PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
By Dan Sheehan
Of The Morning Call
Allentown Bishop John O. Barres was among the hundreds of cardinals, bishops and other religious who crowded the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington to hear Pope Francis speak about the church’s mission, the clerical sex abuse crisis and the plight of immigrants.
The pontiff received long ovations during the prayer service in the church best known as the site of the funeral for the nation’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, in 1963.
In a statement, Barres said Francis “synthesized so many of his beautiful thoughts and themes with an emphasis on the good shepherd and a culture of encounter for the poor, all those in pain, all those in distress. (He was) calling all of us to be engaged in a culture of encounter with everyone in our global society.”
Francis opened the Thursday service by thanking Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, a former priest of the Diocese of Allentown who now serves as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington.
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