UNITED STATES
Aleteia
ZOE ROMANOWSKY SEPTEMBER 25, 2015
Archbishop William E. Lori was appointed the 16th Archbishop of Baltimore, the premier see of the Church in the United States, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. He spoke to Aleteia’s Zoe Romanowsky about the significance of Pope Francis’ visit and what the Holy Father’s message means for bishops and for all of the faithful. …
The pope’s talk to the U.S. bishops yesterday at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in D.C. was quite moving and there was a lot to unpack there. What struck you the most about his message?
Several things. First, as a bishop sitting there, I felt very, very encouraged. He thanked us for our service to the poor and immigrants and there was wonderful encouragement about our Catholic schools. He understood how difficult it’s been to deal with the tragic situation of clergy sexual abuse. In many ways I felt the Holy Father was expressing a great brotherly solidarity with us, as bishops. And I think it was important that he do so because sometimes people like to create a lot of tension between the pope and the bishops. But this was the opposite — fraternal solidarity.
At the same time, I think the Holy Father recognizes that operating in any culture, including our own, involves a lot of challenges, and as he has done in the other places, he encouraged us be pastors, with the deepest respect for our roots, to deal with our problems with creativity and dialogue, trying to understand people who differ with us.
So, there’s a lot to unpack. It was kind of a mini-summary of what the Church has been saying to bishops — very effective and very moving.
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