Category: 2022 News

WASHINGTON (CNS) – In the Catholic Church, permanent deacons “are entrusted with the unique responsibility of bringing Christ to every corner of society,” said the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.

They carry out their ministry “in imitation of Christ the servant and impelled by the spirit of charity,” said Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey.

He made the remarks on the unique role deacons have in the Catholic Church in a statement issued June 2 with the results of an annual survey that provides a portrait of the permanent diaconate in the U.S.

“By virtue of their ordination, deacons witness to Christ in the workplace, within their families and among the members of their community, especially the poor,” Bishop Checchio said. “The church is grateful to all permanent deacons who extend Christ’s mercy and healing to all those in need.”

Conducted for the USCCB by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University since 2005, the study provides a detailed snapshot of the state of the permanent diaconate in the United States.

Findings include the percentage of active vs. nonactive deacons; the archdioceses/dioceses and eparchies with the largest number of permanent deacons; sociocultural demographics; and ministerial involvement.

With contact information provided by the National Association of Diaconate Directors and CARA’s Catholic Ministry Formation database, CARA contacted the 183 dioceses and eparchies in the United States that have an active permanent diaconate office and formation program.

Of this total, 141 responded to the survey for an overall response rate of 77%.

Some of the major findings of the report follow:

— Responding archdioceses/dioceses with the largest number of permanent deacons include Chicago, 804; Los Angeles, 498; and Joliet, Illinois, 497. Adjusting for Catholic population size, Latin-rite dioceses with the lowest ratio of Catholics per permanent deacon include Lexington, Kentucky, 477 Catholics per deacon; Amarillo, Texas, 547; Rapid City, South Dakota, 678; Pueblo, Colorado, 681; and Anchorage, Alaska, 699.

— The 138 Latin-rite archdioceses/dioceses that responded to this question report a total of 16,765 permanent deacons, both active and not active. The three eparchies that responded reported a total of 36 permanent deacons. “Extrapolating to include archdioceses/dioceses and archeparchies/eparchies that did not respond to the survey,” the report said, “it can be estimated that there were as many as 20,888 permanent deacons in the United States in 2021-2022.”

— Latin-rite archdioceses/dioceses reported having 11,746 permanent deacons active in ministry. The three eparchies reported 31 active permanent deacons. “Extrapolating to include arch/dioceses and arch/eparchies that did not respond to the survey,” the report said, “it can be estimated that there are 14,586 deacons active in ministry in the United States in 2021-2022, or about 70% of all permanent deacons.”

— During the 2021 calendar year, 458 new permanent deacons were ordained in the archdiocese/dioceses that responded to the survey. At the same time, 512 deacons retired from active ministry and another 393 deacons died. “As is the case with priests in the United States, there are not enough new permanent deacons being ordained to make up for the numbers who are retiring from active ministry and dying each year,” the report said.

— Close to all active permanent deacons — 95% — are at least 50 years old. About a fifth, or 20%, are in their 50s; two-fifths, 41%, are in their 60s; and about another two-fifths, 36%, are 70 or older.

— Nine in 10 active permanent deacons, or 93%, are currently married; 4% are widowers; and 2% have never been married.

— Seven in 10 active permanent deacons, or 72%, are non-Hispanic whites. One in five active permanent deacons, 21%, are Hispanic or Latino; 3% are Asian or Pacific Islander; and 2% are African American.

— Among permanent deacons who are financially compensated for ministry, one in five (19%) is entrusted with the pastoral care of one or more parishes; one in four (25%) works in other parish ministerial positions, such as director of religious education, youth minister; and one in seven (15%) works in parish non-ministerial positions, such as administration, business, finance.

— Seven in 10 active permanent deacons (67%) have at least a college degree. One in seven (14%) has a graduate degree in a field related to religion or ministry.

— Close to all dioceses and eparchies (98%) require an annual retreat of deacons. On average, three in four (75%) deacons participate in the retreat. Four in five responding archdioceses/dioceses (83%) provide couples retreats for deacons and their wives. Nine in 10 archdioceses/dioceses (86%) provide annual gatherings of deacons in addition to or apart from a retreat.

— Nine in 10 archdioceses/dioceses (94%) have a minimum age requirement for acceptance into the diaconate formation program — with the minimum age ranging from 28 to 60, with a median of 33.

NEW YORK (CNS) – The brutal attack on people at a Catholic church in Nigeria on Pentecost Sunday is “an attack on the entire church,” said a U.S. official of Aid to the Church in Need, an international Catholic charity.

According to the Reuters news agency, gunmen fired at people inside and outside St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo, located in the southwestern state of Ondo. At least 50 people were reportedly killed during Mass June 5. Dozens more were injured and rushed to nearby hospitals.

“We extend our prayers for the victims, the wounded, their families and the entire Catholic community of Owo,” said George Marlin, chairman of the board of Aid to the Church in Need/USA, which is based in New York. “We stand with the Diocese of Ondo to help treat the wounded and those traumatized by this horrible tragedy.”

“This is the latest in the ongoing wave of brutal attacks on Nigeria’s Christians,” he said in a June 6 statement. “Political and religious leaders around the world must condemn this barbarism and put pressure on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to do what it takes finally to stop the violence and protect the Nigerian people.”

Marlin called it “imperative” that the U.S. State Department “reinstate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern that violates religious freedom. Christians are not the only victims of faith-based violence in Nigeria, but they are the principal target,” he stated.

On Nov. 17, 2021, as required by the International Religious Freedom Act, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken identified 10 “Countries of Particular Concern” — those who are in severe violations of religious freedom — but he omitted Nigeria. The announcement was met immediately with severe criticism by human rights and religious rights organizations.

On June 2 of this year, in releasing the State Department’s 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom, Blinken noted that in Nigeria, “several state governments are using antidefamation and blasphemy laws to punish people for expressing their beliefs.”

No group had claimed responsibility for the attack in Owo as of June 6.

Aid to the Church in Need, which serves “the suffering and persecuted church” around the world, “will come to the aid of our brothers and sisters in Nigeria in solidarity of prayer and support,” Marlin added.

In other U.S. reaction, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York also noted that the attacks in Owo are the latest “in a growing number of attacks on Christians in Nigeria,” but he called the June 5 attack “especially horrific” because at least 50 worshippers “were slaughtered merely for gathering to celebrate the great feast of Pentecost,” recognized traditionally as the “birthday of the church.”

“We pray for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives in this attack, and for the comfort of all who mourn for them,” the cardinal said in a June 6 statement.

He added that New York Catholics’ prayers “are all the more fervent” as they recall that Bishop Jude Arogundade of Ondo was “a beloved pastor here in the Archdiocese of New York” before he returned home to Nigeria to serve as bishop.

Cardinal Dolan called “on the world community, including the United States, to take notice of this rising tide of anti-Catholic and anti-Christian attacks taking place in Nigeria, and work to restore protection for the fundamental right of religious liberty wherever and whenever it is threatened.”

Father Roger Landry, national chaplain for Aid to the Church in Need/USA, noted that the vestments a priest wears to celebrate Mass on Pentecost are “red, signifying the fire of the Holy Spirit.”

“Little did the Catholics at St. Francis Xavier in Owo, on the feast celebrating the church’s birthday, know that their garments would similarly be drenched red in blood,” he said in a statement.

But “our beloved brothers and sisters in the faith, including the little children, have not died in vain,” the priest added. “Their blood will fertilize the soil of the faith in Nigeria and their martyrdom has already inspired and emboldened believers around the world.”

WASHINGTON (CNS) – In response to the multiple mass shootings in recent weeks, the chairmen of four U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to “stop the massacres of innocent lives.”

“We urge all members of Congress to reflect on the compassion all of you undoubtedly feel in light of these tragic events and be moved to action because of it,” the bishops wrote in a June 3 letter.

They said finding a way to stop ongoing acts violence as demonstrated in Ulvade, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, to name just a few examples, requires a broad response that examines “mental health, the state of families, the valuation of life, the influence of entertainment and gaming industries, bullying and the availability of firearms.”

And although they see a need for broad reform, they focused on guns in particular, stressing that “among the many steps toward addressing this endemic of violence is the passage of reasonable gun control measures.”

The letter was signed by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; and Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, Washington, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education.

These committee leaders noted that even though work needs to be done to address the root causes of violence, there were practical steps Congress could take right now by supporting legislation to expand background checks for gun sales.

They also criticized Congress for its lack of action on gun control, noting that in the 10 years since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, “very little has been done by Congress to regulate these weapons and prevent another catastrophe.”

“We urgently call on members of Congress to work together in a bipartisan fashion to make these horrific attacks less likely to happen again,” they wrote.

The bishops said the USCCB has long supported measures to address gun violence and continues to do so.

Looking at specific measures, they said they support a total ban on assault weapons and limitations on civilian access to high-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines. They also cited their support for universal background checks for all gun purchases.

“We ask that Congress pass a federal law to criminalize gun trafficking,” the bishops added, saying this was particularly important because the United States “not only suffers from domestic gun violence but is a major international exporter of weapons.”

The church leaders also said they support proposals for a more appropriate minimum age for gun ownership and a ban on bump stocks — additional gun parts which dramatically increase the guns’ rate of firing.

They pointed out that while “strengthened gun laws could reduce mass-casualty events, not even the most effective gun laws, by themselves, will suffice to address the roots of these violent attacks in our country” and stressed the need for improved mental health care access and resources as well as “peacebuilding in our communities through restorative justice models.”

“Bipartisanship is never more important than when it is required to protect life and end the culture of death. We invite you to support these measures and to be part of building up the culture of life that is so needed in our society, not just as elected officials but as mothers and fathers, grandparents, and aunts and uncles of little children or teachers whom you expect to return home safely today,” they wrote.

The bishops’ letter was sent to Congress the day after President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the White House June 2 pleading with Congress to pass what he described as “rational, commonsense measures” to curb gun violence. He said it was time to put an end to the “carnage” and loss of American lives.

The president called for the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to be reinstated and said the minimum purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons should be raised from 18 to 21.

He also called for a strengthening of background checks and red-flag laws aimed at keeping guns away from those with mental illness. He also urged a repeal of the immunity that shields gun manufacturers from liability.

While Biden was addressing the nation, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed a gun control package following heated discussion. The legislation, called Protecting Our Kids Act, includes eight bills related to gun control, expected to be on the House floor the week of June 6.

The measure would raise the age of purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, create new requirements for storing guns in a home with children, prevent gun trafficking, require firearms to be traceable and regulate bump stocks.

It was expected to pass in the House but not the divided Senate, where it needs 60 votes.

Republicans in Congress have criticized Democrats for rushing to pass gun legislation and have blamed recent mass shootings on mental health issues and an overall lack of family values.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Sitting in a wheelchair in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis allowed himself to be grilled by a group of youngsters, including one who asked when he would go to Ukraine “to save all the children who are suffering there.”

“I want to go to Ukraine, but I must wait for the moment, you know,” Pope Francis responded to Sachar, a boy from Ukraine now living in Rome.

“I have to look for the right time to do it,” the pope said June 4, explaining that he would not want to do something “that could do more harm to the whole world than good.”

The pope added that within the next week, he would be meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian government “who are coming to talk about a possible visit of mine there. Let’s see what happens.”

Pope Francis had told reporters April 2 he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital. But in late April, he started talking more negatively about the idea. He told the Argentine newspaper La Nación April 21 that “I cannot do anything that puts higher objectives at risk, which are the end of the war, a truce or, at least, a humanitarian corridor.”

“What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war were to continue the next day?” he said.

Sachar and other Ukrainian youngsters whose families are assisted by the Ukrainian Basilica of Santa Sofia in Rome joined children assisted by a Rome institute helping the visually impaired for the meeting with Pope Francis as part of the ongoing “Children’s Train” project of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Nicole asked the pope what kind of responsibility he feels “being pope or at least the most important person in the world.”

Pope Francis let her assumption slide, but said everyone has responsibilities, some of which change over time. Youngsters have a responsibility to study and to contribute to their families.

As for being pope, he said, “it’s true that it is a bit heavy sometimes, because it’s scary. But I try to experience it in the most natural way, because if the Lord asked this of me, it is because he will give me the strength not to make a mistake, to be careful not to make mistakes.”

Caterina asked if it is tiring being the pope, to which he responded, sometimes, “but if you ask me if it’s more tiring than the work of a dad or mom? No. No.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When the Vatican announced Pope Francis would travel to L’Aquila in central Italy Aug. 28 to open a seven-centuries-old celebration of forgiveness, people on social media began speculating that the pope would resign.

The 85-year-old pope will make his morning trip to L’Aquila just one day after a scheduled consistory to create 21 new cardinals and the day before a two-day meeting with the cardinals to discuss the reform of the Roman Curia, one of the main projects of his papacy.

Included in the trip, the Vatican said June 4, is a Mass in the square outside the medieval Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio on the edge of town. The basilica is the burial place of St. Celestine V, a 13th-century pope who abdicated just a few months after his election.

When then-Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2009, he placed the long woolen pallium he had worn during his installation Mass on top of Pope Celestine’s glass casket as a gift. When Pope Benedict resigned in 2013, many people wondered if that gesture four years earlier had been a sign.

But Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi of L’Aquila, announcing Pope Francis’ visit on the archdiocesan website, focused only on the celebration of the Celestinian Pardon and Pope Francis’ concern for the people of the archdiocese still recovering from an earthquake in 2009 in which almost 300 people lost their lives.

Pope Francis also is scheduled to visit the L’Aquila cathedral, which is still closed to the public because of damage from the quake, and meet with the families of those who died.

The pope’s visit, the cardinal said, is a sign of his love for “our church and our city, which is even more precious when we take into account his pressing pastoral commitments and some painful health problems.”

At the heart of the Celestine Pardon, celebrated annually Aug. 28-29, is the granting of a plenary indulgence to everyone who visits the Collemaggio basilica, goes to confession, receives Communion and prays for the intentions of the pope. Pope Celestine established the celebration in 1294.

“Pope Francis will be the first pontiff to open the Holy Door after 728 years,” Cardinal Petrocchi wrote.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis expressed his solidarity and closeness with Catholics in Nigeria after gunmen stormed a church and reportedly killed at least 50 people during a Pentecost Mass.

“While the details of the incident are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and the country, painfully stricken in a moment of celebration, and entrusts both to the Lord, so that he may send his Spirit to comfort them,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, in a statement June 5.

According to the Reuters news agency, gunmen fired at people inside and outside St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo, located in the southwestern state of Ondo. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack as of June 6.

In addition to those who were killed, dozens more were injured and rushed to nearby hospitals.

Father Augustine Ikwu, communications director for the Diocese of Ondo, said the attack “has left the community devastated.”

He also said June 5 that “all the priests in the parish are safe and none were kidnapped” as was reported on several social media sites.

“Let us continue to pray for them and the good people of Owo and the state at large,” Father Ikwu said. “We turn to God to console the families of those whose lives were lost in this distressing incident, and we pray for the departed souls to rest in peace.”

In a series of tweets posted shortly after the attack, Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state, said, “The vile and satanic attack” was “a calculated assault on the peace-loving people of (Owo) who have enjoyed relative peace over the years.”

“I want to express my condolences to those who lost their dear ones to this gruesome murder. This is a great massacre,” Akeredolu tweeted. “Our people in Ondo state will not let down their guard. This will not happen again. I have urged the heads of security agencies to take all necessary steps.”

 

SCRANTON – Just minutes before being ordained a Deacon – as Michael J. Boris laid on the floor of the Cathedral of Saint Peter – five words from the Litany of Supplication really caught his attention.

As the crowd of several hundred prayed to all of the saints, asking for God’s blessing on the Dallas native, Boris said he was struck by the words: “Lord, deliver us we pray.”

“I found myself really saying that from the heart. I think it was the spirit speaking within me to say, Lord, deliver us so that we may experience the Joy of the Gospel, deliver us from our failings and our fears,” Boris said in an interview with The Catholic Light directly following his Ordination Mass.

Boris, 26, was ordained as a transitional deacon on May 28, 2022, the ordination serving as the last major step before ordination to the priesthood, which typically occurs a year later after additional pastoral, liturgical and educational preparation.

“It really does feel unreal, I know it’s cliché to say that, but it is such a simple moment when the bishop lays his hands on your head and says the Prayer of Ordination. The Holy Spirit is working in powerful ways and I’m trusting that,” he added.

During the Ordination Mass, Boris was called forward by name and officially declared his intention to be ordained to the Diaconate. Following the Litany of Supplication, the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, laid his hands on Boris’ head and then recited the Prayer of Ordination.

Following that Prayer, Boris vested as a Deacon and received the Book of Gospels from Bishop Bambera who said, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

In addition to serving as ordaining prelate, Bishop Bambera also served as principal celebrant and homilist for the Ordination Mass.

During his homily, he acknowledged the large crowd that filled the Cathedral, saying the day is not only a blessing for Michael and his family, but also for the entire Diocese of Scranton.

“While we ordain one man today, it is so apparent that it takes the entire Church to nurture and bring a vocation to fruition,” Bishop Bambera said. “None of us is ordained for ourselves or to achieve some personal sense of accomplishment. We are called by God and sent forth for mission – to serve God’s holy people. We ought never lose sight of this reality!”

The Bishop noted that Boris is being ordained at a unique moment in the life of the Church. For more than two years, the world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and most recently, the War in Ukraine has shown the need for peace in the world.

“Our people continue to look to the Church and to the Lord whom we proclaim as their greatest hope. Michael, the Church needs you now, more than ever! Give God’s people reason to hope,” the Bishop explained.

Reflecting on the readings from Mass, the Bishop used Saint Paul’s words from his letter to the Church at Ephesus to explain God’s Spirit will pour grace and mercy into Boris’ life to help bring people that hope, healing and peace.

“If you want your ministry as a deacon to be fruitful, Michael, you must root yourself in Jesus’ life and love. The disciplines of prayer, obedience and celibacy that you are called to embrace this day are meant to enable you to grow in the same spirit of service and mercy that so characterized Jesus’ ministry,” Bishop Bambera added. “These disciplines are not obstacles, hurdles or distractions that are somehow detached from what it means to be an ordained minister of the Church. They are not meant to set you up as being better or greater than others. Rather, they are the vehicles that will carry you to a deeper relationship with Jesus.”

As a Deacon, Boris’ ministry will be three-fold. He will assist the Bishop and his priests in ministries of the Word, Liturgy and Charity. This includes proclaiming the Gospel, leading intercessions, preaching, preparing the altar, celebrating baptisms, leading the faithful in prayer, distributing holy communion, witnessing marriages and conducting wake and funeral services. Deacons also identify the needs of poor and underserved, and shepherd the Church’s resources to meet those needs.

“While you have been given tremendous gifts and talents, we pray that you will always rely upon the grace of God to fill up whatever may be lacking in you to carry out fully the ministry entrusted to you this day,” Bishop Bambera ended his homily by saying.

As he listened to the Bishop explain the roles and responsibilities he now assumes, Boris recognized the gravity and importance of the work he undertakes.

“Obviously, it felt serious before, but during the homily, where he was listing the responsibilities, it started to settle in more that this is what I’m committing to and the moment of making the promise, it really is an unreal experience,” Boris said. “I made the promise and I’m going to keep it to the best of my ability!”

Following Mass, family, friends and many faithful greeted Boris. That includes parishioners from his home parish of Saint Andre Bessette, Wilkes-Barre, as well as people from Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Rose of Lima in Carbondale where he served a pastoral year and will be assigned for summer ministry.

“It was really great. I saw a lot of people that I haven’t seen in a couple years. Friends, family and a lot of them don’t even know each other, but the fact that we have the common bond – not only of me – but God’s grace bringing us together,” Boris said.

As he looks to the future, and God-willing, being ordained to the priesthood next year, Boris simply said, “I’m taking it one day at a time. I think what brought me to this moment as a deacon is one day at a time and when God’s ready, he’ll prepare my heart for the next step.”

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Cardinal-designate Robert W. McElroy told reporters May 31 that when he learned he is among the 21 new cardinals Pope Francis will create Aug. 27, “I said a big prayer.”

“I said several prayers because I was stunned and so shocked by this,” said the 68-year-old prelate who heads the San Diego Diocese. He is the only American in the group the pope announced May 29.

“It was prayer in gratitude for my family and the many people who have helped form me over the years and thanksgiving to God for all their roles in my life,” he said during a 25-minute news conference held outside the diocesan pastoral center.

After the consistory, he will be among 132 cardinals under the age of 80, who will be eligible to vote in a conclave. The number of those over 80 will be 97, bringing the total number of cardinals to 229.

A native of San Francisco, Bishop McElroy is the sixth bishop of San Diego. He was installed April 15, 2015. Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco April 12, 1980, he was an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese from September 2010 until he was named to head the Diocese of San Diego in 2015.

“By naming Bishop Robert McElroy as a cardinal, Pope Francis has shown his pastoral care for the church in the United States,” said Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “I have known and have had the privilege of working with Cardinal-designate McElroy for many years.”

As brother bishops, he said, they have worked together “on many issues and initiatives in service” to the USCCB and the California Catholic Conference, which is the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.

“His strong faith and the pastoral concern for the faithful he has shown in his diocese will serve the global church well,” Archbishop Gomez said in a May 29 statement. “Please join me in praying for the continued ministry of Bishop McElroy.”

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco also sent his congratulations to Cardinal-designate McElroy.

The San Diego bishop told reporters he did not know ahead of the pope’s announcement he would be made a cardinal. He awoke that morning to a flood of calls, texts and emails congratulating him.

“I thought to myself, ‘Congratulations on what?'” he said.

Cardinal-designate McElroy said he is deeply honored to be named to the College of Cardinals and also is happy to know he will be staying in San Diego. “That delights me,” he said.

In a statement he released May 29, he said he was “stunned and deeply surprised by the news” the pope had named him a cardinal.

“My prayer is that in this ministry I might be of additional service to the God who has graced me on so many levels in my life. And I pray also that I can assist the Holy Father in his pastoral renewal of the church,” he said.

Leading the Catholic community of San Diego and Imperial counties, which make up the diocese, “is my privilege,” he added.

Cardinal-designate McElroy said at the news conference he believes the pope “wanted to have a cardinal on the West Coast.”

“There’s no cardinal now west of Houston,” he said, referring to Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. “There was a desire to have a cardinal on the West Coast, so that was part of it.”

But he said another reason for the pope choosing him could be that San Diego is a border diocese with ministries that reflect the priority the pontiff places on the church and society welcoming migrants and refugees unconditionally.

“As you know this pope is very concerned about migrants and refugees, and we’re a diocese on the border so we face all of those issues and we have a very large immigrant population here and particularly within the Catholic community,” Cardinal-designate McElroy added.

Like the pope, the San Diego prelate talks often of “mutual accompaniment” by a bishop with the faithful.

“This image of the church as the pilgrim people of God demands that the ministry of a bishop be enmeshed in a culture of mutual accompaniment that suffuses the local church,” then-Bishop McElroy said in his homily during his installation Mass as San Diego’s bishop.

“The theological foundation for this culture of mutual accompaniment lies in the priesthood of all believers and the universal call to holiness,” he said.

He was one of only two U.S. bishops personally named by the pope to participate in the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon Oct. 6-27, 2019. The other was Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston. The synod was predominantly comprised of Latin American prelates.

The only other American there was Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, who participated in his role as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

As the synod opened, the San Diego bishop said ecology and synodality were at the heart of the Amazon discussions. He has urged his brother bishops in the U.S. to fully embrace the pope’s “Laudato Si'” encyclical on caring for the environment.

“Pope Francis has a series of initiatives that he’s trying to bring to the life of the church,” Cardinal-designate McElroy told reporters May 31. “And I have tried to take those initiatives and plant them here.”

When asked about prohibiting Catholic politicians from Communion based on their public policies supporting legalized abortion, he said such a move “is destructive … partly because it diminishes the Eucharist in my view and it contributes toward the weaponization (of Communion), and even more so, it contributes to the increased partisanship within our society.”

“We sadly live in a society which is deeply divided along partisan and ideological lines, and we see some of that seeping into the life of the church,” he said. Such division is “a great tragedy,” he said. “I think it’s important that we not go in that direction.”

Asked about the clergy abuse crisis, he said that “the great problem in the church was when they (priest abusers) got reassigned after it was known they had abused. That was a terrible, sinful pattern in the life of the church.”

“We can’t change it by putting it behind us. We need to always remember what happened, and how we got into a very bad pattern,” he said.

On Aug. 13, 2019, then-Bishop McElroy gathered all 2,500-plus diocesan employees for the first time in the diocese’s history to announce an expansion of the fight against the sexual abuse of children not just within the local church but in the greater society.

Among other actions, he called on every diocesan employee to report child abuse they suspected was occurring, not just so-called mandated reporters obligated by law to do so, such as teachers and priests.

He also announced formation of a task force to develop programming to raise awareness among the diocese’s families at schools and parishes of the epidemic of child abuse and what they could do to prevent it and to help its victims to heal.

Cardinal-designate McElroy also gave an update on his health. In November 2021, he underwent four-way bypass heart surgery. It was a planned procedure that he and his doctors began discussing following test results he received over the summer of that year. Fluid was found in his lung and doctors found he had four blocked arteries.

He had no complications, he said, and “felt no pain” after the surgery.

As the news conference wrapped up, he was asked if it were possible he could become pope one day.

“I don’t think an American should be pope,” he replied, explaining that the U.S. has power “in so many levels,” that if the church were led by an American pope, it would be a “counterpoint to the witness that the church has to continue to be giving.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Old age, frailty and vulnerabilities should not be hidden, Pope Francis said.

“We are all tempted to hide our vulnerability, to hide our illness, our age and our seniority, because we fear that they are the precursor to our loss of dignity,” the pope said June 1 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

“Do not hide old age, do not hide the fragility of old age,” he said, because society needs to be taught and reformed to respect all seasons of life.

Continuing his series of talks about old age, the pope looked at Psalm 71, in which the author, an elderly man, laments his many afflictions and misfortunes, and pleads to the Lord for help, expressing, in the end, hope and praise.

The psalmist shows how the process of becoming more weak, fragile and vulnerable with advancing age “becomes an opportunity for abandonment, deception and for prevarication and arrogance, which at times prey upon the elderly,” the pope said.

Even today, “in this throwaway society, this throwaway culture, elderly people are cast aside and suffer these things,” he said. It is “a form of cowardice in which we specialize in this society of ours” where there are many people “who take advantage of the elderly, to cheat them and to intimidate them in myriad ways.”

“Shame should fall on those who take advantage of the weakness of illness and old age,” he said.

“Such cruelty also occurs within families,” he said, asking people reflect on how they relate to their older relatives: “Do I remember them, do I go to visit them? Do I try to make sure they lack nothing? Do I respect them?” and talk with them to “obtain wisdom?”

“Remember that you, too, will become elderly. Old age comes for everyone. And treat the elderly today as you would wish to be treated in your old age,” the pope said.

Everyone in society “must hasten to take care of the elderly – they are its treasure,” he said.

“How is it that modern civilization, so advanced and efficient, is so uncomfortable with sickness and old age? How is it that it hides illness, it hides old age? And how is it that politics, which is so committed to defining the limits of a dignified survival, is at the same time insensitive to the dignity of a loving coexistence with the old and the sick?” he said.

The elderly author of the psalm first sees his old age as a defeat, then he “rediscovers trust in the Lord. He feels the need to be helped. And he turns to God,” the pope said.

This is a lesson for everyone to learn: that God never rejects the prayer of those in need of help and that “we all need to abandon ourselves to the Lord, to invoke his help,” and to abandon oneself to the care of others, he said.

“Do not hide frailties,” he said, because there is a “magisterium of frailty,” which is a teaching that “opens up a decisive horizon for the reform of our own civilization. A reform that is now indispensable for the benefit of the coexistence of all.”

“The marginalization of the elderly – both conceptual and practical – corrupts all seasons of life, not just that of old age,” he said.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CNS) – A burglar cut through a metal protective casing to steal a historic tabernacle valued at $2 million at a Brooklyn Catholic church.

In the course of the crime, angel statues flanking the tabernacle were decapitated, and consecrated hosts from inside the tabernacle were thrown all over the altar, according to a Brooklyn diocesan news release.

The burglary is suspected to have taken place May 27 at St. Augustine Catholic Church in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn and the theft was discovered by the pastor May 28, the release said.

A safe in the sacristy also was cut open but nothing was inside, it added.

“This is devastating, as the tabernacle is the central focus of our church outside of worship, holding the body of Christ, the Eucharist, which is delivered to the sick and homebound,” said Father Frank Tumino, the pastor.

The tabernacle dates back to when the church was built in the 1890s. “This holy sacramental receptacle is irreplaceable due to its historical and artistic value,” the diocesan said.

The New York City Police Department was investigating this “brazen crime of disrespect and hate” and has asked the community for any tips that could lead to solving it.

“To know that a burglar entered the most sacred space of our beautiful church and took great pains to cut into a security system is a heinous act of disrespect,” Father Tumino said.

In the neighboring Archdiocese of New York, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan planned to visit a Manhattan Catholic church May 31 that a news release said was the victim of “a hate crime” a week earlier.

Vandals beheaded and smashed statues in the Our Lady of Fatima Grotto at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.

The cardinal planned to pray an evening rosary, which “will be offered in reparation for this act of vandalism and hate.”