Private donors continue quest to buy property for camp

By Barb Umberger The Catholic Spirit

A nonprofit group of private donors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is pursuing its goal of buying property for a Catholic summer camp for middle schoolers and for fall, winter and spring retreats for parishes and schools.

Last year, Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership members identified a 600-acre property in May Township in Washington County, but they continue “to face headwinds with the township and a group of lakeshore owners on Square Lake,” one of three lakes on the property, said Tim Healy, president of the partnership.

At the same time, partnership members have been in contact with “a number of people” from May Township who are “very supportive of what we’re trying to do,” Healy said. “They appreciate that we are reaching out to young people and … (offering) a positive alternative in an incredibly negative and damaging culture. Our goal all along has been to work with youth and eliminate the noise of the outside world, including social media, and help them through nature, God’s creation, hear God’s voice.”

Healy met with, and answered questions from, township board

The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota is managing trust funds that are paying for renovations and ongoing maintenance at the Byrne Residence in St. Paul. The funds balance and commitments total nearly $6 million today, but according to its website, $11 million is needed for repairs and to fund ongoing maintenance at the residence for retired priests. An anonymous donor recently announced a donations match of up to $2 million made to the Leo C. Byrne Residence Maintenance Fund, which also is managed by the foundation. To learn more and to donate, visit ccf-mn org/byrneresidence other priests, said his prior arrangement was a good community but he could no longer “handle the steps.” So, he moved to the Byrne Residence because, as he said, “I’d rather come in when I’m healthy.”

Father Long has known many in the building for years; he and Father Kennedy, for example, went through the seminary together 50 years ago, he said.

He likes that “if you desire community, you can find it in the building,” Father Long said. “You can go up to the reading room, you can go have dinner, lunch, breakfast, and if you want to be isolated, you can do that as well.”

About the renovations, Father Long said while there have been inconveniences during the work, “it’s all right.”

Father Long retired after serving five years as pastor of St. Stephen in Anoka and 12 years at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park. He also served as pastor at then-St Joseph in Hopkins (now St. Gabriel), and before that, taught at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights and served Hill Murray in Maplewood.

Father Long values the Byrne Residence’s central location, including to downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. And while other residents enjoy walking along the river, he loves walking the sidewalks on the campus of nearby University of St. Thomas.

The Byrne Residence “is a good place,” he said.

members at the board’s most recent meeting Aug. 3. No public comments were made, and the board took no action.

Board members planned to analyze the group’s proposal and discuss it at their regular meeting Sept. 7, Healy said. He expects public comments at the September meeting “and we’ll see what happens from there.” No date has been set for the board to vote on the partnership’s plans, Healy said.

Members of the Square Lake Conservancy, formed earlier this year, raised concerns at a previous township board meeting about the proposed camp’s environmental impact. A school that had been on the property had 225 students and was approved for up to 300, Healy said. “We’re not asking for anything more than that.”

Existing buildings on the property include a dining facility with commercial kitchen and dining room, and four large dormitories, Healy said. One building called “the meeting house” is too small for projected needs, so the partnership needs approval to construct another building for campers to enjoy “songs, talks and skits,” he said.

The partnership’s vision is to “create a safe, fun, supportive environment where young people can have that great encounter with Jesus, a really lifechanging encounter,” Healy said.

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

Adult-use, recreational marijuana became legal Aug. 1 in Minnesota, “a travesty that will harm this state’s quality of life,” said Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public-policy arm of the state’s bishops.

It’s also an example of how Catholics need to be more engaged with the political process, Adkins said in an email exchange. “We need to be just as vocal and organized as marijuana advocates about our own set of political preferences so that legislators feel the need to address them,” he said.

One of several laws that took effect Aug. 1, the legalization of recreational marijuana has received widespread attention and marks the beginning of a new industry and legal intoxicant in the state. The new law immediately allows people to possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis in public and 2 pounds in their homes. Minnesotans also can cultivate up to eight plants for personal use. Four of those plants can be flowering at any given time.

By early 2025, rules and regulations are expected to be in place allowing businesses to sell recreational cannabis to people 21 and older. At least one known exception to a later start for businesses is the Red Lake Nation Reservation, which as a sovereign entity opened a dispensary in Red Lake Aug. 1.

Marijuana for medical purposes has been legal in Minnesota since 2014. Allowing recreational use “puts profits and politics over people and will have a host of negative consequences, including the likelihood of an increase in traffic-related deaths,” Adkins said.

It’s also an example of how politicians increasingly view their role “as catering to vocal and organized groups of political consumers and satisfying their preferences instead of pursuing the common good,” Adkins said. Lawmakers should be responsive and represent constituents’ views, but “always in light of what promotes authentic human flourishing,” he said. As of Aug. 1, Minnesota joined 22 states, two U.S. territories and the District of Columbia that have enacted measures to regulate cannabis for adult non-medical use.

“It is understandable that, in a culture in which depression and despair are prevalent, people are excited about marijuana as an escape and a way to dull the pain,” Adkins said. “It underscores the importance of evangelization — to bring hope amid hopelessness and bring light to the darkness. If we really believe Jesus is savior, then the urgency of evangelization in word and deed never ceases.”