World AIDS Day observed December 1

Fr. Schumacher’s ministry shares the love of God to those infected and affected by virus

by Kristin Holtz

Litchfield Independent Review

It is a priest’s responsibility to share the love of God with people many others shy away from: the lonely, the dying, the fearful, the sick, the rejected, the ones with the secrets.

Twenty years ago, the Rev. Paul Schumacher was assisting a member of Alcoholics Anonymous through the 12-step program. As the person shared his life’s story with Schumacher, he also shared his secret. He had AIDS. In the 1980s, AIDS was a new disease, and little was known about it, except that it killed. The wave of AIDS through the United States created fear and panic among people who did not understand how it was transmitted.

"It was such new stuff, and it was such scary stuff," Schumacher recalled.

Schumacher began attending nurses’ workshops, learning how to help people deal with the fatal disease.

While much of the panic around HIV and AIDS has quieted down in this country, much of the fear and rejection remain. Schumacher has continued to reach out to people living with HIV and AIDS, spreading into his ministerial duties. Fr. Schumacher currently serves as pastor at the Church of St. Philip in Litchfield. He has served as the director of AIDS Ministry for the Diocese of New Ulm for the past 20 years.

Understanding a killer:

AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a disease that causes a breakdown in a person’s immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to a variety of deadly illnesses. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, known as HIV which spreads through body fluids, particularly blood, semen and vaginal secretions. It is most often transferred by unsafe sex with an infected person, infected needles or birth from mother to child.

AIDS came to the United States from Africa in the late 1970s. Since its detection, AIDS has killed more than 529,000 people in the United States, and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates approximately 1.1 million people live with HIV or AIDS today.

As AIDS spread during the 1980s, the Catholic Church saw a need to reach out to people living with the disease. Schumacher, who was ministering at area parishes in Darwin and Forest City, was selected in the mid-1980s to head the Diocese of New Ulm’s AIDS Ministry.

At that time, HIV and AIDS were new and misunderstood, especially how the disease was transmitted. The ignorance led to a lot of fear and rejection, he said.

The ministry began by forming support groups throughout the state aimed at people living with AIDS, as well as their friends and family. Groups were formed in the Twin Cities, Mankato and Willmar. Also established was a group for married couples, where either one or both of the partners had AIDS.

Most people with AIDS kept their disease a secret, even from family members. It was devastating for families to learn of their loved one’s disease, Schumacher said. Often people with AIDS were ashamed and some even disowned. Schumacher reached out to help.

"I think the most rewarding thing would be to walk with people who thought they were rejected people," he said.

In those years, much of the focus was placed on preparing individuals and their families for death, since AIDS was "almost always fatal," Schumacher said.

He remembered officiating for a lot of funerals back then because once infected many people did not live more than a couple of years.

Now, however, medications have greatly increased life expectancy for people living with HIV; some may live decades after diagnosis. Today, AIDS is treated more like a chronic disease, Schumacher said, as the

number of deaths in the United

States has drastically decreased since the early 1990s.

"Now, the ministry really is to work with family and friends or people who have the disease (showing them) how to live with it," he said.

Reaching out in Minnesota

Schumacher’s AIDS ministry expanded when he began serving as a contact for the Rural AIDS Action Network. Begun in 1992, RAAN provides a variety of resources for people living with AIDS in rural Minnesota. The non-profit network, based in St. Paul, offers local services such as home health care, medications, legal assistance, transportation, and housing and employment advocacy. It also provides free HIV testing and educational programs.

"The real purpose of RAAN is to be a partner, be a catalyst and be a resource so rural Minnesotans (with HIV/AIDS) can be as healthy as possible," said Curt Peterson, past interim executive director.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, in 2004, 5,002 Minnesotans were living with HIV or AIDS. Approximately 13 percent of those, or 645 people, live in greater Minnesota.

The network consists of more than 3,000 volunteers and professionals around the state, who provide practical, emotional and social support. Schumacher is one of those volunteers, serving as a confidential ear for people to call and talk to. He said he couldn’t begin to count the number of people he has worked with over the years.

"Through the ministry, I have met some of the most fascinating people," he said, "and we have lost so much creativity and talent through their deaths."

Since 1990, the department of health has reported 2,697 AIDS deaths in Minnesota.

Ministering to all:

Growing up on a farm near Leavenworth, MN, Fr. Schumacher was ordained a priest in 1962. Two years later, he went back to school to study religious education, preparing to serve as the first Catholic chaplain at Southwest Minnesota State University. He was there for seven years during the Vietnam War.

For the next 20 years, he switched back and forth between parish ministry and administrative positions in the diocese, including serving as the director of youth and young adults.

Yet, he was drawn toward ministering to people who felt alone or abandoned by their family, friends or faith - whether it was because they had HIV, AIDS or because of some other reason, including being imprisoned for a crime.

Prior to becoming a parish priest in Litchfield., Schumacher served the communities of Appleton, Madison and Dawson. While there, he began working at the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton as the prison chaplain. In addition to one-on-one counseling, he led Residents Encounter Christ retreats at the prison. Offered three times a year, between 80 and 100 inmates attend the three-day sessions. Schumacher hopes to continue his retreat work at the prison and with Alcoholics Anonymous.

A place in the church:

In Minnesota, 307 people were diagnosed with HIV or AIDS in 2004, 12 percent of those were in rural Minnesota. Schumacher fears the numbers will continue to climb as people continue to participate in risky behaviors like unsafe sex and needle sharing.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health’s AIDS surveillance system, three-fourths of AIDS patients are male. For men, the disease is most commonly transmitted through homosexual relations; for women, heterosexual relations. Drug injection is also common.

While some people might question the Catholic Church’s ministry to people who appear to live outside the Christian ideal, Chris Loetscher, Director of the Office of Social Concerns and Family Life for the Diocese of New Ulm said it is the Church’s responsibility to reach out compassionately to any suffering group of people, even if those people have participated in behaviors that are illegal or go against Christ’s commands.

"The whole ministry of Christ shows us compassion, as he reached out to the suffering," Loetscher said.

Schumacher believes that today many people continue to keep their disease a secret. He said it is the responsibility of the Church and community to create open and welcoming environments for people to share their diagnosis and receive support.

"These are people like us," he said. "We can’t throw them out because they made a bad choice... Church should be a safe place where people can come and be supported."

As the global AIDS epidemic continues to grow, Schumacher does what he can in Minnesota. His ministry and advocacy for people living with AIDS has represented the Church’s approach to show mercy and compassion to anyone who needs it, Loetscher said.

"We’re fortunate to have Father Paul Schumacher, who feels called and has been generous with his time," Loetscher said.

While approaching the age of retirement, Schumacher, 70, has enjoyed the service he has done over the years and has no intention of giving up his prison ministry or AIDS work. Instead, he reflects that through his whole life he has been striving to walk with the people who need him just as Jesus did.

"It’s been quite a journey in 44 years. Quite a journey," Schumacher said with a smile. "I wouldn’t give it up for nothing."

Fr. Paul Schumacher can be contacted at the Church of St. Philip, 306 North Holcombe Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355; (320) 693-3313; e-mail: stphilip@hutchtel.net.

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