CENTENARY OF WAGGA WAGGA DIOCESE - 17 SUNDAY 2017.

Archbishop Francis Carroll

“THE YEARS HAVE TURNED THE RUSTED KEY, AND TIME IS ON THE JOG, YET SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT WITH ME AROUND THE BOREE LOG”. NOT SCRIPTURAL, I ADMIT, BUT THE RECURRING REFRAIN IN THE SIGNATURE POEM OF THE WAGGA DIOCESE’S MOST FAMOUS PRIEST, PATRICK HARTIGAN, BETTER KNOWN AS, “JOHN O’BRIEN”. THE POEM PICTURES AN OLD MAN SITTING BY HIS OPEN FIRE- PLACE, ABLAZE WITH THE FIRE OF A BOREE LOG, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ARRIVAL OF A TRAVELLER WHO WILL SURELY COME BY, TO SHARE THE WARMTH AND SWAP YARNS OF YEARS GONE BY.

IN A SENSE THAT IS WHAT WE DO AT A CENTENARY TIME – IN THE WARMTH OF REMEMBRANCE WE LOOK BACK AND TELL THE STORIES OF THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS. IN THE CASE OF THE WAGGA DIOCESE WE DO THIS WITH THANKSGIVING TO GOD IN OUR HEARTS, AND LOVING MEMORIES OF ALL WHO HAVE BEEN PART OF THAT 100 YEARS HISTORY. ON THE OCCASION OF THE SILVER ANNIVERSARY OF THE DIOCESE THE SAME FATHER HARTIGAN REFLECTED ON ITS FIRST TWENTY FIVE YEARS; HE IS SAID TO HAVE GIVEN A BRILLIANT SERMON WHICH LASTED FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR. MY WORDS WILL NOT BE NEARLY AS ELOQUENT BUT I PROMISE THEY WILL BE, AT LEAST A LITTLE, SHORTER.

THE WAGGA WAGGA DIOCESE WAS ESTABLISHED BY THE ROMAN DOCUMENT OF 28 JULY 1917 WHICH PROCLAIMED ITS SEPARATION FROM THE GOULBURN DIOCESE. WITH THE APPOINTMENT OF ITS FIRST BISHOP ON 14 MARCH OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR IT EFFECTIVELY BEGAN TO FUNCTION. A DIOCESE IS DEFINED AS “A PORTION OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD, WHICH IS ENTRUSTED TO A BISHOP TO BE NURTURED BY HIM, WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE PRESBYTERATE, IN SUCH A WAY THAT, REMAINING CLOSE TO ITS PASTOR AND GATHERED BY HIM THROUGH THE GOSPELS AND THE EUCHARIST IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH TRULY EXISTS AND FUNCTIONS”. SO THE STORY OF A DIOCESE IS THE STORY OF ITS PEOPLE.

JOSEPH W. DWYER WAS THE FIRST OF FIVE BISHOPS WHO HAVE BEEN THE CHIEF PASTORS OF THE DIOCESE. WE EAGERLY AWAIT THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SIXTH. EACH BISHOP HAS PUT HIS PERSONAL STAMP ON THE DIOCESAN CHURCH. BISHOP DWYER HAD THE DEMANDING TASK OF BUILDING A DIOCESAN IDENTITY AND PUTTING IN PLACE THE STRUCTURES NECESSARY FOR THE LIFE OF THIS NEW PARTICULAR CHURCH. HE LAID THE FOUNDATIONS WELL AND GUARANTEED THE CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT OF A VIBRANT DIOCESAN CHURCH. IN HIS TIME THE VAST MAJORITY OF CATHOLICS WERE IRISH-AUSTRALIANS, MANY OF WHOM HAD COME TO THE RIVERINA TO TAKE UP FARMING BLOCKS MADE AVAILABLE WITH THE DIVISION OF LARGE PROPERTIES. “JOHN O’BRIEN’S” POEMS WONDERFULLY PORTRAY HOW THEIR CATHOLIC FAITH SO THOROUGHLY PERMEATD THEIR LIVES. SUNDAY MASS WAS NEVER TO BE MISSED AND THE FAMILY ROSARY WAS A NIGHTLY RITUAL. CATHOLICS HOWEVER, WERE OFTEN DISCRIMATED AGAINST BECAUSE OF BITTER SECTARIANISM AND MASONIC INFLUENCE; EFFECTIVELY THEY WERE SEEN AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS. IF ANYTHING, THIS STRENGTHENED THEIR FAITH AND TIGHTENED THE BONDS UNITING THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY.

TWENTY TWO PRIESTS TRANSFERRED FROM THE GOULBURN DIOCESE TO SERVE IN THE FLEDGING DIOCESAN CHURCH. THE LARGE MAJORITY WERE IRISH- BORN WITH FIVE AUSTRALIAN- BORN. THE CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA INCLUDING THIS DIOCESE, SHOULD NEVER FORGET THE TREMENDOUS DEBT OWED TO THE IRISH CLERGY. THEY CAME ACROSS THE SEAS TO SERVE THE CATHOLIC FAITHFULL WHO, OTHERWISE, WOULD HAVE BEEN SHEEP WITHOUT SHEPHERDS IN A RUGGED AND OFTEN HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. THE LONGEST SURVIVOR OF THE ORIGINAL “GOULBURN PRIESTS” WAS MONSIGNOR OWEN CLARKE. ON A PERSONAL NOTE, DURING HIS FIFTY SEVEN YEARS IN GANMAIN PARISH, HE BAPTIZED ME AND WAS STILL IN THE SAME PARISH WHEN I BECAME HIS BISHOP.

BISHOP DWYER DID NOT HAVE TO BUILD FROM NOTHING. FIFTEEN PARISHES WERE ALREADY ESTABLISHED. MANY FINE CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, CONVENTS AND PRESBYTERIES HAD BEEN BUILT DUE TO THE GENEROUS GIVING OF PEOPLE WHO THEMSELVES HAD LITLE. WELL BEFORE THE DIOCESE CAME INTO BEING, A NUMBER OF RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS HAD ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES IN THE RIVERINA. THE MERCY, JOSEPHITE AND PRESENTATIONS SISTERS AND THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS WERE ALREADY MANAGING AND STAFFING CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, MANY OF THEM IN SMALL COUNTRY TOWNS.

IN 1937, BECAUSE OF BISHOP DWYER’S FAILING HEALTH HE WAS GIVEN AN AUXILIARY BISHOP. FRANCIS AUGUSTIN HENSCHKE CAME FROM THE DIOCESE OF PORT AUGUSTA (NOW PORT PIRIE). AFTER THE DEATH OF BISHOP DWYER, HE WAS APPOINTED THE SECOND BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE. HIS 28 YEARS WERE TO BE THE LONGEST TERM OF OFFICE OF ALL THE BISHOPS. IF BISHOP DWYER LAID SOLID FOUNDATIONS, BISHOP HENSCHKE LED THE DIOCESE INTO A PERIOD OF STRONG GROWTH. PARISH CHURCHES WERE FULL, AND FAITH-FILLED FAMILIES AND PARISH COMMUNITIES BROUGHT FORTH NUMEROUS PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. MULTIPLE ORDINATIONS IN THE 50’S AND 60’S MEANT THE DIOCESE HAD EFFECTIVELY BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN PRIESTLY NUMBERS. BISHOP HENSCHKE OPENED MANY NEW CHURCH BUILDINGS AND WELCOMED NEW RELIGIOUS, INCLUDING THE CARMELITE SISTERS, TO THE DIOCESE. THE SEE, JUDGE AND ACT OF CATHOLIC ACTION GROUPS WAS HEARD IN THE LAND. THE BISHOPS TALL AND IMPOSING APPEARENCE BELIED A PERSONAL HUMILITY AND A WARM PASTORAL HEART. EVEN NOW, MANY OLDER CATHOLICS RECALL, WITH GREAT AFFECTION, EXAMPLES OF HIS PASTORAL CARE AND DOWN TO EARTH COMMON SENSE. HIS BEING GRANTED THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF WAGGA WAS A RECOGNITION OF HIS STANDING NOT ONLY IN THE CHURCH BUT IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY. HE TOOK PART IN ALL FOUR SESSIONS OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL.

POPE JOHN PAUL 11 DESCRIBED THE VATICAN COUNCIL AS THE GREATEST GRACE GIVEN TO THE CHURCH IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. IT WAS CERTAINLY A “WATERSHED” IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH AND CAN WELL SERVE AS A MIDWAY MARKER IN THE STORY OF OUR CENTENARY DIOCESE.

IN MANY WAYS, BISHOP HENSCHKE WAS MY MENTOR. HE CONFIRMED AND ORDAINED ME, BOTH AS A PRIEST AND AS A BISHOP, INDEED AS HIS COADJUTOR-BISHOP. THAT TOOK PLACE FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS COMING 5TH. SEPTEMBER. WHEN HE DREW HIS LAST BREATH ON 24 FEBRUARY 1968, I AUTOMATICALLY SUCCEEDED HIM AS THE THIRD BISHOP OF WAGGA. IT WAS MY LOT TO CONTINUE THE WORK HE HAD BEGUN WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE VATICAN COUNCIL. IT WAS AN EXCITING TIME AS WE ENDEAVOURED TO GRASP AND APPLY THE COUNCIL’S VISION FOR THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD.THE GREAT MAJORITY OF THE LAY FAITHFUL AND CLERGY ENTHUSIASTICALLY WELCOMED THE CHANGES THAT FOLLOWED THE COUNCIL, ALTHOUGH A MINORITY FOUND THEM DIFFCULT TO ACCEPT. THE CHANGE FROM LATIN TO THE VERNACULAR IN THE LITURGY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST OBVIOUS CHANGE FOR SUNDAY CONGREGATIONS. IN A SENSE, THE COUNCIL GAVE THE BIBLE BACK TO CATHOLICS AND ITS WIDER USE ENRICHED THE LITURGY AND PRIVATE DEVOTION.

THE COUNCIL’S EMPHASIS ON THE PEOPLE OF GOD, WAS ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT. ALL THE BAPTIZED WERE EQUAL MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH AND HAD A RESPONSABILTY GIVEN DIRECTLY BY CHRIST, TO TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION. I SET OUT TO ENCOURAGE THIS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY ALL; THE LAY FAITHFUL MOST NEEDED THAT EXTRA ENCOURAGEMENT AND TO BE GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES TO EXERCISE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. A NUMBER OF CONSULTATIVE BODIES WERE ESTABLISHED, SUCH AS THE PARISH AND DIOCESAN PASTORAL COUNCILS, ALONGSIDE THE COUNCIL OF PRIESTS. THE HUME WEIR WAS HUMMING WITH THE ANNUAL Y.C.S. CAMPS AND THE 200 STRONG PRIESTS’ SEMINARS. CURSILLO AND OTHER RENEWAL MOVEMENTS ENRICHED THE SPIRITUAL LIVES OF MANY AND IN A WAY REPLACED THE GREAT SODALITIES OF EARLER YEARS. THE COUNCIL GAVE GREAT IMPETUS TO THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT AND SO STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WERE DEVELOPED WITH OTHER CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. PROTESTANTS WHO HAD BEEN THE OPPOSITION, BECAME SISTER AND BROTHER CHRISTIANS, AND MANY A COMMON CAUSE WAS MADE WITH THEM.

AFTER MY TRANSFER TO CANBERRA AND GOULBURN, BISHOP WILLIAM BRENNAN WAS APPOINTED THE FOURTH BISHOP OF WAGGA AND WAS ORDAINED ITS BISHOP ON 1ST. MARCH 1984. HE HAD BEEN A PRIEST OF OUR NEIGHBOURING DIOCESE OF WILCANNIA-FORBES. HE IS BEST REMEMBERED FOR ESTABLISHING WAGGA’S OWN DIOCESAN SEMINARY WHICH IS ABOUT TO CELEBRATE ITS SILVER JUBILEE. TODAY MOST OF THE PARISHES OF THE DIOCESE ARE STAFFED BY PRIESTS WHO ARE GRADUATES OF VIANNEY COLLEGE. HE WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSOLIDATING THE ADMINISTRATVE BODIES UNDER THE ONE ROOF OF MACALROY HOUSE. IN MAY 2001 BISHOP BRENNAN WAS FORCED TO RESIGN PREMATURELY BECAUSE OF SUDDEN ILL-HEALTH WHICH SADLY LEFT HIM AN INVALID FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. AFTER HIS DEATH IN 2002 HE WAS BURIED HERE IN ST. MICHAEL’S CATHEDRAL.

A YEAR LATER IN MAY 2003, OUR FIFTH BISHOP WAS ORDAINED, IN THE PERSON OF GERARD HANNA WHO CAME FROM THE DIOCESE OF ARMIDALE. HE BROUGHT A SPIRIT OF WARM HOSPITALITY AND OPENNESS TO HIS MINSTRY. HE TOOK A VERY PERSONAL INTEREST IN THE WELFARE OF THE PRIESTS AND SEMINARIANS AND EXTENDED THAT THE SAME PASTORAL CARE TO PARISHIONERS. HE GAVE ACTIVE SUPPORT TO THE SCHOOLS AND THE GOOD WORKS OF A NUMBER OF CHURCH GROUPS. BISHOP HANNA PROCLAIMED ST. MARY OF THE CROSS MACKILLOP AS PATRONESS OF THE DIOCESE. IN THE NAME OF THE AUSTRALIAN BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE, HE GAVE STRONG LEADERSHIP IN SUPPORTING REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS. A CANNY ADMINISTRATOR HE RESTORED THE DIOCESE TO A STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION. IN HIS LAST FEW YEARS HE KNEW SOME LIMITATIONS OF ILL-HEALTH BUT STILL CHEERFULLY FULFILLED HIS COMMITMENTS. HE RETIRED TO HIS BELOVED FAMILY IN ARMIDALE IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR.

RELIGIOUS WOMEN AND MEN HAVE MADE A MASSIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE DIOCESAN CHURCH. FOLLOWING ON FROM THOSE WHO WERE HERE BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE DIOCESE, OTHER RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS AND NEW WORKS DEVELOPED, FOR INSTANCE, IN CATHOLIC HOSPITALS AND AGED CARE FACILITIES. I THINK THAT RELIGIOUS SISTERS RESPONDED TO THE VATICAN COUNCIL MORE ACTIVELY THAN ANY OTHER GROUP. APART FROM OBVIOUS CHANGES IN HABITS AND LIFE-STYLE, ONE EFFECT WAS THAT A NUMBER OF SISTERS UNDERTOOK MORE VARIED WORKS BOTH WITHIN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY. OVER MANY YEARS, PARISHES HAVE BEEN ENRICHED BY THEIR PRAYERFUL PRESENCE AND EVER-READY PASTORAL CARE.

TODAY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS ARE ALMOST COMPLETELY MANAGED AND STAFFED BY LAYMEN AND WOMEN, AND THEY RECEIVE SUBSTANTIAL GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT. IN THE LONG YEARS WHEN THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE, CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WOULD NEVER HAVE SURVIVED EXCEPT FOR THE RELIGIOUS, PARTICULARLY THE WOMEN. IT IS TRUE THAT THE WHOLE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY, PARENTS, PARISHIONERS AND CLERGY ALL MADE MANY SACRIFICES BUT THESE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN VAIN, WITHOUT THOSE OF THE RELIGIOUS WOMEN AND MEN. THAT STORY, AS WELL AS THE LONG STRUGGLE TO WIN GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS ARE IN DANGER OF FADING INTO HISTORY, BUT THEY DESERVE TO BE KEPT ALIVE AND NEVER FORGOTTEN.

SINCE THE EARLY DOMINANCE OF “IRISH CATHOLICS” THE COMPOSITION OF THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY HAS BEEN ENRICHED BY THE ARRIVAL OF PEOPLES OF A VARIETY OF ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS. THE WAVES OF MIGRATION AFTER BOTH WORLD WARS AND MORE RECENTLY OF BOAT PEOPLE AND OTHER REFUGEES HAVE CHANGED THE FACE OF AUSTRALIA AND OF OUR CHURCH. TO THIS DAY NEW PEOPLES, INCLUDING CATHOLICS OF RITES OTHER THAN THE FAMILIAR LATIN RITE, ARE STILL ARRIVING, TO GIVE VARIETY AND STRENGTH TO THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY.

ON READING TODAY’S GOSPEL I FOUND THAT, BY AN AMAZING COINCIDENCE, IT CONTAINS THE VERY MOTTO I CHOSE, WHEN I BECAME A BISHOP. ’NOVA ET VETERA’ IN LATIN, ‘THINGS NEW AND OLD’ IN ENGLISH, OR, AS I PREFER, ‘TREASURES NEW AND OLD’. JESUS SPOKE OF THE WISE HOUSEHOLDER WHO BRINGS OUT OF HIS STORE-ROOM, THINGS BOTH NEW AND OLD. HE WANTED HIS FOLLOWERS TO RETAIN THE OLD TREASURES OF GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE WHICH CAN STILL BE FOUND RECORDED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. AT THE SAME TIME THEY WERE TO EMBRACE THE NEW TREASURES HE HIMSELF WAS GIVING IN HIS LIFE AND TEACHING.

AT THE END OF THE COUNCIL IT WAS CLEAR THAT MANY CHANGES WERE TO BE INTRODUCED INTO THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH. IT WAS ALSO CLEAR THAT A BISHOP WOULD NEED TO BE A “WISE HOUSEHOLDER” TO DISCERN WHAT SHOULD BE CHANGED AND WHAT SHOULD REMAIN UNCHANGED. MY MOTTO HAS SERVED ME WELL OVER THE YEARS AND I THINK THAT IT STILL HAS VALUE AS WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE. WE LIVE IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD AND, BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS IN THAT WORLD, MANY OF THESE CHANGES WILL CALL FOR FLEXIBILE PASTORAL RESPONSES.

THE GOSPEL GRAPHICALLY REMINDS US THAT THE REAL TREASURE WE MUST DISCOVER HIDDEN IN THE FIELD, IS THE KINGDOM, OR REIGN, OF GOD. IT IS THE FINEST OF ALL PEARLS THAT MAY COST US EVERYTHING WE OWN. WE ARE WARNED THAT THE SEA CONTAINS BOTH GOOD AND BAD FISH. WHEN CAUGHT, THE GOOD WILL BE KEPT, THE OTHERS WILL BE THROWN AWAY. IN THE STORY OF OUR CHURCH WE FIND THE GOOD AND THE BAD, THE SUCCESSES AND THE FAILURES. TODAY WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE GRACES AND WONDERFUL SUCCESSES OF THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS. AT THE SAME TIME WE CANNOT IGNORE THE FAILURES.

AS WE TURN TO FACE THE FUTURE THERE IS LITTLE ROOM FOR COMPLACENY. BY MANY STANDARDS OF MEASUREMENT, OUR CHURCH IS A CHURCH IN DECLINE. WE HAVE ONLY TO LOOK AT OUR DIMISHING AND AGEING SUNDAY CONGREGATIONS WITH THE ALMOST COMPLETE ABSENCE OF YOUNG PEOPLE; TO CONSIDER THE BURDEN ON PRIESTS LOOKING AFTER SEVERAL PARISHES; THE LACK OF LOCALLY GROWN PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. THE RECENT CENSUS TELLS US OF THE AUSTRALIA-WIDE DECLINE OF RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION AND CATHOLICS ARE INCLUDED IN THAT. WORST OF ALL, THE FINDINGS OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS HAVE BROUGHT TO LIGHT UNSPEAKABLE CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN BY CLERGY, RELIGIOUS AND CHURCH PERSONNEL. MAKING MATTER WORSE, THESE CRIMES HAVE OFTEN BEEN COVERED UP. THIS MUST MARK THE LOWEST POINT IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA AND SADLY, OUR DIOCESE HAS NOT BEEN IMMUNE FROM THE EVIL. MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SCANDALIZED TO THE POINT OF LEAVING THE CHURCH, AND THE CHURCH HAS LOST ITS MORAL CREDIBILITY IN SOCIETY.

WHERE DO WE LOOK FOR HOPE IN THESE DARK DAYS? IF WE RECOGNIZE THAT INNOCENT VICTIMS MUST ALWAYS BE OUR PRIME CONCERN AND TRANSPARENTLY DO ALL IN OUR POWER TO ELIMINATE THESE CRIMES TOTALLY, WE MAY FIND SOME REDEMPTION. IF WE AS THE CHURCH TRULY REPENT, WE MAY LEARN A NEW HUMILITY. WE CAN LEARN FROM MEMBERS OF AA.THAT IT IS WHEN WE HIT ROCK BOTTOM THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO RECOVER. OF COURSE THERE ARE OTHER SIGNS OF HOPE. IN EVERY PARISH, THE PRAYER AND GOOD WORKS OF PRIESTS AND PARISHIONERS WHO REMAIN STEADFAST IN FAITH; MANY YOUNG CATHOLICS, EDUCATED IN OUR SCHOOLS, HAVE A STRONGER SOCIAL CONSCIENCE THAN THEIR ELDERS; ST. VINCENT DE PAUL AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT GROWING NUMBERS OF THE POOR AND DISADVANTAGED. YOUNG MEN FROM NEAR AND FAR COME TO THE SEMINARY INTENDING TO BECOME PRIESTS. MANY OTHER SIGNS OF HOPE COULD EASILY BE CITED.

PERHAPS THE GREATEST SIGN OF HOPE IS THE LEADER OF OUR CHURCH, POPE FRANCIS. HIS HUMILITY AND SIMPLICITY HAVE ENDEARED HIM TO MANY BOTH WITHIN AND BEYOND THE CHURCH. HE IS LISTENED TO BECAUSE “HE WALKS THE TALK” AND LIVES WHAT HE PREACHES. HE TAKES THE VATICAN COUNCIL SERIOUSLY WHEN OTHERS HAVE ALLOWED IT TO FALL INTO OBSCURITY. HE WANTS A POOR CHURCH FOR THE POOR AND SPEAKS OF HOW JESUS PREFERRED THE COMPANY OF THE POOR, AND CALLED THEM BLESSED. WHAT A CHALLENGE THAT POSES FOR A MIDDLE CLASS CHURCH AND THE COMFORTABLE LIFE-STYLE OF ITS MEMBERS. HE THINKS OF THE CHURCH AS A FIELD HOSPITAL IN A WAR ZONE. JUST AS JESUS DID, OUR CHURCH MUST HUMBLY BRING HEALING TO THE WOUNDS OF THE WORLD. WE WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED IF WE HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED OUR NEED FOR HEALING, AND COME AS WOUNDED HEALERS. POPE FRANCIS PREFERS A CHURCH THAT MAKES MISTAKES AND GETS DIRTY BY BEING OUT IN THE STREETS RATHER THAN AN UNTARNISHED CHURCH ISOLATED FROM REAL LIFE.

THE POPE OFTEN AND SEVERELY CONDEMNS CLERICALISM WHICH THRIVES ON PRESTIGE AND POWER. HE SAYS THAT BISHOPS AND PRIESTS ARE TO BE SHEPHERDS WHO SMELL LIKE THE SHEEP. I BELIEVE THAT CLERICALISM IS ALIVE AND WELL IN OUR CHURCH AND REQUIRES PERSONAL CONVERSION AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE. LIKE HIS NAME SAKE, ST FRANCIS, HE LOVES ALL CREATED THINGS AND URGES US TO CARE FOR OUR HOME, THE ENVIRONMENT. HIS STRONG WORDS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, INCLUDING CLIMATE CHANGE, HAVE ADDED A NEW CHAPTER TO THE STRONG TRADITION OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE TEACHING. IN MANY WAYS, POPE FRANCIS IS A SHINING BEACON OF HOPE, BUT THE HOPE HE GIVES ALWAYS CONTAINS A CHALLENGE WHICH CALLS FOR OUR RESPONSE.

SO, AT THE END OF ONE CENTURY AND THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER, WE GRATEFULLY COUNT OUR BLESSINGS, BUT GIRD OURSELVES FOR THE FUTURE. WE DO SO WITH HEARTS FULL OF HOPE, BECAUSE JESUS PROMISED TO BE WITH US ALWAYS, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL NEVER DESERT THE CHURCH.