Archbishop Dolan's Thought for the Week

April 15, 2008

I’m writing this on the bottom of a pizza crust in case I have to “eat my words!”
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, arrived at Andrews Air Force Base this afternoon to begin a six-day apostolic visit to us.

Everyone seems to be wondering what he will say at the White House, to us bishops, to Catholic educators, during Mass at Nationals Stadium in D.C., to other Christians, to Jews, Muslims, and representatives of other religions at a special meeting, at the United Nations, to young people, at Ground Zero, and at a closing Mass at Yankee Stadium.

Here are the words I might end up eating: I happen to already know what he’s going to say! And I’ll tell you where you can find it!

But first I’ll tell you what he will not say:

-- He won’t say what most of the columnists or spokespeople for the endless litany of special-interest groups in the Church want him to say. He’s not going to speak about birth control, condoms, divorce, homosexuality, women’s ordination, or priestly celibacy, although those seem to be the obligatory issues that appear in the boilerplate articles that always seem to show up whenever journalists write about the Church;

-- Pope Benedict will not even speak at length about the clergy sexual abuse scandal, although he will undoubtedly express compassion to the victims/survivors and call the Church to continued renewal and purification in its wake;

-- The Pontiff will not wring his hands over the pastoral challenges facing the Church, as aware as he is about these, e.g., Sunday Mass attendance, people leaving the Church, shortage of vocations;

-- The Holy Father will not weigh in on the American presidential campaign by speaking of political platforms or how we should vote;

-- He will not chastise or castigate, condemn or chide;

-- Pope Benedict will not order us or command us to do anything; he will impose nothing. He will propose that we take seriously and sincerely the greatest adventure of them all, a life of faith in Jesus, His teaching, His way, and invite us to fidelity in His Church.

So, what will he say?

To find that out, just look at what St. Peter has been saying to us this Easter season, in the readings we hear from the Acts of the Apostles at the Liturgy of the Word at Mass.

Simply put, Pope Benedict XVI -- who is the Successor of St. Peter -- will speak to us about God. Just like the first Pope, St. Peter, in the New Testament, Benedict will tell us that there is a God, who is our creator, our sustainer, our father. This God passionately, tenderly, personally loves us, so much so that He sent His only Son to save us from sin, eternal death, and Satan. This God wants us to spend eternity with Him in heaven, and Jesus, His Son, will get us there. This God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible, in creation, in the depth of our own heart, has written in our souls His law, and given us His commandments, which will bring us happiness now and in eternity.

We not only believe in this God (faith); we also have a sturdy hope that He keeps His promises to us; we gratefully and humbly accept His deep love for us, and then return it to Him and share it with His people.

This Son of God, Jesus, is “the way, the truth, and the life,” who invites us to confess with our lips that He is Lord, and believe in our hearts that He has risen from the dead.

This Jesus invites us to communion with Him in His Church, in prayer, in the sacraments, through conversion of heart and pursuit of virtue.

This Father and Son impart to us their Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who makes every life sacred, and who empowers us to advance a civilization of love and a culture of life.

There you have it. Sorry, no bombshells or glaring headlines. I’ve told you what he’ll say and where to find the script. The newspapers and reporters might be disappointed. The special interests on either fringe of the Church might be upset, because they don’t want to hear that we’re called to change our lives to conform to Christ and His Church; instead, they want to change Christ and His Church to conform to their lives.

So, some will dismiss him, ridicule him, and criticize him. They’ll be all over the airwaves.

He’s used to it. He’s the Successor of St. Peter. Everyday he looks down from the window of his apartment at the spot where Peter, the first Pope, was crucified upside-down on a hill called “the Vatican”.

Welcome, Holy Father!
 

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

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