The Marriage Amendment

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By Don Conroy


In November, the voters of Minnesota will be faced with a proposed amendment to the state constitution that, if passed, will restrict legal marriage in Minnesota to one man and one woman. The proposed amendment raises a number of interesting questions regarding the history, the meaning, and the purpose of marriage as an institution in human society. Of even more significance perhaps is this question – what would be the religious, social, and personal consequences of excluding a significant percent of our adult citizens from the advantages of legal marriage?

Marriage, like any other human institution, evolves. Its shape has depended on its geographic location and its historic moment. What constituted the presence of the marriage bond in Europe was not agreed on until The Gratian Decretals, c.1140. This bond was considered a sacrament, a sacred symbol between Christ and The People Of God, The Church, and thus indissoluble. This understanding of marriage was questioned by the Reformers of the 16th century, and divorce became a social reality in Europe.

The Industrial Revolution introduced another dimension as central to marriage; namely, a decline in the roles of the extended family network and the spread of "the conjugal system", a primary emphasis on the nuclear family unit of parents and their children.

In a very recent study, The Social Conquest Of Earth, Edward O. Wilson, the Nobel Laureate evolutionary biologist, raises these questions: which living species have spread throughout the whole of the earth, and what is the most important characteristic they have in common? He concludes that those species that have spread are a handful of insects, ants, bees, termites, et al. and humans. For all these species, the single most important common characteristic is their need for a safe and comfortable nest. For humans, this nest is the family.

Wilson's explanation for this conclusion is that these species have a genetic mutation that leads to what he calls "eusocial evolution", natural selection of groups as opposed to individual natural selection that restricts the species to procreation and protection of the nest. Group selection, which he refers to as a "general theory of inclusive fitness" allows for expansion and broader emigration and more complexity in the species. Eusocial evolved species require diversity in the social structure of the organization to function well. The precursors of today's humans, those species that did not survive to the present, did not develop the eusocial characteristic and were rendered extinct by the more developed species.

The safe and comfortable nest for humans is the family, and its marital component is and has been varied. The classic study Social Structure by George Murdock, published in 1949, pointed out that 193 out of 243 societies, the sample of his study, were polygamous. It was only 67 years prior to his study that polygamy was declared illegal in the U.S. by the Edmonds Act of 1882. In today's Western world, there are three meanings attributed to marriage by sociologists; the sacred, the social, and the personal. "At present, therefore, there is lack of uniform opinion as to the basic meaning of marriage." (The American Family, Ruth Cavan). The purposes of marriage are varied and cover a range from accomplishing religious values and supporting social order to providing personal happiness.

Today we confront another development in our understanding of family, the inclusion of same-sex couples in our social, personal, but not necessarily religious definition of marriage. What consequence, if any, would the inclusion of same-sex couples have on the family structure? Would the meaning of family, our safe, comfortable and developing nest, be significantly altered or even lost, as has been claimed (Nienstadt's "letter to the priests")? What would be the religious, social, and personal consequences of excluding a significant percent of our adult citizens from the advantages of legal marriage? These are the questions Minnesota voters face as they go to the polls in November to vote on the proposed amendment.

Donald R. Conroy, PHD, retired psychologist and marriage and family therapist, is a member of the newly formed Council of the Baptized, a collegial voice for Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Formerly a Catholic priest ordained in 1955, Don is married to Mary K., with three grown and married children and seven grandchildren.

Continuing Profiles of Possible Next Archbishops

Recently the Leadership Selection Resource Team of Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR) began profiling potential candidates for the next Archbishop of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese. We commenced this series of profiles by asking members of the local Catholic community, via the forum of The Progressive Catholic Voice: "Do you want a voice in selecting our next archbishop?" And we invited you to think about this with us:

• None of us knows when our Archbishop will be re-assigned or who will succeed him as our spiritual leader.

• Good leadership is necessary to our mission as a Catholic Christian Church in St Paul/Minneapolis.

• Canon Law gives us the opportunity to inform the U. S. Papal Nuncio of our need for a leader who will listen to the Holy Spirit in the voice of the people.

Until the 13th Century it was common for Catholics to elect their bishops. Joseph O’Callaghan in his book Electing Our Bishops: How the Catholic Church Should Choose Its Leaders (2007), makes the case for returning to the practice of elections. Since we are several centuries out of practice for elections, it will take a lot of organizing, time, and resources to make that happen. In the meantime, we think we should use what we can of the current appointment procedure to make our voices heard.

The current procedure is for the Papal Nuncio to recommend candidates to the Pope for appointment. In the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano is the Papal Nuncio, the delegate from the Vatican in Washington D.C. Archbishop Vigano has sent our Leadership Selection team a message through Archbishop John Nienstedt that he is willing “to receive recommendations from any lay Catholic at any time regarding the nomination of a bishop to a diocese or archdiocese.”

Here are the qualifications listed in Canon Law:

Can. 378 §1. In regard to the suitability of a candidate for the episcopacy, it is required that he is:

1/ outstanding in solid faith, good morals, piety, zeal for souls, wisdom, prudence, and human virtues, and endowed with other qualities which make him suitable to fulfill the office in question;

2/ of good reputation;

3/ at least thirty-five years old;

4/ ordained to the presbyterate for at least five years;

5/ in possession of a doctorate or at least a licentiate in sacred scripture, theology, or canon law from an institute of higher studies approved by the Apostolic See, or at least truly expert in the same disciplines.

We are profiling some possible successors to Archbishop Nienstedt, but please remember we are not recommending the men we profile. We don’t have enough knowledge to do that. We are merely suggesting some possibilities to get everyone thinking about what kind of leadership we need.

If you have suggestions for us, please email us at info@cccrmn.org. Check our website at www.cccrmn.org.

The LSRT program for developing the people’s voice in bishop selection has been endorsed by CCCR and the Council of the Baptized. Go to www.CouncilOfTheBaptized.org, look under “proposals” on the menu to read the entire program.

Bishop Blase Joseph Cupich was the first possible successor highlighted in our series, and his profile can be viewed here. Today we profile the Vicar General of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Arcdiocese, Bishop Lee Piché.

______________________________________

Bishop Lee Piché

Vicar General, Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis [December 2013 Update: Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis]









Personal Background:
Born May 8, 1958 in Minneapolis, MN; eldest of seven children—four brothers and three sisters; sixteen nephews, and five nieces.
Raised in New Brighton, MN.

Ordination Date: May 26, 1984.

Undergraduate Education: Irondale High School, New Brighton, MN; University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.

Graduate: St. Paul Seminary; St. Joseph Seminary, Princeton, NJ; M.A., theology; M.A., Columbia University, philosophy, 1988-1994.

Previous Assignments:
1984-1987: Associate pastor of the Church of St. Mark in St. Paul, MN
1994-2009: Faculty, undergraduate philosophy at the University of St. Thomas 1997-2004: Full-time parish ministry, St. Joseph’s Church, West St. Paul, MN
2008: Pastor of the Church of St. Andrew, located near Como Lake in St. Paul
2008: Vicar general, Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis
2008: Moderator of the Curia
2009: Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Memberships:
2000: Participant, Second Institute for Interreligious Leadership
2000-2008: Chair, Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs for the Archdiocese
2010: Member, Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, Board of Directors Current member, Minnesota Catholic Conference, Board of Directors Current member, National Association of Catholic Chaplains Episcopal Advisory Council, Region VIII Current member, University of St. Thomas, Board of Trustees

Position Statements:

Interreligious relations: "One of the most important things we do when we're together is we pray. When there's been topics where we have differences of opinion or in our understanding of teaching, it hasn't been tense at all. It's a genuine desire to understand each other's perspective and try to see it from that perspective as best we can." (“Minnesota Bishops Catholic, Lutheran Share Common Ground” by Rose French, Star Tribune, November 1, 2011.)

Financial accountability: “We’re at a moment of crisis with the Cathedral in terms of its ongoing stability financially. The external work on the dome was only partially covered by the [fundraising] campaign that was taken up at the time as well as the Growing in Faith campaign. But neither of those campaigns realized the full amount that was needed to really make that project complete. So we’re doing some catch up work. The Cathedral debt, the Cathedral repairs and all that goes on in terms of keeping that beautiful temple of our faith up and running isn’t just the Cathedral parish’s problem. It’s really the concern of the whole archdiocese.” (Stella Borealis Catholic Roundtable, a site for the "exchange of information about the Catholic Church in Minnesota, neighboring states, and provinces," September 9, 2009.)

Marriage and sexuality: “The Catholic understanding of sexuality includes both the communion of the spouses and the procreation of children as integral and inseparable dimensions of sexual love. Both the unitive and generative dimensions together and not apart. This goes directly contrary to the majority opinion of our time, which says that sex is for pleasure, or when it is combined with a committed love, it may also strengthen the union. Conception, the possible child, is something against which we are counseled to use protection, at least until the partners are in agreement about having a child. The generative dimension of sexual love is at best detachable at will, and at worst a threat against which we should guard ourselves, as we would guard against a disease.” (Speech at St. John the Baptist, New Brighton, September 11, 2011.)

“Jesus Christ commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. The Church has a special love for all persons, including all those who deal with same-sex attraction. It is precisely because of our love and concern for homosexual persons that we must stand in opposition to the GLBT agenda.” (Reported in the Catholic Spirit blog "Unique for a Reason," July 3, 2008. [Emphasis in text.]

Phone: (651) 291-4400
Facebook: No personal or archdiocesan Facebook page
Twitter: No personal or archdiocesan Twitter account
YouTube: Video of Auxiliary Bishop Lee Pichè’s ordination mass as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dialoguing with the Archbishop

Archbishop John C. Nienstedt writes a column in The Catholic Spirit entitled “In God’s Good Time.” As the editorial team of The Progressive Catholic Voice, we take his public statements as an opportunity to discuss his views with him.





Dear Archbishop Nienstedt:

Thanks for your column in the August 2, 2012, issue of The Catholic Spirit, entitled “What it Means to be Church.” We are happy that you had a relaxing, insightful vacation.

Your reflection – Church is the encounter with the living Christ in the faith assembly – is inspiring.

You go on to focus on the bishops’ role in the official magisterium, the teaching authority of the faith assembly:

And this is where the teaching vocation of the Church, that organ of the Body of Christ which we call the Magisterium, comes in to play. This is the “living voice” of the faith assembly that preserves the fundamental message of Scripture and Tradition, that is to say, love, properly understood and properly lived.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reaffirms the importance of this teaching office of the Church when it states in paragraph 85:

“The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.’ This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.”

Will you please follow up with a column about the role of theologians, clergy in orders other than bishop, and laity in the teaching authority of the Church? Do you believe that as part of the “faith assembly” theologians, lesser clergy, and laity have any contribution to make to the teaching authority entrusted to the bishops, particularly with regard to love, “properly understood and properly lived”?

You are right that there is much controversy and questioning of authority. Could that be indicative of a need for communication about the substance and reasonableness of what is being taught? We remember reading that Cardinal Newman quoted St. Augustine as saying "Securus judicat orbis terrarum." in relation to doctrine – "A tranquil world is the final judge." In other words, controversy is a sign that the faith assembly has not settled the question and the bishops have more work to do before they can voice the faith of the community.

It is our greatest desire to come together reasonably with respect for one another so that the teaching authority of the Church in this Archdiocese will be recognized in its wisdom and balance.

– The Editorial Team of The Progressive Catholic Voice

Michael Bayly
Mary Beckfeld
Paula Ruddy

Do You Want a Voice in Selecting Our Next Archbishop?

The Leadership Selection Resource Team of Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR) invites you to think about this with us:

• None of us knows when our Archbishop will be re-assigned or who will succeed him as our spiritual leader.

• Good leadership is necessary to our mission as a Catholic Christian Church in St Paul/Minneapolis.

• Canon Law gives us the opportunity to inform the U. S. Papal Nuncio of our need for a leader who will listen to the Holy Spirit in the voice of the people.

Until the 13th Century it was common for Catholics to elect their bishops. Joseph O’Callaghan, in his book Electing Our Bishops: How the Catholic Church Should Choose Its Leaders (2007), makes the case for returning to the practice of elections. Since we are several centuries out of practice for elections, it will take a lot of organizing, time, and resources to make that happen. In the meantime, we think we should use what we can of the current appointment procedure to make our voices heard.

The current procedure is for the Papal Nuncio to recommend candidates to the Pope for appointment. In the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano is the Papal Nuncio, the delegate from the Vatican in Washington D.C. Archbishop Vigano has sent our Leadership Selection team a message through Archbishop John Nienstedt that he is willing “to receive recommendations from any lay Catholic at any time regarding the nomination of a bishop to a diocese or archdiocese.”

Here are the qualifications listed in Canon Law:

Can. 378 §1. In regard to the suitability of a candidate for the episcopacy, it is required that he is:

1/ outstanding in solid faith, good morals, piety, zeal for souls, wisdom, prudence, and human virtues, and endowed with other qualities which make him suitable to fulfill the office in question;

2/ of good reputation;

3/ at least thirty-five years old;

4/ ordained to the presbyterate for at least five years;

5/ in possession of a doctorate or at least a licentiate in sacred scripture, theology, or canon law from an institute of higher studies approved by the Apostolic See, or at least truly expert in the same disciplines.

Who might be appointed as our next Archbishop? We will profile some men over the next several weeks, starting with Bishop Blase Joseph Cupich, profiled below. Since bishops are required to retire at 75, the men we have selected to profile are 65 and under. They come from smaller dioceses than our own (730,000 Catholics), and they have been in their current dioceses for a few years. We are not recommending these men. We are merely suggesting some possibilities to get everyone thinking about what kind of leadership we need.

If you have suggestions for us, please email us at info@cccrmn.org. Check our website at www.cccrmn.org.

This program for bishop selection has been endorsed by CCCR and the Council of the Baptized.

_______________________________

Bishop Blase Joseph Cupich
(pronounced SOUP-ich)
Bishop of Spokane, WA
since September 3, 2010
(Catholic population: 90,000)








Personal Background:
Born March 19, 1949 in Omaha NE, one of nine children.
Given name “White Thunder” by Lakota people of previous diocese, Rapid City SD.
Cooks for himself when not out on diocesan business.
Held “Theology on Tap” at O’Doherty’s Irish Grille for open question-answer session. For more information, click here.


Ordination Date: August 16, 1975

Undergraduate Education: University of St. Thomas, philosophy

Graduate: Pontifical Gregorian University, Master’s in theology; Catholic University of America, STD in Sacramental Theology

STD Topic: Advent in the Roman Tradition: An Examination and Comparison of the Lectionary Readings in Three Periods

Previous Assignments:
1975-1978: Associate pastor and high school teacher
1978-1981: Director of the Office for Divine Worship and Chair, Commission on Youth, Diocese of Omaha, NE
1981-1987: Secretary of the nunciature to the United States
1987-1989: Pastor, St. Mary Church Bellevue, NE
1989-1996: President-Rector of the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, OH
1997-1998: Pastor, St. Robert Bellarmine Church, Omaha, NE
1998-2010: Bishop, Rapid City, SD

Memberships (selected):
Former:
Board of Trustees, St. Paul Seminary
Committee on the Liturgy, USCCB
Communications Committee, USCCB

Current:
Chair, Bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People Ad Hoc Committee on Scripture Translation, USCCB

Position Statements:
On religious liberty: Article, “Staying Civil: Finding Opportunity in a Painful Moment,” America, March 5, 2012, in response to the mandate to include contraception in health insurance plans and the limited exemption for religious organizations.
Representative passage: “A return to civility will be needed for us to seize fully the opportunities this newest development offers us. While the outrage to the H.H.S. decision was understandable, in the long run threats and condemnations have a limited impact. Leaders especially have a responsibility in this regard. They should always be leery of letting a situation escalate to an undesirable degree, particularly if it has the potential to bring lasting harm to both the church and the nation, and even worse, disproportionately affect the least among us.”

On clergy sex abuse: Article “Twelve Things the Bishops Have Learned from the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis,” America, May 10, 2010.
Representative passages: “Catholics have been hurt by the moral failings of some priests, but they have been hurt and angered even more by bishops who failed to put children first. People expect religious leaders above all to be immediate and forthright in taking a strong stand in the face of evil, such as the harm done to children and young people by sexual abuse. . . . Bishops need to be mutually accountable in their efforts to protect children and must be willing to participate in transparent, independent audits to demonstrate they are keeping the promises we made. What happens in one place happens to us all.”

On abortion protests and on conscience: Requested that priests and seminarians not protest publicly at Spokane’s Planned Parenthood clinic. Statement from the Diocese: In a “political environment [that] has become very toxic and polarizing,” Bishop Cupich asks priests to keep their role of teacher as first priority. Decisions about abortion are not usually made in front of clinics – they’re made at “kitchen tables and in living rooms and they frequently involve a sister, daughter, relative or friend who may have been pressured or abandoned by the man who fathered the child.” However, Bishop Cupich stated that a “priest in good conscience may feel the need to participate in the vigils and he should never be forced to go against a good and informed conscience.” (For more, click here.)

On controversial speakers: In Spring 2012, Gonzaga University selected Archbishop Desmond Tutu as their commencement speaker. Because of Archbishop Tutu’s position on contraception and some other social issues, Bishop Cupich was pressed to intervene to ask Gonzaga to withdraw the invitation. He chose not to do so, stating that, “Archbishop Tutu is being honored for the work he did to end apartheid in South Africa.” (“Tutu Commencement Invitation Sparks Controversy at Gonzaga,” April 18, 2012, National Catholic Reporter.)

Recent News (July 20, 2012): Bishop Cupich came into a diocese that had declared bankruptcy in 2004 as a result of numerous clergy sex abuse cases. However, many unresolved claims against the diocese remained, and a future claims fund relied on the real estate of the diocese’s parishes and schools as collateral. Default would have resulted in foreclosures against these properties. Either a second bankruptcy or further litigation was considered, but according to Cupich, “A third way was forced upon us, mediation, and it emerged out of necessity.” Bishop Cupich held consultation meetings with over 200 pastors, and parish and finance council members, after which he said, “This broad consultation from the entire diocese gave me the ‘vote of confidence’ as I went back into the mediation process.” The mediation process involved Cupich, the diocesan attorney, two lawyers for the sex abuse victims, and the mediator, Federal Judge Michael R. Hogan. Tim Kosnoff, one of the victims’ lawyers, said of Cupich: “He was shockingly candid with me and this was trust-building. Cupich is a thinking man and a credible negotiating partner.” The mediation process resulted in a satisfactory outcome for all involved. Bishop Cupich explained the settlement in a three-page letter. See also here.

Archived Presentations:
Radio program, “A Time with the Bishop.” (Various topics, including “Where do bishops come from?”)

Regular columns (in English and Spanish) and occasional video presentations at www.DioceseOfSpokane.org. (Includes video “Making Good Decisions for the End of Life.”)

Phone: 509-358-7305
Email: chancery@dioceseofspokane.org
Facebook Page: Diocese of Spokane has a page to which Bishop Cupich contributes. For example, he posted a detailed log of his ad limina visit to the Vatican, April 22-29, 2012