Archbishop Nienstedt issues prayer for marriage

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Archbishop issues prayer for marriage

To assist statewide efforts to defend and define marriage in the Minnesota Constitution, Archbishop John Nienstedt has issued a prayer intended for use as part of the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass.

The archbishop also encourages use of the prayer in eucharistic adoration chapels so worshipers can pray for the success of the state marriage amendment and all efforts to strengthen marriage, according to a letter posted on the archdiocesan website at http://www.archspm.org. He also is calling on Catholics in the archdiocese to embrace Fridays as a day of prayer and sacrifice for the success of the amendment effort.

The amendment, supported by Minnesota’s Catholic bishops, will appear on the 2012 ballot. It will ask voters: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?”

“The current struggle to defend and define marriage within our civil constitution demands a three-fold approach,” Archbishop Nienstedt said.

[1] “We must educate our fellow citizens on the meaning and good of marriage.

[2] We must actively and resolutely promote widespread participation among our fellow believers in the support of a marriage amendment.

[3] And, most importantly, we must pray and offer sacrifice for the success of all endeavors that seek to protect and promote marriage.”

Copies of the prayer may be downloaded or ordered from the archdiocesan Office of Worship.

Marriage Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Through the powerful intercession of the Holy Family, grant to this local Church the many graces we need to foster, strengthen, and support faith-filled, holy marriages and holy families.

May the vocation of married life, a true calling to share in your own divine and creative life, be recognized by all believers as a source of blessing and joy, and a revelation of your own divine goodness.

Grant to us all the gift of courage to proclaim and defend your plan for marriage, which is the union of one man and one woman in a lifelong, exclusive relationship of loving trust, compassion, and generosity, open to the conception of children.

We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

Worthington and SW Minnesota: Murphy, O'Shea and Mulligan - they didn't stay

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It is said that when [Arch-] Bishop John Ireland died at St. Paul (1918) his funeral was attended by eight archbishops, 30 bishops, 12 monsignors, 700 priests and 200 seminarians.

Wow! [Archbishop Ireland, the "Consecrated Blizzard of the Northwest", was an extremely powerful person in the U.S. Catholic Church and it had been expected that he would have been made a Cardinal. But, among other things he got tangled up in the Americanism movement and never got the red hat].

We have been talking about Norwegians, Germans and Dutch in southwest Minnesota. Bishop John Ireland is largely responsible for the Irish in southwest Minnesota, and for the fact that there are not many more Irish.

Bishop Ireland, born in Ireland, was a founder of the Irish Catholic Colonization Association. Working with the Western railroads and the state of Minnesota, beginning in 1876, Bishop Ireland brought 4,000 Catholic families out of the slums of New York, Philadelphia and Boston and began efforts to settle his substantial flock on 400,000 acres of land in southwest Minnesota. Catholic settlement focused (among several prairie towns) on Adrian in Nobles County and on Avoca, Iona and Fulda in Murray County.

Southwest Minnesota might have been known to this day as Little Ireland. Trouble was, the Irish didn’t like it here. They wouldn’t stay.

Many Irish people, many Irish city dwellers, came to America in the time of the great potato famine. They and their children had limited training, and they faced great prejudice when they sought work:

NINA: No Irish Need Apply.

That prejudice is remembered to this day.

(As a current story goes, Murphy, O’Shea and Mullligan went for a construction job. They were told the foreman dislikes Irish. Murphy suggests they give English-sounding names. O’Shea enters the foreman’s office. The foreman asks his name. O’Shea looks out window, sees a JC Penney store and says his name is JC Penney. “Get out!” shouts the foreman. Mulligan looks out the same window, sees a billboard and says his name is B.F. Goodrich. “Get out!” shouts the foreman. Murphy is last. The red-faced foreman asks his name. Murphy takes a long look out the window and replies Ken. “Thank heaven,” says the foreman. “ Ken who?” “Tuckeyfriedchicken,” says Murphy.)

The early Irish immigrants, mostly jobless, lived in squalor in the shadowy slums of America’s eastern cities.

“Well,” said Bishop Ireland, “Let’s bring them to Adrian, or Avoca. Give them land and let them farm and may they live happily ever after.” Four hundred thousand acres of Irish farmers.

Trouble was — well, there were a lot of troubles. The Irish had no money, and even in the days of settlement it took money to begin farming. Most of the Irish had no kind of experience with farming; they didn’t know what to do. Life in a crude shack in a Minnesota winter seemed worse than life in a Boston slum. What is more, through all their days these people had lived with friends and kin, almost cheek-to-jowl. Now they lived alone, separated from other humans sometimes by miles.

The general reaction: “Let’s get out of here!”

The Great Irish Settlement was followed by the Great Irish Get-away.

Oh, not all of them fled. In his “History of Nobles County,” A.P. Rose has short stories of the lives of 737 Nobles County pioneers. Twenty-one are from Ireland.

Some stories told of the Irish settlers are memorable. Patrick Glynn was born in Ireland in 1845, the first year of the great famine. He was grown and living in Cleveland when he came upon an advertising folder prepared by Bishop Ireland which told, especially, of the colonization effort in Nobles County. On May 20, 1879, at the age of 34, Patrick purchased a quarter-section of land in Westside Township for $7 an acre.

The Glynn family lived on the farm near Adrian for 13 years. Patrick and his wife, Mary Kinsella Glynn, came to have nine children. Mary was a native of County Carlow, Ireland.

The children were Patrick’s special focus and concern. In his far corner of the prairie he judged school facilities were poor. He wanted the kids to have the best of educations.

In 1892, Patrick sold the $7-an-acre land and bought a $16-an-acre farm southwest of Adrian. The price was more than twice what he paid for the land on which the Glynn family had made their home, but there were better schools available. This was issue on which Patrick Glynn made his decision. Worthington Daily Globe


See this excerpt of James P. Shannon's book, "Catholic Colonization on the Western Frontier."

Benedictine Monks Arrive In St. Cloud – May 20, 1856

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1964 photo of Francis Xavier Pierz (Stearns History Museum)

COLLEGEVILLE – Early in April, 1856, a small missionary band, composed of Reverend Demetrius di Marogna, Father Cornelius Wittmann and Bruno Riss along with two lay brothers, Benno Muckenthaler and Patrick Greil, set out from St. Vincent’s monastery in Pennsylvania. After a tedious journey by steamboat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi, these fathers arrived in St. Cloud on May 20, 1856, one hundred and fifty five years ago today. This arrival inaugurated one of the more fascinating chapters in the religious history of St. Cloud. [Minnesota did not become a state until May 11, 1858, almost two years later].

St. Cloud prior to the Benedictines arrival in 1856 was a scene of change. About the middle of the last century, the part of central Minnesota lying west of the Mississippi was thrown open for settlement and a stream of settlers poured into the area. In a short time the face of the primitive wilderness was changed. The Indian tribes had been induced to move northward and their former hunting grounds were soon transformed into promising fields; roads were constructed across country; stage routes afforded facilities for travel by land and small steamboats passed up and down the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Cloud.

1920 photo of St. John's University in Collegeville

A great number of these immigrants who arrived between 1854 and 1855 were Germans and Catholics. Their spiritual care immediately became an important subject of attention. In all the northern part of the Territory of Minnesota there was at the time only one priest, Reverend Francis Pierz (1785-1880). Reverend Pierz became the first spiritual leader of the Catholic Community in St. Cloud, serving both the Indians in the northern and eastern parts of the territory along with the new Germans immigrants who settled in Stearns County. It was a laborious task for an older man who was called upon to travel great distances to care for the spiritual needs of the predominately German Catholic population of the area. The work exceeded his powers. Thus he appealed to the bishop of St. Paul to secure German priests for the new settlements.

The request was relayed to Reverend Boniface Wimmer, who ten years prior had come from the ancient monastery of Metten in Bavaria to the United States and founded the Benedictine monastery of St. Vincent’s in Pennsylvania. Upon receiving the request from Father Pierz he sent out the brothers who arrived in St. Cloud on May 20 with a mission to attend to the spiritual needs of the populous.

Their arrival marked the beginning of the great progress made with the help of the Benedictine Order. Without delay these Benedictine Fathers proceeded to establish a monastery to tend to the spiritual needs of the Germans who had been attracted by Father Pierz’s articles. From this monastery the Fathers visited the settlements in Stearns and neighboring counties, gathered the people, formed congregations, began erecting churches and schools and soon had the satisfaction to learn that their labors were not unrewarded, for the people responded eagerly, and soon log chapels were reared, which in many instances named the settlements, as St. Joseph, St. Augusta, St. Wendel, St. Martin, etc. The establishment of a Benedictine monastery in central Minnesota led to an even greater influx of German Catholics.

Among the ecclesiastical goals of the monastery, the Benedictine order wished to establish a means for educating the citizens of the settlement. The Benedictines began to establish a school system, although not originally accepted by the German immigrants, and organized the first private institution for higher education in Minnesota. St. John’s University, founded on November 10, 1857, remains today the oldest continuous establishment of higher learning in the state. The Benedictine monks influence is still felt today in both their religious and community endeavors to serve the Catholic presence in Stearns County. WJON

MCCL Blog: Comment on Errors in Star Tribune's Article on Proposed Ban on Human Cloning in Minn.

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Star Tribune gets everything wrong about human cloning

It is difficult to point out all that is wrong with the Star Tribune's coverage today of the MCCL-backed human cloning ban (currently before the state Legislature). The reporter, Jenna Ross, is uneducated and obviously not qualified to be writing about this subject. Here are some of the mistakes in the order they appear.

The story starts by claiming that the bill would make human cloning a felony. False. The bill would make human cloning a misdemeanor. (Read the bill!)

Ross then writes:

The bill's advocates say it would still allow stem cell research that does not rely on destruction of embryos, including adult stem cells.

Actually, the bill would still allow not just research that doesn't destroy embryos, but also research that does rely on the destruction of embryos. All of the current embryonic stem cell research happening in the state would be unaffected, because it does not involve human cloning (according to testimony from the University of Minnesota's Stem Cell Institute).

Embryonic stem cell research (which requires the destruction of embryos) is not the same thing as human cloning, which is what the bill prohibits. Human cloning (via somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT) is one possible way of producing embryos for use in research, but all the embryos currently used for research in Minnesota were not produced by cloning. Ross continues:

Opponents say the bill's language -- banning "human cloning" -- is purposely deceptive ...

Our use of "human cloning" -- using SCNT to produce a genetically virtually identical human organism, as precisely defined in the legislation itself -- has been the standard use. It is opponents of the bill who are shamelessly misleading by redefining cloning so that it includes only so-called "reproductive" cloning -- that is, allowing the resulting cloned embryo to live and grow, rather than kill it for research (so-called therapeutic cloning).

The U emphasizes that it has not and will not attempt to clone a human being, a process called reproductive cloning. Think Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal. "We have been crystal clear on this," said Dr. Aaron Friedman, the U's vice president for health sciences and medical school dean.

Again, the University has redefined human cloning. The University does support cloning human beings -- it simply opposes letting them live very long. Dolly the sheep was cloned by exactly the same technique that this bill prohibits.

Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life's broader definition of "human cloning" also includes one kind of stem cell research called therapeutic cloning. In that process, a scientist would extract stem cells from a 5-day-old embryo and then destroy it in a test tube. This bill would ban that too.

The author seems hopelessly confused. Destroying an embryo for its stem cells is not the same thing as therapeutic cloning. Cloning is simply one possible means of creating an embryo for use in destructive research. Generally embryos destroyed for their stem cells are not produced by cloning, but are the result of in vitro fertilization. The bill does not affect this research.

But "there are reasons why I might want to do [therapeutic cloning] in the future," said Dr. John Wagner, clinical director of the Stem Cell Institute, who uses adult stem cells to treat a fatal skin condition in children. Therapeutic cloning offers the possibility of merging a patient's cells with embryonic cells, so there's less risk of rejection, he said.

"Merging a patient's cells with embryonic cells"? Perhaps Dr. Wagner didn't explain it very well. Therapeutic cloning offers the possibility of producing embryonic stem cells genetically matched to the patient, so theoretically there might be no rejection problems. Why are they genetically matched? Because they are derived from the embryo, which is a genetic clone of the patient.

What Dr. Wagner has not explained is what possible benefits therapeutic cloning could offer that (ethically uncontroversial) induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) do not also offer. Indeed, iPSCs seem superior: they are also pluripotent (functionally identical to embryonic stem cells) and genetically matched, but they already exist, they are less expensive, and they are easier to produce. This is why some leading scientists like Dr. Ian Wilmut have switched from therapeutic cloning to iPSC research. And I imagine this is why the University of Minnesota is currently working with iPSCs but not with therapeutic cloning.

Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life argues that scientists should abandon embryonic stem cells in favor of adult stem cells -- in particular, a process of reprogramming adult stem cells to mimic the flexible properties of their embryonic counterparts.

"In adult stem cell research, money is flowing like a river," Scott Fischbach said. "Money going into embryonic stem cell research is resulting in nothing but dead embryos."

But researchers argue that those methods are far from ready and might never work for certain diseases.

Actually, the process (for iPSCs) is to reprogram regular adult cells, not stem cells, to make them into pluripotent stem cells, just like embryonic stem cells. iPSCs seem to make obsolete the therapeutic justification for embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning.

It's true that iPSCs, like embryonic stem cells, have not succeeded in treating anyone. But "iPSC research" does not equal "adult stem cell research," as the author apparently believes. Adult stem cell research is the only kind of stem cell research that actually is ready and actually has successfully treated medical conditions -- dozens of them. It is therapeutic cloning, and embryonic stem cell research more broadly, that is "far from ready and might never work."

A reporter should not write a story when she knows so little and gets so much wrong. And the Star Tribune is terribly at fault for publishing this. MCCL Blog (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life)

Morte D'Urban, by J.F. Powers

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Morte D'Urban

from Standing on My Head by Fr Dwight Longenecker

A friend lent me Morte D'Urban by J.F.Powers. Powers was unknown to me before, and it turns out he is a Catholic novelist of significant skill. Fr. Urban is the hero of the book--a priest of the second rate Clementine order, Fr. Urban travels the country leading retreats and enjoys a reputation as a charming man, a dynamic preacher and a priest who is 'going places'. When he is assigned by his superior to a retreat house in rural Minnesota run by the practical and parsimonious Fr Wilf he takes the demotion with good grace and gets on with the job. Before long he is networking in the diocese, schmoozing wealthy benefactors and 'going places' once more.

Beneath the amusing but spare storyline a soul is being made. Fr Urban--who lives up to his name by being very urbane--eventually sees his plans unravel. Somehow it all never really amounts to much and when his dream of being elected provincial comes true he doesn't have the gumption to take the order into the heights he aimed for. In the process maybe he learns humility and a new trust in the strange ways of providence.

The book is somewhat uneven. The supporting characters intrude at times, and perhaps the cast and crew of the story are too varied, with minor characters neglected and other minor characters intruding. However, the whole thing works well enough and it is a story worth re reading. It's unfortunate that Powers is not better known and that he did not complete more work. This one novel has more depth than at first sight--like Brideshead Re-Visited it is the story of God's providence working its way out in the depths of one man's life, and the result is surprising, inspiring and not a little bit disconcerting.

J. F. (James Farl) Powers (8 July 1917 Jacksonville, Illinois - 12 June 1999 Collegeville, Minnesota) was a Roman Catholic American novelist and short-story writer who often drew his inspiration from developments in the Catholic Church, and was known for his studies of midwestern Catholic priests. Powers was a conscientious objector during World War II and worked as a hospital orderly.^[1]

• 1947 — Prince of Darkness and Other Stories
• 1949 — Cross Country. St. Paul, Home of the Saints.
• 1962 — Morte d'Urban - novel
• 1963 — Lions, Harts, Leaping Does, and Other Stories
• 1969 — The Presence of Grace
• 1975 — Look How the Fish Live
• 1988 — Wheat that Springeth Green - novel
• 1991 — The Old Bird, A Love Story
• 1999 — The Stories of J. F. Powers

Fr. David Hennen of Buffalo's St. Francis Xavier to be new State Senate Chaplain

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The Rev. David Hennen, a Catholic priest from St. Francis Xavier parish in Buffalo, will be the new state Senate chaplain.

He'll be formally nominated Tuesday by Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, who is from Buffalo. The Senate chaplain traditionally comes from the majority leader's place of worship.

A bio from Senate Republican caucus says:

A native of Watkins, Minnesota, Father Hennen was raised on a family farm and later graduated from Eden Valley-Watkins High School. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of St. Thomas and worked as a software developer for a variety of corporations in the Twin Cities metro area.

Father Hennen attended St. Paul Seminary at the University of St. Thomas where he studied to become a Catholic priest. In May of 2005, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. After ordination, Father Hennen was assigned to Epiphany Catholic Church in Coon Rapids as an Associate Pastor. In June of 2008, he was then assigned as Pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Buffalo, where he currently resides.

The Rev. Kevin McDonough, another Catholic priest, had been Senate chaplain since 2007 while Sen.Larry Pogemiller was majority leader. MinnPost

Marlene Reid, the Catholic Defense League's "Defender of the Faith" for the year 2010 -- part 5 of 5

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

By Marlene Reid
Part five of five

I have with me an article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press printed April 2, 1978 which proclaims, “Pro-decency lobby had a strong impact at session.” It just so happened that we had tallied the pro-life, pro-family, pro-decency votes, displayed them on a grid, and published the grid in the Catholic Bulletin, then followed up with similar ads in the Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune. These raised havoc! Informed constituents now knew how their legislator had voted. As a result, a few lawmakers were retired that year, somewhat earlier than they had planned!

Though being as advocate for the family and unborn children is near and dear to my heart, being an advocate for our faith always seemed to be on an even higher calling. I have been proud to be a Board Member of the Catholic Defense League. At one point many of us took to the pulpits to get our message across, that is, any pulpits where the parish priest would allow us five minutes after Communion. A now-deceased Board Member, Walt Stadelman, made all the prior arrangements and always accompanied us to hand out CDL brochures. God Bless him! I’m certain he is enjoying his eternal reward.

My message to these congregations went something like this: “Who speaks for you? The anti-defamation league speaks for Jewish people if they have been maligned in any way. The NAACP speaks up and protests if African-Americans are cast in a negative light. But who steps up to the bat to speak for you, to let the public know that Catholics are not fair game for slurs, smears, and ridicule? - The Catholic Defense League does! The late Harvard Historian, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., once said, ‘I regard the prejudice against the Catholic Church as the deepest bias in the history of the American people.’ This is a harsh indictment coming from someone who wasn’t even Catholic. Allow me to give you some examples of how the Catholic Defense League is doing something about this prejudice and Catholic bashing:”

Hennepin County sponsored a Diversity Training program that was compulsory for all County employees. Remember, Diversity Training is supposed to teach tolerance. Ironically, those who designed the program had no tolerance for Catholics. The program depicted the Catholic Church as an example of bigotry. Thankfully, the Catholics among the County employees had somewhere to go with their complaint. They came to the Catholic Defense League! The League responded quickly, letting the County Commissioners know that such treatment of Catholics would not be tolerated. The Commissioners had been unaware of the content of the Diversity Program, and apologized to the Catholic Community. They even invited the League’s advice and approval on revision.

In another instance, the St. Cloud State University Social work department issued a directive that students who believed homosexual acts are a sin could not study to become Social Workers. In other words, “No Catholics, or conscientious Christians, allowed!” Students who were victims of discrimination under this directive had a place to go. They contacted the Catholic Defense League. Protests were directed at the University President, the St. Cloud media, and the MN Department of Human Rights. The University’s directive was soon withdrawn. I could give you example after example where the League went to bat in defense of our faith, as could other CDL Board Members, but time does not permit. Do you want the League to continue speaking for you? That is a question you have to ask yourself! Your support could make the difference!

I’m coming full circle here! I want to close with a brief comment about the family track. You can bet that the Religion our children were taught at home had nothing to do with the transistor radio, nor any other gadget. We delved into the truths of our faith. We read and studied the lives of the Saints. One especially comes to mind. When we studied about the North American Martyrs we learned that St. Isaac Jogues was unmercifully tortured by the Native American Indians whom he was trying to convert. They tied his fingers and pulled them until some of them came right out of the sockets and fell off. Imagine the agony and the terror! - and yet he stayed! As a result of missing key fingers, Saint Isaac Jogues was unable to say Mass for five years because the rubrics called for a priest to hold the host between certain fingers when confecting the Eucharist. After five years of petitioning Rome for a dispensation to regain the beautiful privilege of offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, permission was finally granted.

The lesson we emphasized for our children at the time, besides learning about faith, courage, and perseverance, was the sacredness of the Eucharist - that Christ in the Eucharist was due the highest respect and adoration at all times. This past spring when our grandson Raphael Latawiec was being confirmed I asked him what name he was taking. He said, “I have chosen Isaac after St. Isaac Jogues. Nana, are you familiar with his life?” Tears sprang into my eyes. I answered, “Yes, indeed,” and hugged him, thinking to myself, “WOW, that lesson took, and was transmitted to the next generation.”

I have good reason to believe that quite a few other lessons were also learned and passed on. Another grandson, Colin Jones, is in his first year at St. John Vianney Seminary beginning his studies for the priesthood. God has blessed our Catholic family, and I want to continue giving back in anyway I can. One of the ways will be defending the Faith through our Catholic Defense League. I ask you to join me! Thank You!

Part One of Five
Part Two of Five
Part Three of Five
Part Four of Five
Part Five of Five

The Unholy Triple Alliance: The Homosexual Collective, The DFL Staff and the Star Tribune Editorial Board

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These three stalwarts of the far-left of the political spectrum, extremely confident of success in the 2010 election set out a plan to smooth the way for the approval of Minnesota laws allowing homosexuals to "marry" and providing for the funding by the state and federal governments for abortions and contraception.

Blind to actual facts, the demonization of the Roman Catholic Church and its opposition to those three objectives was their goal. Without that opposition, it would be smooth sailing for them, they believed.

When Archbishop John Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the other five Catholic bishops of Minnesota, authorized the use of their mailing lists for use by a volunteer donor for the mailing of 400,000 DVDs giving the Church's position on the topic of homosexual "marriage", the unholy cabal's plan was put into effect.

A firestorm of angry comments then erupted on the editorial pages of the state's newspapers, opposed to what writers determined to be a "homophobic" Catholic Church, and a suspiciously high number of whom appended comments to the effect that the donated money should have been used to "feed the poor." It's called using pre-determined "talking points."

The staff of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party, the DFL, then sent out a series of three over-sized postcards in Senate District 40 where Dan Hall, a member of a non-denominational church, a volunteer police chaplain and an ordained minister was make a strong run against a week DFL incumbent State Senator. The principal theme of which was shown on the first postcard, a photo of a Catholic priest wearing a campaign button saying "Ignore the Poor."

Brian Melendez, soon to be former chairman of the DFL, himself a Harvard Divinity School graduate, and a lawyer adept at using attack ads with false information, saw no problem spreading lies about the Catholic Church.

He could not have been unaware that the Catholic Charities network is the nation’s fourth largest non-profit, according to The NonProfit Times.

In addition, 19,000 Catholic parishes in 195 dioceses, 42,000 priests, 5,000 brothers and 65,000 sisters, working with 70,000,000 Catholics who operate nearly 600 hospitals, 6,000 elementary schools, 1,300 high schools and 231 colleges and universities also provide for the poor.

And then one has to include lay apostolate groups like the Catholic Workers' Movement, founded by Dorothy Day, whose cause for canonization has begun, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, with their nationwide network of outlets providing inexpensive items for those in need, Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis founded by Mary Jo Copeland , Project for Pride in Living in the Twin Cities founded by Joe Selvaggio and other similar Catholic organizations that add to the incredible positive impact of Catholic services to the poor.

Then there are the many thousands of Catholic families like those of Mary Ann Kuharski, mother of 13, six of them adopted, and Dr. Ray Guarendi, father of ten, all adopted, who in addition to raising large families, contribute to life in the U.S. by contributing their time in ministries serving people of all faiths.

That didn't matter to Melendez. He wanted to destroy the Catholic Church as a political power in Minnesota so that the DFL platform planks supporting homosexual marriage and the unlimited to right and financial support for abortion could be passed in the 2011 session of trhe Legislature under Governor Mark Dayton. Whether his law firm will want him back remains to be seen.

The final plank in the Unholy Alliance's attempt to destroy the Catholic Church was perhaps the most editorial subject ever to appear on an election day.

The Star Tribune newspaper's editorial board, confident of the election of Mark Dayton and of the DFL retaining control of both the House and Senate of the Minnesota State Legislature, and of the Democrats to retain control of the Senate and the House of Representatives in Washington, decided to put a nail into the coffin of the Church in order to get additional legislation passed in Washington that is opposed by the Church:

The subject of their election day editorial was "Contraception": promoting the nation's largest baby killer, Planned Parenthood, against the nation's largest private charity, the Roman Catholic Church.

"A common-sense birth control policy: It's the kind of preventive care health reform should encourage"

. . .While Planned Parenthood is campaigning for birth control's inclusion in preventive care, some prominent conservative and pro-life groups are raising objections. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has filed its concerns with the HHS. "Preventive care should be about preventing disease," spokeswoman Deirdre McQuade told the Washington Post. "Fertility is not a disease to be cured, and the government should not treat it as that.

These groups, sadly, are working against the best interests of children and mothers. . . ."

Well, the picture in Washington and St. Paul looks markedly different today. But Catholics should not let their guard down. The teachings of Saul Alinsky, the guru of the secular left will keep them going. Catholics and others allied with us should keep going too.


Open Letter to the DFL State Central Committee from the Minnesota Progressive Project

Alleluia!!!

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A stunner: State GOP wins

both

Minnesota House and Senate

For the first time in more than a generation the GOP swept to control of both houses of the Minnesota Legislature.

Oberstar, who sold his

"pro-life soul" for Obamacare,

ousted after nearly four

decades

Governor's Race:

Recount again!

G.O.P. Captures House,

but Falls Short in Senate

Boehner, Pro-Life, Set to Be Speaker, Says the ‘People’s Voice Was Heard at the Ballot Box’

In Iowa, Voters Oust Judges Over Marriage Issue

“Pro-Life Warrior” Marco Rubio Levels Turncoat Crist in Florida Senate Race

Brownback Takes Kansas in Landslide

Bart Stupak's Seat Goes to Pro-Life GOP Physician

GOP Captures President Obama’s Old Senate Seat

Pro-Life Pat Toomey Wins Pennsylvania Senate Seat after a 6 Year Wait

Republican Senate Hopes Dim as West Virginia Senate Seat Goes to Pro-Life Dem Manchin

“100% Pro-Life” Rand Paul Wins Kentucky Senate Race by Comfortable Margin

Is there really media bias? You bet there is.

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Lots of folks say that the media is incredibly riddled with liberal views used to further an agenda. I suspect that is true on particular issues (not necessarily on the Sports or Dining Out pages, though.

My experience this past week contributing to, and then reading media reports on the postcard mailings, has been a bit of an eyeopener for me.

It recalls an incident, many years ago, when at a government hearing where environmentalists were protesting a development project being considered for the City of Stillwater, where I then worked. Lawyers for the objectors, including the then head of the state's Pollution Control Agency, were quite adept at interpreting state laws and regulations to their advantage. We ended up getting our approvals, but it taught me to watch closely what they say, and what they don't say, that I have retained since then.

The first internet awareness of the DFL mailing to voters in Senate District 40 came from a phone call from a concerned Catholic whose friend had received the version of the over-sized postcard showing the "priest" wearing a large "Ignore the Poor" button.

While a few mainline Lutherans, Episcopalians and others might wear the Roman collar (with the white tab at the throat), virtually everybody would first think of a priest. Evangelicals and non-denominational pastors wear business suits.

Well there is nothing wrong with sending a photo of a priest on a political mailing. The real message was contained in the "Ignore the Poor" button. That message was a reminder to Minnesotans of the controversy created among those proposing legislation legalizing homosexual marriage in the state, something that will be hotly debated in the next session of the Legislature.

A few weeks ago a Marriage DVD, paid for by an anonymous donor, was sent to all the Catholics of the state. The reaction from some was outrage, criticizing the Church's teaching, and remorseful that that money had not been used to "feed the poor."

Charging that Catholics are in favor of "ignoring the poor" is a despicable slap at Catholics and their Church, the largest private providers of charity to the poor in this country.

By the next morning, it was known that there had actually been three different versions of the mailing to SD 40. The second one was that of an angel holding a banner stating "Blessed are the Rich" with a line above, "The Bible doesn't tell us to neglect the poor." This message obviously complements the "Ignore the Poor" button, aimed at Catholics, on the first post card.

The third large post-card had the image of a small side or chapel altar, with a statue of St. Anthony of Padua, traditionally posed holding the Child Jesus, the "Word of God", since St. Anthony was a very great preacher. This statue is commonly found in Catholic churches but I'd bet not in any Protestant churches that you have seen.

In front of the altar is a "prie-dieux", a prayer kneeler. Any of those in Protestant churches? Maybe, but certainly not in non-denominational or evangelical churches.

Off to the left side, are crutches and a cane leaning against the wall. It is a common practices for Catholics who suffer from a disability to pray to saints (or the Blessed Mother) for intercession for a cure for their affliction. If they get permanent relief, and a very few do, they leave their crutches besides the altar as concrete evidence to others that "prayer works."

Above the altar are political statements against candidate Dan Hall, who is mocked and vilified and slandered on the reverse side of the three postcards. They say: "Dan Hall: Talks like a preacher; Acts like a politician.

Dan Hall is not a preacher. He was ordained as a minister many years ago but now works for an organization that supports chaplains and is himself a chaplain for the Bloomington Police Department and the Minnesota State Senate. On the first card, "Preacher Hall", mockingly, is accused of not publicly objecting to Governor Tim Pawlenty's veto of funding for some programs for the poor last summer when Dan was a private citizen.

All of this information has been provided to the major news outlets in Minnesota. And what are their stories about? Whether or not the photo of the guy in the black suit is a priest or a minister. One or two media sites mention in passing the other cards. And they all refer to Hall as "Preacher Hall."

They don't want that information to come out because the cards all were designed to subtly support the proposed legislative bills that will authorize homosexual marriages in Minnesota. This entire postcard campaign was designed to defeat Dan Hall who us up against a very vulnerable incumbent in the district that all thought was very lucky to win last election. And it was also designed to remind voters that Catholics are against the DFL party on many important issues, including homosexual marriage.

But the postcards have backfired, something else that the press has refused to report. State Senate DFLers are privately outraged at the incompetent effort by the state DFL party staff that created and mailed these outrageously anti-Catholic attack ads. Some have apologized to Catholic leaders in St. Paul.

But not Brian Melendez, head of the State DFL party. In his inept response to objections to the cards from the media, he regularly brings up the religion of the minister in the black suit, saying it "could be a protestant." Did you know that Brian Melendez has a degree from the Harvard Divinity School? And he doesn't know what the Roman collar means to virtually everybody?

I've been told, Melendez has been obnoxious and abusive to callers who have gotten through to him. I think he fears for his job and a stain on his remarkable resume'.

You see, many among the DFL leadership don't want the Catholic Church to have a voice in our country. They don't want conservatives to have a voice, either. The Constitution means nothing to them.

Of course the Catholic Church knows that it will receive criticism if it speaks out on issues that are important to it. It has been doing that for 2,000 years.

It also knows that in this country it has freedom of speech and can inform its 70 million members about political issues without fear of legal or financial repercussions. But it doesn't endorse candidates or parties.

And it also knows that receiving criticism means that the power and effectiveness of its messages increase even more, reaching more of its target audience and even non-Catholic who agree with the Church on issues.

Here are the cards. Click twice to see large versions:

DFL Central Committee Insults its Base: Catholic Progressives behind Loaves & Fishes and the Homeless Shelters

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The DFL Central Committee, it's governing body, most probably composed of the most radical of the DFL activists (I actually heard at one convention one candidate being asked, "What is your position on abortion and how radical are you?") has sent out a postcard to prospective voters, with this photo of a Catholic priest wearing a campaign button saying: "Ignore the Poor."

I don’t know how many were sent out, but this was received by a Catholic in the Twin Cities. It shows the willful ignorance of Democrats by ignoring what Catholic Charities, the many thousands of Catholic parishes with social justice ministries, especially parishes like St. Joan’s, Cabrini, Christ the King, St Edward's, Pax Christi, St. Stanislaus, some of the most active of Catholic progresssives in the entire country, and the Catholic school system, pre-K to grad schools, and what they have done and continue to do for poor people in this country.

Is this intended to bring out the Catholic progressive vote? Or those who hate Catholics?

Click for increased size and once more for full size!

There were 3 mailings of postcards in this political race
If you think that this photo shows a protestant altar?
How many protestant churches have statues of
St. Anthony of Padua and the Baby Jesus?

Marlene Reid, the Catholic Defense League's "Defender of the Faith" for the year 2010 -- part 4 of 5

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

By Marlene Reid
Part four of five

But, back to the porn fight!!! With the election of Ronald Reagan, the appointment of Ed Meese to head the Justice Department, and the positive report of a new Commission, enforcement of obscenity and pornography laws went into high gear. The RICO (Racketeering & Corruption) statute was passed. Ferris Alexander, Minnesota’s porn king, was the owner of the Faust and Flick porn establishments on University and Dale, and many other outlets, that were eventually closed down. When Ferris Alexander came to the legislature to defend his porn empire I went toe to toe with him, and told him and the Committee that we knew he was providing free office space to his mouthpiece, the ACLU Attorney Randall Teague, who was representing him and crying Free Speech. I also told my husband that evening that if I were ever in a mysterious car accident perhaps they should look for a car bomb. After all, I was taking on organized crime!

All of Ferris Alexander’s property was confiscated to pay off his fines for violation of the Interstate Commerce Laws. He died in Federal prison. I only hope that he had a conversion before he died, following the example of Ted Bundy who, incidentally, confessed that it was porn that set him off on his multiple-rape rampages and serial killing spree.

Because of time constraints, I’m not going to be able to get into the pro-life track, or give Human Life Alliance the credit it deserves, but it has been a very rewarding part of my 37 years of activism. Most of you here know that I zeroed in on the pro-life cause for a big part of my life. I reasoned that if we didn’t have life, none of these other issues were going to affect us. You’ll have to come back next year for that Chapter, although Jenni Maas outlined a good portion of it.

But, I do want to hit a few more highlights of the pro-family track. Terry Todd, Mary Prior and I, way back then, coined the word, “pro-family.” It was first picked up nationally in an Oklahoma newspaper quoting one of our news releases. The three of us haunted the legislature. We were known as Women for Responsible Legislation, MN Chapter of Eagle Forum, The Committee for Positive Education, and The Pro-Family Lobby. “Little Women” just didn’t sound professional enough. The Legislators who worked with us, and who were so grateful for our research, became known as the “Pro-life, Pro-Family, Pro-Decency” caucus, lawmakers from both political parties. We were invited for a day to their summer retreat to give our input as to what legislation would be best to pursue, and of course, which ones needed to be defeated in the upcoming session. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention at least a few of these warriors – Representatives Mike Menning and Glen Sherwood, Senator Chmielewski who is here tonight – having driven non-stop after his Polka gig near Duluth to join us. Let’s give him a round of applause for his many years of dedicated leadership on behalf of our causes - and Senator Wayne Olhoft, who later founded the Berean League, now known as the Minnesota Family Council, still doing great things for Minnesota families.

In the 1970’s, the homosexual community was trying to get a bill passed adding “sexual orientation” as a special classification under the Human Rights Act. This was far-out at the time! Who, in their right mind, would think that “sexual orientation” should be given the same legal status as color, creed, age, and gender? Look where we are 30 years later - fighting off a movement for “gay marriage”! The giant is still alive and well, and making inroads. At any rate, we had been successful in defeating this move at every turn, in every session. Suddenly, the bill authored by Senator Spear, the homosexual Senator, was scheduled for a hearing at 12:00 midnight. Guess who he thought would be home in bed? But, that was not the case. Mary, Terry and Marlene were in the gallery. The vote came within one vote of passing. The next morning, when Senator Chmielewski informed us that Senator Spear was promising to trade votes on a bridge bonding bill if the Winona Senator would vote for the “sexual preference” bill, we went into action and hit the phones. Because of our statewide talks opposing the ERA, exposing the feminists’ plan to get sexism out of education and restructure the family, and all of our other pro-family issues, we had phone numbers of concerned citizens throughout MN. Yes, even in Winona! The Holy Spirit did the rest! Within 24 hrs. 10,000 phone calls had come into the Minnesota Senate, jamming the switch-board, and letting the Senators know, in no uncertain terms, that the vote on “sexual orientation” should be “NO.” We had won! That status quo stuck until Arne Carlson became Governor (he had been pro “gay rights” all the time he served in the legislature).

An attorney working with us asked what he could do to help. We said he could notify Mr. Casmey, the Commissioner of Education, that we would be filing a law suit if he and the Department of Education began to implement the feminists’ agenda for getting “sexism out of education” and establishing a feminist in each school district to oversee enforcement. The law suit was never necessary. A Women’s Consortium newspaper, published in the 1990’s admitted that we (“the crazies” they called us) set them back 15 years. I only wish it had been permanently!

At one hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Davies was presenting his Criminal Sexual Conduct Bill, a redefinition of the Rape Statute which listed some significant repealers. At my turn to testify, I asked the Senators if they knew which laws were being repealed. When they admitted that they didn’t have a clue, I informed them that the laws against sodomy, adultery, fornication and bestiality would be struck down if this bill passed as drafted. After they picked their chins up off the table, received a confirmation from the author that this was indeed the intent, they closed their folders and adjourned. I am pleased to say that, while these “so-called consenting adults” statutes have been repealed in about one-half the states, they are still on the books in Minnesota.

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Marlene Reid, the Catholic Defense League's "Defender of the Faith" for the year 2010 -- part 3 of 5

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

By Marlene Reid
Part three of five

But, at the time we discovered CDL they were taking the Regents of the University of MN to task for allowing a blasphemous, anti-Catholic, humor edition of The Minnesota Daily the official campus newspaper) to be printed. We joined forces and demanded a legislative hearing. At stake was whether or not some of the University’s state funding would be cut, or if the U’s official policy would be changed to cease and desist from extorting mandatory fees from every student registering at the U. to go to the Minnesota Daily, which promoted such bigotry. We won! The Regents were embarrassed and chastised. The policy was changed to an opt-out policy. I don’t know if that policy is still in effect, I only know it should be!

Maybe going to the legislature isn’t your “thing” but everyone needs to get involved. At one point during this period we learned that the Movie the Exorcist was scheduled to be shown at 7:00 p.m. on a Sunday evening on our CBS affiliate, WCCO. We were outraged! This was not family fare! We activated the phone chain to get concerned parents to call and complain. We wrote letters. We protested in the strongest possible language. On Sunday evening, as scheduled, The Exorcist aired. It appeared that our efforts had been in vain. But something happened on the way to the Forum – or more correctly - on the way to Phoenix. The next day I boarded a plane for Phoenix to spend a little time with my mother. A young woman and her companion sat behind me, and I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation. The young woman said, “I’ve just put in the worst week of my life. I never want to go through that again.” When her companion inquired as to the source of such frustration she said. “Well, last night our station aired the movie, The Exorcist. Our switchboard was jammed all week. We received over 7,000 phone calls complaining and protesting our decision. The manager had to take the film home with him and spent his whole Saturday evening editing it enough to be able to show it.” I wanted to cheer! Isn’t that a powerful message for us? We never know what effect we are having! I’ll just bet that manager didn’t want to repeat that experience anytime soon. We made a difference without even realizing it. I’m here to tell you - every phone call, email, or letter can make a huge difference!

One time Mary Prior wrote a letter to Honda protesting one of their ads she found offensive. A couple days later, early in the morning, Mary had a phone call from the President of the Honda Corp. He listened to what she found objectionable - the ad was pulled! I had a similar experience. I complained to 3M about a “sexually-suggestive” ad the Company was running. I told them my husband worked for 3M and I was embarrassed by it. No, he didn’t get fired! I never saw the ad again! We have so much more power than we realize, or put to use!

When Merlyn Scroggins was president of CDL the St. Paul Pioneer Press was featuring a certain cartoonist who had a personal bias and vendetta against the Catholic Church. Some of the cartoons were downright malicious. The Catholic Defense League Board, and Merlyn, wrote letters and filed complaints with the editorial staff. The cartoonist was given his walking papers! Thanks be to God! When you see a letter-to-the-editor or a column written by one of our articulate CDL leaders, Dick Houck, Pat Phillips, Pat Shannon, or others, take a second to call or email the paper commending them for printing it. Or how about a call or letter to Target to thank the corporation for a contribution to a pro-life candidate? The opposition certainly raised a stink about it, but does our side follow up with support? “The squeaky wheel gets the grease!”

I have another hot-off-the-press example. Just this month the Winona County Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to adopt a “clean hotel” policy that will restrict county employees from staying in hotels that offer pay-per-view pornography. The prepared policy paper cites studies which link pornography to sexual violence, the incidence of which the Commissioners hope to reduce. Someone in Winona is “making a difference.” Wouldn’t it be powerful if everyone in this room contacted his/her respective County Commissioners to urge them to follow suit?

One evening I was called upon to debate Minneapolis Council Member DeMars who wanted to zone an area to allow porn shops to operate undisturbed, establishing a “Combat Zone” patterned somewhat after the notorious “Boston Combat Zone.” I posed this question: “If abortion were declared illegal tomorrow or next week, would we zone an area in St. Paul for the Planned Parenthood abortion mill to continue operating?” Of course, the answer was “NO.” That pretty much ended the debate. The re-zoning move died (at that time)! But later that evening, another Council Member, Tom Johnson, came up to me. He told me that after he heard me speak at the Nokomis Community Center about three years earlier he had gone home, had gone to bed, but couldn’t sleep. He walked the floor until 5:00 a.m. and before he went to bed the second time he had decided to run for the Minneapolis City Council. He did! He won! He was responsible for scheduling me to debate the zoning issue. Likewise, a woman from ND told me, years after I had given a seminar in Bismarck, that she was motivated by my presentation to run for the School Board, had won, and was an ever-vigilant watchdog, and positive contributor. They were both making a difference!!
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So it is now wrong for a church to remind people what constitutes sin?

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Not a Catholic wrote:

So it is now wrong for a church to remind people what constitutes sin? These people who received these DVD's profess to be Catholic? Why...so that they have someone to marry and bury them? If they profess to be Catholic, or any true Christian religion, then accept the fact that homosexuality is a sin.
October 13, 2010, Mankato Free Press

[Correction: "Homosexuality" is not a sin; homosexual acts are sins."]

BE AN INFORMED VOTER! Get the MCCL Voters Guide

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The October 2010 Voter's Guide edition of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) News is now available on our website (as well as in print).

Our General Election Voter's Guide includes candidate responses to the MCCL pro-life questionnaire, incumbents' voting records, a comparison of the gubernatorial candidates on life issues, and much more.

Marlene Reid, the Catholic Defense League's "Defender of the Faith" for the year 2010 -- part 2 of 5

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

By Marlene Reid
Part two of five

One could say that 1973 was my “coming out” year. Besides being catapulted into a defense of our faith by a faith-less priest, it was the year Minnesota had ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (the ERA) which I soon realized needed to be stopped; the U.S. Supreme Court had made two far-reaching decisions, one the disastrous Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, and the other, the Miller decision, a positive tool for fighting pornography and obscenity.

Well, the saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together” and I was out looking for other birds! A group of Catholic women, who had experienced their awakening before I, had already organized to become a formidable force. These warriors called themselves “The Little Women.” Some of them are here tonight – Helen Johnson, Eloise Becker, Eleanor Staler, Kaye Hilpisch & Terry Todd. Mary Prior has left to follow the birds south for the winter, while Kaye Schierman (at whose Summit Avenue home we met), Mary Kluck, Tory Bowlin, Peg Cullen and others have already gone to her eternal reward. I don’t remember how we found each other, but I was invited to join their ranks. They quickly filled in the blanks on any of my missing research.

I was so driven, and so energized, that I was working on about four tracks at the same time. I was willing to travel, to debate, to share our research with anyone who would listen, and was given ample opportunity, sometimes via radio or TV, giving seminars in the Dakotas, Iowa or Wisconsin, and often just talking to groups of concerned citizens, from ten at a time to hundreds.

Terry Todd and I made several trips to Washington to testify and lobby. Congressman Phil Crane, a historian from Illinois, was dumb-founded when we showed him how history was being re-written in the textbooks. Congressman Bob Dornan from California gave us hours of his time as we revealed what was being taught under the guise of drug education, and showed him the blueprint for the radical feminsts’ destruction of the family and denigration of marriage. He assured us he would be our mouthpiece and we were to send information, as we uncovered it, to his home in Virginia so it wouldn’t get misplaced by his aides. With this outlet, and ever-eager listeners and activists at Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum, we garnered national audiences to hear and spread the word.

First, I want to pick-up on one track, but we need to start with a little ancient history. Back in the late 1960’s, Presidents Lyndon Johnson appointed a Commission to study the effects of pornography/obscenity and provide advice on how to deal with it. President Nixon continued this quest. They both knew porn was a problem. They wanted to know how to solve the problem.

The 18-member Commission was Chaired by William B. Lockhart, Dean of the Univ. of MN Law School. Both he and his legal counsel, Paul Bender, were members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), so you can guess what their conclusions were going to be. Two clergymen were also appointed, a Jesuit Catholic priest, Morton A. Hill, who had founded the National organization, Morality in Media, (incidentally, still a powerful force in the anti-porn crusade), and Dr. Winfrey Link. The majority report concluded, not surprisingly, that pornography is harmless, should be ignored, and that it actually “strengthens conjugal ties” and “heightens marital satisfaction.”

“Not so fast!” said Father Hill and Dr. Link! They charged that the Chairman had been prejudiced, that evidence of harm had been swept under the rug, and that the majority report was “a magna carta for the pornographer.” They subsequently held some of their own hearings and published a Minority Report, rebutting the Majority’s conclusions. President Nixon and Congress rejected the Majority Report, adopted, and read into the record of the House & Senate the Minority Report with its recommendations for controlling pornography & obscenity. While the terms are often used interchangeably, “obscenity” is the hard core material as legally defined by the U.S. Supreme Court, while “pornography” is associated with the likes of Playboy. With this Minority report now being official, and reasonable, The U.S. Supreme Court referred to it often, and relied on it, in reaching their 1973 Miller v. California decision.

Father Hill came to Minnesota to advise us on what action could be taken in our state. He was sponsored by Gene and Mary Conway, God rest their souls, and presented to: “Who else? - The Little Women!” I learned that the MN statute on the books, while not written in the specific language needed for easy comprehension, could be construed to “bear the teeth” of the positive Miller decision. We accepted the challenge, and began our efforts with a 3-pronged approach. We raised public awareness, and mobilized the grassroots with picketing, protesting, and lobbying. We worked to change the statute to be specific, so prosecutors could understand it, and we educated the prosecutors on how they could proceed in the meantime. At one point we organized a one-day seminar for attorneys, legislators, and prosecutors at William Mitchell College of Law for this educational purpose, bringing in several national presenters including a successful prosecutor from Tennessee. Soon thereafter, we started seeing some convictions!

In this capacity we soon became aware of another Catholic organization making an impact on MN laws. The Catholic Defense League (at that time known as the MN Chapter of the national Catholic League for Religious & Civil Rights) had succeeded in getting legislation passed entitled State Aid to Private Schools. This was 1975. The law provided some state funds for books, materials, and a limited transportation subsidy for students in parochial & private schools.
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Marlene Reid, the Catholic Defense League's "Defender of the Faith" for the year 2010 -- part one of five

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On September 20, the Catholic Defense League resumed its practice of having an annual banquet at which a Minnesota Catholic was honored for his or her activities on behalf of the Church. This year's event was held at St. Helena's parish in south Minneapolis where nearly 200 showed up to honor Marlene Reid of Shoreview as the 2010 "Defender of the Faith." Archbishop John Nienstedt was also in attendance to celebrate a Mass for those in attendance and speak to them about the Church, the Sacrament of Marriage and the threats to that human institution.

Marlene, who has been active for many years, besides raising a family, was one of the early activists who spent countless hours lobbying and agitating on behalf of her fellow Catholics to alter discriminatory legislation and achieve fair treatment for Catholic born and unborn. She began to be active about the time of the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973.

Marlene was kind enough to give Stella Borealis her recollections of her incredible experiences, a portion of which she delivered to the banquet attendees. Because of its length I will post it five installments to make it easier for readers to assimilate this extremely important, and very interesting, memoir of Minnesota Catholic history

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

By Marlene Reid
Part one of five

There are so many people who played key roles in my efforts over 37 years of activism. I want to thank them at this time, even though their whereabouts may be unknown. I would like to introduce, and thank, my husband of 56 years - Dan, who has been the wind beneath my wings. The wind from the Holy Spirit also came into play, and maybe a little fire as well. Dan always saw to it the car was filled with gas for my next trip into the vineyard, or the lion’s den. Some of my family is here too. I would like to thank them for their support, with a minimum of grumbling, throughout the years. Long before there was hamburger helper, I had discovered 100 different quick ways to fix ground beef. They didn’t seem to mind! Tonight they will hear why I didn’t have time to bake as many cookies as our next-door-neighbor, Betty Grausnick.

Once, our son Todd complained that if we were a “normal” family he could be driving the station wagon to school so the high schoolers wouldn’t have to wait for some Committee hearing at the legislature to adjourn before I picked them up at St. Agnes. He survived, despite the inconvenience! I guess you could call this the confessions of a Mother of an “abnormal” family.

I told President Dick Houck that it is cruel and inhuman treatment to hand me a microphone, then limit me to 30 minutes. Because of the time crunch, I am going to read most of my remarks.

Walt Disney once said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” In some cases, I think that’s exactly what we did, but didn’t recognize it as such at the time.

Back in 1973 I was a busy housewife, and mother of six. I had retired from my profession as a Medical Technologist, and was managing a little time for tennis and bridge! Our five oldest children were attending parochial schools. I guess a little angel whispered in my ear to check out their religion texts. I did, and what I saw shocked me beyond belief.

Our 7^th grader’s religion text spent a whole chapter on the transistor radio. The message went something like this: “If you are having a bad day, feeling lonely and misunderstood, you can find solace by turning on your trusty companion, the transistor radio. The songs of today are very much like the psalms in the Old Testament. They tell the story of man’s journey and struggles here on earth.” Mind you, these were the hippie songs of the 60’s and 70’s. Search as I might, I couldn’t find any resemblance to the psalms. I wondered, “What’s going on here? A priceless opportunity to teach our children the core principles of their faith was being squandered.”

Our 6^th grader’s book was more insidious! The message (I’m paraphrasing) was: “There’s no longer any need for Catholic missionaries to serve in the 3^rd world countries. We now have Communist agents who are working hard to promote Social Justice among the poor and downtrodden.” The authors were so arrogant they didn’t even use the word Socialist to try to throw off nosey mothers. As I delved into this notion I found that the approach was known as Liberation Theology, but I didn’t know it at the time. Nor, did I know then that when Pope John XXIII ushered in Vatican II, throwing open the Church windows to let in fresh air, some bad seeds also blew in, and sprouted, forming a renegade contingency that promoted many abuses under the guise of change and progress “in The Spirit of Vatican II.”

Being naïve as I was, I figured I would just have to point out these erroneous teachings to the right people and “bingo” everything would get fixed. I found our parish priest sympathetic to my concerns, and he invited me to come the following week to a regional Council meeting where representatives, some lay, some clerical, from five parishes would be meeting to facilitate “the Spirit of Vatican II.” These regional meetings were very democratic. The parish priest was given one vote and could systematically be neutralized with his pastoral authority completely relinquished to the “group-speak.” But, at the point when I was making my presentation I still believed this group of Catholic Leaders would be as outraged as I to discover that some change agents had wormed their way into the Catholic textbook business, indoctrinating our children.

Was I in for a surprise! The group reacted as though I were a hold-over from the glacier age. One local pastor uncharitably informed me that I was “a threat to my children.” I was awe-stricken - I who had held nothing but the highest respect for priests and nuns! I stumbled out of the meeting, sobbing, and shaken to the core. I went home and cried for three days straight. I burst into tears every time I thought about it. Then I licked my wounds, and started my research with a vengeance!

In retrospect, perhaps I should thank that priest. He awakened, not a sleeping giant (the giant was already stalking our land), but more like a David – a David without a sling shot or a sword. I soon discovered that the pen is mightier than the sword, and those soap-boxes with a microphone attached are powerful weapons. The real giant to be reckoned with was, and is, Secular Humanism which was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, on two different occasions, as a Religion. I made the analogy that it was like a huge octopus with its tentacles reaching into every facet of our lives – from abortion, euthanasia, and pornography, to radical feminism, sexual liberation, educational indoctrination, dissolution of the family, and an all-out war on our Judeo-Christian culture.
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Katherine Kersten: Minnesota's choice for governor will determine marriage's fate in this state.

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This year's election is supposed to be about jobs, bloated budget deficits, taxes and other economic issues. No doubt it will be. But more is at stake.

On Nov. 2, the family -- and marriage as we know it -- will be on the ballot in Minnesota.

Mark Dayton and Tom Horner both promise to bring same-sex marriage to our state. Their allies in the Legislature and a phalanx of pressure groups are poised to make this happen. Last year, a slew of bills related to this project was introduced. Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto threat was vital to keeping them from becoming law.

Next year, Democrats will likely try to steamroll same-sex marriage through. If Dayton or Horner is elected, the governor will be on board -- perhaps even leading the charge.

Tom Emmer takes a different stance. He's the only gubernatorial candidate who supports marriage as the union of one man and one woman, as it has existed in Western civilization for 2,000 years.

Why redefine marriage? Dayton's and Horner's answers may sound appealing. On his website, Dayton promises to "make Minnesota the sixth state ... to recognize that the love and commitment shared by same-sex partners is as real and meaningful as their opposite-sex counterparts." On his site, Horner proclaims that "the quest for marriage equality is a simple matter of fairness, of equal opportunity under the law."

Notice: Neither Dayton nor Horner mentions the stakeholders who have the most to win or lose in the marriage battle -- children.

Though Dayton and Horner may be loath to admit it, marriage has been a male/female institution -- across the globe and throughout history -- for a simple reason, rooted in biology. Sex between men and women creates babies. It's the only kind of sex that does.

Marriage is a "conjugal" concept, based on the sexual complementarity of men and women. It channels the powerful male/female sex drive to positive ends, to ensure that children will -- whenever possible -- have the love, support and guidance of both their mother and father. By linking fathers to their children, marriage strengthens an otherwise tenuous bond that is vital for both children's and society's well-being.

This truth about marriage's core purpose is highly inconvenient for same-sex marriage supporters. To evade it, they employ a two-pronged rhetorical strategy.

First, they portray the purpose of marriage as being simply to encourage, and publicly affirm, adults' "love and commitment" -- Dayton's words. If we grant this premise, it becomes a denial of "equal rights" to withhold marriage from two men or two women who care for each other. "How will my same-sex marriage hurt your marriage?" gay-marriage supporters ask. They expect the answer to be "not at all."

But marriage is not primarily about affirming "love and commitment." Otherwise, government would regulate friendships as well as marriages. At its core, marriage is a social institution, whose public purpose is to structure male/female sexual relationships in a way that maximizes the next generation's well-being.

Same-sex marriage advocates' second rhetorical ploy is to charge that their opponents are motivated by fear, bigotry and hatred toward homosexuals. In 2004, for example, Dayton told a crowd of gay-rights activists that people who support a constitutional amendment to protect male-female marriage are "the forces of bigotry and hatred" who "spew hatred and inhumanity," according to the Star Tribune.

But most traditional-marriage supporters don't "fear" or "hate" homosexuals. On the contrary, they invite gays to live as they please. They simply believe that every child needs and deserves a mother and a father. And they suspect that the radical redefinition of marriage will have damaging, unpredictable long-term consequences for all of society.

I've got questions for Dayton and Horner:

If we abandon the conjugal idea of marriage -- and redefine marriage as appropriate for any two caring adults -- on what grounds can we continue to limit the institution to two people? If love and commitment are sufficient for two, why not three or more? "How does my polygamous marriage hurt your marriage?" Same-sex marriage supporters have no logical answer.

And how can we logically limit marriage to people in a sexual relationship? If marriage is simply about caring adults, why shouldn't a grandmother and daughter raising a child together have its benefits? Going forward, on what grounds can we discriminate against people simply because they don't have sex together?

Same-sex marriage supporters try to exploit Americans' goodwill. They know people don't want to be against "equal rights," or to be labeled a bigot or hate-monger. But support for traditional marriage has nothing to do with such things. It's about doing all we can to ensure that as many children as possible have what they need and deserve -- a mother and a father. StarTribune

Bless this gutter! The "Catholic Guy", Lino Rulli, is back

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I was awarded a medal the other day for admitting that I had never watched Oprah. I just lost the opportunity to get one for never having read "C.J." in the Strib. She has an article on Lino Rulli, St. Paul's and St. Olaf's contribution to Catholic young folks, who will be broadcasting his Sirius radio program from here three days this week.

A Minneapolis bowling alley, Memory Lanes, is naming a gutter after Lino Rulli, Sirius XM Radio's "The Catholic Guy."

That says it all. The hip religion show host is returning to St. Paul, where he'll broadcast his normally New York City-based Sirius Catholic Channel radio show for three days this week. The residence of Angelo and Gina Rulli, Lino's parents, is serving as the broadcasting site for the show airing from 3 to 6 p.m.

Those without Sirius XM probably lost track of Rulli when he moved to NYC in 2006, taking with him two Emmys for his work on the cable-access show "Generation Cross," a behind-the-scenes look at the Catholic Church and its people, and a travelogue when Lino felt like going to Rome. He also did a stint as "Soul Man" on WCCO-TV, where he won an Emmy for a World War II documentary.

Maureen McMurray, producer of his XM show, said they wanted the bowling alley gutter named for Rulli as a joke: "We thought it would be kind of funny. We were just basically going for the most ridiculous things to see if people would actually agree to do it. We thought people would say no, and people in Minnesota are just so polite."

Speaking of ridiculous, Rulli's also receiving the key to the Cathedral of St. Paul, as if they would allow this man about town anywhere near a key that was anything but purely ceremonial. In other more believable honors coming Rulli's way, Kieran's Pub is naming a restroom stall for him; Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub a drink, and Stella's Fish Cafe a lobster that will then be sacrificed for dinner by members of Lino's crew.

That's the other unusual element of Rulli's return: Lino's GOT PEOPLE! Important people, too. When Rulli lived in the Twin Cities, he contacted me himself for publicity. Now, Joseph Zwilling, GM and director of communications for the Archdiocese of New York, manages Rulli's media contacts.

I told Zwilling that despite the single Catholic guy's active romantic life, I've always thought he was fighting a call to the priesthood.

"You know, some people are working on him," said Zwilling.

Lino on the line

After getting my voice mail about how he'd gone big time on me, Lino Rulli did call me.

He didn't realize the GM of the station had reached out to me. I told Rulli that there must have been something divine about Joseph Zwilling's e-mail. The reference to "Lino" in the first sentence meant nothing to me except Lino Lakes, and I was this close to deleting it without reading more, thinking that there was a huge mixup if I was on the "Archdiocese of New York" e-mail list. Star Tribune