VATICAN II HISTORY

43 years ago, on October 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII convened the first session of the Second Vatican Council in Rome, also known as Vatican II. Vatican II resulted in some of the greatest changes in the history of the Catholic Church. As a result, Catholics were allowed to pray with Protestants and attend weddings and funerals in Protestant churches. Judaism and other non Christian religions were to be appreciated. Religious freedom was seen as an essential human right. Priests were encouraged to say Mass facing the congregation rather than facing the altar, and Mass was allowed to be celebrated in languages other than Latin. Most especially, the basic model of church was seen as the people of God, a pilgrim people. All of the baptized make up the Church, and we are all on a journey of faith which we share with all people of good will.

THE HEAT IS ON

Natural gas is predicted to be 70% higher this year. Our head of maintenance, Gene Vavra, along with the Building and Grounds Committee, have entered into a new contract with Yale Mechanical to improve the efficiencies of our heating and cooling systems. This is a great example of good stewardship of our resources. And we can all pitch in by turning off lights in unused classrooms, etc.

A GRAND ENTRANCE

Last year we upgraded the parking lot and lighting. This year our special project is to enhance the lower level entrance. Parishioner Judy Heinen and Lonne Burkhardt worked with some landscape

WELCOME TO OUR NICARAGUAN GUESTS

This weekend we welcome three members of our sister parish in Jinotega, Nicaragua, Vilma Rivera, Padre Eliar Pineda Ubeda and Victorino Centeno. We are very happy that they could come to visit us and to share with us about their people. They honor us with their presence.

Fr Mike

Again I want to thank the parish for the tremendous generosity in responding to the needs of the

hurricane victims in the gulf coast. $35,000 has been raised and has been sent to Catholic Charities programs in the affected areas. Mary Pat Potts, who is our staff person for charity and justice efforts,

is working with a parish committee to look into options for the parish to sponsor a displaced family and to link up with a church in the storm damaged area. There will be more to come.

PARISH COUNCIL GOVERNANCE REVIEW

The parish pastoral council has contracted with a well regarded church consultant, Dennis

Cheesebrow, to look into updating our parish governance structures. This will include looking at the parish constitution and bylaws to determine if we are in conformity with them and to see if changes are required. The review should conclude by the end of November. A number of parishioners including those in different ministry leadership positions will be part of the process. This process should strengthen our parish structures of decision making and communication.

Fr Mike

We have hired a new full-time staff person who is originally from Honduras, Miguel Ponce. He is our evening/weekend custodian and you will see him around the building now especially during the weekend masses. Miguel has a constant smile and will be a welcome addition to our staff. I also want to thank our Director of Maintenance, Gene Vavra, for all his efforts in making Miguel's transition here go so smoothly.

Congratulations Oak Grove Presbyterian Church
Last Sunday I visited the Oak Grove Presbyterian congregation on Old Shakopee Road as they celebrated their sesquicentennial, that is 150th anniversary. Yes, 150 years in Bloomington! We are still working on 40 years. We have a number of connections with Oak Grove through some of our members who have family there. Some years ago when Oak Grove was constructing its facilities they worshipped here for a while. They remain very grateful for our hospitality.

In Living Color
Over the last month we have had two bulletins with special color photos on the cover. Our bulletin publisher has given us this option for up to 8 times a year. We were able to use this feature after Vacation Bible School and last week after the Feast of St. Edward. The people that made this happen were our very creative bulletin editor, Jean Kirchberg, and a very talented parishioner and photographer, Jim Laatch. Thanks to both of you.

Marathon for Nativity SchoolI will again be participating in the special marathon to raise funds for the scholarship program for Nativity School. I appreciate any pledges that can be made for this worthwhile project.

Fr Mike

MILITARY CHAPLAINS, MARRIED PRIESTS AND THE POPE

One of the most pressing areas of the clergy shortage concerns military chaplains. Today more and more members of the military are Roman Catholic. An average of 25% of military personnel identify themselves as catholic. According to its 2003 annual report, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A., ministers to 375,000 Catholic men and women in uniform, 737,500 family members, 204,000 Catholics in the Reserves and National Guard, 29,000 Catholic residents in 172 Veterans' Administration Medical Centers and 66,000 Catholics in government service in 134 countries overseas. This includes ministry to cadets at the five U.S. military service academies.

And yet as the number of Catholics increases, the number of catholic chaplains is decreasing dramatically. There are currently about 375 priests serving on active duty as full-time chaplains with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Another 480 priests serve part-time with the Reserve forces and the National Guard. At V.A. Medical Centers, there are 91 full-time and 41part-time chaplains. These numbers are well below half of the required numbers and are at historic lows.

With the wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan there is a special need for catholic chaplains to support the troops in the field. Sadly, one of the few serving in Baghdad, Father Tim Vokoc of our Archdiocese, was seriously injured and is now medically discharged from the service.

One of the main practical reasons (there are no doctrinal reasons) advanced for not ordaining married men as priests is the cost to support their families. It would make much sense to ordain married men as catholic military chaplains who would be getting a sufficient salary for raising a family.

Along these lines it was interesting to learn that when the bishops of New York state made their "ad limina" visit with the new pope, Benedict, in June 2004, the then Cardinal Ratzinger asked them, "What do your people think about the restoration of the tradition of a married priesthood?" It was reported that after a stunned silence, he asked again, "I really would like to know what your people think on that issue." Bishop Clark of Rochester responded, "We just had a synod in our diocese where over 90 percent of the laity voted in favor of a married priesthood." The other bishops concurred. This reflects national polling.

This also reflects a statement attributed to the Pope a few years ago when he was still a cardinal, "If the Church cannot guarantee the Eucharist in every parish, she must change the conditions for access to the priesthood."

Fr Mike