MINNESOTA
Bemidji Pioneer
By: Sasha Aslanian, Bemidji Pioneer
With more than 1 million members, the Catholic Church is the single largest religious denomination in Minnesota.
Catholics’ numbers, and their financial contributions, make them a powerful force in the debate over a constitutional amendment that would only allow marriage between men and women. If approved by voters this fall, the amendment would effectively write a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution.
Minnesota law already prohibits gay marriage. But Catholic bishops have made passage of the amendment a top political priority this year, so much so that the Catholic Church is putting a lot of money and prayers into the effort to pass the marriage amendment. …
The Duluth diocese has contributed $50,000 from the estate of a deceased priest. The New Ulm diocese has given another $50,000 from the sale of real estate.
But the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis donated $650,000 — the single largest contribution in the race so far….
Archdiocese officials declined to comment, but explained in a press release that the money came from investment income and not “from parish assessments, the Catholic Service Appeal, or donations to parishes or to the Archdiocese.” It also noted that contributions to Catholic Charities and Parochial Schools remained constant or increased.
Still, some Catholics aren’t happy with the big spending on the marriage issue.
“None of us knew that there was that large amount of money available to be used for any purpose,” said Bob Beutel, a St. Paul attorney who describes himself as a “cradle Catholic.”
A product of Catholic Schools, Beutel is a member of Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, a group that has pressed the church to disclose more information about its finances.
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