MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

03/28/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

As I wrote yesterday, on Thursday the Chrism Mass of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis was held at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. However, it has not been easy for me to find a priest who was there, or at least is willing to admit he was. Reports from others in attendance suggest that the presbyteral turnout was noticeably low, although an exact number is not available. The rarely reliable Catholic Spirit claims that ‘scores of priests’ renewed the promises made at their ordination (alas, dear Spirit editors, diocesan priests do not take vows, they make promises). This is itself interesting, considering that the total presbyterate at any given moment should be around 400, and a ‘score’ is only twenty.

The Catholic Spirit goes on to report that Archbishop John Nienstedt made a point of addressing the ongoing sexual abuse crisis…