For His Friends

No, this is not a blog getting you ready for the coming changes in the texts we use at Mass! I am not even sure how much Latin I remember but I am playing off the words attributed to Julius Caesar after conquering Gaul, when he imperially pronounced Veni, Vidi, Vici or “I came, I saw, I conquered.” If I have the case endings correct in the title to this blog, what I meant to say in Latin, is “they came, they saw, we conquered.” The “they” are the bishops of the United States who came and spent the better part of last week with us.

"For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies..."

After some of them had been here a while and enjoyed the beauty of the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront and its parks, and the area’s finest gelateria on Beach Drive (four night average of 100 bishops a night prior to going to bed went to get an ice cream), they began to inquire about my health, how old I am, and who do they talk to about succeeding me. More than one referred to our city as “the last stop on the path to paradise.” I could not have been more proud.

The diocesan Worship Office assisted the national team in preparing morning and evening prayer, a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament, and an hour-long penance service plus the daily celebration of the Eucharist. Michelle Rego of old St. Mary’s arranged for the superb musicians and our seminarians served the Masses and helped as lectors at many of the liturgical services. I am proud of them all – boasting like a proud parent, “they’re mine.”

As I mentioned earlier in a blog, this was one of those special assemblies which we hold every four years (the next one will be in San Diego in 2014) and there was practically no business conducted. Thus, we were absent the media, the TV lights and cameras, the staff from Washington and the many observers who attend our business meetings. It was just us, wearing “civies”, enjoying both the topic and the fraternity.

The main speakers were outstanding. Archbishop Dolan began the week with a keynote address giving the history of relations between priests and bishops throughout the centuries. Archbishop Collins of Toronto spoke about the relationship of the spirituality of priests and bishops. Archbishop Carlson spoke of the role of bishop with his priests, father, brother or friend. Finally, Archbishop Niederauer of San Francisco spoke of the communion between bishops and priests. To each presentation there were respondents, table discussion and floor discussion. I liked what I heard and hope to incorporate much of it which may have been missing in my ministry as bishop in these remaining years.

On Saturday as we came to a close, more than one bishop came up to thank me, for the hospitality, the hotel and their meals, for the experience, for the weather (humidity and afternoon thunderstorms right on time between 3-5pm) and many said it was the best assembly yet. St. Petersburg conquered the misgivings about coming to Florida in June and what they saw when they came, they surely liked. It will be several generations before they return to the area again – it was only the second time in the history of the conference that they had come to Florida but we set the bar very high. Members of my diocesan family, priests, deacons, religious and laity would have been very proud. I know I was.

+RNL

There is an old story which probably most of you know about the kid feverishly shoveling his way through a huge and high pile of compost. When asked what in the world he/she was doing, the child replied, “with all this, there has to be a pony down here somewhere.” Today in Rome, the Holy See announced the expected pontifical visitation to the Church in Ireland in light of the horrendous revelations of sexual abuse of minors by priests, religious brothers and religious sisters which has devastated the faith in that country. Some must ask why now? Is it not too late? Is the horse not already out of the barn? Of course, it is never to late to confess one’s sins, personal and institutional, amend one’s life, personal or institutional , and agree to commit the sin no more, as a person or an institution. The Catholic Church in Ireland has basically asked the Holy Father, send us “good confessors” to whom we can confess our sins and who will guide us on reclaiming moral high ground we seem to have lost. The Apostolic Visitators to the four archdioceses in Ireland and to the dioceses are all from outside of Ireland but all have born the heat of the day in their own dioceses and can be good confessors to a Church seeking healing and redemption. From the United States, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has been appointed by the Pope to perhaps the toughest of situations in the Archdiocese of Dublin and its related suffragan sees (ecclesiastical talk for the dioceses outside of Dublin which come under the loose supervision of the Archbishop of the capital city). At the same time as the whole Church in Ireland will be visited, there will also be a visitation to Ireland’s remaining seminaries led  by our Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. Archbishop Dolan spoke last week at Ireland’s major remaining seminary, St. Patrick’s in Maynooth and I encourage all of you to take the time to read his lecture by clicking here. Quite frankly, I think he has found the pony! It is a great synthesis of how I think my priests have suffered but made it through the last decade here, in St. Petersburg. Archbishop Dolan’s talk is lengthy but illuminating.

The bishops of the United States, some 210 strong, will be assembling in St. Petersburg starting Monday, June 14, 2010 at the Vinoy Hotel. 212 bishops have registered for an “assembly” which we hold every four years. It is not a business meeting so the media and observers will not be attending. It is closed to all but bishops. It is relaxed and informal. It is something like five days of continuing education and this year the general theme is “the bishop and his priests.” Archbishop Dolan will give the keynote address on Monday night to start us off. It has been my special privilege to be a part of every committee planning the agenda and topics for these assemblies since I was made a bishop and I was chair of the committee which planned the Assembly held in Tucson, Arizona, in June of 1998. We always invite a cardinal from outside the United States to spend the days with us and deliver the homilies at morning and evening prayer throughout the days and at daily Mass, lead our Hly Hours, and our Reconciliation and Penance Service. This year, our “spiritual father” will be  Cardinal Peter Turkson who is from Ghana and was recently asked by Pope Benedict XVI to leave his archdiocese and come to Rome to head the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. I look forward to the Cardinal’s wisdom and insights into being a bishop in the Church and world today. He too will help us try and rediscover the “pony.” Our assemblies are  as I mentioned relaxed. Evenings can be spent in informal conversation with others, there are even new or relatively new movies which the Hollywood studios make available for bishops to see in the evening. If you happen to be in downtown St. Petersburg from Monday, June 14 through Saturday, June 19th and see a group of men in the evening walking through Straub or Vinoy Park, it will likely be some of us.

Relationships between bishops and priests is an important topic because it has changed for the worse since the sexual-abuse controversy of 2001 and following. In many places priests don’t trust their bishops any longer and are terrified that they will receive a call and be asked to come and see the bishop for fear it might be a complaint or something of that nature. Priests and bishops need to search together for the “pony” that remains down there somewhere, as it was before.

I ask your prayers for our Assembly which is being held in our diocese in two weeks. May it be five days of grace, wisdom and insight for those of us who have been asked to lead the Church at this moment in history.

+RNL

Saturday night last (the 20th), the Catholic Foundation which has as its goal among other things providing tuition assistance to needy families so that their children can attend Catholic schools held its annual fund raising dinner at the Grand Hyatt in Tampa. 527 people were in attendance for the dinner.

Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York gives the principle address at the 2010 Catholic Foundation Gala

The principal address was given by my friend, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York. I was h0nored that he would fly down here to be present on this important occasion on the eve of the First Sunday of Lent and his own archdiocese’s Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion later on Sunday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He spoke about the year of priests which has been declared by the Holy Father and the importance of Catholic schools in helping priests transmit the Gospel and make Jesus real and alive to our young people. The archbishop is a brilliant Church historian but in casual conversation and in formal presentations, he presents a wit and charm which makes all listeners see and hear a man of hope. He flew back right after his talk and I heard him at 1015am the next morning celebrating Mass and preaching at his St. Patrick’s Cathedral (You can listen to the Archbishop in a special one hour program he does every week entitled “Conversations with the Archbishop” on Sirius or XM satellite radio (Thursdays at 1pm, Sundays at 8am and 6pm and at other times). I am so grateful to the Archbishop for accepting my invitation and I have not met or heard from anyone yet who did not enjoy and gain from his presence.

We presented a special award to a husband and wife who have worked hard all their life for Catholic education, Darcie and JoAnn Cleary of St. Paul parish in St. Petersburg. JoAnn was principal for many years of Transfiguration elementary school and then taught at St. Petersburg Catholic High School.  Darcy has been the administrator of the Mary C. Forbes Foundation which makes tuition scholarship grants to Catholic schools to area students.

The “A-Train”, aka Mike Alstott was present to autograph a football auctioned off and the event probably cleared $135,000 for next year’s tuition scholarships.

My thanks to those who worked hard in planning the evening and to the over five hundred who purchased tickets, tables, etc. and attended. It was a sparkling evening for a good cause.

+RNL

Please excuse my absence from this blog but I am having a challenge focusing my eyes after all the surgeries. This too will pass. What follows is a report to the Board of CRS about our work the last week in Haiti. It is for precisely this that I sought your generous assistance last week and this.

+RNL

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

On the morning of January 20^th, a 6.1 magnitude aftershock hit off the coast of Haiti, about 6.2 miles deep, about 35 miles west-southwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince (PaP).  The Caritas PaP team reported that it was not strongly felt, though further structural damage is a possibility, and further assessments closer to the epicenter are still needed.

Highlights from Situation Report #8.1

• The Government has devised eight zones for the distribution of humanitarian assistance.  Each zone will receive direct support by a national minister to coordinate the relief effort.
• A UN assessment team reported that Leogane and Gressier are the most severely damaged areas west of Port-au-Prince.  Road access west of PaP is generally good (two lanes paved in most parts).  Power remains off in all areas assessed, although the electricity distribution system appears mostly intact.  Numerous makeshift camps have been established near the main road west from Port-au-Prince.
• A sufficient number of water treatment systems have been reported in metropolitan PaP.  However, the USAID/DART anticipates greater need for water treatment centers outside metropolitan PaP, a prediction that the humanitarian community is working to assess.
• In addition to being the lead agency for the Petonville Club camp (golf course in PaP), CRS has been designated as lead agency for coordinating relief efforts in the town of Legoane, due west of PaP.  CRS will primarily be responsible for basic needs (food, water, non-food items, including nurse/doctor teams as available).
• Staff continues to assess needs and coordinate with Church partners and other agencies to plan larger and more organized food distribution activities.  Yesterday, CRS loaded three 2-ton trucks of food to be distributed by the National Catechists’ Committee in areas of PaP.
• The Haitian Ministry of Health has defined three levels of healthcare:  mobile health centers, fixed health centers (minor health problems) and hospitals with surgical capacities. CRS and the University of Maryland are continuing collaboration to respond to medical needs, prioritizing the mobilization of shock trauma staff.
• CRS continues to work with the USCCB to develop and provide materials for US constituents eager to get involved and staying abreast of advocacy issues such as interest in adoption of Haitian children and temporary protective status for Haitians already in the US.
• The search and rescue team working through the Caritas team recovered two women from the Cathedral.  Sadly, they also found the body of the Vicar General of PaP, Monsignor Charles Benoit.
• The funeral of Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, the Archbishop of PaP, will take place on Saturday, January 23^rd.  Archbishop Dolan, Ken Hackett, Annemarie Reilly and Msgr. David Malloy will join the senior CRS staff in country to attend the funeral and to bring medical supplies.

After an opening Mass in the hotel, the bishops began their annual Fall plenary assembly by spending the morning in what are called “regional meetings.” Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina are all in “Region XIV” so the bishops of the twelve dioceses of those four states comprise the regional grouping. I know that one of the topics which the bishops were asked to discuss is the number of seminaries spread across the United States at this time. This discussion comes at a moment when it appears that vocations are on the rise and seminary enrollment is increasing. As I mentioned earlier here, St. John Vianney College Seminar opened in September with about 80 seminarians (the highest ever) and St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach opened with about sixty seminarians but a total enrollment of eighty is not more than a year or two away. Seminaries are expensive operations but there are strong regional arguments to be made for them (training future priests for ministry in Spanish to Hispanics, for example.) No one wants to close their seminaries in this country so I wonder tonight what suggestions may have come from the regional meeting discussions this morning.

The Plenary opened with an hour and twenty minutes of formalities including an address by Cardinal Francis George, our President, and the papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi. These two talks have always been a part of the opening “ritual” for the meetings. Cardinal George began by speaking about the importance of priests to the ministry of bishops and painted a fine picture of what the Church might be like if there were no priests. He did this largely in the context of this being “the year for priests” as declared by Pope Benedict XVI. It was a fine reflection for we bishops about how important and vital our priests are not just to the Church which is obvious to all of our people, but to our own ministry as bishops.

The Papal Nuncio’s talk spoke about the qualities needed of the bishops in light of love for the Church. He opened with a long quotation from Pope Paul VI prior to his death about the gift of love from Christ to the late Pope in the Church. He then outlined three necessary qualities for bishops: fidelity (allowing here for some application of creativity in addition to preserving the treasury of the faith), prudence, and hope. He paid special tribute to a national meeting of Diocesan Vocation Directors recently held in Newark, finding the Directors to be impressive, resourceful and full of hope. Our own Father Len Plazewski is the President of the National Vocation Directors and God knows he reflects all those adjectives. The Nuncio ended his remarks by sharing a letter which he received from a priest asking for the appointment of “more positive” bishops. “Check, Archbishop. And thanks for your remarks.”

The rest of the afternoon was given over to the introduction of the “action items” which the bishops will begin to debate and vote tomorrow morning. The assembly had only ninety minutes, max, to submit formal amendments to the Action Items.

Finally, my successor as Chairman of the Board of Catholic Relief Services, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, gave the assembled bishops a wonderful picture of CRS today, along with a stirring four minute video. The archbishop noted that only 22% of Church-going Catholics could identify CRS as the Church in the US’s overseas disaster relief and development agency.

Cardinal George asked the bishops assembled to support a statement which he wished to make on health care reform. We’ll download that statement for you here as soon as it is available.

+RNL

Update: Cardinal George’s Statement is now available at the USCCB website for this year’s November meeting, or you can access it directly.

Many of the appointments of new bishops in this country this year have been long on pastoral experience and wisdom and not so much academic types,  bureaucrats, or men lacking in practical pastoral experience. Almost all of them exude a witness to hope that I believe our beloved Church needs at this moment in history. Now let me say up front, that I doubt if I would meet the template which presently seems to be driving the Holy Father’s appointments. There is no question in my mind about the appointment of Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan as Archbishop of New York, though. I believe that the Archbishop will soon be one of the most credible spokespersons for the Church in the United States and one to whom we U.S. bishops will turn to help us out of jams. His placement in the media capital of the world, New York, gives him ample opportunity to speak to many issues and his background as a legitimate Church historian gives him a very unique perspective. To whit, I encourage all of you to read his latest blog entry. All I can say, is right on, Archbishop Tim. If you have Sirius radio you can hear the Archbishop live every Thursday for one hour beginning at one o’clock.

+RNL