Do Minnesota’s Bishops Have the Right Priorities?

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The Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) is the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota. Its mission is to support the ministry of the state's bishops by:

• Working with political and community leaders to shape legislation;
• Educating Catholics and the public about the ethical and moral framework that should be applied to public policy choices; and
• Mobilizing Catholics to make its voice heard in the public arena.

So here's the question ... Given all that is happening in the Church and world today, what might you guess to be the latest initiative of the Minnesota bishops? Could it be:

• Reducing the 10,000 abortions performed in Minnesota each year?
• Financial recovery for the 5 out of 6 Minnesota dioceses that have declared bankruptcy, including the record-setting $210 million settlement for the Archdioceses of St. Paul and Minneapolis?
• The investigation into Crookston's Bishop Hoeppner, the first U.S. bishop to be investigated under new misconduct protocols introduced by Pope Francis?
• The sexual abuse scandal that has destroyed the Church's credibility among the faithful?
• The modern-day collapse of the family structure?
• Pornography addiction and how it is destroying people's lives?
• The idolatry worship that occurred at the Amazonian Synod?
• The fact that 7 out of 10 Catholics don't believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist?
• The fact that most Catholics reject Church teaching on cohabitation?

Answer? None of the above.

The bishops' new priority program is entitled "Minnesota, Our Common Home," which is based upon Pope Francis controversial 2015 encyclical Laudato Sì.

We kid you not.

For those unfamiliar with Laudato Sì and its many problems, we suggest you take a look at R.R. Reno's column from First Things.

Front and Center

The new program prominently appears on the front page of MCC's website. The site says, "In Minnesota, Our Common Home, we explore the key principles discussed in the encyclical and propose how we might translate them into our present situation as Minnesotans."

There's even a cute little video for people to watch.

In a recent interview with The Catholic Spirit, MCC's Executive Director Jason Adkins explains:

The ecological examen is a way for Catholics to consider how they may be contributing to the throwaway culture and offers practical guidance to facilitate what Pope Francis calls for, which is ecological conversion — living in right relationship with the Creator and creation.

Before being taken in by this disordered pantheistic "eco-theology," Adkins would have never uttered such gibberish.

It's a Question of Priorities

To be fair, there is an element of truth in "Minnesota, Our Common Home." As faithful Catholics, we should be concerned about stewardship for the environment. But in the midst of the historical upheaval within the Church that includes sex scandals, doctrinal confusion and financial corruption, the choice to devote significant resources to this initiative appears to be misplaced.

Additionally, Catholics should be concerned about the not so "hidden agenda" exposed by the recent Amazonian synod. The Vatican is partnering with some very unsavory characters in its environmental efforts. Our bishops need to exercise caution not to partner with parties like the United Nations, which has anti-Catholic policies incorporated into its "sustainable development" agenda.

Shouldn't our bishops be more concerned about the "salvation of souls" versus the "salvation of the environment?"

Read the rest at Complicit Clergy.

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