Norby The Catholic Spirit
Like the stars in the sky, the number of lives touched by Benedictine Father Arnold Weber, 86, are far more than could be counted. He died Feb. 9 at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville. Pam Patnode, a member of Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, where Father Weber served as pastor from 1981 until his retirement in 2003, said her pastor had a “tremendous impact on me personally, as well as my family as a whole.” “My husband and I were married by Father Arnold, he baptized our five children, and even blessed our home. His spiritual leadership gave us a foundation upon which to begin our family, and a road map to follow as our family grew,” Patnode said. “One of my greatest privileges was working with Father Arnold on the production of his book: ‘Homilies for the Active Christian.’” Father Weber had “an incredible gift for breaking open the word of God and delivering a message that truly transformed the hearts of all who heard it,” she said. Doug Cooley, a Holy Name parishioner since 1975 with his wife, Annie, and their children, said there is no adequate way of paying tribute to his long-time pastor.
Molding spirituality “Father Arnold taught us how to be a part of and how to build community. He taught us how to worship and have Christ be the center of our lives. He showed us
how to prioritize God, spouse, family and work. He showed us how to be generous and to give to those in need,” Cooley said. The Cooley children were among the many children molded by Father Weber with a sense of values, spirituality and appreciation for life, he said. “Anyone who has met Father Arnold has had similar experiences and hopefully we will all continue to pay it forward. For our family, that was his legacy; he FATHER WEBER taught us to want to be a spark plug, an AC, an Active Christian,” Cooley said. Father Weber was known for injecting his German humor into “phenomenal homilies” that built a faith community centered on the celebration of the Eucharist, Cooley said. “I loved his straightforward, low-key, down-to-earth delivery; he was a marvelous storyteller and always just fun to be around.” Cooley said he visited Father Weber several times after he fell and broke his hip in November. “On one occasion I asked him, ‘What is the one thing in your life you are most proud of?’ and his immediate response was, ‘Building community and the celebration of the Eucharist,’” Cooley said. “I PLEASE TURN TO FATHER ON PAGE 23
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the other
Holy Land
By Susan Klemond
mind,” she said.
For The Catholic Spirit
Catholic characteristics
At the foundation of a Catholic school’s function and responsibility is its Catholic identity, which brings Christ to young people and prepares them for adult life with a Catholic world view, said Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Educational Association. Ristau delivered the keynote address at the Archdiocesan Elementary Governance Advisory Council Conference Feb. 11 at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis. The conference was planned by the governance committee of the newly created Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Advisory Council, in conjunction with the archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office, to address good governance for Catholic schools. The event aimed to help members of individual Catholic school advisory councils “as to what their roles and responsibilities are,” said Marty Frauenheim, archdiocesan superintendent of Catholic schools. She said the archdiocese is aiming to get all Catholic schools into new best practice models by 2013. Ristau’s talk did a good job of framing the essential elements of Catholic identity that will be published in booklet form for all Catholic schools and institutions, Frauenheim said. Ristau outlined a set of characteristics of Catholic identity for Catholic schools that are part of a study produced through Loyola University in Chicago. The study, “National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools,” will be formally released this spring. In a later interview, Ristau said she hoped the pastors, presidents, principals, school council members and parish leaders who later participated in breakout sessions on governance, marketing, budgeting, development and other topics would focus on the deeper meaning of Catholic identity, of which academics are a part. “What it means to be Catholic has to be deeply interior. Because if it’s just the crucifix in the classroom, you leave the classroom, it’s not with you. It has to be in your heart and your soul and your
The characteristics of Catholic identity in Catholic schools, as outlined by Ristau in her presentation, are: ■ Centered in the person of Jesus. All aspects of Catholic school programs, life and activities should foster a relationship with Jesus Christ because the foundation of Catholic education is faith in God as revealed by Christ, Ristau said. ■ Contribute to the evangelizing message of the church. Catholic schools participate directly in the church’s evangelizing mission as they encourRISTAU age students to join actively in their faith community and engage in the world, she said. ■ Distinguished by excellence. Catholic schools have an obligation to be excellent in all of their programs, as outlined in canon law, Ristau said. A dichotomy shouldn’t exist in how a school views its “Catholicity” and its academics. “We don’t want to seek the least common denominator,” she said. “We want to go higher and better in everything we do.” Students also need to be engaged in religion classes the way they are in other subjects, Ristau said. ■ Educate the whole child. Schools need to provide education for the intellectual, physical, psychological, social, moral, aesthetic and religious needs of the student, she said, adding that schools have long been doing that. “We are made in God’s image [which] calls us to a truly holistic education so that education should engage the whole person — heads, hearts, hands,” she said. ■ Steeped in Catholic world view. Catholic education should foster the desire to seek wisdom and truth, a preference for social justice, the discipline to become self-learners, the capacity to recognize an ethical/moral grounding for behavior and PLEASE TURN TO CATHOLIC
With Father Dennis Dempsey
ON PAGE
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by it red pir nso ic S Spo Cathol The
IRE L AND:
Catholic identity forms heart and soul of Catholic schools
September 21 — October 2, 2012 For further information, please contact:
Martie McMahon The Catholic Spirit Phone: 651-291-4441 mcmahonm@archspm.org also go to: TheCatholicSpirit.com/ExploreIreland
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Fight hunger by supporting the MN FoodShare March campaign By Pat Norby The Catholic Spirit
Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, is eager to promote the annual March food and funds campaign by Minnesota FoodShare. “We’re dealing with tough economic times right now and people are really struggling. The need is as great as it’s been in a long time,” said Adkins, a member of St. Agnes in St. Paul. “We had more than 50 million people on food stamps in this country the last time I checked.” Sara Nelson-Pallmeyer, Minnesota FoodShare director, said that she “tips her hat” to Adkins and the energy he brought recently to the organization’s council of sponsors, which represent all faith communities. Minnesota FoodShare is an interfaith collaboration that began in 1982 to address hunger in the metro area. It became a statewide organization three years later. “It was a collaboration with companies and faith-based groups that realized that there was hunger in their communities and we needed to address it,” Nelson-Pallmeyer said. “It was a way to have a full faith response to hunger.” The 2010 March campaign raised about $800,000, which Minnesota FoodShare divided among approximately 300 food shelves statewide, she said. According to Hunger Solutions Minnesota, a hunger relief advocacy organization, during 2010, there were 3 million visits to food shelves, with 39 percent of those visits for children under 18 and 9 percent by the elderly. An estimated 65 million pounds of food was distributed.
100 percent to food shelves “The March campaign raised approximately half of
that,” Nelson-Pallmeyer said. “The beauty of the March campaign is that when there are donations to Minnesota FoodShare — general donations or donations from corporations during the month of March — we turn around and give 100 percent of those funds back to the food shelves. We don’t keep any for administration.” Minnesota FoodShare is encouraging parishes to support their local food shelves during the campaign. The more food and funds that are collected locally during the March campaign and the more people who visit the food shelf next month, the more it will increase the amount shared by Minnesota FoodShare, Nelson-Pallmeyer said. “If the food shelf shows that it has worked with the community to gain funds and food during the March campaign, we grant them a higher amount of money when we distribute what has been gained here in our office,” she said. Although both food and money are welcomed at food shelves, the agency can make a dollar stretch further than any individual dollar spent at the grocery store. Adkins said that feeding the hungry is a work of mercy and should be on the hearts and minds of all Catholics. “Oftentimes, people don’t know where they can give or how to give effectively. By getting the word out about this initiative and giving people an opportunity to make a difference, people’s lives will be changed and people will have an opportunity to put their faith into action,” he said. Supporting the March campaign shows solidarity with people most in need. “As Scripture says, ‘as you do it for the least of these, you do it for me.’ We can encounter Christ in other people and share a little of our abundance with those in need,” he said. To donate online, visit MNFOODSHARE.GMCC.ORG
5 steps to fight hunger Do you want to help support Minnesota FoodShare’s March campaign? ■ First: Find someone to champion it, such as the pastor or a lay leader in the parish. ■ Second: Contact the local food shelf to find out what is specifically needed. If the food shelf receives many Latino people, it may want to provide dried beans or another ethnic food. Maybe it needs laundry detergent or another cleaning product. ■ Third: Research what’s happening with hunger in your community at MNFOODSHARE.GMCC.ORG. According to Hunger Solutions Minnesota, a hunger relief advocacy organization (HUNGERSOLUTIONS.ORG), as many as one in 10 families in Minnesota struggles to get food on their plates at some time during the year. In the Twin Cities area, it may be as high as 40 percent of families. ■ Fourth: Speak about hunger to the parish community. Champion the cause by providing education on hunger. ■ Fifth: Do something that energizes people to get involved with the March campaign, such as: A. Hand out grocery bags with a list of the 10 things most needed at your local food shelf. B. Plan an empty bowl event. Someone makes a bowl and people attend a soup supper at the parish, where they buy the bowl for a donation to the food shelf and take the bowl home. C. Challenge parishioners to fill the pastor’s office with donations for the food shelf. D. Build community in your congregation to fight hunger. Sara Nelson-Pallmeyer
Annulment Questions? Staff members of the Archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal will be available for confidential consultation and to answer questions regarding the Declaration of Nullity process at the
Cathedral of St. Paul 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul, MN
February 22, Ash Wednesday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. For more information contact the Tribunal at (651) 291-4466
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FEBRUARY 16, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
Bishops: HHS revision doesn’t go far enough CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
realized the conference could not offer its support. In a statement issued late Feb. 10, the USCCB said Obama’s decision to retain the contraceptive mandate “is both unsupported in the law and remains a grave moral concern.” The conference also said the continued “lack of clear protection for key stakeholders . . . is unacceptable and must be corrected.” After his 45-minute address, which largely focused on the bishops’ quadrennial document on “Faithful Citizenship” traditionally released in advance of a presidential election, Carr told Catholic News Service that the revision on who pays for contraception coverage still contains “the very things we object to.” Carr cited the rule’s “exceedingly narrow definition” of what constitutes a religious organization, which remains unchanged. He said the administration still does not seem to understand the role of religious organizations and the ministries they offer to society. “If you’re not religious because you care for those who are not members of your faith, if you are not religious because you employ people who are not members of your faith . . . that’s the heart of who we are,” he said. “The inattention to self-insured plans is a major, major problem. It in some way doubles the problem,” he added. “Instead of all the moral gymnastics, why don’t we say that religious institutions don’t have to do what they think is wrong,” Carr said. “Just do it.”
Bishops not consulted Carr also questioned the process used by the White House in its effort to alleviate the concerns of religious groups about the rules first made public Jan. 20 by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. “If you’re going to try and deal with the problem, you ought to talk to people who have the problem,” Carr said, explaining that in revising the mandate, no one from the White House had been in touch with any bishop or conference official. Carr said that the White House only called Cardinaldesignate Dolan as well as the USCCB the morning of Feb. 10 hours before its announcement to provide details about the rule change. White House officials subsequently visited the USCCB to explain the revision and answer any questions, Carr added. An administration official told CNS in an email Feb. 13 that the Obama administration would “work with faith-based organizations, insurers and other interested parties to develop policies that respect religious liberty and ensure access to preventive services for women enrolled in self-insured group health plans sponsored by religious organizations.”
The official said a series of meetings would be held “in the coming days” with faith leaders, including Catholic bishops, to “explore solutions” and develop a policy “collaboratively so that the ultimate outcome works for religious employers, their workers and the public.” In an interview with USCCB general counsel Anthony Picarello before the Feb. 10 revision, Picarello told The Catholic Spirit, “This isn’t about whether birth control is permitted by government. It’s not about whether birth control coverage is supported by government, for example, financially. It’s about whether birth control coverage is required by government, and it’s that element of requirement — of force — that makes it a religious liberty issue.” “So when people somehow want to make it like their rights are being violated because [their employer] is not paying for their contraception,” Picarello continued,
Report addresses life of local church CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 churches in Rome. To be able to pray at those places, at those tombs, is a highlight because it’s a reminder of what we are called to be and where we have come from. “To be with the Holy Father confirms us in our ministry,” he added. “And to do it with the bishops that I serve with in this province and in this region, I think is a tremendous grace and blessing — for us to pray and just have a good time together as we go from office to office and later have dinner together.”
The report The archdiocese’s planning for the visit began last spring, Archbishop Nienstedt said, with the preparation of a report detailing archdiocesan life since the last “ad limina” visit in 2004. The quinquennial (Latin for “five years”) report, sent to Rome ahead of the visit, contains some 24 chapters with statistics and commentary on various topics of church life, including liturgical and sacramental life, Catholic education, catechesis, clergy, religious life, laity, social
communications, ecumenism, social justice, health care, pastoral care of migrants, and the financial state of the archdiocese. It acknowledges the strengths of the archdiocese as well as the challenges it faces. “They want to know how the church is doing,” Archbishop Nienstedt said. The report also explains the context for the archdiocese’s Strategic Plan for Parishes and Schools announced in 2010, he added. While the archbishop said he didn’t conduct a detailed comparative analysis between this year’s report and the one from 2004, he said one noticeable trend would be the growing influx of Hispanic, African and Asian residents, many of whom are Catholic and need pastoral care. From 2000-2010, for example, Minnesota’s Asian and Latino populations have grown by 50 percent and 74 percent respectively, according to the archdiocese. Mass is currently celebrated each Sunday in eight different languages. This story contains information from Catholic News Service.
MN Catholic Conference notes concerns on compromise The Minnesota Catholic Conference expressed concerns with amendments announced Feb. 10 by President Barack Obama to a federal mandate that all health insurance plans include contraception and sterilization free of charge. The plan outlined by the president would allow religious employers not to offer such services to their employees but would compel insurance companies to do so. Jason Adkins, MCC executive director, said in a press release following the president’s announcement that the “amendments do not seem to be a true reversal of an unwise and unjust policy.” “Although a step in the right direction, this ‘compromise’ still appears to ignore the First Amendment rights of individual business owners and other non-institutional PPACA [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] payers who, for moral or religious reasons, object to providing contraception, abortion drugs and sterilizations,” he said. Prior to the imposition of the rule, employers were not required to cover so-called “preventive services” such as contraception and sterilization in their health plans, he said. “The HHS mandate presents a religious freedom issue, not a contraception issue,” Adkins added. “No one’s access to contraception is threatened — any employer who wants to provide contraceptive coverage to employees is free to do so, and anyone can get it at the drug store.” The MCC continues to encourage people to contact their senators and congresspersons and ask them to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR 1179 / S.1467). More information can be found at HTTP://MNCC.ORG/ ISSUES/LIFE-BIOETHICS.
“they’ve got it upside down. They are free as free can be to buy contraception. They are even free to seek employment with an employer that is willing to provide it as a matter of health coverage — and 90 percent of employer covered plans, even without the mandate, include contraception. So there’s not a shortage of it. There’s no difficulty in ease of access. And yet, the claim is still that somehow people’s rights are being denied simply because we won’t subsidize and sponsor it. It’s absurd.” The Catholic Spirit staff writer Julie Carroll contributed to this article.
Prayer for the ad limina visits Blessed Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — you are the source of all life, salvation and holiness. Together with the bishops of our country, we pray to you as they make their pilgrimage “to the threshold” of the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome. May this be a time of blessing for them, for our dioceses and for our country. Jesus, as the glorious Lord and Savior, you are the head of your body, the church. As you appointed the 12 apostles to be the first shepherds of your church, so now you have appointed the bishops of our country as our shepherds today. May their visits with the Holy Father, the chief shepherd on earth of your flock, and with the offices of the Holy See under his care, be a time of grace and blessing. Lord Jesus, renew the bond of love and strengthen the ties of unity between them and the Successor of St. Peter, so that your church may be truly one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Together with the Holy Father may our bishops grow in love for the truth of your Gospel and may they re-affirm their dedication to serve your church in love. Christ Jesus, during their visit to the See of St. Peter, confirm within them again the charge that you first gave them when they were ordained bishops — to preach and teach the truth of the Gospel in love and with conviction and courage, to shepherd their dioceses with wisdom and prudence, and to work diligently for the sanctity of all who are under their care. Drive far from them all fear, worry and sadness. Fill them instead with your Spirit of joy, peace, patience and endurance. May they return to our dioceses refreshed to continue to guide your people with the strength and vitality of your Holy Spirit and so lead them to eternal life with you and all of the saints. We pray especially for [Archbishop Nienstedt and Bishop Piché]. May God the Father’s love be upon [them] as [they] travel and may Mary wrap her mantle of protection around [them]. Father, through the Holy Spirit, we make this prayer in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen. Source: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated.” Pope Benedict XVI in a letter to Irish victims of sex abuse by priests
Nation/World FEBRUARY 16, 2012
News from around the U.S. and the globe
Vatican official calls for increased accountability for bishops who shield abusers By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service
The Vatican’s top sex abuse investigator called for greater accountability under church law of bishops who shield or fail to discipline pedophile priests. Msgr. Charles Scicluna, promoter of justice for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, made his remarks to reporters in Rome Feb. 8, after addressing an international symposium on clerical sex abuse. “It is a crime in canon law to show malicious or fraudulent negligence in the exercise of one’s duty,” Msgr. Scicluna said, regarding the responsibility of bishops to protect children and punish abusers. With respect to bishops who fail to apply the church’s anti-abuse norms, Msgr. Scicluna said that “it is not acceptable that when there are set standards, people do not follow the set standards.” Acknowledging that the sanctions that canon law provides for the punishment of clergy are sometimes not applied to bishops, he said that “ecclesial accountability has to be further developed.” “What we need to do is to be vigilant in choosing candidates for the important role of bishop, and also to use the tools that canonical law and tradition give for accountability of bishops,” Msgr. Scicluna said. “It’s not a question of changing laws, it’s a question of applying what we have.”
‘Deadly culture of silence’ Earlier in the morning, Msgr. Scicluna told a symposium attended by representatives of 110 bishops’ conferences and 30 religious orders that a “deadly culture of silence, or ‘omerta,’ is in itself wrong and unjust,” and that “no strategy for the prevention of child abuse will ever work without commitment and accountability.” The conference, “Toward Healing and Renewal,” was called to launch a global initiative aimed at improving efforts to stop clerical sexual abuse and protect children and vulnerable adults. It was scheduled to run Feb. 6-9 at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, with the support of the Vatican Secretariat of State and several other Vatican offices. Also among the speakers was an Irish woman, Marie Collins, who told the conference Feb. 7 that she was abused at the age of 13 by a priest whose superiors later shielded him from prosecution. “There must be acknowledgment and accountability for the harm and destruction that has been done to the life of victims and their families by the often deliberate cover-up and mishandling of cases by their superiors before I or other victims can find real peace and healing,” Collins said.
The Catholic Spirit
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Briefly Washington lawmakers pass bill legalizing same-sex marriage Members of the House of Representatives in Washington state voted Feb. 8 to legalize same-sex marriage, and Gov. Christine Gregoire was expected to sign the bill into law by mid-February. The vote came one day after a federal appeals court in California struck down that state’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. In Washington, the legislation passed with a 56-42 vote in the House. On Feb. 1, the state Senate approved it 28-21. Once it becomes law, Washington will be the seventh state in the nation, along with the District of Columbia, where same-sex marriage is legal.
Komen official resigns over handling of grants
CNS photo / Paul Haring
Priests pray during a Feb. 7 penitential vigil at St. Ignatius Church in Rome to show contrition for clerical sexual abuse. The service was led by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops.
“There must be acknowledgment and accountability for the harm and destruction that has been done to the life of victims and their families by the often deliberate cover-up and mishandling of cases by their superiors before I or other victims can find real peace and healing.
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MARIE COLLINS
Sex abuse lawsuit against Vatican withdrawn A high-profile federal lawsuit accusing Pope Benedict XVI of covering up sexual abuse has been withdrawn. Lawyers for the plaintiff in John Doe 16 v. Holy See filed a notice of voluntary dismissal Feb. 10, bringing the case effectively to an end. The lawsuit was filed in April 2010 in the U.S. District Court in Milwaukee by an unnamed Illinois man who claimed he had been molested by Father Lawrence Murphy during the latter’s time on the staff of Milwaukee’s St. John’s School for the Deaf. The lawsuit claimed that the Vatican “has known about the widespread problem of childhood sexual abuse committed by its clergy for centuries, but has covered up that abuse and thereby perpetuated the abuse.” The lawsuit also sought to prove that the Vatican is a global business empire, engaging in “commercial activity” in Wisconsin and across the United States, and holding “unqualified power” over each diocese, parish and follower. The plaintiff was represented by Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson, who has filed thousands of abuse lawsuits against priests and representatives of the Catholic Church. Anderson is still pursuing a sex abuse lawsuit against the Holy See in Oregon. Another such case in Kentucky was withdrawn in 2010.
Karen Handel, vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, resigned Feb. 7 over a dispute of how the organization handled its grants to Planned Parenthood. Komen announced Jan. 31 that it would no longer provide grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates for breast cancer screening referrals and then reinstated Planned Parenthood’s eligibility for grants Feb. 3 after significant protest. In her resignation letter, Handel said she had supported Komen’s decision to stop providing funding to Planned Parenthood, but she also noted that discussion of the move had begun long before she joined the organization last year. Handel said the decision to withhold grant funding from Planned Parenthood was nonpolitical and was “based on Komen’s mission.”
World Youth Day officials unveil logo for 2013 Officials of World Youth Day 2013 unveiled the winning logo for the event at a ceremony attended by more than 100 Brazilian bishops, government officials and local organizers. Gustavo Huguenin, 25, creator of the winning logo, is a Brazilian from the interior of Rio de Janeiro state. The contest was opened to anyone, and the logo was chosen by a Vatican council from more than 200 entries from around the world. The logo shows Rio’s most famous symbols — Christ the Redeemer statue, Sugarloaf Mountain, the Brazilian coastline — and the World Youth Day pilgrim’s cross inside a heart symbolizing the heart of the disciple. The green, yellow and blue of the heart are the colors of the Brazilian flag.
— Catholic News Service — Catholic News Service
“Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.” James A. Baldwin
This Catholic Life 8
The Catholic Spirit
Opinion, feedback and points to ponder
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Is the rich-poor gap widening? More voters are taking notice of the issue, but social service agencies say they face a more pressing question: ‘How do we take care of the people on the poor side of the line?’
She gave examples of one family hit by a medical crisis that left the husband disabled and unable to work, and another family headed by a small-business owner whose company failed. Wnorowski said the charity’s main effort to be sure it can meet needs has involved raising the profile of St. Vincent de Paul and its work, both to be sure people in need know it’s there and to attract donations. Agency-owned thrift stores around the region provide its main source of income. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, has for five years been consciously trying to change its sources of funding, said Heather Reynolds, executive director. Seeing a trend for decreased government funding of social services, the agency’s board looked at how to offset that while helping clients get out of poverty permanently, she told CNS.
Whether the rich-poor divide in the United States is a demographic statistic or a politician’s talking point is irrelevant to the agencies that are simply trying to make sure the people on the poor side of the equation have a roof over their head and food on the table. They’re too busy trying to figure out how to feed more peoPatricia ple with less money. Zapor The growing gap between rich and poor in the United States is a key theme of the “occupy” movement around the country, with participants emphasizing that they represent the “99 percent,” as opposed to the 1 percent who control the majority of financial resources in the world. In his State of the Union address Jan. 24, President Barack Obama talked about whether the United States must settle for being “a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” He added that “what’s at stake aren’t Democratic values or Republican values, but American values.”
Analysis
New directions
Needs remain high People are definitely noticing the gap between rich and poor and consider it a problem, according to pollsters. Two-thirds of a sampling of Americans told the Pew Research Center in December that there are strong or very strong conflicts between rich and poor in this country, up from 47 percent who said that two years ago. More than twice as many people describe the conflict as “very strong” as did so in July 2009, said the Pew study released Jan. 11. And another survey released Feb. 2 that was conducted by Public Religion Research Institute for Religion News Service found that the gap between rich and poor was cited by voters it polled as the third most critical issue facing the country. Just under half (49 percent) cited the gap as important, behind “jobs and unemployment,” cited by 83 percent, and the federal deficit, cited by 69 percent of the 1,005 voters polled. But out in the parish food pantries and social service agencies where people in
need seek help, the question is not “is the rich-poor gap a political issue?” or even “is the gap getting bigger?” It’s simply: “How do we take care of the people on the poor side of the line?” Candy Hill, senior vice president for social policy and government affairs for Catholic Charities USA, said that although there are signs the economy is improving, many people are seeking basic support from church agencies. “Demand hasn’t leveled off yet,” she said. Ed Wnorowski, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Louisville, Ky., said the number of calls to a regional clearinghouse for social services nearly doubled between 2008 and 2009, from 3,719 to 6,255. The figure has remained well above 6,200 the following two years. At the same time, donations to the society have been flat, meaning the same amount of money and donated goods has had to stretch further, Wnorowski said.
St. Vincent de Paul doesn’t track such statistics at the regional level, but Wnorowski had some anecdotes to reflect changes in what kind of people have recently joined the ranks of the needy. For example, “among my large group of friends in their 50s, I know more than a dozen people who are unemployed,” he said. That includes one man who previously had a six-figure income who has been out of work for going on three years. Linda Romine, communications director for the Louisville organization, said the director of a St. Vincent de Paul conference at one of the city’s most affluent parishes reported helping more upper middle-class and “solidly middle-class” families in economic crisis. The parish helps with mortgage payments and utility bills, Romine said in an email exchange with Catholic News Service. “They’re proud and embarrassed to ask for assistance, but they are in desperate situations.”
For instance, they turned a translation and interpretation service through Catholic Charities into a competitive business. The agency had long offered such services at below-market prices, Reynolds said. But it was turned into a profit-generating business, providing translators to hospitals, courts and other agencies, while paying a living wage to the translators — all clients of Catholic Charities. “We’ve gotten many clients out of poverty,” Reynolds said, while generating $200,000 worth of profit that goes back into Catholic Charities. Another small business started by Catholic Charities is Worn, which employs refugee women —most from Burma (Myanmar) and Bhutan — to knit intricate scarves. The scarves are sold through local boutiques, at “scarf parties” and via the website WWW.WORNFORPEACE.COM, at prices ranging from $58 to $118. “Our 2011 goal was to sell 500 scarves,” Reynolds said. “We sold just under 1,500.” The 20 knitters who make them are paid a piece rate that allows a woman who makes six scarves a week — about 18 hours of work — to pay a month’s rent from her earnings, she explained. As a result of such new directions, the agency’s budget has gone from $9 million, 80 percent of which came from government funding six years ago to $19.5 million, 53 percent of which comes from government funding, Reynolds said. “Our government funding has not decreased but we have become focused on advancement and getting people out of poverty,” she said. Patricia Zapor is a staff writer with Catholic News Service.
This Catholic Life / Opinion-Letters
FEBRUARY 16, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
People should be free to act according to their religious beliefs beyond church doors
Beauty pageants objectify women
he Obama administration’s recent amendments to a federal mandate that health insurance plans include contraception and sterilization free of charge have elicited a wide array of reactions from elected officials and concerned citizens, including the U.S. bishops, who feel the changes don’t go far enough to protect the conscience rights of employers and individuals. The situation highlights the need once again for better education on the importance of conscience clauses and the need for laws that protect citizens from being forced or coerced into providing services they find morally objectionable.
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“It may be possible for citizens to access these procedures, but those with serious moral or religious objections shouldn’t be forced to facilitate them.
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Broad concerns While the Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate is the subject currently at issue, the subject of conscience clauses also surfaces in other areas: Should pharmacists who object to abortion be forced to dispense contraception that may act as an abortifacient? Should doctors and nurses be obliJoe Towalski gated to participate in procedures that violate their deeply held religious beliefs about human life?
Editorial
When health care providers or others take a stand on such issues, it isn’t done on a whim or with spur-ofthe-moment thinking; rather, it comes after careful thought and counsel with others. It can be a difficult decision to make because of the risk that it will open them to criticism and hostility from others who don’t share their views. Such clashes of views are inevitable in a secular society that purports to value religious freedom as well as the separation of church and state. In a secular society, many actions such as abortion, physician-assisted suicide and sterilization may be legal, but that doesn’t make them moral — a view shared not by people of only one faith, but of many. It may be possible for citizens to access these procedures, but those with serious moral or religious objections shouldn’t be forced to fa-
JOE TOWALSKI
cilitate them. Conscience protections offer a reasonable compromise in such situations. One such compromise is contained in a bill currently in Congress — the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R.1179, S.1467) — which would ensure that the new health care reform law will allow the “issuers, sponsors and beneficiaries of private health plans to negotiate health coverage that is consistent with their moral and religious convictions.” The proposal so far has 164 cosponsors in the House and 31 in the Senate as well as the support of the U.S. bishops.
Beyond church doors
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There was a story on page 9 of the [Feb. 2] Catholic Spirit about the new (Catholic) Miss America. Let me remind the readers that this involved wearing a bathing suit in front of ogling judges in a minimum of three public pageants (city/state/country). The Miss America article is followed almost immediately with a prominent quote from the human trafficking story: “A culture that broadly promotes the commodification and objectification of persons . . . perpetuates a demand for sexual slavery.” Commodification’s root word, commodity, is defined as “convenience, advantage, something useful or valuable, an economic good, an article of commerce.” Nowhere does it imply personhood. Objectification more obviously illustrates exactly what pageants do: turn women into objects, things. We, as a society, continue to value and reward beauty with money (scholarships, titles, opportunity, etc.), but it is impossible to do that in this context without objectifying women, embracing an outdated, sexist custom. I would bet those guilty of trafficking get a big kick out of those pageants. Can we blame them? Not really. Not without blaming ourselves.
Letter
Elizabeth Rosenwinkel St. Albert the Great, Minneapolis
A growing tendency in the United States is to equate “freedom of religion” with “freedom of worship.” The latter allows people to express their faith within places of worship, but discourages them — sometimes blatantly, sometimes more subtly — to live as their faith dictates beyond church doors and particularly in the public policy arena. True religious freedom allows people to act in light of their well-grounded moral beliefs without the threat of government coercion or intrusion. Conscience protections help strike a balance between preserving that freedom and allowing others to act in ways that society — although not our faith — deems legally permissible.
Where to write E-mail: CATHOLICSPIRIT@ARCHSPM.ORG FAX: (651) 291-4460 Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Catholic Spirit, 244 Day ton Ave., St.Paul, MN 55102 Material printed on the Opinion and Letters page does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the archdiocese or The Catholic Spirit. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
Catholic Press Month: Leading people to God is our goal t’s Sunday morning and the sun’s not up yet, but I powered up the laptop and I’m sitting at my kitchen table now to write this because, well, because I’ve got to. If you’re a writer, you understand. Sometimes, some things, you’ve just got to write. When I got up just after 6 a.m., I was looking for the new ereader my wife got me for Christmas, but I didn’t want to wake Sleeping Beauty to find it in the dark. I grabbed America magazine instead and flipped on the coffee maker. Bob Zyskowski An hour and 25 minutes later I finally reached the back of the book, and my first thought was: “I gotta tell the America staff how good they are.”
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Opinion
Touching good memories Maybe it’s because I had the Jesuits at Chicago’s St. Ignatius College Prep in high school, but earlier when I was flipping through that Jan. 2-9 issue I’d stopped at a piece headlined “The Long Black Line: What I Learned from Three Good Men,” and folded the magazine at that page to remember to read it when I had time.
Jesuit novice Patrick Gilger’s first-person essay about his vocation and the nowpassed-on Jesuits who touched his life brought memories of those remarkable Jesuits — priests and scholastics — who insisted that my friends and I not only know calculus and English grammar and the theology of the documents of Vatican II, but why it was important for us to spend a day at a home for mentally challenged boys, what Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to do with his protests, and, thank you, Father Paul Borgmann, how to throw a curve ball that dropped straight down. Over the next four pages, Katarina Schuth gave me the clearest understanding of the clergy sex abuse crisis and how seminaries have been learning how to bring this evil under control. Always the teacher, Sister Katarina has a warning at the end of her piece that I pray to God our church takes seriously. That information-packed article was balanced from a reader’s perspective by a short emotional tug of the heart by a priest writing of coming “home” to his lonely outpost at a northern Alaska community, then a report on an off-beat art form about a religious figure.
Serendipity The breadth of America magazine is such that this morning I couldn’t help but read a review of a book about the Inquisition, those pages of eclectic letters to the
editor, and the Scripture column by Peter Feldmeier, someone I’d interviewed more than 25 years ago. A piece on a comic book about St. Stanislaus Kostka wouldn’t normally be anything I’d be interested in, but, hey, it was 6:45 on a Sunday morning and too cold outside to go get the newspaper. My reward was an instant connection with the comic book artist and a second connection that’s work or career related. The young Polish Jesuit Przemyslaw Wysoglad is known by the nickname Przemo (try pronouncing it SCHEMM-o) — something you take for granted when, with a name like Zyskowski, you get called Zisco and your Margelofsky grandsons are known all over town as the Margo boys. But it was Przemo’s work ethic he spoke of in the story that resonated as well: “This is for me a kind of prayer. . . . This is the best thing I can do, and I want to praise the Lord with that. And of course I want to make things that will lead people to God.” That’s us. That’s what we do at The Catholic Spirit. That’s what we do in the Catholic press. Every story, every issue, every blog, every photo, every video — we strive to make it the best thing we can do with the overarching goal that it will lead people to God.
We’re good, appreciated So, while this bit of writing that I had to get out details how much just one issue of a Catholic magazine had to offer, my hope is that all of us who work in Catholic media take it as just one example of how good we are, what good we do, and come to know that we are appreciated and valued. That lesson had come across to me just the day before. Our archdiocese is launching a new marketing effort for Catholic schools, and one of the volunteers leading the initiative is the vice president for marketing and communications at a Fortune 500 company in the Twin Cities. Covering a workshop for the launch, I went over to introduce myself to her and let her know I might need to ask her some questions later. She floored me instantly. “Oh, Bob, I recognize your name,” she said. “I’ve read The Catholic Spirit for 20 years. I read it cover to cover. You have such great content. You guys are wonderful.” How’s that for affirmation from an expert in the communications field? I can’t wait to tell our staff. Bob Zyskowski is associate publisher/ general manager of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
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Commentary
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • FEBRUARY 16, 2012
/ This Catholic Life
Nonpublic Schools’ Day at the Capitol to be held Feb. 29 will focus generally on parental choice in education with a specific focus on three school choice initiatives. This event is open to the public with invitations sent to nonpublic school communities. The rally will feature speeches from prominent lawmakers, nonpublic school advocates and students who have benefited from a nonpublic school education. A highlight will be musical entertainment by several student ensembles in the rotunda. In the north Capitol corridor, near the rotunda, nonpublic school displays will be available for viewing. Finally, attendees will make prescheduled visits to the offices of their local senators and representatives to ask for their support of programs and services that sustain and enhance nonpublic schools and parental choice in education.
cores of nonpublic school administrators, parents, students and supporters will descend on the State Capitol complex for the third annual Nonpublic Schools’ Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 29. The purpose of the day is to demonstrate that nonpublic schools contribute to the common good of society by providing quality learning opportunities for thousands of children across Minnesota. Nonpublic school advocates will also meet with their representatives and senators to ask their support for programs that support the students, families and teachers who have chosen to invest in nonpublic schools.
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Faith in the Public Arena Peter Noll
Nonpublic school advocates to learn about key legislative issues
Three aspects of day The Nonpublic Schools’ Day at the Capitol is comprised of three distinct facets. During the morning session, nonpublic school administrators, board members and members of the clergy will meet with sponsoring organizations to learn about key legislative issues facing nonpublic schools during the 2012 legislative session. A presentation regarding public policy strategies and techniques will be an important component of the early morning session. Then, several key lawmakers will talk about education issues that they foresee emerging this session and will allocate time for questions from the audience. Participants will learn about key education-related legislative proposals, including the Education and Opportunity in Education tax credit program, which would allow corporate and individual taxpayers to give money to a scholarship-granting organization for students attending nonpublic schools. Other proposals discussed will include the scholarship, or voucher,
How to register
“The purpose of the day is to demonstrate that nonpublic schools contribute to the common good of society by providing quality learning opportunities for thousands of children across Minnesota.
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PETER NOLL
Take action Join the Minnesota Catholic Conference’s action alert network, MNCAN, to receive timely information regarding legislative activity. To subscribe to MNCAN, visit MCC’s website at HTTP://MNCC.ORG.
program that would give students in underperforming schools the opportunity to attend the school of their choice, and a state income tax de-
duction and credit expansion that would help low-income families cover education-related expenses. Next, a rally in the Capitol rotunda
This event is sponsored by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the Minnesota Chapter of the Council for American Private Education and the Minnesota Independent School Forum. It is an important event to attend for all those who have a vested interest in nonpublic education. MCC will continue efforts to build its new Parent Advocacy Network after the event. For a Minnesota Nonpublic Schools’ Day at the Capitol schedule, event registration details, or to join the new Parent Advocacy Network, visit the MCC website’s education page (HTTP://MNCC.ORG/ ISSUES/EDUCATION). Pete Noll is education director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, which coordinates the Catholic Church’s public policy activities on behalf of Minnesota’s bishops.
It’s not too late to set meaningful goals that move you toward sainthood id you set any meaningful goals for 2012? I don’t mean trite resolutions that are discarded by Epiphany; I mean goals that ultimately move you forward on your path to sainthood. If you haven’t made any such goals, don’t worry. With most of the year remaining, you still have time. As you think about what you would like to accomplish in 2012 — both at home and in the workplace — let me encourage you to start by reading two books. First, read “Rediscover Catholicism: A spiritual guide to living with passion & purpose” by Matthew Kelly. My parish gave away copies to everyone who attended Mass on Christmas. The book is a surprisingly compelling call-to-action for Catholics. Kelly, an Australian-born business consultant, posits that the Catholic Church has what everyone is looking for: the key to happiness. “Our quest for happiness is a quest for God,” he says.
D Faith and the Workplace Tom Bengtson
Take time to know who you are and what God wants for you
“Spiritual grounding is the foundation of self-knowledge.” TOM BENGTSON
Providing lots of examples, Kelly challenges Catholics to show the rest of the world what it means to live the faith. All your actions preach something; Kelly urges you to act in a way that preaches your faith. As you determine goals for the year, think about what your pursuit of those goals will preach to others. Spiritual grounding is the foundation of self-knowledge. Before you can do much for anyone else, you have to know yourself and it simply isn’t possible to really know yourself outside of a relationship with Christ.
Take the test Second, read “Strengths Based Leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why people follow,” by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. Using results from thousands of Gallop Organization interviews, the authors explore leadership and teamwork. The book is 266 pages but you only need to read the first 95 to get the message. I particularly like this book because each copy provides a unique code that gives the reader access to a test-taking website where your strengths can be identified. The test asks nearly 200 questions, allowing 20 seconds for each response. Questions typically pose
two ideas and require the respondent to choose one over the other on a sliding scale. The computer summarizes your responses, providing a very interesting picture of your strengths — and weaknesses. My own test results surprised me, although they made sense after I thought about it for a while. The idea is that with a solid understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses, you can better determine the best use of your time, talent and resources. Goals are important. Take time to contemplate who you are and what God wants for you. Then, set goals accordingly. Purposeful living at home and at work will help you make the most of 2012. Tom Bengtson writes about the integration of faith and work. Contact him through his web site: WWW.TOMBENGTSON.COM.
“It must be a sincere and active love, a love of the heart and a love, so to speak, of the hands.” Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the papal preacher, speaking about love of neighbor during a 2011 Lenten meditation
Lent The Catholic Spirit
A Catholic Spirit special section
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
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Lent is time to help others spiritually, materially, pope says By Mary Shovlain
Lenten regulations for fasting and abstinence
Catholic News Service
In his Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI called on the faithful to be concerned for one another and “not to remain isolated and indifferent” to the fate of others. Materialism and a sense of self-sufficiency are obstacles to a Christian life of charity, the pope said. Instead of looking first to God and then to the well-being of others, people often have an attitude of “indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for ‘privacy.’” He said God’s commandment to love “demands that we acknowledge our responsibility toward those who, like ourselves, are creatures and children of God.”
Fighting society’s cancers The annual Lenten message was presented during a Vatican news conference Feb. 7 by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the office that handles the pope’s charitable giving, along with Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz, the council’s undersecretary. The cardinal highlighted the pope’s call for “fraternal correction” and the church’s prophetic mission in denouncing situations of injustice and poverty in the world. To overcome such injustices, one must get to the moral roots of such situations, he said. Corruption, accumulation of wealth, violence and living off the work of others without contributing are all cancers that weaken a society from within, the cardinal said. But, he said, the true root of the world’s injustices stems from ignoring or denying God’s existence. By not acknowledging there is a creator and Lord who is greater than man, society degenerates into a “conflictual individualism” and a struggle of one person against another, Cardinal Sarah said. The theme of the 2012 Lenten message was taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the He-
CNS photo / Nancy Wiechec
A girl makes an offering during Mass marking Missionary Childhood Day in Nairobi, Kenya, in this photo from 2011. In his message for Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, Pope Benedict XVI said concern for others includes wanting what is good physically, morally and spiritually for one’s neighbor.
brews: “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.” The pope outlined his message with three points taken from St. Paul’s letter: “concern for others, reciprocity and personal holiness.” Concern for others, the pope said, means wanting what is good physically, morally and spiritually for one’s neighbor. But he noted that contemporary culture “seems to have lost the sense of good and evil.” “There is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail,” the pope said, defining good as “‘whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion.”
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The pope warned against what he called “spiritual anesthesia,” which numbs people to the suffering of others. Only a “humbleness of heart and the personal experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy,” he said. The suffering of others is not only physical or material, he said, but it is also spiritual, and he encouraged Christians to remember their “spiritual responsibility” toward their neighbor. He called for a renewal of a forgotten aspect of the Christian life, that is, “fraternal correction.” Fraternal correction, he said, is a kind of Christian charity that speaks out against people indulging in sin.
Here are the church regulations for fasting and abstinence during Lent: ■ Everyone 14 years of age or older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. ■ Everyone 18 or older, and under 59 years of age, is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. ■ On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, only one full meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one’s needs, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige. ■ Catholics should not lightly excuse themselves from these prescribed minimal penitential practices. — Catholic News Service
“We must not remain silent before evil,” he said. Often, “out of human regard or purely personal convenience,” Christians fail to warn others against ways of thinking and behaving that are contrary to the truth. The reluctance to confront others in the name of truth, he said, stems from a world view dominated by individualism, which “accepts any moral choice in the name of personal freedom,” which then makes people blind to physical suffering and the spiritual and moral demands of life. However, God wants Christians to help and encourage each other to strive for the truth, for good and holy lives, he said. Fraternal correction must never be motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination, but instead be both loving and admonishing, as God is with his children, he added.
Monday, Feb. 20
Prayer
VIDEO
Sunday, March 4
What was the last task I did Fasting half-heart-
VIDEO
Monday, March 5
What gives me hope?
Monday, Feb. 27
MARCH
Sunday, Feb. 26
FEBRUARY
Sunday, Feb. 19
What activity have I done recently that was really satisfying?
Tuesday, March 6
What do I regret?
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Think of a person I don’t like: What would it take for me
Wednesday, March 7
Who really needs me to be their friend?
Wednesday, Feb. 29
What could I give up for 40 days that Why would be a real ashes? sacrifice on my part?
VIDEO
Wednesday, Feb. 22
Friday, March 9
What lesson What do I fear most? Rice Bowl did I learn VIDEO that I wish
Thursday, March 8
Zambia
VIDEO
When did someone’s praise mean the world to me?
Saturday, March 10
What do I find is the best time for me to pray?
Who would be a good person to ask, “If you could change jobs, what would be your dream job?”
What really makes me happy?
What gives Rice Bowl me energy?
Who did I hurt recently?
Saturday, March 3
Why no meat on Fridays?
VIDEO
Saturday, Feb 25
Friday, March 2
What can I do today to bring out the best in someone else?
Friday, Feb. 24
Thursday, March 1
Vietnam
Rice Bowl VIDEO
Thursday, Feb. 23
Answer each question with: “To make my answer be more than just words, I’m going to (fill in the blank).”
LENT 2012
Wa t c h v i d e o s a t T
EASTER SUNDAY
Sunday, April 8
APRIL
Sunday, April 1
Sunday, March 25
Sunday, March 18
Sunday, March 11
Where or when do I feel closest to God?
Who did I let down?
Holy Week Ideas
VIDEO
Whom do I know who is still living that I really miss? Who always listens to my stories?
Tuesday, April 3
Tuesday, March 27
Monday, April 2
Thursday, March 15
Madagascar
everybody learned?
Wednesday, March 21
Who do I need to trust me?
Wednesday, April 4
What do I ask of God?
Wednesday, March 28
Instead of feeding my own ego, who can I help into the spotlight today?
Thursday, April 5
India
What gives Rice Bowl me the best VIDEO feeling in the world?
Thursday, March 29
USA
Friday, March 23
What’s the one truth about my faith I cherish most?
Friday, March 16
Whose death do I mourn?
Friday, April 6
Who reached out to me when I really needed someone?
Friday, March 30
When lately Who would most appreciate a phone did my actions not call from me? follow my beliefs and values?
Thursday, March 22
El Salvador
Who most needs me to What am see Jesus when I see Rice Bowl I the most VIDEO him or her? thankful for?
Wednesday, March 14
to love them instead?
What makes me smile? Who is the one person that I wish everybody Rice Bowl knew because he or she VIDEO is such a wonderful human being?
Monday, March 26
What’s the one thing I always do that I wish I would stop doing?
Monday, March 19
Almsgiving Tuesday, March 20
What’s been nagging at my conscience lately?
Who needs cheering up today?
VIDEO
Tuesday, March 13
Monday, March 12
edly?
How will I be different because of this Lent?
Saturday, April 7
Who do I love to get a phone call or letter from?
Saturday, March 31
What group or cause most needs me to stand up for them or stand with them?
Saturday, March 24
Why did my ancestors immigrate here?
Saturday, March 17
heCatholicSpirit.com/Lent 2012
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Lent
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Program helps Catholics connect with those in need The Catholic Spirit For more than 35 years, Catholic Relief Services’ Operation Rice Bowl has offered Catholics in our country a way to connect with their brothers and sisters in need around the world through the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and acts of charity. More than a billion people — over one-sixth of the planet’s population — suffer from hunger, according to Catholic Relief Services. Nearly half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day. For the six weeks of Lent, ORB highlights countries where poor communities are being strengthened by the work of the Catholic Church through CRS. An online collection of short videos, personal stories, and simple meatless recipes from each country, along with a daily guide, are sources for reflections and ideas to enhance
the Lenten experience for Catholics of all ages. You can learn more about the program on its website: HTTP://ORB.CRS.ORG. During Lent, each issue of The Catholic Spirit will highlight a person and recipe from a developing country. Participants are urged to put money they save from eating the simple, meatless meals into a symbolic “rice bowl” to be donated at the end of Lent to CRS through parishes. Seventy-five percent of the money collected is sent to CRS for overseas humanitarian programs and 25 percent of it remains in the archdiocese for local food programs.
SPOTLIGHT ON VIETNAM My name is Giap and I live in Hanoi, the in an office setting. It’s encouraging for all of capital of Vietnam. When I was 17 I became us to see other students graduating and sick with a fever. My muscles got weak, and getting jobs. I started a group that designs soon I couldn’t walk anymore. I am now in a websites. I’m proud to have overcome my wheelchair. difficulties and look forward to supporting When I finished high school, I didn’t know myself with my new skills. what my future would hold. Then I heard Catholic Relief Services’ education about a school that CRS supports for people programs in Vietnam and around the world with disabilities, and I decided to enroll. My support and promote quality education for all brother stayed for a month on campus with people. The Inclusion of Vietnamese with me to help me get settled. My fellow students Disabilities program helps people with all have disabilities — some of us are in physical disabilities achieve higher education GIAP wheelchairs, some use crutches and some are and find good jobs. IVWD helps each person blind. The school has special facilities to help each realize his or her potential. This program reflects the person succeed. Catholic social teaching principle of Dignity of the We are all learning computer skills and how to work Human Person.
Vietnam: Vegetable Spring Rolls Sauce 1/4 cup water 1 tsp. cornstarch 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar 2 cloves garlic, minced and crushed 2 tbsp. sugar Spring Rolls 1 cup cooked thin rice noodles 1/3 head green cabbage, chopped 5 green onions, chopped 1/4 cup carrots, grated or julienned 1/2 cup bean sprouts 1/4 cup fresh herbs (cilantro, basil or mint), finely chopped 1 pkg. rice paper wrappers Combine all sauce ingredients in small saucepan and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to thicken. Cool before serving. Cook rice noodles as described on package. Lightly steam cabbage, green onions, and carrots until slightly tender. Toss noodles, vegetables and herbs in large bowl. Quickly submerge a rice paper wrapper in warm water and lay on a smooth surface. Place about 2 tablespoons of mix on each wrapper and fold wrapper into shape. Yield: 6 to 8 servings Photo credit: Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS
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“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” Blessed Mother Teresa
The Lesson Plan FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Reflections on faith and spirituality
The Catholic Spirit
15
God wants a ‘yes’ to his Word and openness to his presence n our first reading, the prophet Isaiah brings an oracle from the Lord that calls us to be attentive to the ever life-giving, forgiving and healing presence of the Lord. The Lord told Isaiah that he does not remember our past sins. What he is interested in is for us to do something new in our lives. He wants a heart that always says “yes” to his Word, as we hear in the second reading. He wants to heal us; he comes to give us new life. Some of us may be beating ourselves up for one sin or the other, for one failure Deacon or the other. We may Albert Wugaa be dwelling in our past and thinking that we are the worst sinners and that our sin is too heavy to be forgiven and forgotten by the Lord. To those of us in this situation, the Lord says he is here with us, he remembers not the past — he is here to do something new in our lives. Although the Lord remembers not our past sins, we must note that he hates sin. He calls us to be partakers both individually and communally in our healing and restoration. He wants our yes to his will
I
Sunday Scriptures
to be yes in emulation of him, who is always a man of yes, as the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians. By saying no to evil and no to the forces and allurements of this world means a yes to his Word. Each and every one of us has to say no to all that is not life-giving. Our Father is a jealous God who does not want a divided heart, as written in Exodus 20:4-5. We see the communal dimension of our faith and the call to participate in the salvation of others displayed in the Gospel of the healing of the man who is paralyzed. The crowd made it impossible for the four men to get the paralyzed man to Jesus, but their faith in Jesus defeated all odds. This crowd, I believe, represents the world and its allurements; the crowd represents sin, pride, selfishness, all of which makes it impossible for us to get to Jesus. The paralyzed man represents each one of us; the four men represent the community of faith and pastors and bishops. That is why it takes more than one individual to be healed, forgiven or saved. It takes the community of faith as well. It is our business to be involved in the lives of others; it is the business of our leaders — parents, priests and especially our bishops — to be involved in our lives
Sunday, Feb. 19 Seventh Sunday in ordinary time Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 Mark 2:1-12
Sunday, Feb. 26 First Sunday of Lent Genesis 9:8-15 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15
Monday, Feb. 20 James 3:13-18 Mark 9:14-29
Monday, Feb. 27 Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 Matthew 25:31-46
Wednesday, Feb. 22 Ash Wednesday Day of fast and abstinence Joel 2:12-18 2 Corinthians 5:20 — 6:2 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Thursday, Feb. 23 Polycarp, bishop and martyr Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Luke 9:22-25 Friday, Feb. 24 Day of abstinence Isaiah 58:1-9a Matthew 9:14-15 Saturday, Feb. 25 Isaiah 58:9b-14 Luke 5:27-32
Sunday, Feb. 19 Seventh Sunday in ordinary time ■ Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25 ■ 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 ■ Mark 2:1-12
For reflection Recall a time when someone helped carry your burden and when you helped carry the burden of someone else.
We are carried by others
Daily Scriptures
Tuesday, Feb. 21 Peter Damian, bishop and doctor of the church James 4:1-10 Mark 9:30-37
Readings
Tuesday, Feb. 28 Isaiah 55:10-11 Matthew 6:7-15 Wednesday, Feb. 29 Jonah 3:1-10 Luke 11:29-32 Thursday, March 1 Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 Matthew 7:7-12 Friday, March 2 Day of abstinence Ezekiel 18:21-28 Matthew 5:20-26 Saturday, March 3 Katharine Drexel, virgin Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Matthew 5:43-48 Sunday, March 4 Second Sunday in Lent Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Romans 8:31b-34 Mark 9:2-10
and rebuke us when we do wrong. If the paralyzed man did not cooperate with the four men, do you think he would have gotten to Jesus? If we don’t cooperate with those who have been entrusted with the responsibility to carry us to Jesus, we also take the risk of not getting there. Pray for the grace to be a people who always say yes and are ready to journey
with our brethren in faith as well as be ready to be carried by our pastors and bishops to Jesus. Deacon Albert Wugaa is in formation for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary for the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga in Ghana. His teaching parish is Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul.
Though prayers may seem unheard, God never abandons his people By Mary Shovlain Catholic News Service
God is near even though it seems like he doesn’t hear people’s prayers, Pope Benedict XVI said Feb. 8. “Faced with difficult and painful situations, when God seems to not hear us, we must not be afraid to give him all of the weight we carry in our heart, we should not be afraid to cry out to him,” he said during the general audience. Pope Benedict continued his catechesis on prayer by highlighting Christ’s prayer from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus’ cry to the Father from the cross was not immediately understood by those nearby, the pope said. Some thought he was calling Elijah, asking him to prolong his life, but Jesus was quoting Psalm 22, which affirms God’s presence amid his people, the pope said. “Jesus is praying this psalm with the awareness of the Father’s presence,” he continued. “Many ask how this omnipotent God could not intervene to spare his own Son?” Because Jesus’ cry is not one for help, he said, but rather a prayer for his people and all peoples. Pope Benedict said most people focus on Christ’s passion from noon to 3 p.m. St. Mark writes that Christ was nailed to the cross at 9 a.m. Pope Benedict drew a distinction between the first three hours and the second three. Christ’s first three hours on the cross, he said, were marked by the delusion of those present: passersby deriding him, and even those crucified with him insulting him. The second three hours were full of silence and darkness. “The darkness enveloped people and things, but even in these moments of darkness God is present,” the pope said. Darkness, he said, “is a sign of the presence and action of evil” but it can also express a mysterious divine action. It is out of this darkness, he said, that “Christ would emerge to bring life through his act of love.”
From the Vatican
“Silence will teach us a lot. It will teach us to speak with Christ and to speak joyfully to our brothers and sisters.” Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
From Age to Age 16 The Catholic Spirit
A Catholic Spirit Special Section
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Contemplative sisters transforming senior community Boutwells Landing, Good Shepherd Sisters a good blend By Julie Pfitzinger For The Catholic Spirit
On a quiet street within Boutwells Landing, four contemplative nuns — all Sisters of the Good Shepherd — have found peace, contentment and prayerful solitude in a townhome tucked into the midst of this senior-living community in Oak Park Heights. The three-bedroom home (one member of the group, Sister Teresita Mater, is here during the day but spends nights in the assisted-living section of Boutwells Landing for health reasons) is warm and filled with light, especially in the sunroom, which the sisters have transformed into a simple chapel. The women — along with three apostolic members of the sisters’ community who live in another town home nearby and two others currently in the skilled care section of the senior development — arrived at Boutwells Landing last spring. (Six other sisters who also made the move have since died). Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Judy Jewison, co-founder of REALM, a national company based in the Twin Cities that helps organizations come up with innovative elder care solutions, was contacted by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in late 2010, after it was decided their convent in North Oaks, where they had lived since 1969, would close. “The convent had 125,000 square feet of space and fewer than 30 in residence,” said Sister Judy. “It had become unsustainable. It was time to take the next step; within the group of sisters, some were healthy, some required skilled care and some were in between, so we knew we needed to think about finding a continuing-care retirement community to meet
Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
From left, Good Shepherd Sisters Ann Joseph Dye and Beverly Hedgecoth work on a jigsaw puzzle in the basement of their town home in Oak Park Heights. The sisters moved out of their convent and into the new town home within the last year.
all their needs.”
Seeking a shared vision After researching a wide variety of places across the Twin Cities, knowing this is where the sisters wanted to remain, Sister Judy held a series of conversations with the sisters, asking them to share their vision for the future. “It was important for the sisters to go through the process as opposed to having
it done for them,” said Sister Judy. “It opened a space for acceptability and possibility.” What soon emerged as the best possibility was Boutwells Landing, a senior living development that features town homes, apartments, assisted living, skilled care and memory care options. Owned by Presbyterian Homes and Services, residents come from a variety of faith backgrounds. While accepting an order of nuns might
have seemed like “a leap of faith,” according to community relations director Holly Minners, the result has been a blessing all around. “The sisters have blended so wonderfully — better than anyone could have imagined,” she said. “Having them here has been enriching not just for the sisters but for the community members as well.”
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From Age to Age
FEBRUARY 16, 2012 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
17
Promise to St. Mary of Czestochowa pastor inspires 60 years of service By Jennifer Janikula For The Catholic Spirit
Parishioners at St. Mary of Czestochowa in Franklin Township near Delano honored Walter Swartzer earlier this month for 60 years of service as a trustee. What inspires such faithful service? Swartzer’s roots run deep in the history of the parish. “It’s not monetary. I don’t get paid,” he explains. “My great grandparents built the church and it is my job to keep it up.” In 1952, Swartzer was 26 years old and single. The oldest of 17 children, he knew how to work hard. The parish priest at the time, Father Francis Poplawski, asked Swartzer to be a trustee. He remembers saying, “Oh Father, I think I’m too busy for that job.” Father Poplawski coaxed, “You can do it. Just try it. There’s really no work involved.” Swartzer laughed and said, “That’s exactly the kind of job I like.” A few months later, Swartzer married Irene Salonek. Irene’s great-grandparents were also founders of the church. Over the years, she helped Swartzer with many of the trustee duties. “We managed collections, bank deposits and bookkeeping,” Irene said. “We cleaned, we cooked and we updated cemetery records. About the only thing we didn’t do were the bulletins.”
Quick trips to church Swartzer was famous for his “quick” trips to church. His five children and eight grandchildren often heard things like: “We just need to swing by church. You can wait in the car, I’ll be out soon” or “It’ll only take a few minutes. We just have a few things to do.” His daughter, Julie Hecksel, remembers how trips to the Dairy Queen were delayed by her dad’s church chores. “We were so excited to get ice cream, but
the church was in between our house and Dairy Queen. So, we’d usually stop at church — just for a few minutes,” Hecksel said with a smile. “There was a lot of waiting in the car over the years.” “It was never just a few minutes,” said the oldest Swartzer son, David. “One morning, Dad took me over to the church to install a hot water heater. He said it would only take half an hour. Well, eight hours later, the water heater was installed.” Even the grandchildren remember trips to church. “Grandpa was probably supposed to be baby sitting, but he would take us to the church and we would run around and play while he worked,” said granddaughter Nicole Hecksel. Swartzer cares deeply for the building and its people. With humble pride, he helped the parish with many projects over the last 60 years. The installation of an elevator in the new church entryway stands out as one of Swartzer’s favorite parish projects. “Some parishioners struggled to climb the steep stairway to the entrance of the church,” he said. “Now we have an elevator and a handicap-accessible bathroom. More people will be able to attend Mass.”
Celebrating service The parish honored Swartzer’s faithful service with a Mass Feb. 5 concelebrated by Bishop Lee Piché and the parish’s pastor, Father Thomas Balluff. During Mass, Bishop Piché explained that in most parishes, trustees serve a two-year term. The bishop thanked Swartzer for serving 30 terms and added, “Just looking at the church, it’s well-maintained and financially healthy — we owe much of this to Walter.” His great-grandparents left their legacy in capable hands, he said.
Jennifer Janikula / The Catholic Spirit
Walter Swartzer has a special place in his heart for St. Mary of Czestochowa in Franklin Township, where he served as a trustee for 60 years. “My great-grandparents built the church,” he said.
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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • FEBRUARY 16, 2012
From Age to Age
Senior residents, sisters share mutual respect, prayer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
The response by Boutwells Landing has been tremendous, according to Sister Judy. They even converted a former office space in the Town Center into a eucharistic adoration chapel, adjacent to the assisted-living wing. Minners said they have noticed many residents visiting the chapel regularly. The Town Center also houses a large chapel — the sisters attend Mass with the residents each week.
Space for ministry, prayer, dog Another space in one of the building’s wings was converted for the sisters so they would be able to continue operating their Contemplative Bread Ministries. It’s a long-standing business for the sisters and while they no longer bake the Communion hosts, they distribute orders to churches across the country. Sister Ann Joseph Dye, one of the con-
Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
Good Shepherd Sister Patricia Ann O’Sullivan pets Heidi, the dog the sisters brought to their new townhome from their convent.
templative nuns, works at the bread ministry along with Sister Beverly Hedgecoth. In addition to appreciating the fact that their new distribution center is all in one place and on street level (at the convent, the business was located in four rooms in the basement), Sister Ann Joseph is pleased with the reception the sisters have received from the Boutwells community. “Our neighbors know we are contemplative. They have a deep respect for the fact that we are cloistered,” she said. As a Sister of the Good Shepherd for 60 years, Sister Ann Joseph “never thought” she’d move again, but believes Boutwells Landing was a good choice. She is also happy they found a place where they could bring their 10-year-old dog, Heidi. Sister Teresita Mater, who has belonged to the order for 66 years, acknowledged that she felt uncertain about the move. “We knew it would be a profound change,” she said. “The Lord just arranged it and everything is fine. I’ve been impressed from day one with the beautiful Christian spirit that pervades here. There is nothing here that impedes our contemplative life.”
“I’ve been impressed from day one with the beautiful Christian spirit that pervades here. There is nothing here that impedes our contemplative life.
”
SISTER TERESITA MATER
In fact, they are finding even more opportunities to pray. According to Sister Patricia Ann O’Sullivan, the sisters spend time in prayer every day for each one of their neighbors on the block where they are living. “We have a list of names,” said Sister Teresita. “It is a special thrill when we can add new ones to the list.”
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Arts & Culture FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Exploring our church and our world
The Catholic Spirit
19
Gutsy black Catholic editor championed racial equality “A Cry for Justice: Daniel Rudd and His Life in Black Catholicism, Journalism and Activism, 1854-1933,” by Gary B. Agee. University of Arkansas Press (Fayetteville, Ark., 2012). 235 pp., $39.95. aniel Rudd’s is a name you’ve likely never heard, but the one-time slave was a bold Catholic ahead of his time, and one who found a champion in none other than St. Paul’s Archbishop John Ireland. Back in 1887, Rudd founded a black Catholic newspaper, the American Catholic Tribune, and from its pages he preached Bob the unique message Zyskowski that the Catholic Church would play an essential role in the breaking down of the color line in the United States and in gaining racial equality for black people. Historian Gary B. Agee’s recently released biography captures that distinctive philosophy. As a child, Rudd was owned by a Catholic master and formed in faith alongside white children in his parish in Bardstown, Ky. He became a free man after the Emancipation Proclamation, founded his newspaper in Cincinnati, and was one of the most well-known black Catholics of the late 19th century as he labored for justice and equality for people of color. Born a century later, he might have been a prophet, too. He wrote this in 1888: “We think we will live long enough to see a black man president of this Republic.”
“I have always been a Catholic and, feeling that I knew the teachings of the Catholic Church, I thought there could be no greater factor in solving the race problem than that matchless institution.
D
Book Review
Journalist and evangelizer Rudd believed in — and took pride in — the Catholic theology that taught “the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of all people.” That belief convinced Rudd
”
DANIEL RUDD Founder, in 1887, of the American Catholic Tribune
that the Catholic Church was the best hope for blacks to have the same rights as whites. Agee noted, “In July 1890, Rudd told a reporter of the Cincinnati Times-Star, ‘I have always been a Catholic and, feeling that I knew the teachings of the Catholic Church, I thought there could be no greater factor in solving the race problem than that matchless institution.’” Rudd’s newspaper had a circulation of 10,000 at its high point, and he used its pages not just to cry out for racial justice but to evangelize his fellow blacks. He wrote that he had started the newspaper to “give the great Catholic Church a hearing and show that it is worthy of at least a fair consideration at the hands of our race, being as it is the only place on this continent where rich and poor, white and black, must drop prejudices at the
threshold and go hand in hand to the altar.” White readers both bought subscriptions and donated money to support the American Catholic Tribune. Agee states that Rudd used his newspaper “both to instruct and encourage African American Catholics as well as to proclaim Catholicism’s merits to prospective black converts. In this manner he served his black readers even as he attempted to shape his white readership’s perception of blacks.”
Hero in an archbishop Rudd was a gutsy editor who addressed the issue of women’s rights, demanded that blacks be hired when they can do a job just as well as whites, called for granting home rule for Ireland, and took to task a Catholic newspaper editor who claimed that whites were destined to rule America’s
“inferior” black race. Rudd sued a delicatessen for refusing to serve him (and won a $100 judgment). He founded the Colored Catholic Congress movement to prod black Catholics to take up collective action to demand racial equality, and he chided the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., to open its Catholic schools to blacks. Not all Catholics of Rudd’s time bought the idea of the equality of the races. Not all Catholic bishops agreed with him either. One who did, however, was Archbishop Ireland, who wasn’t shy about his feelings on the matter. The archbishop caused an uproar when in 1890 he preached on the subject to a packed house at St. Augustine Church in Washington, D.C., with members of Congress and other highly placed politicians present. St. Paul’s archbishop said racial prejudice is a crime that Catholics must lift themselves above. He said whites need “lessons in charity, benevolence, justice and religion” in order to address “the race problem.” Agee’s work goes into great detail about Archbishop Ireland’s views on racial prejudice, and notes that Rudd made sure the archbishop’s words were spread far and wide, quoting him in the columns he wrote for his own newspaper, urging other black publications to reprint the archbishop’s talk and lecturing on the topic around the United States. Businessman, journalist, evangelist and advocate for justice, his biography tells of the trials, the accomplishments and the disappointments of a black Catholic more American Catholics — black and white — should learn about. Bob Zyskowski, The Catholic Spirit’s associate publisher, reviews books at HTTP ://C ATHOLIC H OTDISH . COM / BLOGS / BOBZ BOOK-REVIEWS.
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Calendar
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Lenten dinners Enchilada dinner at Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul — All Fridays of Lent: 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 401 Concord St. Enchiladas also available to-go by the dozen. Fish fry at St. Matthew, St. Paul — All Fridays of Lent: 4 to 7:30 p.m. at 510 Hall Ave. Fish fry at Knights of Columbus Hall, Bloomington — All Fridays of Lent: 5 to 9 p.m. at 1114 American Blvd. Fish fry at Epiphany, Coon Rapids — All Fridays of Lent: 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1900 111th Ave. N.W. Fish fry at St. Patrick, Oak Grove — All Fridays of Lent: 5 to 6:45 p.m. at 19921 Nightingale St. N.W. Fish fry at St. Peter, Forest Lake — All Fridays of Lent: 5 to 7 p.m. at 1250 South Shore Drive. Fish fry at St. Pascal, St. Paul — All Fridays of Lent: 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1757 Conway St. Fish fry at Holy Cross, Minneapolis — All Fridays of Lent: 5 to 7 p.m. at the Kolbe Center, 17th Avenue and Fourth Street. N.E. Fish fry at Holy Family, St. Louis Park — All Fridays of Lent: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 5900 W. Lake St. Fish fry at St. Patrick of Cedar Lake, Jordan — February 17: 5 to 8 p.m. at 24425 Old Hwy. 13 Blvd. Fish fry at St. Odilia, Shoreview — February 24: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 3495 N. Victoria. Fish fry at Guardian Angels School, Chaska — February 24: 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 217 W. First St. Fish and meatless spaghetti dinner at St. Raphael, Crystal — February 24: 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 7301 Bass Lake Road. Fish fry at St. Peter School, North St. Paul — February 24: 4 to 7 p.m. at 2620 Margaret St. N. Fish fry at Sacred Heart, Rush City — February 24: 5 to 7 p.m. at 425 Field Ave. Fish fry at Knights of Columbus Hall, Shakopee — February 24: 5 to 8 p.m. at 1760 Fourth Ave. E. Fish fry at St. Pius X, White Bear Lake — February 24: 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 3878 Highland Ave. Fish dinner at St. Bonaventure, Bloomington — March 2: 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 901 E. 90th St. Fish and meatless spaghetti dinner at St. Raphael, Crystal — March 2: 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 7301 Bass Lake Road. Fish fry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Hastings — March 2: 3:45 to 5 p.m. and 5:15 to 7:30 p.m. at 600 Tyler St. Fish fry at Knights of Columbus Hall, Shakopee — March 2: 5 to 8 p.m. at 1760 Fourth Ave. E. Fish fry at Sacred Heart, Rush City — March 2: 5 to 7 p.m. at 425 Field Ave. Fish fry at Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis — March 2: 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 5435 11th Ave. S. Fish fry at Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis — March 23: 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 5435 11th Ave. S.
Other Lent events Lenten retreat at St. Genevieve, Cen-
Cathedral Family Day and community open house The Cathedral Heritage Foundation will host its annual Family Day and community open house at the Cathedral of St. Paul from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. March 14. The day’s schedule includes stories of the famous works of art and sculptures told by tour guides in period costumes, history hunts, children’s activities with the Minnesota Children’s Museum and the Science Museum of Minnesota and more. The newly renovated Cathedral Museum and the gift shop will also be open. Refreshments will be available for sale from the Cathedral Young Adults. For more information, visit WWW.CATHEDRALHERITAGEFOUNDATION. ORG. terville — February 20: 8 a.m. at 6995 Centerville Road. Deacon Dan and Diane Kirchoffner will lead the retreat. A light breakfast and lunch will be served. Call (651) 429-7937 to register. Consortium Carissimi Lenten Concert at Our Lady of Lourdes, Minneapolis — February 24 and 26: 8 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Sunday at One Lourdes Place. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. For informatio, visit WWW.CONSORTIUMCARISSIMI. ORG. Consortium Carissimi Lenten Concert at Nativity of Our Lord, St. Paul — February 25: 7:30 p.m. at 1900 Wellesley Ave. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. For information on Consortium Carissimi, visit WWW.CONSORTIUMCARISSIMI.ORG. Lenten Series: ‘Studying and Praying the Psalms’ at St. Odilia, Shoreview — February 28 to March 27: Tuesdays 7 to 9 p.m. at 3495 N. Victoria. Speaker is Art Zannoni. Cost is $25. For information, call (651) 415-3331. Lenten retreat: ‘Is Jesus Calling You Closer?’ at St. George, Long Lake — March 2 to 4: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at 133 N. Brown Road. Vincentian Father Augustine Vallooran from Kerala, India, will be the facilitator. Cost is $30 per person/$40 per couple at the door. (763) 4435847. Lenten women’s retreat: ‘Living the Invitation to Holiness: Becoming Women of Substance’ at Immaculate Conception, Columbia Heights — March 3: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4030 Jackson St. N.E. Cost is $10 and includes lunch. Speaker is Kate Walsh Soucheray. Make a reservation by noon, Feb. 24, by calling (763) 7881897. Galtier Society Lenten morning of reflection at Holy Family, St. Louis Park — March 3: 8 to 11 a.m. at 5900 W. Lake St. Father Peter Laird will lead a guided reflection and meditation.
Parish events Dinner and dance fundraiser for Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Paul — February 17: 6 to 11 p.m. at Ideal Hall, 1494 Dale St. Cost is $25 per person. For information, call (651) 235-8612. ‘Meshugghah Nuns’ performed by Heaven Help Us Players at St. Bonaventure, Bloomington — February 16 to 19: 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday
and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at 901 E. 90th St. Tickets available at the door or by calling (952) 854-4733. ‘Magical Musical Tour’ performance at St. Odilia, Shoreview — February 16 to 19: 7 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at 3495 Victoria St. N. Features music and theater from past parish performances. St. Richard’s Mardi Gras Mask-A-RAVE Celebration at the Hilton Chophouse Restaurant, Bloomington — February 18: Begins at 6 p.m. with social followed by a program, dinner and music and dancing starting at 9 p.m. Features food, games and more. Cost is $65 per person. RSVP by Feb. 6 to (612) 869-2426. For information, visit WWW.STRICHARDS.COM. Rose Ensemble candlelight concert, at The Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis — February 18: 8 p.m. at 88 N. 17th St. For information or to purchase tickets, VISIT WWW.ROSEENSEMBLE.ORG. KC bingo at Mary, Queen of Peace, Rogers — February 19: 2 p.m. at 12304 Church Ave. Cost is $7 for one card, $12 for two and $15 for three. Children are welcome to play. Snacks and beverages will be available. Mardi Gras at St. Charles Borromeo, St. Anthony — February 19: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 2727 Stinson Blvd. N.E. Features food, games, auctions and more. Breakfast served until 9:30 a.m. and spaghetti dinner from noon to 4 p.m. Visit WWW.STCHB.ORG. Six-week workshop series, ‘Living Well with Chronic Conditions’ at Pax Christi, Eden Prairie — Thursdays February 23 to March 29: 1 to 3:30 p.m. at 12100 Pioneer Trail. Cost is $20 for the series. To register or for information, call (952) 941-3150. Saturday Breakfast for Men at St. Helena, Minneapolis — February 25: Mass at 8 a.m. followed by breakfast and speaker at 3204 E. 43rd St. Deacon Joseph Michalak, archdiocesan director of diaconate formation, who will speak. Cost is $5. Make reservations by noon, Feb. 24, by calling (612) 729-7321. Afternoon of reflection at Guardian Angels, Oakdale — February 25: 1 to 4:30 p.m. at 8260 Fourth St. Facilitator is Jane Cavenaugh, founder of The Vineyard, an organization that cultivates the spiritual growth of women. Tickets are $20. Call (651) 738-0710. ‘Catholics in the Public Square’ at St. Odilia, Shoreview — February 27: 7 to 8 p.m. at 3495 N. Victoria. Speaker is Jason Adkins, director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.
Prayer/ liturgies Knights of Columbus traveling rosary at Lumen Christi, St. Paul — February 19: 2 p.m. at 2055 Bohland Ave. Healing Mass at Lumen Christi — February 20: Rosary at 7 p.m. followed by Mass at 7:30 p.m. at 2055 Bohland Ave. Father Dennis Dempsey will be the celebrant. Healing Mass at St. Joseph, Hopkins — February 21: Rosary at 7 p.m. followed by Mass at 1310 Mainstreet. Father Jim Livingston will be the celebrant. Sung evening prayer service at St. Boniface, St. Bonifacius — February 26: 5 p.m. at 4025 Main St. Father Andrew Cozzens of St. Paul Seminary will speak. Dinner follows. For information, call (952)446-1054. Knights of Columbus traveling rosary at St. Agnes, St. Paul — February 26: 2 p.m. at 548 Lafond Ave.
Other events ‘Edith Stein’ at Open Window Theatre, Minneapolis — February 16 to 19 and 23 to 26: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at 1313 Chestnut Ave. For information and ticket prices, visit WWW.OPEN WINDOWTHEATRE.ORG. One-day Retreat for Caregivers at Annunciation, Minneapolis — February 18: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 509 54th St. W. Retreat includes Mass followed by healing prayers, music and more. Father Jim Livingston will present “Refresh our Hearts.” Cost is $15 and includes lunch. For information, call (651) 291-4543. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Catholic Charismatic Renewal Office one-day winter teaching conference at Epiphany, Coon Rapids — February 18: 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at 1900 111th Ave. N.W. Featured speaker is Father Greg Paffel from Fergus Falls. Also features a variety of breakout sessions. Free will offering, lunch included. Call (952) 431-2372 to register. For information, visit WWW.MNCRO.ORG. Showing of the last six parts of Father Robert Barron’s ‘Catholicism’ at Forest Lake Cinema Theater, Forest Lake — Saturdays February 25 to March 31: 9 to 10 a.m. each Saturday at 1480 Lake St. Catholic Man Night events — February 29, March 1 and 2: 7 p.m. each night. Wednesday at Providence Academy, Plymouth; Thursday at Sts. Peter and Paul, Loretto; and Friday at St. Michael, St. Michael. Explore the mystery of the Shroud of Turin with international expert Russ Breault. For information, visit WWW.CATHOLICMANNIGHT .COM. World Apostolate of Fatima 26th Annual Marian Congress at St. Joseph, West St. Paul — March 3: Begins with five First Saturday Devotions at 7:30 a.m., Mass at 8 a.m. and program from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 1154 Seminole Ave. Cost is $30 in advance and $35 at the door and includes a light breakfast and box lunch. Register at WWW.FATIMAONLINE.ORG.
Calendar Submissions DEADLINE: The Catholic Spirit is biweekly. Items should be submitted by noon Thursday, seven days before the anticipated Thursday date of publication. Recurring or ongoing events must be submitted each time they occur. LISTINGS: Accepted are brief notices of upcoming events hosted by Catholic parishes and institutions. Items are published on a space available basis. ITEMS MUST INCLUDE the following to be considered for publication in the calendar: • Time and date of event. • Full street address of event. • Description of event. • Contact information in case of questions. E-MAIL: SPIRITCALENDAR@ ARCHSPM.ORG. (No attachments, please.)
FAX: (651) 291-4460. MAIL: “Calendar,” The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.
“All knowledge is sterile which does not lead to action and end in charity.” Cardinal Desire Joseph Mercier
Colleges & Careers FEBRUARY 16, 2012
A Catholic Spirit special section
The Catholic Spirit
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Grant to help students ‘Use Their Voice’ to stop harassment St. Mary’s College senior heeds words of her St. Paul pastor about Christian compassion
and advocate for the poor and marginalized. Father Mike Byron, the priest at St. Cecilia’s where my family and I attend, said something very memorable in a homily he gave a few years ago. He said, “True Christian compassion comes not in seeing that every individual gets what he/she seems to deserve, but rather in tethering the fate of the greatest to the fate of the least.” With that in mind, I see this workshop as my way of acknowledging that sexual harassment is a social problem that negatively impacts students’ educational experience, and taking charge as a member of my community to do something about it. I feel a responsibility as a member of society to act.
Catherine “Cat” Cleary, a senior at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind., will present a 60-minute program addressing teenage sexual harassment called “Use Your Voice” to high school freshman in four South Bend, Ind., high schools, this spring. Cleary, together with Laura Corrigan, a junior at St. Mary’s, were awarded a $3,900 grant from the American Association of University Women to develop the program. A graduate of Totino-Grace High School in Fridley and member of St. Ceclia in St. Paul with her parents, Paul Cleary and Julie Michels, Cleary talked about the program in an email interview with Pat Norby, The Catholic Spirit news editor. Why did you and Laura Corrigan choose the topic of sexual harassment? St. Mary’s College was the recipient of an AAUW Campus Action Project Grant last fall. The grant was designed to allow student leaders and campus faculty and staff to design and implement programming in their local communities based on AAUW’s latest research report. Our project is based on a report that was released in November entitled “Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School,” and thus focuses on sexual harassment in schools.
St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind.
Catherine Cleary will soon present a sexual harassment program she developed for teens with another student at St. Mary’s College in Indiana.
Why did you choose to focus on freshman high school students? Our goal with this project is to encourage dialogue and begin to change a culture. We saw freshman students as the perfect group to work with to spark this change.
definitely been impacted by sexual harassment in both high school and college. What we realized was that in high school we didn’t know to call it sexual harassment. In high school, I may have laughed off a sexual joke, unwelcome sexual comment, or unwelcome sexual gesture as merely “boys being boys.” Like many high school students, I didn’t know that those would be considered harassment. The message we want to spread to high school students is that harassment is not just something that you have to “live with.” It shouldn’t have to be a part of your everyday high school experience.
Did you or someone you know have a personal experience with sexual harassment? As Laura and I began to read the AAUW research report and dive deeper into this topic, we realized that we have
Do you believe that this program ties in to your Catholic values? How? This program absolutely ties in to my Catholic values. I believe I am called to be a servant leader, like Christ,
Explain what will take place during the 60-minute presentation. The “Use Your Voice” workshop is a 60-minute interactive presentation that is split up into three portions. We will spend quite a bit of time at the beginning defining sexual harassment, talking about examples of sexual harassment in school, and presenting research found in AAUW’s report “Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School.” Then, we will have a ‘creative writing’ portion where students can journal and reflect on the information we just presented. Finally, we will wrap up by informing the students of their school’s resources for reporting and talking about sexual harassment. Will you and Corrigan be tracking the outcome of the program in the future? Laura and I will be staying in touch with school administrators to get a feel for how this workshop may have influenced the climate of their schools. What are your plans for the future after graduation, this year? I plan to attend graduate school after I graduate from St. Mary’s College. I have been accepted into a master’s program in higher education at the University of Michigan, but I still am waiting to hear from several other graduate programs.
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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • FEBRUARY 16, 2012
FOCUS Equip provides an instant faith connection The Fellowship of Catholic University Students, a fast-growing college campus outreach with a presence at nearly 60 universities in the U.S. has announced that it has launched a new mobile application, FOCUS Equip. Building on the launch of its new website initiative, WWW.FOCUSEQUIP .ORG, the FOCUS Equip mobile app is a one-of-a-kind Catholic application that gives users access to Catholic resources that can be used for evangelization, personal formation, Bible study leadership and discipleship. The goal of FOCUS Equip is to provide dynamic resources for college students, FOCUS student leaders and missionaries so they can continue to thrive in the faith and reach out to friends and family with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ and his church, said Kevin Cotter, director of FOCUS Equip. The mobile application takes that goal to the next level by meeting students where they are and providing the resources right on their mobile device. Although resources are targeted to students on FOCUS campuses, they can also be helpful to all Catholics for use in their parish, with their families or wherever they might need it. The FOCUS Equip mobile application includes: ■ Electronic Bible studies. ■ How-to articles on practical evan-
Colleges & Careers Priest: Online community filling a gap for campus ministries and Newman centers Catholic News Service Salvatorian Father Douglas Bailey has been the chaplain of Catholic campus ministry at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne for the past 28 years and was one of the first to join the Newman Connection.
gelization, discipleship and leading a Bible study. ■ Video and audio talks that can be used for evangelization or personal formation. The FOCUS Equip mobile application can be downloaded for free on iPhone, iPad and Android platforms. Search focusequip in a mobile application store to find the app. WWW.FOCUSEQUIP.ORG and the FOCUS Equip mobile app will be continually updated. Find FOCUS Equip on Twitter at HTTP://TWITTER.COM/FOCUSEQUIP or on Facebook at WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/FOCUS EQUIP. FOCUS is a national outreach that invites college students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and his church, inspiring and equipping them for a lifetime of Christ-centered evangelization, discipleship and friendships in which they lead others to do the same. For more information, visit WWW.FOCUS.ORG.
The nonprofit organization unites college Catholic campus ministries in prayer, fellowship, education and support on its website, WWW.NEWMANCONNEC TION.COM. “It is difficult to find resources for campus ministry,” said Father Bailey, who is in the Orlando, Fla., diocese. “Newman Connection is coming at a time that that gap needs to be filled and it is doing so especially well.” Newman Connection was founded in July 2009. Its website has a list of all Newman centers, which are on the nation’s secular university campuses. About 160 of them are officially registered on the site. For each of those, the site includes a calendar of events, times for Mass, confession and adoration, center details and staff, location and contact information. Father Bailey told Catholic News Service he was especially pleased with two online offerings launched in August: a series of sessions titled “Exploring the ‘YouCat’: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church” taught by three priests, and iFACTS — Institute For Advancing
Catholic Thoughts and Studies, a threeyear program of study in Catholic faith and morals. Both programs are available via the website at no charge. They are “just what we need,” the priest said. “To be a good Catholic you have to know a whole worldview and culture and history on top of accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.”
Forming young a priority For Orlando Bishop John Noonan, the Newman Connection makes a major contribution to the church’s responsibility for forming young people. “As Pope John Paul II said, ‘Faith and reason are the two wings of the dove.’ We cannot accomplish peace and justice in the world with just one or the other,” said the bishop, for whom education and formation of young Catholics has been a priority throughout his years of ministry. “It is our commitment to form our young people in faith and reason so that they can lead others to a life of holiness through Christ,” the bishop added. The priests teaching the “Exploring the ‘YouCat’” sessions are led by Father John Sims Baker, chaplain of campus ministry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. The iFACTS program also has a Vanderbilt connection — it was developed and is facilitated by Chad Michael Cunningham, 28, director of campus ministry and development.
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THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Catholic schools called to strive for higher standards in ‘heads, hearts, minds’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
the responsibility to transform the world with Gospel values. ■ Sustained by Gospel witness. Catholic schools give witness to the Gospel in curriculum, programs, respect, priorities, budgets, codes of conduct and codes of discipline. ■ Shaped by communion, community. Each Catholic school is both an educational and faith community. Christians are called to live through community, which requires cooperation, collaboration, mutual support, partnership, trust and right relationship with teachers, parents and governing bodies, Ristau said. ■ Accessible to all students. Catholic schools need to manage resources and seek innovative options to ensure that Catholic school education is ac-
Father Weber was pastor, mentor CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
cessible, she said. “Jesus did not say bring 80 percent of the people to me. Jesus said bring all the children to me,” Ristau said. “That is really, really hard to do but I think it’s a mandate that we have.” ■ Established by authority of the bishop. Catholic schools exist with the support of their bishop and need to have a relationship of trust, close cooperation and continuing dialogue with him, she said. Dorwatha Woods, principal of Ascension School in Minneapolis, said she sees the importance of making Catholic education accessible to all children. “It affirmed in me, as a principal of a Catholic school, that we really need to learn how to teach the whole child,” Woods said. Catholic Spirit news editor Pat Norby contributed to this story.
told him that he did that better than anyone I had ever met. He was an amazing priest, pastor, leader, mentor, teacher, shepherd and lifelong friend.” Parishioner Brenda Coleman said, “Besides the amazing impact he had on all of us at Holy Name, he was involved in many things outside of the parish. That, of course, includes The Catholic Spirit board, serving as president of Benilde-St. Margaret’s [School in St. Louis Park], initiating and fostering the relationship between Holy Name and Ascension parish/ school, supporting IOCP (Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners) and supporting Mary Jo Copeland’s ministry at Sharing and Caring Hands.” Arnold Weber was born in St. Martin. He attended St. John’s Preparatory School in Collegeville and graduated from St. John’s University in 1948 with a philosophy degree. He entered the novitiate of
St. John’s Abbey in 1945, professed vows as a Benedictine monk on July 11, 1946, and was ordained a priest June 7, 1952. He taught at the prep school and later served as the vocation director for St. John’s Abbey. He was the head of the religion department at Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School from 1970 to 1973, when he was appointed pastor of Holy Rosary Church, Detroit Lakes. He served as president of Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School beginning in 1977, until he was named pastor of Holy Name. He retired to St. John’s Abbey in 2003 after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. A funeral Mass was to be celebrated Feb. 14 at St. John’s Abbey Church. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Holy Name of Jesus. People are asked to bring pictures of Father Weber or other mementos to place in the gathering space on that day. Items can be brought back home following the gathering.
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES PAYROLL ASSOCIATE
FOR HOMES, CHURCHES & SCHOOLS 10105 Arrow Lift (763) 786-2780
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Job Description: The purpose of the Payroll Associate position is: To strive for perfect compliance, accuracy and timeliness in all payroll activities. To be mindful of the personal aspect of the payroll relationship between the employer and employee. To maintain the absolute confidentiality of the payroll within the procedures of the employer. To be current with legislative developments and actions on the part of regulatory bodies, insofar as they affect payroll. Qualifications Education/Experience: AA in Accounting, CPP Certified Designation 5+ years of payroll or related experience Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: Desired 1. Present and ready to work at designated time and place 2. Ability to handle stress due to multiple concurrent deadlines and long work hours 3. Ability to work in a Professional manner with all types of people. 4. Willingness to learn new processes, techniques, Computer software and payroll related laws. 5. Continually learn new complicated software programs and technologies. 6. Ability to work evenings and/ or weekends frequently for payroll/accounting deadlines. 7. Attention to detail is required. 8. To participate in creating a productive, harmonious environment, promoting good morale, adequate communication and cooperative teamwork. Preferred: 1. Knowlegde of Current Tax Code. 2. Knowledge of IRS section 105, 125, 129 cafeteria plans, 403(b) tax deferred annuities. 3. Ability to do programming, report writing and data manipulation in a data base software program Application Instructions/Comments Please send cover letter, resume and professional references via the online application at WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG/CAREERS
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Elementary/Middle School Principal — St. Alphonsus Catholic Church is looking for a dynamic, motivated and experienced full time principal at its 225 student multicultural accredited parish school located in Brooklyn Center, MN. MN licensure and /Ed.S. or Masters Degree in Administration/Curriculum & Instruction required. Compensation commensurate with qual-ifications. See posting on the Archdiocese St. Paul/Mpls. website WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG or call (763) 503-3344. 31205
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Parish of 1,600 families in mid-size Midwestern city seeks full-time Director of Faith Formation (DFF) for established position beginning July 1, 2012. Collaborates with parish staff and with area DFFs on interparish faith formation planning and programming. Must be practicing Catholic; MA and experience preferred. Commensurate salary and benefits. Send resume to: DFF Search Committee, Fr. Jerry Kopacek, St. Edward Parish, 1423 Kimball Ave., Waterloo IA 50702. Phone: (319) 233-8060; Fax: (319) 233-3808; Email: DBQ210@ ARCH.PVT.K12.IA.US. 8954
Opening for PT Accompanist. Proficiency in organ and keyboard skills required. Education in music preferred. Responsibilities include accompanying cantors, choirs and small groups for 5-8 Masses/month. Additional responsibilities include accompanying a weekly choir rehearsal, Holy Days, funerals and other liturgies as assigned. Submit your resume to Melissa Anderson at MelissaA@saint-andrew.net or Church of St. Andrew, 566 Fourth St., Elk River, MN 55330. Contact Diane Pederson with questions at (763) 441.1483 x311 or DIANEP@SAINTANDREW.NET. 33215
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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Parish Service: Liturgy & Faith Formation Job Description The purpose of this position is to collaborate with the Office of Parish Services to assist pastors, parishes, Catholic schools and other related ministries and organizations to be successful in their mission and to align with the mission of the Archdiocese as articulated by the Archbishop. Essential Functions of this position include, but are not limited to: 1. Serve as a resource to pastors and parish staff in the area of liturgy 2. Serve as a resource to pastors and parish staff in the area of faith formation 3. Serve as lead facilitator for the Parish Visitation Process for Vicariate 3, West 4. Participate in the work of the Office of Parish Services Qualifications 1. Education • Desired: Bachelor of Arts in Liturgy, Theology, or related field • Preferred: Master of Arts or equivalent in above fields preferred 2. Experience • Desired: Minimum of five (5) years experience in liturgy and/or faith formation in a parish setting • Desired: Demonstrated knowledge of concepts, issues, and practice in the areas of liturgy and faith formation 3. Other required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities • Required: Practicing Catholic with a strong interest in the Church’s liturgy and teachings • Required: Understanding and acceptance of the Church’s mission and authority This position does require that the employee be a Catholic. It is expected that all employees respect Catholic doctrine and religious practices. Application Instructions/Comments Please send cover letter, resume and professional references via the online application at WWW.ARCHSPM.ORG/CAREERS.
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“With respect to their safety, the situation is, in certain respects, uncertain. The decision to remain is theirs.” — Archbishop Mario Zenari, the Vatican's nuncio to Syria, on the decision by some priests to stay in battle-scarred Homs, Syria, even as government forces intensified their strikes against the heart of a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad
Overheard 24 The Catholic Spirit
Highlights from this week’s newsmakers
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
Doctor brings wife, seven kids to serve in Africa By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit
When Dr. Mark Druffner of St. Michael in Stillwater proposed to Molly Delaney in July 1989, he got a response he wasn’t expecting. It wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t quite a yes. It was actually a qualified yes. “I’ve always wanted to work in Africa,” she said. “So, I said [to Mark], ‘I will marry you if you come to Africa with me. . . .’ And, he said, ‘Sure.’ That’s how Mark is. He’ll try anything.” So, shortly after getting married, they went to Kenya in 1991 and spent a year there. Then, 18 years — and seven kids — later, they went back to the continent again, this time to Tanzania, where they spent 10 weeks serving at a small hospital. Mark worked up to 14 hours a day seeing patients and providing what medicine he could, and Molly stayed nearby with their seven children. Unlike most other mission medical organizations, the one that sponsored them, Los Angeles-based Mission Doctors Association, allows entire families — even large families — to make mission trips. MDA is a Catholic organization that sends families on both short-term (one to six months) and long-term (three years) trips to countries in Africa and Latin America. The Druffners, who live in Hudson, Wis., went to Tanzania for six weeks in 2009 and 2010 and are planning another trip there this summer. They just completed a fundraiser to buy an X-ray machine in Tanzania that they will bring to the clinic. “Basically, there is no lab or lab facilities,” said Mark, of the hospital in the city of Bwambo in the Diocese of Same. “So, we practice what’s called empiric medicine. Basically, you look at their history, examine them and treat them. You have no CAT scan, no X-ray. “I would describe it by saying, ‘Imagine camping in the Boundary Waters [Canoe Area in northern Minnesota] and running a hospital or clinic.’ When you run out of stuff [medicine and supplies], you run out of stuff.”
Making connections Helping to prevent running out of “stuff” are parishioners at St. Michael, St. Mary (also in Stillwater) and St. Charles in Bayport who donate medicine and supplies for the Druffners’ trips. Mark and Molly are hoping to continue to build support for their work and the work of MDA in this archdiocese, where they, so far, are the only MDA family. “We want to introduce Mission Doctors Association to the Midwest,” Mark said. “So, we’re making connections with the Catholic community — doctors who are Catholic, who are in the [arch]diocese who want to do
Photo courtesy of Dr. Mark and Molly Druffner
Dr. Mark Druffner treats a member of the Masai tribe during a mission trip to Tanzania. In the foreground are his sons Jacob, right, and Francis. Clockwise from left, Molly, Rose, Cecilia, Charlie, Julian, Dr. Mark, Jacob, Mary-Therese and Francis Druffner pose together during their mission trip to Tanzania in 2009.
mission work. A lot of doctors want to do it, but they don’t know how or where to turn. Here’s an organization that supports them in their faith . . . and their family.” When the Druffners took their first trip in 2009, Mark was the first doctor to work at the clinic in six years. That’s a fact of life in the country, along with overcrowded hospitals where doctors do serve. “In Tanzania, there are 200 doctors for 40 million people,” said Molly, noting that half of those doctors serve at a large, urban hospital in the city of Moshi. “There’s a thousand beds there and they all have three [patients] to a bed. So, you’ll get somebody with AIDS, somebody with tuberculosis, and somebody with a broken leg all sleeping in the same bed.” Mark and Molly especially wanted their children to see what life is like in a developing country. It didn’t take long for the effects to be known. While unpacking after a trip, one of their children started piling up toys and other possessions in the hallway outside of his bed-
room, saying he did not need so much stuff. In fact, the children are more than just spectators during a mission trip. They roll up their sleeves and do plenty of manual labor, like gathering wood and building fires for cooking, and doing much-needed repairs at the hospital. They also help with the Catholic part of the mission, which involves catechesis for the people of the city. “Every Saturday, we had a catechesis class, and my Cecilia and Mary-Therese and I would go over and pray with the kids and teach them things about Jesus,” Molly said. “Seeing the kids interacting and being so free with the African kids and being of service to others was just cool.” For more information about Mission Doctors Association or to donate, visit HTTP://MISSIONDOCTORS.ORG. To direct a donation to the Druffners, type “Druffner Mission” on the online form.
Father Jerome Fehn earns MN Army National Guard’s highest rank Father Jerome Fehn, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and chaplain in the Minnesota Army National Guard, was promoted from the rank of major to lieutenant colonel during a pinning The ceremony Feb. 13 in Catholic Minneapolis.
News Notes Spirit
Father Fehn joined the National Guard in 1998, after nearly 30 years as a hospital chaplain.
As a National Guard chaplain Father Fehn has served in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Croatia. His promotion to lieutenant colonel, the highest rank currently held by priests in the National Guard, means he will oversee other chaplain teams and have more supervisory responsibilities.
18, at St. Pius X in White Bear Lake. The couple are among two dozen passengers still unaccounted for after the cruise ship they were on sank off the western coast of Italy Jan. 13. Of the more than 100 Americans aboard the Costa Concordia, the Heils are the only two still missing.
Memorial Mass to be held for missing couple
Senior a Presidential Scholars candidate
A memorial Mass celebrating the lives of Gerald and Barbara Heil has been planned for 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb.
Jack McGinn, a senior at Benilde-St. Margaret School in St. Louis Park, has been named one of 3,000 candidates in
the 2012 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Candidates were selected from nearly 3.2 million students graduating in 2012. Candidates are selected on the basis of superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character, and involvement in community and school activities. Appointed by the president of the United States, the Commission on Presidential Scholars will make the final selection of scholars and announce them in May.