State’s bishops gather in D.C. with pope
CHRISTOPHER GUNTY | FC
Bishop Gerald E. Barbarito makes a point to William Gibson, Washington bureau chief for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, during an interview in Washington after the U.S. bishops meeting April 16 with Pope Benedict XVI. Bishop Barbarito told the Florida Catholic he considers the pope “intellectually astonishing but a man of tremendous gentleness.”
WASHINGTON | One of the most significant meetings Pope Benedict XVI held on his first pastoral visit to the United States was April 16 with the country’s bishops, in which he affirmed them in their ministry and challenged them to guide their flocks, especially young people.
All of Florida’s bishops attended the meeting in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which was preceded by a short motorcade from the nearby headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the second opportunity during the day for the public to view the pontiff in the popemobile.
The energetic Benedict, who celebrated his 81st birthday that day, greeted crowds gathered near the shrine with hearty waves. People along the route sang and played music, shouted their support for the pope, held banners, and waved yellow and white papal flags.
Inside the basilica, the pope acknowledged the heritage in the United States of “humanitarian assistance provided by American Catholics through Catholic Charities and other agencies. Their generosity has borne fruit in the care shown to the poor and needy, and in the energy that has gone into building the nationwide network of Catholic parishes hospitals, schools and universities.”
He also said that America is a land of great faith, noting, “Your people are remarkable for their religious fervor and they take pride in belonging to a worshipping community.”
The wide-ranging talk including three prepared questions from bishops — on increasing secularism in public life and relativism in intellectual life, on attrition in Catholics practicing the faith, and on the decline in vocations — and the pope’s answers.
Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of Palm Beach told the Florida Catholic that the talk contained so many themes, he needed time to read the text and reflect on it in order to absorb the pope’s message completely. He said it was both at a level of understanding and so deep, as is common for this pope.
He said when the pope spoke of the dangers of secularism, he alluded to the message of faith as a purely private matter, which it cannot be. Bishop Barbarito cited the example of someone “who worships on Sunday but the rest of the week, doesn’t do much” in their faith life.
More prayer is needed, he said. “Our young people (especially) need to grow and we bishops need to guide them.”
The bishop said he felt not only the pope’s support, but also his inspiration. “As the pope spoke, you could feel the intensity within — his own strong faith.
“He’s intellectually astonishing, but also a man of tremendous gentleness,” Bishop Barbarito said.
Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando said the speech was very prayerful, and appropriate in the context of the Catholic Church in the United States at this time. One of the pope’s roles as Successor of Peter is “to confirm his brothers in the episcopate and perhaps challenge us to keep our shoulders to the plow in the work that has to be done.”
He felt the meeting was positive in tone: “If someone was expecting the pope to scold the bishops, he didn’t do that. He did challenge us to preach the Gospel, which you would expect him to do.”
The Orlando bishop said it was heartening to hear the pope raise issues such as immigration, among similar issues raised earlier in the day when the pope met with President George W. Bush at the White House. Bishop Wenski was able to attend that event as well. He said he hopes Pope Benedict’s visit will raise these issues to a greater awareness in the country.
He said the president’s words at the White House were good, making reference to themes of Benedict’s own papacy. And the pontiff made reference to religious freedom, a hallmark of the American Constitution.
“There is a legitimate difference between healthy secularity and secularism, (that is) God on the edges of society,” Bishop Wenksi said. The pope “affirmed some things in our society while highlighting concerns we all share.”
He noted that, at 81, the pope looks to be in good health. “He’s a shyer man than John Paul II. Certainly he’s as intellectually sharp as John Paul, and certainly a kindred spirit.”