For His Friends

Most of you know that I was a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami prior to coming to the Diocese of St. Petersburg as bishop. Today I returned to my priestly roots and joined the Church of Miami in welcoming their new Archbishop, Thomas Wenski, formerly a priest of Miami, auxiliary bishop there as well, and for the last seven years Bishop of Orlando, our neighbor just across the Polk county line. The installation of one already a bishop is a fairly simple and straightforward Mass with the official installation taking place right at the beginning, prior to singing the “Gloria.” The representative of the Holy Father, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who is Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, after offering a few words of congratulations and welcome to Archbishop Wenski and of gratitude and farewell to the retiring Archbishop Favalora, then read the “Apostolic Bull” (an English translation of the Latin original) from Pope Benedict appointing the new archbishop. Archbishop Favalora, who began the Mass sitting in the cathedra or chair of the bishop, steps down and with the Nuncio leads the new Archbishop to his place on the same cathedra just vacated. From that point forward Archbishop Wenski presides as principle celebrant and delivers the homily.

I have already written that it was a bittersweet moment for me as I have throughout my fourteen years as a bishop been grateful to Archbishop Favalora for many kindnesses. He ordained me to the episcopacy at St. Jude’s Cathedral on January 26, 1996 (I was his first bishop ordination), he presided over many meetings we have in the state, and more recently he drove over to visit me during my second week in Intensive Care following my second surgery last August and faithfully called me almost every week during my long recovery. After five years here as bishop in St. Petersburg, upon going to Miami he never lost his interest in and concern for this diocese, its priests, deacons, religious and faithful. He came to ordain Father John Lipscomb when I was too weak to do so last December, celebrated our fortieth anniversary with us as a diocese and often asked me about certain priests and people he missed. Now I will miss him. And it all happens in an instant in the context of Eucharist. My moment is coming and I thought about that a lot today, having passed sixty-nine years last Thursday. Retired bishops, archbishops and cardinals need to recall the words of John the Baptist when Jesus appeared on the shore of the Jordan River, “as He grows greater, so I must grow less.” Archbishop Favalora was genuinely relieved to be retiring but not enough thanks has been given to him for his nearly fifty years of priesthood, nearly twenty-five years as a bishop, five years as our shepherd here, and leader of the Church of Florida. It had to be tough to turn over the reins of office but it happens to all of us and is what I call the “genius of Roman Catholic ordained ministry” which means everyone gets a chance occasionally to have someone else as leader. No bishop can make everyone happy, and I hope we do not try, but all God’s people in their lifetime will have an opportunity to experience different styles of leadership in the Church.

Thank you, Archbishop Favalora, for your time as our Metropolitan Archbishop and welcome Archbishop Wenski, home to Miami, and to the role of our provincial leader. There is a little moniker, borrowed from the Easter Gospel, which summarizes what happens the day after an episcopal ordination or installation and it is this: “they rolled the stone before the tomb and all withdrew.” Now the really tough work begins for every bishop after their ordination/installation and they deserve the prayers of the faithful said at every Eucharist and beginning today in Miami, “we pray for Benedict our Pope, Thomas our bishop, his assistant bishops and all the clergy.”

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Update: CatholicTV has the broadcast of the Installation Mass available to view on demand.

We are within hours of the great Solemnity of Pentecost. As most Catholics know, it was that moment after the Ascension of the Lord when the promised “Paraclete” or Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and once again changed the direction of their lives. Following the chronology of their growth in faith, they went from despair and fear at the time of the Crucifixion to great hope with the news of the Resurrection. Even in the post-resurrection appearances of the Lord, they are shown to have maintained something of a “I can’t believe it’s really him.” In the days between the Ascension and Pentecost, there is no scriptural evidence that they spent the time in meetings to determine exactly what their role was now that he was definitely gone from their midst. They were listless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus had told them that they were to go forth “baptizing all nations, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” but up until Pentecost, the deeper meaning of that mandate was lost on them.

There is also little scriptural evidence that they remembered he had promised a “Paraclete”, a Spirit which would descend upon them. There is more evidence that they felt pretty sure that after having gone to the Father and having promised he would come again, they probably should just return home and wait for the next sighting or the next news. Happily they stayed together, however, and were back in the Upper Room when the Spirit came and just as when they had left everything to embrace the Lord’s invitation to “come, follow me” which was a life changing moment, Pentecost was a work changing moment.  In the words of the great American novelist Thomas Wolfe (i.e. the elder), they “could not go home again.” Appearing as both dove and fire, the Spirit captured their cowardly humanity and transformed them into a people on fire with a mission – to convert the Jewish people to Christianity and the Gospel and to appeal also to the Gentiles. Throwing all caution aside, they immediately started taking risks which are recounted in the “Acts of the Apostles.” They began to think and act as one, as a Church with a head, Peter, and with apostles. They formed a community which has lasted throughout twenty centuries, soon two millennia. What other organization can make such a claim?

As a result of the Pentecost experience, there was room in the newly forming Christian community for the worst of sinners (how about Saul of Tarsus) and they became a community reflecting the life of the Master in loving and forgiving. Given the gift of language, these simple fishermen and one tax collector, cast their nets broadly to Gentile  and pagan populations which initially welcomed them with interest, then embraced them, sometimes then turned on them finally to embrace them once again. Pentecost started something which has so far proved to be unstoppable, despite the sinfulness and mistakes of some of those professed to be Christians and some who professed to be leaders of the faith. Pentecost is rightly called the “birthday of the Church”, because it was the moment when eleven of them plus one newly elected member chose to stop being individuals with personal agendas and to become a community sharing one faith, one Lord, one baptism.  They looked to Peter whom the Lord had chosen to lead his people like we look to Peter’s successor, the pope, for guidance through difficult moments. They placed trust in others when the fruit of their preaching led to communities so large that they personally could no longer appropriately serve and minister. Each of them would eventually suffer a martyr’s death but their imprint, their preaching, their teaching would refuse to die.

Thank God this week-end for the gift of the Spirit which still guides the Church, the Holy Father, the bishops, and those who both minister to God’s people as well as those who belong to the Church. The Church today is not radically different than the post-Pentecost church. We are still waiting the coming of the Lord in glory but we are not wasting a moment to make sure that He is welcomed again by believers who accept him as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Happy Birthday to all and a Blessed Pentecost.

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Then-Bishop Wenski and then-Archbishop Favalora at Wenski's 10th Anniversary of Ordination as a Bishop. (Florida Catholic)

The Holy See announced at noon Rome time today (600am EDT) that Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the request of Archbishop John Clement Favalora to retire as the third Archbishop of Miami and has appointed as Miami’s fourth archbishop, Bishop Thomas Wenski, formerly a priest of Miami but now serving as bishop of Orlando. This announcement is of special interest to our diocese as many of you will remember that Archbishop Favalora served as third bishop of St. Petersburg and as my immediate predecessor. I was the first priest ordained to the episcopacy by the Archbishop on January 26, 1996 and therefore I am in a way his “oldest son.” In his fifteen and a half years as Archbishop of Miami, he has ordained as bishops Bishop Victor Galeone of St. Augustine, Bishop Wenski of Orlando, Bishop Gilberto Fernandez, Bishop Felipe de Jesus Estevez, and Bishop John Noonan as assistant bishops in Miami and has installed Bishop John H. Ricard as Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Bishop J. Keith Symons as Bishop of Palm Beach, Bishop Norbert Dorsey as third bishop of Orlando, Bishop Anthony J. O’Connell of Palm Beach, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Palm Beach, Bishop Gerald Barbarito of Palm Beach, Bishop Wenski of Orlando and Bishop Frank DeWane of Venice. So one can easily see his presence as metropolitan archbishop of Miami just in episcopal ordinations and installations and is in addition to daily managing a large archdiocese.

So what does this change imply for our local Church and for myself? The Church asks archbishops to “mentor” the other bishops of his province, to monitor if necessary important things occurring in the other dioceses, and to call the bishops of the province together from time to time to discuss candidates for the episcopal office. In our case, the Archbishop of Miami is automatically the President of the Florida Catholic Conference so he convenes us as bishops four times a year to conduct the affairs of the FCC, and he is Chancellor of our theologate in Boynton Beach where most of our future priests and bishops are trained, and there we meet twice a year. For myself personally this is a bittersweet moment. I am happy for Archbishop Favalora that after many years of active ministry, as priest and bishop, he will soon be freed of the burden of administration and can begin to relax. As our “leader” he had a wonderful ability to help us relax when we were together and to enjoy the company of one another as bishops. He did not like or lead long meetings and he was available when we needed someone to talk to about anything. I will miss those wonderful gifts very much as I suspect will also my brother bishops. The last few years in Miami have been particularly stressful for not only the archbishop but for many others there so I wish him a stress-less and peaceful retirement.

Bishop Wenski knows what he is inheriting. He is a gifted linguist speaking fluent Creole, Spanish, and Polish in addition to his native tongue. It will be the first time when at a minimum a tri-cultural and tri-lingual urban archdiocese will have someone to easily communicate with the people in their native tongues. As I told him in a phone call, now I know who is likely to bury me and I assured him of my prayers and support in his daunting new ministry.

When the Diocese of St. Petersburg was created in 1968, Bishop Charles McLaughlin was appointed our first bishop. On the same day, the Diocese of Orlando was created and  William Donald Borders was named first bishop of Orlando. Amazingly he died yesterday at the age of  96, one day prior to his successor three times removed  being named to Miami. He himself retired as Arcbishop of Baltimore many years ago. Also yesterday (Monday) the mother of Bishop Barbarito of Palm Beach went home to the Lord after a long life and lots of love from her priest/bishop son. May we remember both of these people in our prayers.

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Processional Cross at the Seminary

Homily for the Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion

Having just listened to the proclamation of the Passion of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ according to John, it seems that even the name we apply to this day in the Christian calendar is something of an oxymoron. To call this Friday “Good” is like speaking of “Irish gourmet cooking.” There is much that reeks of needless tragedy in today’s liturgy and we have to wait until tomorrow night before we can even begin to glean the coming triumph. This day seemingly belongs to the forces of evil, which on their face seem to overcome and conquer the forces of good.

Peter resorts to violence and then denial. Caiphas, the High Priest, simply provides the courtyard in this narrative for denial and cowardice. Pilate, a man of considerable power, acts against his conscience and instincts and gives into the unruly, violent and bloodthirsty crowd ultimately leaving history to judge his cowardice. This panoply, this mosaic of weakness and evil is briefly pierced by the courageous women standing at the foot of the cross: Mary and her sister, Jesus’ aunt Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. Also present was the lone survivor of the twelve with the guts to hang in there with Jesus, John. On its face it seems not to be a great day. Evil seems to have won. Darkness seems to have penetrated the earth. Three years of a ministry of love and service to others in nailed to a crossbar.

I have often asked myself this question on Good Friday: what character in the passion would I most closely imitate if I had been present in Jesus’ life and ministry at the time? As a successor of the apostles would I have saved my own neck like Peter, hidden away in fright and terror in some attic like the other ten of His disciples, or hung in there to the end like the women and John?

And what qualities of character would I have evinced had I been there? Disinterest like Caiphas? Denial like Peter? Crowd-pleaser like Pilate? Believer like John and Mary and the two other Marys? These today must not be simply rhetorical questions. We can take the template of the lives that we lead and place them on our human actions, on our sense of faith, on our belief that Jesus died for us so that we might live for Him and ultimately to be happy with Him in the life that is to come.

If one believes everything about the Church which we read, see or hear today, we too are in the midst of a Good Friday. Just like in the passion and death of Jesus, there are forces in our midst who would be quite happy were we gone. Sensing that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has something to hide, something to bring him down, relentlessly and loose with the facts they surround the Church today like sharks at feeding time. Mine is a small voice compared to those who are speaking out in the defense of the Church and the Pope these days, but I can assure you that, as a person who has had many, many meetings with Cardinal Ratzinger from 1989-1995, he was one of the few people in Rome who “got it”, understood what was happening to the Church and its moral implications. He took action while others hesitated and he was ahead of the learning curve at the Holy See.

Victims of abuse by clergy, employees, relatives and seeming friends, people of trust and total strangers know what the darkness of Good Friday is like. What was done to them is reprehensible and there is likely never to be a personal triumph following the darkness they have known. Words of apology which are appropriate are also insufficient. It is the actions which the Church in the United States has taken since 2001 that offer the first glimmer of dawn’s early light. We have been able to do what is necessary precisely because of Pope Benedict, not inspite of him.

In every life there are more than one Good Friday. There are those moments when we fail to get our way, when we suffer, economically, psychologically, and emotionally. Do we become so disheartened that we doubt God’s continuing presence in our lives? Do we wash our hands of everything that is not perfect as we define perfection? Can we say with Saint Paul that it is at times when we are weakest that God makes us strong?

In a few moments we will reverence the wood of the cross on which hung the savior of the world. Can we see in these pieces of wood as we approach them the instrument of our eternal salvation? Will the events we today recall renew in us our faith in Christ and our love for the Father? Are we open to the Spirit to get us through what we must endure today to enjoy tomorrow?

Today is dark, foreboding, and tragic. It is necessary, however, for tomorrow’s celebration of triumph. Leave this Church today embracing the cross of Christ in whatever format it takes in your lives with the sure and certain belief that sometime soon, maybe even tomorrow, the strength of faith will give way to the bright promise of immortality. Can one appreciate a sunrise without experiencing the darkness of night? Good Friday is the darkest day in the life of Jesus but His total trust and His incredible unselfishness promise a better moment.

The cross of Christ is the best insurance policy humankind has purchased because it guarantees a destiny, a future where every tear will be wiped away and we will see God as God really is. Behold the wood of the cross, on which hung the savior of the world.

You may also download a PDF of this homily.

Update: You can listen to this homily on our podcast.

Today’s newspapers from the West Coast to the East Coast as well as along the Gulf Coast are carrying stories again of sexual misconduct by the Roman Catholic clergy against minors. Part of the present interest is the growing awareness in Europe and South America that their clergy were also deeply involved in this sinful activity after years of either denial or suggesting that it was mostly a North American problem or an English-speaking country problem. Also part of the present media interest is that they are trying to connect Pope Benedict XVI to the issue either when he was Archbishop of Munich or as head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith which for a number of years has had “competency” in dealing with these matters on appeal of the decisions of local diocesan bishops. There is arising today a long known case from Milwaukee about a priest who abused multiple young boys at a school for the deaf in that archdiocese who was early-on discovered, transferred by his bishop to another diocese, and allowed to complete his ministry through natural death without sanction or penalty. It was a horrific situation which makes every good priest and many bishops blanch.

Most of the bishops of the United States have long ago affirmed that we did a very poor job, if any job was done, dealing with the sinful actions of a few clerics. While I would like to add that so did (and sometimes do) other entities which deal with children, we should have known better as a Church, we should have responded better at the time as a Church, and we should have followed our natural instincts of revulsion and protection for the vulnerable as a Church but we did not always do so. Sadly, it took the focus of an aggressive media to make us look inwardly and ask, “My God, how could all this have happened?” Tales of terror and a form of torture for the victims will continue to turn up from time to time, causing us once again to be embarrassed and ashamed but it will be a long time, longer than I have to live, before the acknowledgment that the Church’s response, at least in the United States, and I would say in all English speaking countries in the world, has brought a level of protection to children that is so far not present in the rest of their young lives.

In this diocese we spend about $300,000 each year on child protection alone. This includes criminal level background screening of all employees and volunteers who work with children. Our seminarians are much more carefully watched and evaluated for any warning signs of future potential problems in this regard. A code of professional conduct requires that we monitor one another and if there is a suspicion of inappropriate behavior, it is to be reported and evaluated. We teach the children themselves to know the warning signs of inappropriate behavior and tell their parents, their teachers, their supervisors of any thing which even approaches forbidden misconduct. In this diocese we have not had a serious accusation against a newly accused priest for an action which falls within the ambit of sexual misconduct in about five years while I am certain we still have not been able to help all those whose lives were changed and who were hurt in the ’60′s’, ’70′s’ and early ’80′s.’

The very integrity of Roman Catholic ministry has been on the line since the first reports of clergy sexual misconduct arose in the mid-eighties. The morale of our good priests is shaken every time we go through a period of reopening the wounds as is happening now. The trust of people in their bishops is shattered and the Church suffers. Perhaps during Holy Week there is no better time that we can again confess our sins, amend our ecclesial lives, and promise to do everything in our power as Church to sin again no more in this manner. Speaking for myself, I hate what happened, I think we have done our best to preclude it happening again (although no bishop or organization can claim to see inside the hearts and minds of those who work for it), and I hope that one thing which can be said about my episcopal ministry is that I worked hard to see that victims had the help they needed to recover from the unspeakable and my assurance that I would do whatever to see that it never happens again. I am not alone in this pledge. The priests of the diocese would say the same, the diocesan Review Board for Clergy Sexual Misconduct (made up mostly of lay women and men) would say the same and those employed in the diocese to protect children would say the same.

We will not have a “go again” at what happened years ago no matter how often we are reminded of our recent darkest past. We are today more accountable, more transparent and more effective in addressing this as the recent report of the evaluation of the various dioceses and religious communitiesr released earlier this week says we are. It is the Church’s commitment to the abused who understandably doubt our sincerity and to our members who want and expect better from their Church and its leadership.

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Update: For assistance or more information about the programs in place in the Diocese of St. Petersburg to protect children and the vulnerable, please contact our Safe Environment Program Office.

There has been quite a lot of media attention directed towards the Church in Ireland and the Irish government with regard to how both entities have dealt with reports of sexual misconduct against minors in the past. A devastating report issued about six weeks ago laid the blame squarely at the feet of the bishops and the police (in the Dublin archdiocese) demonstrating massive cover-ups on both parts and the reassignment of offenders. This study also examined claims of misconduct leveled against religious sisters, brothers and lay employees. As a result, the present Archbishop of Dublin asked a number of the former auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese to resign their episcopal duties. Such a request won the Archbishop high praise from most quarters of the Irish media but irritation and anger from many of his priests. The turmoil was enough for Pope Benedict XVI to call a meeting of all the Irish ordinaries (residential bishops but not auxiliaries) in Rome on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The Holy Father met for two full days with the Irish bishops in attendance, allowed each of them to address the situation from their perspectives and at the end, at least publicly issued a statement saying that the bishops needed courage in dealing with the events at home, that he, the Pope, would write a letter to the Irish Catholics in which he would apologize for the mistakes of the past and would condemn such acts against minors as heinous crimes and sins. That letter should be forthcoming sometime shortly after Easter. Left unanswered was whether or not he would accept the resignations of the former auxiliaries of Dublin as called for by the present Archbishop. The media in Ireland have had a field day with all this and the victims of abuse probably feel their hurt even deeper.

The challenge to the moral credibility of the Church on this matter is not going to disappear quickly, even in our generation or the one which follows us, in my personal view. The credibility of persons in authority in the Church (bishops like myself no matter how hard we have worked to insure the future safety of children), the ministry of our priests with young people, the relationship of priest and bishop, have all been dramatically altered in the last ten years. Now, at least in Ireland in general and Dublin in particular, the relationship between the bishop and his brother bishops is challenged. I have a strong sense that after many years of writing much of this off as media-hatred for the Church and a local matter, the Holy See and this particular Pope now get it and they furthermore get the consequences for Church ministry for the future. It has become easier for bishops to seek release of a priest predator from his priestly promises and vows. There was a time early in my ministry when the burden of proof sat almost wholly on the shoulders of the bishop and the predatory priest was protected.

The Church in the United State suffered significantly in the last decade from the clerical misconduct situation. There is no question in my mind that we lost membership by people who either just could not believe what they were hearing and/or reading or chose to use this as a moment to leave the Church which might have hurt them in other ways. The morale of our good priests tanked in some instances. Our path to recovery is still long and daunting. But with our various “Child Protection Programs” and Codes of Professional Conduct, we are doing probably the best we can do in righting this horrendously wrong situation. Cover-ups should be out of the question and lay review boards who are privy to accusations against Church personnel should inform the public when they think I or any other person in authority is not living up to the claims of the Dallas Charter. As a bishop I must answer not only to a higher authority in the person of the Lord but in this matter to the collective wisdom of competent lay advisors who review all allegations and recommend action. Ireland has begun this process in an attempt and hope to regain trust.

Finally, sexual abuse of minors is not just a Church problem or issue. It is a societal issue. It needs to be addressed by society at every level. Almost all of my priests would tell you that most cases reported to them have nothing to do with Church personnel but rather a parent, family member, in-law, step-father or step-mother. Here in the Tampa Bay area the news of misconduct in recent years has centered on public school teachers, scout leaders, doctors. We have tried to do what we can to reduce the incidences in the Church knowing that it will be practically impossible to prevent every instance. Awareness on the part of the whole Church will help, from parents and elders observing behavior to the codes of professional conduct which require supervision from authority and observation from all. My heart goes out to the Church in Ireland at this time. We have been there. In some ways we are still there though we are clawing our way back to credibility and trust one incident at a time. Our goal is that children will always be safe on the grounds of or in activities of their Church.

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