Humility Humor Mark New Bishops Debut, Christopher Burbach, World Herald, June 3, 2009

Humility, Humor Mark New Bishop's Debut

By Christopher Burbach
World-Herald
June 3, 2009

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10645159

Bishop George Lucas greets Virginia Dooling during his visit to New Cassel Retirement Center.

Omaha's next archbishop, George J. Lucas, took a mini-tour of his new Roman Catholic home on Wednesday, the day the Vatican named him to lead the northeast Nebraska archdiocese.

Lucas took a humorous and humble approach to his first public introduction to Nebraskans: a press conference at the Cathedral Cultural Center that was packed with priests, lay leaders and a handful of high school students.

He showed pastoral (and maybe political) skills when visiting the New Cassel Retirement Center, 900 N. 90th St., for lunch. He engaged each elderly resident whose hand he shook, asked each her name and asked each to pray for him.

At Creighton University's St. John Church, Lucas met with nearly 175 seminarians from across the country who are studying prayer and spirituality in Omaha this summer.

At Catholic Charities' Campus for Hope, 1490 N. 16th St., the prelate listened intently while program director Mike Phillips walked him through a detoxification unit, an addiction recovery meeting room and a health clinic for the homeless.

And then evening prayer at St. Cecilia Cathedral with dozens of priests, nuns and the general public.

First impressions?

Lucas: "I've gotten a taste today of the vitality of Catholic life and the work of the church here. There's a great sense of hope. We have a future that's full of hope. It may have a lot of challenges, but there are a lot of resources and effort going into meeting those challenges, and a focus on treating each person with dignity and respect."

Phillips, his Campus for Hope tour guide: "When you think about all the responsibility that he's coming into, it speaks to who he is that he was very much listening, paying attention and asking questions. He wasn't just going through the motions. I have a very encouraging sense of the new archbishop."

Lucas, 59, was named Wednesday by Pope Benedict XVI as the successor to Archbishop Elden F. Curtiss, who submitted his mandatory resignation two years ago when he turned 75. Lucas will be formally installed as archbishop on July 22 at St. Cecilia Cathedral.

"He's off to a tremendous start," said the Rev. Ryan Lewis, pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Church.

Lewis said Lucas' interaction with the New Cassel residents spoke volumes about what the 220,000 Catholics of northeast Nebraska can expect from their new leader.

"He's an extraordinarily personable man," Lewis said. "When you talk to him one-on-one, you feel like you're really being heard. He's only paying attention to you, and he's got all the time in the world for you. And when I watch a guy and he's that good with the elderly, it's gold. That suggests a real pastoral heart."

The youthful-looking Lucas got a rock star welcome from the residents and received a bit of advice while greeting them after Mass in the center's chapel.

"If you ever have to retire, this is the best place around," said 86-year-old Virginia Dooling. "This place will keep you young."

At the press conference, Lucas showed that he had done his homework by prominently mentioning Catholic schools, a focus of family and social lives of many Omahans. He said even a casual observer would be impressed by Catholic education here.

"I look forward to not being a casual observer, but an active participant in this endeavor," he said.

Lucas played along with the joke when a television reporter asked a question that referred to a more famous George Lucas, the director of "Star Wars."

"Have you ever ended a Mass by saying, 'The force be with you'?" she asked.

Laughing, Lucas said he has resisted, so far.

When asked what, besides corn, his Illinois diocese had in common with northeast Nebraska, he said, "We have a lot of corn in Illinois, but not so many Cornhuskers."

Each diocese is different, Lucas said, but he added that he is impressed with the depth and vitality of parish life as well as "the value that is placed on Catholic education" in northeast Nebraska.

In his prepared remarks, Lucas said he was humbled and grateful that the pope had given him the responsibility of leading the Omaha Archdiocese.

"I look forward to learning about all the ways the Gospel is preached and lived in the Archdiocese of Omaha," he said. "I have a great deal to learn, and you all have much to teach me."

To priests Lucas said, "Not only will I depend on you to teach me, I will depend on you to support me, as I support you."

To non-Catholics Lucas said he had been very active in interfaith work in Illinois and plans to continue that in Omaha.

There was a feeling of joy and relief in the cathedral conference room Wednesday morning as the Rev. Joseph Taphorn, archdiocese chancellor, introduced Curtiss, who in turn introduced Lucas. Both bishops received standing ovations from the crowd of more than 75.

A smiling Curtiss called the appointment a relief. He said he had first met Lucas in 1995, when Lucas was rector of a St. Louis seminary and Curtiss was a board member.

"I have admired him ever since," Curtiss said.

Until Lucas' formal installation, Curtiss will be the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese. Taphorn said Curtiss, "a man who never slows down," will remain active, helping Lucas, writing and maybe squeezing in a round of golf.

Lucas will come to Omaha under much different circumstances than when he was ordained a bishop and went to Illinois in 1999. A sex abuse scandal involving the former Springfield bishop, Daniel Ryan, was brewing at the time. It eventually erupted into greater scandal and lawsuits as the national clergy sex abuse crisis broke open.

In an interview, Lucas said the Springfield Diocese has taken the steps necessary to protect children, to be transparent and to ensure that the diocese operates with integrity.

That said, he added, "The hurt of the abuse is still felt very deeply by those who were abused."

Asked what his priorities in Omaha are, Lucas said it's too early to say. But he vowed to devote "a lot of energy" to education, the various ministries of the church and the development of vocations to the priesthood.

Contact the writer: 444-1057, christopher.burbach@owh.com