Posted on 06/29/2006 7:30:45 PM PDT by Coleus
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The powers of evil and death will never triumph over Christ and the church he built on the rock of Peter and continues to fortify with his successors, Pope Benedict XVI told new archbishops from 18 countries. Though the church and Christ are continually walking toward their cross, suffering and being tossed to and fro like a small boat on a sea whipped up "by the winds of ideologies, ... in the suffering church, Christ is victorious," the pope said during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.
During the Mass, the pope gave the archbishops named within the previous year a pallium, a circular band of white wool marked with six black crosses. The pallium symbolizes an archbishop's authority and unity with the pope. The pope and archbishops were dressed in brilliant red vestments, but the pope wore a longer, more traditional style of the pallium, which he reintroduced after his installation last year as bishop of Rome.
Among the 27 archbishops receiving palliums were U.S. Archbishops Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, George H. Niederauer of San Francisco and Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, as well as Canadian Archbishop Sylvain Lavoie of Keewatin-Le Pas, Manitoba. In his homily, the pope recalled the trials of Job after God allowed Satan to test the man's faith. Similar trials continue to befall Christ's faithful, and sometimes "it seems that God gives Satan too much freedom" and "the capacity to shake us up too terribly."
But, just as Jesus prayed for Peter, he prays for the church and its people "that your own faith may not fail," he said. After the ceremony, Archbishop Niederauer told Catholic News Service that when the pope talked about Jesus heading toward Jerusalem for his suffering and resurrection "that road is going to be the same for us."
"We will not evade that cross, we will not evade the confrontations that come, but in Christ we will be able to carry our crosses ... and be able to keep the promise we made to Peter, the church" and Christ, he said. Seated near the altar was a delegation representing the leader of the world's Orthodox believers, Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. The patriarchate is based in Istanbul, Turkey.
At the end of the Mass the pope and the head of the delegation, Metropolitan John of Pergamon, prayed together at St. Peter's tomb beneath the basilica's main altar. The patriarch sends a delegation to the Vatican each year for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Vatican's patron saints. This year, Pope Benedict is planning to go to Turkey Nov. 28-30 to participate in the Orthodox church's celebration of the Nov. 30 feast of St. Andrew, patron of the patriarchate.
Other guests at the pallium Mass included a 70-member choir from Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids, Mich., which along with the Sistine Chapel Choir and an Italian choir provided music. In his homily, the pope emphasized that the ministry of Peter and all Christ's disciples is "a commitment to service." An archbishop's authority over a church or an archdiocese, he said, is coupled with the responsibility of caring for his flock, like the Good Shepherd.
Even though Peter was weak and failed Jesus, he was still called to strengthen others because he had at last learned that building the church is not a job done alone, but is done with others and with the help of God, the pope said. During the ceremony, each archbishop came up individually to the pope, bowed and knelt as the pope placed the woolen stole over his head. The pope warmly shook hands with each one and engaged in a brief conversation.
Archbishop DiNardo's twin sister, Peg Riesmeyer of McMurray, Pa., said later that when she saw her brother kneel for his pallium she "got teary-eyed" and thought how much she wished their parents, both of whom have died, could have been there. "Dan always wanted to be a priest; from the time he was 4, that's what he wanted to do," she said.
She said she always felt he was destined for great things since he "seemed to have the will, the desire, the passion to become a priest," so receiving the pallium represents "a blessed, happy fulfillment of what we always thought Dan could do and would become." Archbishop DiNardo told CNS that becoming a new archbishop "means a great deal" and that receiving the pallium gives "the sense of your responsibility for the unity of your church."
He said Pope Benedict has referred to the pallium as "a sweet yoke," that is, a bittersweet responsibility to preserve the unity of the church with Peter and his successors. Archbishop Wuerl told CNS that in the Archdiocese of Washington Mass is celebrated each weekend in more than 20 languages. The ethnic, linguistic and cultural traditions of the city's people all are part of the church there, he said, and the archbishop's job is "to highlight what we share -- one faith, one baptism, one Lord -- and, at the same time, to rejoice in our diversity." Archbishop Wuerl added that with the nation's capital being in his archdiocese politics plays a big role. He said the church is not partisan, but rather speaks about issues and values, "what is needed to build a good and just society."
"In the pews are people with a range of political perspectives" and the archbishop must ensure that "the voice of the church is not pre-empted as a political voice," he said. Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden in Rome.
Ping for later reading about my new Archbishop.
How blessed we are in our pope!
Indeed, we are blessed with Pope Benedict!
BUMP THAT!
"but in Christ we will be able to carry our crosses,,,"
Amen.
Very nice!
Amen to the title, at least (it's as far as I got, besides the last line).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.