Letter To the Editor: A Catholic Response to Wallin Letter to the Editor

After a couple busy weeks, I have just found time to respond to Gary Wallin’s letter to the editor concerning the Catholic Church.  As I started to read his letter, the questions that came to mind were, “What is the point of this letter?” (Was his goal to drive people from the church or simply to cause ill feelings between religions?) and “Does this man have an understanding of the religion or has he ever been to a Catholic Mass?” (Has he ever asked a practicing Catholic why he or she loves the church?)  I will simply give a response to his general premise on priestly abuse and a short insight on what my concept of the church is.

Firstly, I see my church as a religious FAMILY.  Like our own families, this is a HUMAN institution that I believe was instituted by Jesus Christ.  Is it perfect?  NO, because it is HUMAN.  Those of us who believe in the church are as embarrassed and horrified by priestly abuse as everyone else.  We are also dismayed by the response of some bishops to cover up and hide the abuse.  With this, I agree with Mr. Wallin.  Does that mean we all leave the church and go somewhere else? Definitely NOT!  If someone in your family does something wrong, either legally or morally, do you disband or leave your family?  Or do you support that person and try to correct the issue.  The impression I got (and presume Mr. Wallin wanted others to see) is to distrust all priests and any practice of the Catholic Church.  What a horrible disservice to the thousands of honest, self-sacrificing, and incredibly holy MEN and WOMEN who have given their lives to the service of others as priests and religious sisters.  Every field of endeavor (such as medicine, law, business, pastoral ministry, education, etc.) has some bad apples but fine, admirable people in those fields are wonderful contributors to society.  Don’t judge all based on a few. 

If Mr. Wallin’s goal was to embarrass Catholics to leave their church, I want to give him a few reasons some of us will be faithful to our church despite human failings, social whims, or disagreements with a priest.  These are MY beliefs and I’m sure others of my faith could echo and add to them with their own thoughts.  At the risk of wearing my religion on my sleeve, I feel his vicious attack needs a balanced response.  I will simply touch on a few issues.

Mr. Wallin also mentioned several times the concept that it is a MALE dominated organization.  I agree with this observation, but would also ask him to name many other feminine based/dominated, major, worldwide organizations or governments throughout history.  There may be some examples, but they would be exceptions to the rule.  Times are changing and who knows where the next decades will take the Catholic Church in this regard, but keep your perspective in the broad realm of history when citing this fact in your vicious attack on an institution you obviously don’t understand.
One concept that may make Catholicism hard for many non-Catholics to understand is that we believe in mystery-something we can’t understand, but accept on FAITH.  If that makes you uncomfortable, you may as well stop reading now. I believe the Church was instituted by Christ when he charged his apostles to spread His word and expand his church.  I take Jesus at his word at the Last Supper when He said, “This is my Body. This is my Blood.”  He didn’t say, “This SYMBOLIZES  My body and blood.”

Contrary to what I have heard some members of other faiths state about our church, we are Biblically based. If they really studied our liturgies, nearly every rite is based on and quotes Holy Scripture and our Mass is effused with scriptural references.  (If it weren’t for Catholic monasteries in the Dark Ages, our scriptures could easily have been lost.)  We do believe that in the course of 2000 years, wise and holy men have studied and helped to glean the meaning of the scriptures and formulated our church doctrines.  This is what we mean by ‘tradition’.  As in any family or other organization, traditions come from accepted practices and serious thought, but ours are simply several hundred years old and still evolving.

These are just a very few reasons I can remain faithful to my church when times get tough, rather than leaving my faith to join another, based on the popularity of the minister,  youth programs, or other issues.  I want to work to make my church FAMILY better.  So, yes, there may be flaws in my church, but it is still the best around for me.

                Sincerely
                         Mike O’Neill

Shop Local

At the Kasson Chamber of Commerce meeting last week there was a brief discussion on how businesses can promote shopping local. Once a month the DCI shopper runs a page with commentary from business people on the importance of shopping locally.

When Superintendent Mark Matuska was hired we met and one of his first questions was, "What can we do for you?", meaning what can the school do for the DCI. Those were refreshing words to hear from someone representing an entity  that frequently asks small town business for donations.

What many people do not realize is that when businesses get local support they are able to do more and put more money back into the community-whether it be for someone in need or one of the numerous booster clubs.

Shop local. Support the local business. Those are tough words to preach to the people who enjoy the benefits of a small community and work in Rochester. To many of them Rochester is shopping local.
I am not sure if it is possible to convince the general population we need their support. My family has been supporting local business and shopping locally whenever possible. I'd be lying If I said we did not do business in the larger community, but we try to purchase local when possible.

"NO" is a tough word for a business person to say when someone walks in asking for a donation. I talked to one business owner who gets requests for donations four to five times a week.

There is  strong community support, but based on the percentage of the people who live here, the numbers are concerning. I know that I am preaching to the wrong people here because, for one, anyone reading this does buy the paper, and that supports our community. The people who should read this don't subscribe to the paper, buy their groceries out of town and purchase hardware at the big box store.

Take a look at the Shop Local section in next week’s shopper and you will see a partial list of donations made by local businesses. With the complete list we could have printed a full page!

Letter to the editor: Nash

Letter to the editor:

Rep. Quam Should Not be Working Against Strong Local Control

Most people in Dodge County will be surprised to know that one of the first bills taken up at the State Capitol this year would weaken township local control.   What is worse is that my legislator, Rep. Duane Quam, is a co-author of the bill.

House File 389 would give outside corporate interests the upper hand when they want to push unexpected and harmful developments into our communities. It weakens the right of townships, counties and cities to say no to projects that could harm the community.  

As a lifelong Dodge County resident I know that my community is better off with strong local control.  When a New Jersey investor wanted to build an industrial mega-dairy in Ripley Township my neighbors and I were concerned. We knew it would be bad for the community.  Because we had strong local control our township had a say.  We put an interim ordinance in place and then enacted a common sense limit on how large a feedlot can be in our township. 

But Rep. Quam's bill would have prevented our townships from having a say. His bill says if a project submits a permit application then it is exempt from the interim ordinance.  The problem is neighbors and township officials often don't even learn about a project until the permit is submitted.  So if Rep. Quam's bill passes by time the community learns about a project it will be too late to do anything.  That is wrong! Minnesotans value strong local democracy that favors community rights over corporate rights.  

We didn't send legislators up to the Capitol to weaken local control and push legislation for corporate special interests.  The issue is simple. Minnesotans value strong township rights and Rep. Quam should too.  He should drop his support of House File 389.

                Lois Nash
                Dodge Center

Local Legends

 Last week I did a different type of sports story. It was about K-M junior Spencer Condon of Kasson. He tried different sports and was never excited enough to stick with them. Then he decided to give boxing a try three years ago.

I interviewed Spencer and took several photos at the 4th Street Gym in Rochester. The gym is owned by Dan O'Conner and caters to at risk youth. The monthly fees are minimal.

I talked to the senior member of the O'Conner family, Jack. He was very cordial and passionate about helping at risk youth and giving them an outlet that can make a difference in their lives.

I also talked briefly with Pat O'Conner and if you don't know that name you did not live in the Rochester area in the late 60's and early 70's. Boxing was big in the Rochester area at that time and as a young teenager I can remember my father taking us to boxing matches at the Mayo Civic Center. In one match O'Conner fought and defeated fellow Minnesotan Duane Horseman despite breaking his hand during the match.

Pat O'Conner was to boxing what Charlie Mayo was to medicine in Rochester. He was a national Golden Gloves champion at 16 and had an amateur record of 150-10. He was 41-6 as a professional with 19 knockouts.

Visiting the 4th Street Gym brought back some fond memories of Pat O'Conner who was bigger than life to a young teen like myself. That was a day when boxing was a very big sport. Now a days you are lucky to see anything in the sports section of a major daily about boxing.

Boxing has had a reputation for recruiting troubled youth. The 4th Street Gym is looking to change all that by giving kids an alternative to hanging out on the streets and pursuing a more destructive path.
I don't know anything about Spencer Condon's background, but I do know that the 4th Street Gym has been a positive influence on him and the volunteers at the gym are a big part of helping kids get on the right path. For me, Pat O'Conner was a boxing legend from the late 60 and early 70's we will be hard pressed to see again in this area.