continued from page 1 - Diocese of New Ulm

por Obispo John M. LeVoir
Mayo: El Mes de María
Mayo es un mes muy especial ya
que honramos a la Virgen María, la
Madre del Redentor. En su mensaje
de Regina Coeli del 9 de Mayo,
2010, el Papa Benedicto XVI llamó
a María “la flor mas hermosa a
florecer en la creación,” puesto que
ella era la madre libre de pecado de
nuestro Salvador. El continuo
diciendo: “De hecho, María
primero observó de lleno la palabra
de su hijo, demostrando así que ella
lo amaba no sólo como su madre,
pero primero como una humilde y
servidora obediente...” María es
nuestro modelo de lo que significa
ser Santo.
Me gustaría pedirles que rezen el
Rosario durante el mes de Mayo, ya
sea individualmente o en familia.
Una intensión buena sería rezar por
el aumento de hombres y mujeres a
que respondan positivamente al
llamado de Jesús a las vocaciones
sacerdotales y religiosas. El 31 de
Mayo es la fiesta de la Visitación
de la Virgen María y un buen día
para ir a la Misa para celebrar a
María en la liturgia. En 1957,
Obispo Alphonse J. Schladweiler
puso a nuestra diócesis bajo la
protección de María como “Nuestra
Señora de New Ulm.”
La Ordenación al Diaconado
El Sábado, 21 de Abril del 2012 se
celebró gloriosamente la
Ordenación de once hombres como
diáconos en la Iglesia de Santa
María en Sleepy Eye. Los diáconos
recién ordenados, sus esposas y sus
familias estabán llenos de alegría.
La diócesis dió alabanza y gracias a
Dios por dicha ordenación. Ahora
los diáconos quisieran ejercer su
ministerio para el pueblo de la
Diócesis de New Ulm.
Matrimonio: Entre un hombre y
una Mujer
El 9 de Marzo, 2012, cuando
estábamos en Roma para la visita
ad limina, el Papa Benedicto XVI
No Tengas Miedo
dió una charla a los obispos de
Minnesota, Dakota del Norte y
Dakota del Sur sobre el
matrimionio. El nos dijo: “el
matrimonio y la familia son
instituciones que deben ser
promovidas y protegidas de
cualquier equívoco posible sobre su
auténtica verdad, ya que todo lo que
es perjudicial para ellos es
prejudicial para la sociedad.
“En este sentido,se debe mencionar
particularmente que hay poderosas
corrientes políticas y culturales que
buscan alterar la definición legal
del matrimonio. El esfuerzo
consciente de la Iglesia para
resisitir esta presión obliga a una
defensa razonada del matrimonio
como institución natural, que
consiste en una comunión
específica de personas, enraizada
esencialmente en la
complemetariedad de los sexos y
orientada a la procreación. La
alteridad sexual no puede
considerarse irrelevante en la
definición del matrimonio. La
defensa de la institución del
matrimonio como una realidad
social es en última instancia una
cuestión de justicia, ya que implica
salvaguardar el bien de toda la
comunidad humana y los derechos
de los padres e hijos por igual.”
Defender la Libertad Religiosa
El Comité Ad Hoc de Libertad
Religiosa de Obispo Católicos de
los Estados Unidos emitió una
declaración el 12 de Abril, 2012,
titulado La Primera y más Preciada
de Nuestras Libertades. Esta
declaración se refiere a las recientes
decisions gubernamentales que han
atacado a la libertad religiosa en
nuestro país. Debemos tener en
cuenta que la libertad religiosa no
es una cuestión católica solamente,
sino que involucra a todos los
ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos.
diocesan church
State’s bishops call for immigration reform
that protects rights and families
by Joe Towalski
The Catholic Spirit
Concerned about an “inconsistent,
ineffective” U.S. immigration
system and inadequate state-level
attempts at reform, Minnesota’s
Catholic bishops are calling for
comprehensive immigration reform
on the federal level that protects
basic human rights and keeps
families together.
Such reform, they noted, will
require changing hearts as well as
laws.
“We recognize that finding
solutions to the plight of immigrants
today will sometimes necessitate the
overcoming of boundaries in the
heart, not just on the land,”
according to the approximately
1,300-word statement, “Unlocking
the Gate in Our Hearts.”
“At some point, however, we must
reach out to human persons in need,
and the demands of our common
human nature compel us to open a
gate in the wall, so that what human
dignity demands is not denied to a
sister or brother,” it says. “But
before a gate finds its way into the
walls outside, there must be a gate
that opens in the heart.”
The statement is posted on the Web
site of the Minnesota Catholic
Conference (http://mncc.org) and
will also be made available in
printed form in both English and
Spanish.
State reforms inadequate
Minnesota’s bishops last released a
21 Sleepy Eye: 7:30 p.m.
Schoenstatt on the Lake. Rosary.
22 New Ulm: 10:30 a.m. Catholic
Pastoral Center. Priest Personnel
Board Meeting.
New Ulm: 2 p.m. Catholic Pastoral
Center. Bishop’s Cabinet Meeting.
New Ulm: 4 p.m. Catholic Pastoral
Center. Jubilarian Mass and Dinner.
23 New Ulm: 1 p.m. Catholic
statement on immigration in 2010.
Jason Adkins, MCC executive
director, said the new statement is
particularly important at a time
when federal reform efforts
continue to be lacking and several
“We wanted to point out again that
these state-based solutions, which
focus on enforcement and divide
families, are not prudent policies,”
Adkins said. “We need to be
resisting those policies because they
impede actual solutions at the
federal level. And, the federal level
is the proper level to address these
problems.
“Furthermore, as we’ve seen in both
Alabama and Arizona, these [state
bills] greatly threaten religious
freedom,” he added. “Those bills
make it a crime to harbor illegal
immigrants. This directly challenges
the Church’s mission to serve all
those in need, and the Church has
always been at the forefront of
serving the needs of undocumented
workers. So this is a threat not only
to the human dignity of
Bishop’s calendar (continued from page 2)
Pastoral Center. Priests’ Pension Plan
Board Meeting.
25 New Ulm: 10 a.m. Catholic
Pastoral Center. Parish Audit Team
Meeting.
27 New Ulm: 9:30 a.m. Cathedral of
the Holy Trinity, Mass.
Sleepy Eye: 2 p.m. Church of St.
Mary. St. Mary’s High School
Graduation.
The Prairie Catholic • Page 4 • May 2012
undocumented workers and those
coming into our country, it’s also a
threat to our religious mission as
well.”
While recognizing a nation’s right
to secure its
“Immigrants renew our country economically borders, regulate
and spiritually and their contribution is immigrant
numbers, and
important. ... Wherever they are coming from,
consider
there should be a place for them where they immigration’s
can earn their citizenship.”
impact on both
– Bishop John M. LeVoir the economy and
national security,
states – most prominently Arizona the bishops’ statement also says that
and Alabama – have tried to address economic hardship or persecution
the problem by enacting their own often compels people to seek basic
policies. Minnesota has been necessities and a “dignified
considering similar enforcement existence” in another country.
measures.
“The human right to life – the
foundation of every other right –
implies the right to emigrate,” they
write.
Federal reform, the statement says,
should include an earned
legalization program for foreign
nationals of good moral character,
policies that keep families together,
a revamped temporary worker
program, restoration of immigrants’
due process rights, and an effort to
address the root causes of migration
in the countries from which
migrants come.
For more on Catholic teaching
regarding immigration, visit the
MCC’s Web page at http://mncc.org
and the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops Web site at http://www.
justiceforimmigrants.org.
28 New Ulm: 8 a.m. New Ulm
Catholic Cemetery. Memorial Day
Mass.
29 Comfrey: 12 p.m. Church of St.
Paul. Pastoral Administrator Meeting.
30 New Ulm: 5 p.m. Holy Trinity
Convent. Investiture of the
Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus.