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VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father: - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, U.S.A., presented by Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop John C. Neinstedt.

A lauded liturgist, administrator, New Ulm conservative also is known for controversyRoman Catholic Bishop John Nienstedt of New Ulm, Minn., a theological conservative who has taken on Hollywood, stem-cell research and people who make too much noise in church, was named Tuesday to succeed Archbishop Harry Flynn. The announcement by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that Nienstedt, 60, had been named "coadjutor archbishop" ended months of speculation over who would succeed Flynn, who will step down when he turns 75 next year. Flynn, who has been archbishop since 1996, introduced Nienstedt at the archdiocese's chancery in St. Paul....

Quietly and without any fanfare, The Wanderer has created a new column for Father Altier's Sunday Sermons. This week's column begins as follows. (Author's Note: Before we begin our reflection on the Scripture readings for this Sunday's Mass, I want to briefly introduce myself. I am a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In seminary I worked on a master's degree with an emphasis in New Testament Studies. After being ordained in 1989 I served for three years at the Church of St. Raphael in Crystal and since 1992 I have served the people at the Church...

When it Comes to VIRTUS, There's More Than Meets the Eye By:Elizabeth Schwab www.desertvoice.org May 14, 2006 After the recent announcement of the upcoming departure of the pastor at the Church of St. Agnes, Fr. George Welzbacher, and the transferal of the associate pastor, Fr. Robert Altier, to the position of assistant chaplain at a distant nursing home, Vicar General Fr. Kevin McDonough claimed in comments published by the St. Paul Pioneer Press that these changes should cause no concern and “there is less here than meets the eye.” (http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/14568281.htm) The fact remains that a priest with a thriving ministry...

Leaders and members of several Roman Catholic lay organizations are circulating a petition addressed to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) Harry J. Flynn to rescind an order silencing the popular priest, Rev. Robert Altier.  Kenneth M.  Fisher of California, founder of Concerned Roman Catholics of America, authored the petition,  which calls for the archbishop to “reconsider his unjust silencing of this good priest.”   Among the signatories currently are Mary Ann Kreitzer of Les Femmes, Georgene M. Sorenson of Romans in the Desert, Katherine Garrigan of Fidelity, and Valerie Lubitz, Michael A. Curtis, Carol Suhr – all of Los...

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) enjoys the support of homosexual activist groups for its "Virtus" program intended to protect children from sexual predators. Virtus, the Latin word for virtue, is a set of programs developed by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group, called "Protecting God's Children™" for the USCCB. The program, used in dioceses throughout the US, proposes "training" for children, parents, clergy, teachers and church staff and volunteers and focuses part of its effort in a sex-education program for children as young as six in Catholic schools. The child sex-ed component, called "Talking about Touching," has been...

1)Monday March 26, 2001 Eourth Week in Lent Reading I (Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10) Reading II (Hebrews 10:4-10) Gospel (St. Luke 1:26-38) Today we celebrate one of the greatest feasts in the Church year, the Feast of the Annunciation. 2) The Wonderful Exchange Tuesday March 25, 2003 Feast of the Annunciation Reading I (Isaiah 7:10-14) Reading II (Hebrews 10:4-10)Gospel (St. Luke 1:26-38)

1) March 2, 2006 Thursday after Ash Wednesday Reading (Deuteronomy 30:15-20) Gospel (St. Luke 9:22-25) 2) Friday March 3, 2006 Reading (Isaiah 58:1-9a) Gospel (St. Matthew 9:14-15)

In the first reading today, God, speaking through His prophet Malachi, speaks to the priests and says to them, You have turned aside from the way I have taught you, and you have led many astray by your instructions. Therefore, I have made you contemptible before the people. Never before have these words been so true as they are now. What I have to say today is a tragedy, but it needs to be said because once again the bishops of the United States are trying to cause a scandal and to destroy our children. Parents need to be...

The following e-mail was sent to viewer Mary Grace Westman, who inquired as to why a Minnesota priest, Father Robert Altier, was no longer allowed to conduct a radio and internet ministry. The move by Archbishop Harry Flynn caused a heated controversy two weeks ago, for Father Altier had a significant following in conservative and Marian circles. The archbishop's explanation:To interested party Thank you for your recent note. I appreciate that you have benefited spiritually from Fr. Altier’s homilies. He has done much good work and is not being “silenced.”Fr. Robert Altier is a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint...

 ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Ash Wednesday, March 1, St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop Harry Flynn asked a popular St. Paul priest, Fr. Robert Altier, an assistant pastor at St. Agnes Church, to remove his homilies from a web site run by parishioners. The “silencing” has reverberated across the cyber universe, provoking nearly unanimous exasperation because Altier’s only “offense” — in the view of many — was his support for parents who object to the archdiocese’s “safe environment” programs for children. Over the past several months, Fr. Altier, a spiritual adviser to Catholic Parents Online, which is leading the parents’ movement in...

MINNEAPOLIS, March 9, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It seems like all hell is breaking loose in the archdiocese of St. Paul - Minneapolis.  In recent weeks 27 priests signed a petition against Archbishop Harry Flynn's backing for a measure to protect the traditional definition of marriage (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06031006.html ).  The diocese is refusing to release those names and it has not publicly ordered the priests to be silent about their heterodox views, but it has, at the same time, silenced a faithful priest who objected to the graphic sex-ed program advocated by the archdiocese (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06030602.html ).  Like many dioceses in North America,...

Maybe Archbishop Harry Flynn should be paying closer attention to the heterodoxy of priests in his archdiocese rather than silencing the orthodox. For example, what about Fr. Leo Tibesar, director of the Engaged Couples Preparation Program in the archdiocese? Take a close look at his photo. Now look at the national board of the heterodox DignityUSA. Is that not the same Leo Tibesar, albeit without the title of “Father”? So Father Robert Altier can’t be on Relevant Radio, but Tibesar can be on the national board of DignityUSA. As I said, a double standard.

On the one hand, you have Father Robert Altier, who has been silenced apparently for publicly disagreeing with his archbishop, Harry Flynn of Minneapolis, over “safe environment sex education” programs. (And I don’t care what you say, this was a silencing. He was forced to remove his homilies from public distribution and to stop speaking on a Catholic radio program.) To his credit, Altier obeyed the order, only speaking about it to the extent to say that he was obeying a lawful order of his superior. On the other hand, you have priests of the same archdiocese publicly dissenting from...

There seems to be sudden jockeying in various corners of Catholicism as the faithful wait to see where exactly Pope Benedict XVI will settle when it has to do with 'liberal" and "conservative" interpretations of liturgical norms. Was the pope, as Cardinal Ratzinger, as tough as many believe, or was he operating more at the behest of John Paul than previously recognized? That's the question of the hour: how far the Pope, widely described as a liberal before Vatican II, but stringently orthodox since, will keep to the conservative strictures for which he was famous as prefect for the Sacred...

Archbishop Harry J. Flynn has silenced Fr. Altier, a well-known and loved priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.Fr. Altier is the assistant pastor of the Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul, Minnesota, a parish famous the world over for itÂ’s sacred music programs, fidelity to the Christian Faith, sublime liturgical sense and architectural splendor. Fr. Altier has many credentials but the most important of them are his fidelity, humility, and holiness - an exceedingly rare combination in the Church today.The homepage of Fr. AltierÂ’s web site, DesertVoice.org, states the following: In obedient compliance with the...

« Some Ideas for a New Vatican Web Site Faithful Priest Silenced Archbishop Harry J. Flynn has silenced Fr. Altier, a well-known and loved priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.Fr. Altier is the assistant pastor of the Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul, Minnesota, a parish famous the world over for it’s sacred music programs, fidelity to the Christian Faith, sublime liturgical sense and architectural splendor. Fr. Altier has many credentials but the most important of them are his fidelity, humility, and holiness - an exceedingly rare combination in the Church today.The homepage of...

We note that the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, for all practical purposes, has silenced a priest named Father Robert Altier. It is an interesting action, at several levels. We find it noteworthy at the same time that, as always, we urge obedience.Father Altier is a rare one indeed, at 45 a relatively young priest who unabashedly speaks strong stuff -- including prophetic stuff, and including exposes of alleged wrongdoing -- from the pulpit. As it was, he had been relegated, at the Church of St. Agnes, in the city of St. Paul, to...