USA Today
By Susan Miller and Gregory Korte
September 23, 2015
Pope
Francis urged his fellow American bishops to take care of the spiritual
needs of priests and to welcome new immigrants into the United States,
gently admonishing
them to "flee the temptation of narcissism."
In
a tone more fraternal than scolding, Francis encouraged the bishops as
spiritual shepherds but also urged them to confront the issues of the
world: The response to
abortion, childhood hunger, immigration, the elderly, terrorism are
"essential aspects of the Church’s mission," he said. "It is wrong,
then, to look the other way or to remain silent."
Francis
also sought healing for the victims of the priest sexual abuse scandal.
"I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I
have supported
your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge
that in healing we too are healed — and to work to ensure that such
crimes will never be repeated," he said.
The
pope delivered his remarks to the U.S. bishops in a noontime prayer
service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, the seat of the
Roman Catholic Church in Washington
named for the patron saint of civil servants. His remarks were
delivered in Italian and steeped in references to the Gospels.
Archbishop
Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, the president of U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops, welcomed the pope. "We look forward to you meeting our
people — the influential,
the forgotten and everyone in between."
Afterward,
Francis greeted bishops as they came to kiss his fisherman's ring in a
symbol of their unity with the Bishop of Rome. "The Holy Father asked me
to say that
he is sorry that he cannot greet every single bishop personally," said
his host, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, as Francis smiled and pantomimed
looking at his watch.
The
prayer service was closed to the public, and — although televised — his
remarks were directed more at the bishops than to the faithful. "I have
not come to judge you
or to lecture you," he said. "Allow me only, in the freedom of love, to
speak to you as a brother among brothers."
He asked the bishops to keep the church close to Christ and to the faithful.
"Our
greatest joy is to be shepherds, and only shepherds, pastors with
undivided hearts and selfless devotion. We need to preserve this joy and
never let ourselves be
robbed of it," he said. "It is not about preaching complicated
doctrines, but joyfully proclaiming Christ who died and rose for our
sake."
As
Francis became more emphatic in pleading the cause of immigrants,
bishops leaned forward and listened intently. Francis, himself the child
of Italian immigrants to
Argentina and a self-described "pastor of the South," admitted that he
was "pleading his own case" to the bishops.
"The
Church in the United States knows like few others the hopes present in
the hearts of these pilgrims," he said. "From the beginning you have
learned their languages,
promoted their cause, made their contributions your own, defended their
rights, helped them to prosper, and kept alive the flame of their
faith. Even today, no American institution does more for immigrants than
your Christian communities."
He
said accommodating immigrants isn't always easy at first. "Offer them
the warmth of the love of Christ and you will unlock the mystery of
their heart. I am certain
that, as so often in the past, these people will enrich America and its
church," he said.
Outside
the Cathedral, local Catholics waited to s glimpse of the pope getting
in and out of his now-iconic black Fiat compact. Sharon Savinski, a
native Washingtonian,
said she was thrilled to get a closeup of Francis. "He is just an
example of goodness He brings joy to life," she said.
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