Local News

Catholic Charities’ Higher Ground: Multi-service approach to homelessness
Two large encampments of homeless people, one in St. Paul, another in Minneapolis, drew unprecedented attention this fall and winter to the plight of people unable to afford a home, including the working poor, unemployed, mentally ill and intellectually disabled.

Chancellor’s experience, canon law study on handling clergy sexual abuse gain national attention
Susan Mulheron, chancellor for Canonical Affairs for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, is gaining national attention with her experience and study of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in light of canon law.

St. Paul Seminary launches new Institute for Catholic School Leadership
When Merylann J. Schuttloffel was preparing to move her family from northwest Iowa to a small town on the Louisiana-Arkansas border, she asked her husband, who had already begun a new job there, to stop at the local Catholic school and enroll their two elementary-aged sons. When he returned to Iowa to help with the family’s move, he brought her a box packed with third-grade books — and he told her she had a new job as the school’s third-grade teacher.

New office for linking Latino families to Catholic schools launches on Lake Street
In 2017, Lorena Trejo heard a radio spot pitching Catholic schools on a secular Spanish radio station. It piqued her interest, and she reached to out the source, the Catholic Schools Center for Excellence, which focuses on Catholic elementary school excellence and advancement in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Now her two children attend St. John the Baptist in Savage.

Local pilgrims eager for World Youth Day in Panama
World Youth Day in January works well for University of St. Thomas students Katie Duncan and Leo Kaardal.

Archbishop Hebda, other faith leaders join Governor Walz in addressing federal shutdown
Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis joined about a dozen other faith leaders, as well as Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and other state officials at a Jan. 15 news conference at the State Capitol on the impact the longest federal government shutdown in history was having on Minnesotans, especially vulnerable populations dependent on federal services.

Judge: ‘Good progress has been made so far’ in archdiocese’s safe environment practices
Tim O’Malley, archdiocesan director of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment, said the archdiocese’s work goes beyond meeting settlement requirements to “the spirit of the settlement” to creating and maintaining a culture that ensures the safety of future generations from clergy sexual abuse.

Expectant fathers coached at Apple Valley pregnancy center
When Allen Diaz’s girlfriend — who is pregnant — visited Pregnancy Choices pregnancy help center in Apple Valley last year, it led to more help for Diaz as an expectant father than he could have imagined.

St. Dominic’s sesquicentennial: ‘Dedication to God and the Church’
As early as 1858, Father Anatole Oster — one of the Diocese of St. Paul’s first priests — traveled more than 30 miles south from St. Peter, Mendota, to celebrate Mass in the homes of Northfield-area Catholics.

With bankruptcy end, fresh opportunities to help abuse survivors
Frank Meuers and Tim O’Malley meet every month or so, often for breakfast, to talk about the Church and clergy sex abuse. Meuers is the southwest Minnesota chapter director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, aka SNAP, and O’Malley directs the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment.

Excelsior parish completes long-awaited renovation
St. John the Baptist in Excelsior celebrated Christmas in its newly renovated church. While the project is ongoing, the first Mass was celebrated in the renovated sanctuary Dec. 22, with the dedication of the new altar scheduled for Feb. 17.

St. Peter in Mendota opens historic church for nostalgic evening
As the glow of sunset faded Jan. 3, the historic church of St. Peter in Mendota was just starting to light up.
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