The Valley Catholic
Bishops should be
evangelists and men of
prayer, not CEOs
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis
said bishops should act not like ambitious
corporate executives, but humble
evangelists and men of prayer, willing
to sacrifice everything for their flocks.
“We don’t need a manager, the CEO
of a business, nor someone who shares
our pettiness or low aspirations,” the
pope said Feb. 27. “We need someone
who knows how to rise to the height from
which God sees us, in order to guide us
to him.”
Pope Francis’ words came in a speech
to the Congregation for Bishops, the
Vatican body that advises him on the
appointment of bishops around the
world. He stressed the importance of selfsacrifice in a bishop’s ministry, which he
described as a kind of martyrdom.
“The courage to die, the generosity to
offer one’s own life and exhaust one’s self
for the flock are inscribed in the episcopate’s DNA,” he said. “The episcopate
is not for itself but for the Church, for
the flock, for others, above all for those
whom the world considers only worth
throwing away.”
Pope Francis listed several desirable
virtues in potential bishops, including
a “capacity for healthy, balanced relationships,” “upright behavior,” “orthodoxy and fidelity” to Church doctrine;
and “transparency and detachment in
administrating the goods of the community.”
The pope said that in preaching
the Gospel, bishops should be appealing rather than censorious, upholding
Church teaching “not in order to measure
how far the world falls short of the truth
it contains, but to fascinate the world,
enchant it with the beauty of love, seduce
it by offering the freedom of the Gospel.”
March 11, 2014
in the church
13
Cardinals outline broad approaches
to family ministry
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As 150 cardinals
from around the world gathered with
Pope Francis to talk about the family,
their two days of discussion focused
particularly on three points: the Christian
vision of people and family life; essential
pastoral programs to support families;
and ministry to divorced and civilly
remarried Catholics.
Although the discussions during the
Feb. 20-21 meeting were closed to the
press, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi,
Vatican spokesman, gave reporters an
overview of the discussions.
Retired German Cardinal Walter
Kasper gave a two-hour opening presentation, laying out the biblical and
theological basis of Church teaching on
marriage. He also emphasized the challenge of finding ways to always fulfill
two basic obligations: remaining faithful
to Jesus’ words about the indissolubility
of marriage and embodying the mercy
God always shows to those who have
sinned or fallen short.
The cardinals held two morning and
two afternoon sessions. Father Lombardi
said many of the cardinals spoke broadly
about Christian anthropology -- the biblically based vision of people -- and the
challenge of living that out in the “context
of a secularized society that promotes
visions of the human person, the family
and sexuality that are very different. The
climate wasn’t one of complaining, but of
realism,” he said.
The second focus, Father Lombardi
said, was on the kinds of pastoral programs offered to families and the forms
of support available to them in parishes
and dioceses. Several cardinals insisted
on the importance of mandatory mar-
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riage preparation programs.
A third group of talks focused on
divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. Several cardinals spoke about the
Church’s process for granting annulments and possible ideas for improving
the process or simplifying it.
Other cardinals spoke about the
desire of some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to be able to receive
Communion even though they have not
received an annulment.
“The discussion was very interesting,
very broad, very serene,” Father Lombardi said. “No decisions were made,”
but there was “a clear commitment to
finding the best way to keep together
fidelity to Christ’s words and mercy in
the life of the Church.”
Pope Francis receives ashes from Slovakian
Cardinal Jozef Tomko during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in
Rome March 5. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Pope Francis, with retired Pope Benedict
present, creates new cardinals
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On a feast day
commemorating the authority Jesus
gave to St. Peter and his successors
-- the popes -- Pope Francis created 19
new cardinals in the presence of retired
Pope Benedict XVI.
To the great surprise of most people
present, the retired pope entered St.
Peter’s Basilica about 15 minutes before
the new cardinals and Pope Francis.
Wearing a long white coat and using
a cane, he took a seat in the front row.
Pope Benedict’s presence at the consistory Feb. 22, the feast of the Chair
of Peter, marked the first time he had
joined Pope Francis for a public prayer
service in the basilica.
Before beginning the service, Pope
Francis walked over to Pope Benedict,
who removed his zucchetto to greet
Pope Francis. The scene was repeated
at the end of the consistory.
After they received their red hats,
each of the new cardinals walked over
to Pope Benedict and greeted him.
Only 18 of the new cardinals were
present. The oldest -- now the oldest cardinal in the world -- Cardinal
Loris Capovilla, 98, was not present
at the ceremony although he became
a cardinal the moment Pope Francis
pronounced his name.
In his homily Pope Francis did not
mention the standard point that the
cardinals’ new red vestments are symbols of the call to serve Christ and his
Church to the point of shedding their
blood if necessary. Rather, he focused
on their being called to follow Christ
more closely, to build up the unity of
the Church and to proclaim the Gospel
more courageously.
Pope Francis told the new cardinals,
who come from 15 different countries
-- including