Statement regarding the Statewide Marriage Amendment Mailing from Minnesota Bishops

Every Catholic household in Minnesota was or will be mailed a letter from their respective bishop encouraging them to vote “Yes” for the marriage amendment, and briefly explaining why the amendment is needed. In most instances, the letter also invites the recipient to make a contribution to Minnesota for Marriage, the campaign created by a diverse coalition of leaders and groups to pass the marriage amendment. The proceeds from the contributions will be used for mass outreach in the final weeks of the campaign.

Due to the many requests from “Catholics in the pew,” the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) wanted to provide Catholics with the opportunity to financially support the passage of the amendment and to send a contribution to where it will be most effective. With the exception of the dioceses of St. Cloud and Crookston, which had second-plate collections last spring, Minnesota Catholics had not been directly asked by the Church for funds to support pro-marriage amendment outreach.

No collection plate revenue, annual appeal proceeds, or parish assessments in any diocese have been used for pro-marriage amendment activities. The mailing was coordinated and paid for by MCC.

The following are the electronic samples of the diocesan letters:

Diocese of Crookston

Diocese of Duluth

Diocese of New Ulm

Diocese of Saint Cloud

Diocese of Winona

Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis