For His Friends

As they often say on Sunday afternoon between 350pm and 415pm, but slightly paraphrased from the NFL games, “We would like to welcome those people who have been watching the Church in the US and the world through Whispers in the Loggia to our humble little commentary on a great local Church, the Diocese of St. Petersburg.” If this is the first time you have taken a peep at this blog, maybe a small introduction would help. For the first nine or ten years I was here as bishop, I communicated on a regular basis with the people of the diocese in two ways: with a daily radio program of five minutes of something less than pearls of great wisdom entitled “On the Air with Bishop Lynch” on our powerful and gifted 100,000 watt SPIRIT FM. Then I also wrote a fairly regular column for the diocesan edition of the FLORIDA CATHOLIC entitled “Out of the Ordinary.” The paper is no longer a part of our diocesan communications opportunities. After ten years of deadlines for submission to the paper and recording sessions, I was fairly worn out and found myself writing and talking about what I and others considered minutiae of Catholic Church life.

The electronic media began to catch my attention and this blog, soon to celebrate its first anniversary, is the result. I write only when I have something to share or teach. The average time it takes me to prepare a 500 word blog entry is between 20 and 30 minutes (sometimes they read like “haste makes waste”) and there is only the moment when the muse suggests I write, not a deadline. Do I reach as many people as the former column and radio show – not even close, but “hits” on this blog were rising until my five week confinement in late July and August. Now in recuperation, I am beginning to get my energy back and have time, lots of time every day, to share reflections on our lives as Catholics.

I read your comments personally but do  not answer them because in some instances I wish to avoid useless polemics and in other instances some are very personal to the person who comments. Many have offered me new perspectives in challenging pastoral problems.

Now some news. Bishop-elect Etienne has asked me to deliver the homily at his episcopal ordination on December 9th in Cheyenne. I am grateful to Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap, of Denver who as the principal consecrator  has allowed me this privilege. Most of my diocesan family remember that in the year of his death, 1996, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin preached at my episcopal ordination. I am not much more agile at this moment than the Cardinal was that January 26th but it will be a labor of love.

I promised myself and my doctors that I would not make trips outside of the diocese until after my ileostomy is reversed soon after the first of the year, but I will make an exception in this instance. I will be unable to attend the November Bishops’ meeting in Baltimore but should be back to full form to welcome the USCCB to St. Petersburg in June for their special assembly.

Finally, John Barry of the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES does a second wonderful job in four days in today’s paper’s coverage of the Holy See’s announcement about the offer to the Anglican Communion. I could take no exception to his conclusions. I will return to this topic myself in a few days when by mind is better capable of dealing with what was for myself a total surprise.

+RNL

The nation’s Catholic bishops will be meeting from Wednesday morning to Friday noon this week in San Antonio, Texas, for the annual Spring meeting. For approximately forty years the US bishops have been meeting in plenary session twice each year, once in June and once in November. For almost ever, the November meeting was held in Washington, D.C. but about five years ago, for the simple reason that Washington hotels were charging an “arm and a leg”, the bishops moved their Fall meeting to near-by Baltimore which has subsequently also learned how to charge “an arm and a leg.” The Spring meeting has always rotated around the country to different places, sometimes being combined with a local observance of a host diocese. This week’s meeting is thin on action items in the agenda and for the first time since 1984 I will not be attending the meeting. I have heard that as many as eighty other bishops will also not be in attendance at this meeting. Important local business makes it impossible for me to leave before Wednesday morning and I would end up only being there for one afternoon public session and, quite frankly, there is little to suggest that we go to the expense to get me there. I should point out here that next June, the nation’s bishops will be in St. Petersburg for what is called an assembly which is a hybrid or cross between a five day continuing education opportunity and a retreat. I promise to be at that one.

The bishops’ conference has changed significantly in the last decade or so and continues to change. With its recent reorganization two years ago, the surviving committees of the conference are still in the crawling stage of trying to find out what they should be doing and how they should go about doing it. This is understandable when something is so radically restructured as was the Conference and patience is called for. In time, I suspect the number of action items requiring debate and vote will increase but we must learn to organizationally “walk” again before we can even think of sprinting and running.

Something that was once frowned upon is also becoming more commonplace. After the Second Vatican Council in 1974 the NCCB/USCCB opened the doors of its meetings to outsiders including the media. A few hours (seldom more than three) were reserved every meeting for an executive session without observers and media but almost everything was done “under the lights.” Now more and more of our business is being conducted behind closed doors, out of sight of the inquiring minds of the press and the media. I lament this change because even with its concomitant risks, I think the business of the Church in this country should be conducted in the open. God’s people would generally be impressed at the level of debate and discussion which the bishops have among themselves, even sometimes on seemingly contentious issues. There is nothing wrong with disagreement and if it centers on a matter of faith or morals which it never has in my twenty-five years, it will ultimately be decided anyway by those higher than ourselves. As much as I personally dislike the commentary which always seems to accompany certain coverage of our meetings with its obvious slants and biases, I would argue for their right to be present.

So the bishops convene in the shadow of the Alamo for a meeting far less critical than the battle once fought there. I will miss seeing my brothers but November and Baltimore will come soon enough.

+RNL

I thought I would conclude these reflections on the USCCB meeting which ended yesterday in Baltimore with some other thoughts and reflections. I had the honor of serving the Conference of Bishops twice in my adult life, first from 1972-1975 as a young lay man from Ohio and again from 1984-1995 as a relatively newly ordained priest. I loved the Conference and serving its members. The staff was extraordinary, deeply devoted to the Church and in love with their work. The bishops were largely united, mostly in the task of implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Council within the Church in the United States. Every non-retired bishop had both voice and vote but only a few exercised the option to speak at meetings.

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Quisiera concluir mis reflexiones acerca de la reunión que terminó ayer del USCCB en Baltimore, y ofrecerles mis últimos pensamientos y reflexiones.

Tuve el honor de servir en la Conferencia de Obispos dos veces durante mi vida adulta, primero cuando era un joven laico de Ohio, desde 1972 hasta el 1975, y la segunda cuando me encontraba recién ordenado de sacerdote desde 1984 hasta 1995. Me encantaba la Conferencia y el servir a sus miembros. Los empleados eran extraordinarios, dedicados profundamente a la iglesia de los Estados Unidos. Todos los obispos que no se encontraban jubilados tenían voz y voto pero sólo unos pocos usaban la opción de hablar en las reuniones. (more…)

It is a cloudy morning in South Georgia as AMTRAK’S SOUTHBOUND TRAIN 97, THE SILVER METEOR makes its way on time to the Jacksonville Amtrak station. With a llittle help from Ambian CR I had a good nights sleep, sleeping right through places like Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. Now I am happily back in Florida, penning these final thoughts while I can.

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El tren 97, del AMTRAK llamado el Silver Meteor, pasa a tiempo por la estación de Jacksonville durante esta mañana nublada en el sur de Geogia. Con un poco de ayuda de la pastilla Ambian CR, pude dormir bien esta noche y sin despertarme al pasar por ciudades como Charleston, Carolina del Sur y Savanah en Georgia. Ahora felizmente me encuentro de nuevo en la Florida, escribiendo estos últimos pensamientos durante mi viaje. (more…)