St. Raphael and St. Rose

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel is one of the most widely known parts of the Gospels, containing the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer and many teachings that have become commonplace in the Christian psyche.

It is also long; it is found in Matthew chapters five through seven. Towards the end of the sermon he gives a warning to those who hear him but do not put his teaching into practice. I will tell you his warning a little later in this column, but first, to appreciate it better let’s look at certain traits of God.

Father Richard Kunst Apologetics

God is completely and totally unfathomable to our finite brains, yet we can still attempt to define him with words, not to contain him but to make him more accessible to our intellectual limitations.

One of the words we use to define God is that he is omnipotent, or almighty. When we say that God is omnipotent, we are making a statement that he can do anything, that there is no limits to his power and greatness. Although the full meaning of this eludes us, it is still something that many of us can grasp onto. After all, God made everything, and since he made everything, it makes sense that he has power over everything.

Besides being almighty and all powerful, another trait of God is that he is omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere. This, too, is somewhat easy to grasp, because God is a spirit. He is not physical. In fact, it is completely accurate to say that God is nothing, because he is “no thing”; he transcends things in his nature as a non-physical being. Since he is nonphysical, he is not limited in or by the physical universe. God, then, can be everywhere all at the same time. The universe cannot contain God.

The trait of God that I have always found to be the most bewildering is the fact that he is omniscient. He knows everything. And that means everything! He knows every thought you have ever had, he has known every thought of every person and animal that has ever lived or ever will live. God is fully conscious of every blade of grass, every snowflake and every grain of sand. If he wasn’t, then it would cease to exist. There are billions of atoms in a thimble full of air. It boggles the mind how many atoms are in a ton of lead, or in the entire universe, and yet God is fully aware, fully conscious and knows every individual atom that exists.

This should be a point of comfort, though for some people it might be unnerving. It’s comforting because this speaks to the God who loves us so much that he is aware and conscious of every aspect of our being, from our every thought to every component that makes us into a biological entity.

With God’s traits of omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence in mind, let’s go back to the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. After preaching and teaching for three chapters in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives a warning to those who hear his teaching but do not put it into practice: “Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Out of my site, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:23).

If we do not follow Christ and his teaching he will claim to have never known us. That sounds cold, but let’s consider this a bit. God is all merciful. We are reminded of this more than ever as we continue through the Holy Year of Mercy. In fact, Pope Francis has said that God’s name is mercy. Yet that doesn’t mean that Christian discipleship is not costly, because it is very costly.

Many people who are afraid of a costly Christian discipleship like to portray Jesus as a warm and fuzzy sort of savior; he is nothing of the sort. Christ is demanding. Just go back and look at the Sermon on the Mount and the other parts of Christ’s public ministry. He is demanding to the point that he expects us to follow his teaching, and if we don’t follow his teaching, then he will claim not to have known us, despite his absolute omniscient nature!

Father Richard Kunst is pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Duluth and St. Joseph in Gnesen and is administrator of St. Michael in Duluth. Reach him at rbkunst@q.com.

The diocesan chapter of the Catholic Medical Association has been hosting White Masses with Bishop Paul Sirba every October since 2010, but this year the group is bringing in its biggest speaker yet: Boston College philosophy professor and world-renowned apologist Peter Kreeft.

Kreeft is the author of 75 books, many written for a popular audience and published by Ignatius Press, on a wide variety of topics including philosophy, Catholic apologetics, catechesis, Scripture, Christian literature, and prayer and spirituality, to go along with countless shorter works. Among his best-known titles are “Handbook of Christian Apologetics” (with Ronald K. Tacelli, S.J..), “Christianity for Modern Pagans” and “Fundamentals of the Faith.”

Kreeft

Kreeft has also assisted the Knights of Columbus in a series introducing the faith and is an in-demand national speaker known for strong wit and strong arguments in defense of Catholic teaching on issues like the right to life, as well as engaging question-and-answer sessions.

“We wanted to get a more nationally known speaker in order to hopefully expand the numbers of people attending,” said Dr. Dan Skorich, president of the diocesan chapter of the CMA, known as the St. Raphael Guild.

Skorich said Kreeft will be addressing the CMA group in a dinner after the White Mass on pro-life issues, but he is also giving talks at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary and Holy Rosary School on other topics — evangelization, how to talk about gender issues and “Why be Catholic?”

Skorich said the CMA worked with the Cathedral parish and school to get the most out of Kreeft’s presence.

“Dr. Kreeft charges a fixed rate for his time, and is willing to give as many talks as able during his time here,” Skorich said. “So we wanted to maximize our time with him and to give parishes, staff, teachers, deacons, priests [and] parishioners an extended time with him.”

Kreeft’s first talks are Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Holy Rosary School gym in Duluth, where he will speak on “How to Evangelize a Hostile Ex-Christian Culture” from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and “How to Talk About Gender Issues” from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mass itself will take place at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Cathedral, which will be followed by the dinner and a talk on “The Problem of the Denial of Human Dignity.”

Kreeft will also speak Sunday, Oct. 23, in the Cathedral social hall on “Why be a Catholic?” from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

All the events, including the dinner, are open to the public, and except for the dinner, all are free.

However, excitement is building as word gets out, tickets for the dinner for religious, clergy and students are free, and Essentia/St. Mary’s employees have ticket discounts, while there is a maximum of 200 tickets available, so Skorich suggested getting tickets early at the organization’s website, duluthcathmed.org. Cost is $35 per person.

— Kyle Eller / The Northern Cross

I keep trying to do all that I can to help our children know of God’s love for them. I want them to be truly Catholic, not merely in name, but as their deepest identity. In the face of a seemingly hostile culture, what can I do?

While there are no fool-proof strategies for passing along the faith to your children, there are some very powerful things you can choose to do that will make a difference in your children’s lives (and their eternities). I will name four here.

Father Michael Schmitz Ask Father Mike

First, teach your children how to pray. I have a friend who lamented the fact that, as Catholics, we “have been taught how to repeat, not how to pray.” A recent study indicated that 47 percent of Catholics in America are not absolutely certain that a personal relationship with God is ever possible.

Reflect on that for a moment. The entire basis of Catholicism is centered around the fact that God broke into this world in Jesus Christ, and that he continues to animate and engage us through the Holy Spirit on a moment-by-moment basis. As Catholics, we have unprecedented access to the Father. And it has even been revealed that God is not some distant power but that he has become our Father when we were made his children through baptism! Yet almost half of the Catholics are not aware that we can have a personal relationship with him. Teach your children how to pray. Teach them that God is their Father and show them how you talk to him.

Second, speaking of fathers, there is something that is often entirely missed in our culture: the power of a father’s blessing. Dads, bless your children. Did you know that, in God’s original plan for the people of Israel, every father of a family was the priest of the family? In the new covenant, the father of the family is the priest of the “domestic church” (aka “the family”). This means there is power in a father’s blessing.

This was brought home to me when I was having a conversation with a priest who is an exorcist in another diocese. He described the case of a young woman who had been cursed by her father. While the exorcism was freeing her through the power of Jesus Christ, there was a bunch of “push back” because her father continued to curse his own daughter. He noted how powerful that curse was because it was her father doing it. After staring at him in shock that a dad would do that, a thought came to my mind. I said, “If that is the case with a father’s curse, what does that mean if a dad blesses his child in the Name of Jesus?” He looked at me and said, “You can’t imagine the power of grace that a dad’s blessing has over his children.”

Fathers, pronounce the blessing of God over your children. It can be a simple sign of the Cross traced on their foreheads, or if they are far away from you, raising your hand in their direction and praying, “Bless you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” It might not be “sacramental” in the way a priest’s blessing is, but it is part of the “primordial sacrament.”

Third, little can compete with an authentic witness to Jesus Christ and his church. When moms and dads give witness that they truly strive to live what we profess on Sundays, there is power. This does not mean being overly strict or demanding with one’s own children. In fact, St. John Paul II testifies to the authentic witness of his own father. He wrote, “The mere fact of seeing [my father] on his knees had a decisive influence on my early years. He was so hard on himself that he had no need to be hard on his son; his example alone was sufficient to inculcate discipline and a sense of duty. He was an exceptional person.” He went on to state, “… his example was in a way my first seminary.”

St. John of the Cross cited his mother and her willingness to raise him and his brother in the faith despite the great sacrifices she had to make in order to be Catholic. It was her example that inspired him and his brother. Many mothers have had that sanctifying effect on their children.

Fourth, we must not underestimate the power of prayer. As many know, St. Augustine was absolutely opposed to the Catholic faith of his mom in his early years. An incredibly bright young person, he seemed to delight in throwing his mom’s faith in her face. But she remained steadfast in prayer.

Here is something we often overlook: She did not merely “throw up a few prayers.” She begged God on behalf of both of her sons. She prayed. She fasted. She was so vigilant in her prayers that St. Ambrose once famously told her, “As you live, it is impossible that the child of such tears should perish.”

If you desire this conversion, be gentle with your child, but be strict with yourself. This might mean fasting for them. The spirit of this age is alive and well. It can often only be driven out of your children with prayer and fasting. Fast for your children, whether from food or through any mortification. Offer up your grief and your sufferings for your children. You can even ask God to accept whatever suffering you experience as you age and approach death for the salvation and sanctification of your children.

You may not see the fruit of these four powerful tools in your life. But you are a person who knows that there is more to this life. Do not lose heart. Never lose heart. God desires the salvation of your children even more than you do. Trust in him.

Father Michael Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

The level of distaste for both major parties’ presidential candidates is at an historic high. In the midst of this discontent, the traces of two distorted approaches to voting have become clear.

One approach is to avoid voting altogether because of a dissatisfaction with the presidential candidates and an understandable (but incorrect) perception that all politicians are crooks, along with an attitude that voting doesn’t make much of a difference anyway.

Jonathan Liedl Faith in the Public Arena

The other extreme overstates the importance of voting, turning a weighty responsibility into a pseudo-sacrament, as though the establishment of the kingdom of God depended on picking the right candidate. Those with this mindset can easily fall into the trap of “putting their trust in princes,” leading to unrealistic expectations of a candidate’s capacity to do good and self-imposed blindness to his or her flaws.

The proper approach to voting is somewhere in between these extremes. It treats voting with the same measured perspective with which we are to consider other forms of political participation in a pluralistic, liberal democracy: as a prudent, practical engagement with an imperfect system for the sake of the common good. To borrow a phrase from theologian Gilbert Meilaender, this approach sees the importance of voting as “chastened, but not denuded.”

A duty of charity

In their 2016 update of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the U.S. bishops remind Catholics that “responsible citizenship is a virtue.” While political participation can and should take many forms, exercising the right to vote in a representative democracy is a privileged duty. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says it is “morally obligatory” (2240).

Why such strong language? The church teaches that we, as laypeople, are compelled by an evangelical mandate of charity to work for the well-being of our brothers and sisters. One form of this work includes advocating for policies that foster human dignity and the common good and electing representatives who will prioritize these values.

Voting, though an imperfect system, is an important tool we can use to help shape the contours of our political landscape. Politics will not, nor does it aim to (properly understood), bring about the Kingdom, and voting will never put perfect candidates in office (because who is perfect?). But if done in an informed and principled manner, your vote can be used to protect innocent human life and promote the conditions for all to flourish — or at least mitigate the political damage that can be done.

An imperfect system

The obligation to exercise one’s right to vote does not mean we are required to vote in every race or for only those candidates likely to win. Faithful Citizenship informs us that one “can take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate” if all candidates promote intrinsic evils. Sometimes the candidates are so flawed that it can be near impossible to reasonably discern who is the least-worst option.

But such a decision should not be undertaken lightly and should only come after serious discernment and study. We should not be so naive as to always expect perfect candidates with the right position on every issue or without any personal flaws and then avoid voting generally because no one meets our exacting standards. Even when one cannot in good conscience justify a vote in a particular race we should remember that the ballot is full of important elections. Disgust with the presidential election by itself is not a good reason to stay home on Nov. 8.

We are called to be faithful citizens within an imperfect system, prudently using our vote to bring about a limited good as best we can. As an unknown church father wrote regarding the civic responsibilities of Christians, “So noble is the position to which God has assigned them that they are not allowed to desert it.”

Liedl is the communications manager of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota. This is the first of three Faith in the Public Arena columns.

Action Alert

Start Preparing for Election Day

Resources for Faithful Citizenship

Voting is a special right and an important responsibility. It’s an opportunity to participate in our community as faithful citizens by shaping the political landscape for the common good.

Because of its importance, we should seriously and prayerfully prepare to cast our vote in November. MCC has produced several election-year resources to help you as you form your conscience for faithful citizenship. These resources include:

• A candidate questionnaire to help you find out where your local candidates stand on important issues
• A voting discernment guide to help you evaluate candidates in light of a consistent ethic of life
• Inspiring and informative social media images featuring passages from the USCCB’s Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship

These resources are all available at MNCatholic.org/election, and more will be added soon. If you can’t get online, you can request to receive a copy by calling MCC’s offices at (651) 227-8777.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference declared that a national advertising campaign to restore federal tax funds for abortions “woefully misrepresents the noble Catholic social justice tradition.”

The campaign, by Catholics for Choice, “disregards the need to defend vulnerable human life in all its stages — a principle at the core of authentic social justice,” said the Sept. 12 statement by the conference, the public policy arm of Minnesota’s bishops.

Years ago, the U.S. bishops said the group, formerly called Catholics for a Free Choice, had “no affiliation, formal or otherwise, with the Catholic Church.”

The Minnesota Catholic Conference responded to an ad placed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the state’s largest daily newspaper. In the ad, a Pennsylvania woman, Linda Pinto — described as a Catholic, mother, grandmother and former nun — said: “It is because of my Catholic faith, not in spite of it, that I support women who make conscience-based decisions to have an abortion.”

Catholics for Choice said its “Abortion in Good Faith” campaign was a multiyear effort to overturn the federal Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds for virtually all Medicaid abortions. The organization said ads appeared Sept. 12 in the print editions of more than 20 local and national publications, including Politico, the Nation, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Dallas Morning News and La Opinion.

In 1993, the Administrative Committee of the U.S. Catholic bishops called what was known as Catholics for a Free Choice “has no affiliation, formal or otherwise, with the Catholic Church” and “merits no recognition or support as a Catholic organization.”

In its statement, the Minnesota Catholic Conference said, “If there is a desire to help a woman in need who is facing an unplanned pregnancy, the solution as a society is to get her the resources and support she needs to care for her child — not help her dispose of it.

“Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned such a mentality as part of the throwaway culture that attacks the dignity of the weak and vulnerable because they seem inconvenient and make a claim upon our care and resources.”

The state Catholic conference added, “The ad itself makes no effort to ground its claims in any authoritative source of the Catholic faith, which is rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and is proclaimed by the church. It fails to do so because the actual teachings of the Catholic faith embrace a consistent ethic of life from conception to natural death, and categorically condemn abortion as an act of violence against the most innocent and defenseless among us.”

Others featured in the ad campaign are Lauren Barbato, a graduate student and writer from Newark, New Jersey; Kathy Ryg, a former Illinois state legislator, mother of four and grandmother of eight from Vernon Hills, Illinois; John Noble, a student and community organizer from Des Moines, Iowa; Heather Hirsch, a cancer researcher and mother from Cottage Grove, Minnesota; and Gloria Romero Roses, a business owner, mother and former congressional candidate from Southwest Ranches, Florida.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference suggested that Catholics respond to the ad by giving support to one of the state’s pregnancy resource centers, which “care for both mothers and children in a manner consistent with true social justice.”

In other reaction, pro-life lawyer Helen Alvare, co-founder of Women Speak for Themselves, said she “has decades of experience” with Catholics for Choice’s “attempts to be provocative in order to attract free media.”

The group is “therefore often seen in the media, yet [is] not much of a factor in the pro-life debate on the ground,” she said in a statement sent by email to Catholic News Service Sept. 13.

“They have no members and no grass-roots work. Unlike the Catholic Church and other pro-life activists,” she added, Catholics for Choice “provides no help for pregnant women or post-aborted women or children.”

— Catholic News Service

Even those who love their Catholic faith sometimes feel ill-prepared to share it with others — to be part of this “New Evangelization” that church leaders from Pope Francis on down are always talking about.

How do you begin those conversations? What can you say that might reach the postmodern mind?

Sherry Weddell

Those are some of the questions the Catherine of Siena Institute and its co-founder Sherry Weddell have set out to answer, and Weddell will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Diocesan Assembly Oct. 8 at Marshall School in Duluth.

Liz Hoefferle, diocesan director of religious education, said one reason for inviting Weddell is “hoping to see that we become better equipped in our efforts in the New Evangelization,” in a variety of areas, even in catechesis.

Another term the institute is known for is “intentional discipleship.” Weddell’s popular book “Forming Intentional Disciples” begins with the stark recognition that many lay Catholics, even lay Catholic leaders, by their own admission don’t have a “lived relationship with God,” or in other words do not live as disciples in any active sense.

“A disciple is one who follows Christ,” Hoefferle explained. “… It takes a conscious effort to make that decision to follow Christ.” And it’s something different from just receiving the sacraments of initiation.

Hoefferle said she hopes this year’s conference will help “lay people see their calling in the church and to live out their baptismal call” — the “universal call to holiness” emphasized by the Second Vatican Council.

For the past several years, diocesan religious education has been following a “win-build-send” model of forming disciples, seeking first to introduce people to God, then to build their faith and finally to send them out into the world to win more disciples for Christ.

Hoefferle said an “equip” step before sending people out to make disciples is also necessary, because even faithful, practicing Catholics “don’t always feel equipped to share that with others.” That’s where the Catherine of Siena Institute comes in.

“What they offer is a good fit for what we’re trying to do,” she said.

She said the talks will include discussion of how to discern the different stages or “thresholds” of where people we encounter are on their path to intentional discipleship — and how to engage and help them progress on that path.

It will also include “case studies” from the lives of the saints showing that it is a call for everyone.

Weddell will also be presenting at the Clergy Conference before the Diocesan Assembly, giving pastors some insights as they try to implement these ideas in their parishes.

As usual, the assembly is open to all, and Hoefferle said it’s not necessary to have read “Forming Intentional Disciples” beforehand, but it might be helpful to get the most out of the event.

The assembly runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes the vigil Mass with Bishop Paul Sirba, as well as continental breakfast, lunch and participant materials. The registration deadline is Sept. 26. Visit www.dioceseduluth.org for pricing and online registration.

— Kyle Eller / The Northern Cross

It’s September, so it’s back to school time. No matter what your age, lifelong learning touches all of us. Across our diocese our Catholic schools, religious education programs, RCIA programs, Bible studies, Men’s and Women’s Conferences, Diocesan Assembly, youth retreats and many more offerings teach us about Jesus Christ, so that we can love and serve Him as our Redeemer and Lord.

For our diocese, some new exciting opportunities have been announced. The diocese is engaged in the Called To Be One (C2B1) project to ensure high quality Catholic education is available and affordable to all of our families.

Bishop Paul Sirba Fiat Voluntas Tua

The purpose of Called To Be One is to engage the whole diocese in a conversation and planning process for the future of Catholic school education in our diocese. From the focus of unifying the four Duluth Area Catholic Schools into one school offering PreK to 12th grade in the city to bringing these same educational opportunities through the use of technology to the rest of the diocese is incredibly exciting!

I ask your help. We need to listen to discern God’s will for us. How do we best help parents in their duty as Christian parents to educate their children in the ways of the faith?

Please pray for the future of all Catholic education in the Diocese of Duluth. Take the survey located at www.duluthareacatholicschools.org and share your ideas for the success of the planning process. Consider attending our planning retreats in Duluth on Sept. 24 and Nov. 12. You can register for the retreats at www.duluthareacatholicschools.org. Check out the website for ongoing information and inspirational stories.

To support marriage and family life, we will be celebrating a Marriage Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 10:30 a.m. Mass will be followed by a delicious lunch and short program. We need to celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage and thank God for the gift of this great sacrament. Like the school initiative, C2B1, finding new ways to teach why marriage between one man and one woman is unique for a reason begins with acknowledging and celebrating the lived reality between happily married couples of 10, 25, and 50+ years. Register to attend at www.dioceseduluth. org/Marriage-and-Family-Life.

The Jubilee Year of Mercy continues until Nov. 20. Have you taken time to participate in it? After attending World Youth Day and following in the footsteps of St. John Paul II and St. Faustina, I am more grateful than ever that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, had the insight to inaugurate a Jubilee Year. It was edifying for me to see our young people praying before the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, at the tomb of St. Faustina and visiting the churches and shrines connected to St. John Paul II and so many other saints. The words of Pope Francis, the testimonies of the presenters and the lived witness of our own youth made God’s loving mercy visible and tangible. Your stories of God’s mercy will too!

While attending World Youth Day was a great gift, we can encounter the Lord’s mercy each and every day, wherever we are. Go through the Holy Door at the Cathedral, practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy with newfound zeal and enthusiasm. Take advantage of the Sacrament of Confession. Make the month of September a month where learning and evangelizing come together under the banner of God’s mercy.

Bishop Paul D. Sirba is the ninth bishop of Duluth.

The planning process for the future of Catholic education in the Duluth area and beyond kicked off in earnest in August — and early this month is the best time to make sure your voice heard.

As announced this spring, the Duluth Area Catholic Schools system and its four schools — Holy Rosary, St. James, St. John and St. Michael’s Lakeside — will explore the goals of unifying the four schools into a single school with multiple campuses and, more dramatically, expanding to offering classes pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. (Currently there is no Catholic high school closer than the Twin Cities, and the last grade offered in the city’s Catholic schools is eighth grade.)

Bob Lisi, chair of the Called to Be One planning team, flanked by co-chair Hilaire Hauer, speaks to reporters at an Aug. 16 press conference. (Kyle Eller / The Northern Cross)

The efforts are expected to have implications for diocesan schools outside the city of Duluth.

On Aug. 16, a “Called to Be One” process toward this goal was announced, which will involve three phases designed to get maximum input from the faithful. It is led by a planning team with representatives from area parishes, schools and religious communities, with the help of a consulting firm, the Reid Group.

“The Reid Group was selected be- cause they have a particular focus and emphasis on community engagement,” said Bob Lisi, chair of the planning team and a parishioner at St. John, at an Aug. 16 press conference.

He said getting the whole community to weigh in on the process will result in “the best plan, the best ideas.”

“We will think limitless, think about all the possibilities,” he added.

Co-chair Hilaire Hauer echoed that sentiment. “We are going to be bold,” she said. “We are intentionally taking these discussions out of the board room and into our communities.”

Hauer said the community engagement will take place in three phases. The first is a survey for anyone inter- ested in Catholic education to share their thoughts on the future of Catholic schools, including those outside the Duluth area.

“The survey is so important to this process, because the results will set the stage for the next phase,” she said.

The survey can be filled out online at duluthareacatholicschools.org. For those who may not have Internet access, it is also available in paper form from parish offices. Responses are due Sept. 10.

The second phase will be a retreat Sept. 24 at St. James School, where results from the survey will be com- piled and summarized to facilitate small group discussions. Following the retreat, an initial plan will be developed with input from the retreat and data support and professional guidance from the Reid Group.

The third phase will be a subsequent retreat to refine this plan, working toward final recommendations for a final draft to be submitted to the Duluth Area Catholic Schools board and Bishop Paul Sirba by January 2017. A response to that submission could come as early as late that month.

Those who wish to participate in the retreat can register at the duluthareacatholicschools.org. Father Ryan Moravitz, a planning team member and pastor of parishes in Crosslake and Emily, says there is demand.

“One of the things that we’ve seen over the last 10 years is a growing desire for a Catholic high school,” he said.

He added that there is a difference between a Catholic high school and other schools in the city.

“All of the schools in the city are doing good work, seeking to provide a good, high-quality education,” he said. “What distinguishes us is that friendship with Jesus is at the center.”

Enrollment in the four schools currently stands at 610, and the Duluth deanery has 20 parishes and 6,295 Catholic households. The Called to Be One process is also active on social media and encourages sharing the survey for maximum reach. Find it on Facebook at facebook.com/C2B1DuluthCatholic or on Twitter at @C2B1Duluth.

— By Kyle Eller / The Northern Cross

Abortion numbers have dropped in eight of the last nine years in Minnesota to their lowest level since 1974. Officials at Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life attributed the drop in part to the success of lifeaffirming laws that provide women with abortion information and alternatives and empower them to choose life for their unborn children — and themselves.

The annual Abortion Report, issued July 1 by the Minnesota Department of Health, showed a decrease in 2015 of 2.6 percent, following a trend of fewer abortions statewide since MCCL helped to enact the Positive Alternatives law, which took effect in July 2006. The report also shows that nearly 1,700 women decided to give birth after considering the Woman’s Right to Know factual information about fetal development, abortion and alternatives.

“Minnesotans can take pride in the fact that all of the services and resources being marshalled to help pregnant women are actually reaching them and saving lives,” said Scott Fischbach, MCCL’s executive director. “Today’s report is further evidence that women don’t want abortion, and when they find help they have hope.”

MCCL officials say pro-life legislation has helped to empower women in their desire to give birth to their unborn babies. Positive Alternatives offers women life-affirming alternatives to abortion by funding programs that help them with health care, housing, education, transportation and much more. The state’s Woman’s Right to Know informed consent law and the parental notification law for minors considering abortion also serve to empower women and girls with factual information and trustworthy support.

“Many factors have contributed to this long-term trend of declining abortions,” Fischbach said. “Women in need have been helped and protective laws have been enacted. Pro-life educational efforts and ultrasound technology have revealed to more and more people the humanity of the unborn child and the injustice of abortion.”

The 2015 total of 9,861 abortions is a reduction of 2.6 percent from the previous year’s 10,123 total. More than half were performed on women in their 20s. A total of 11,553 women received the Woman’s Right to Know informed consent information, meaning 1,692 women chose not to abort after learning about fetal development, abortion risks and complications, and abortion alternatives. The report also shows that taxpayer funded abortions grew to 43 percent of all abortions reported in the state, the highest percentage since the 1995 Doe v. Gomez state Supreme Court ruling requiring taxpayers to fund abortions.

Planned Parenthood bucks trend

Planned Parenthood continues to defy state and national trends of declining abortion numbers by performing more abortions. As Minnesota’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood enlarged its market beyond 50 percent for the first time, despite a decrease in abortions statewide, according to the report.

Planned Parenthood increased its abortions by 28.5 percent from 2011 to 2015 and has more than doubled its abortion business since 2000. Beginning in 2007, state abortion totals declined each year except in 2014, when the number rose 2 percent. In contrast, Planned Parenthood’s annual abortion numbers were down from the previous year in only two of those nine years. Planned Parenthood’s 2015 total of 5,048 abortions was its highest number ever, and a record market share of 51.2 percent of all abortions performed in Minnesota.

Other statistics were more encouraging. Just 246 abortions were performed on minors, accounting for 2.5 percent of the total. This is the smallest number since the state began recording minor abortions in 1975 and represents a decline of 89 percent from their peak in 1980, the year prior to passage of Minnesota’s Parental Notification law.

However, abortions were performed at a rate of more than 27 every day last year. More than 40 percent of abortions in 2015 were performed on women who had undergone at least one prior abortion; 703 women had had three or more previous abortions. The report also shows that African Americans remain a target of the abortion industry. They represent just 5.5 percent of the state’s population, yet 24 percent of abortions were performed on African Americans.

Minnesota’s five abortion facilities (six locations) performed 99 percent of all abortions in 2015. Late-term abortions (after week 20) increased from 97 to 122. The latest abortion was performed at 29 weeks (in 2014 the latest was at 27 weeks)

Full reports for 2015 and prior years are available at the MDH website, www.health.state.mn.us.

— The Northern Cross

We are blessed to have 13 seminarians in formation this fall. Please pray for them as they open their hearts to a life of sacred service in the Diocese of Duluth.

The Seminarian Appeal, which should have arrived by now to every home, is one way in which we financially and prayerfully support our seminarians. The appeal helps to meet the costs of educating and forming our future priests, and is designed to coincide with the feast day of St. John Vianney (Aug. 4), patron saint of all priests.

Aubry Haben Guest columnist

The faith family of the Diocese of Duluth continues to be generous. Catholics from across the diocese donated more than $226,000. Thank you!

Our seminarians are a great gift to the life and future of our diocese. One such seminarian, Matt Miller, just moved to Rome to begin his major seminary studies. Diocesan youth ministry events helped his love of God grow over the years, and interactions with priests drew him slowly but patiently towards seminary.

After running track at the College of St. Scholastica for one year and getting involved with the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Matt made the decision to enter seminary. The day after he called the diocesan vocations director, everything fell into place, and he transferred to St. Thomas to begin his studies in minor seminary and complete his bachelor’s degree. Now, he is in his first year of major seminary!

Matt is just one example of the beauty that occurs when we follow God’s will for our life.

Bishop Paul Sirba asks for your prayers for our seminarians as they discern a life of holy service in the parishes and ministries of the Diocese of Duluth. You can donate online to the appeal at www.dioceseduluth.org.

Aubry Haben is director of development for the Diocese of Duluth.