Hello and welcome!

I’m so happy to be back with you to share my experiences over the past month.

My first event came on November 8th, when we had the Mass of Investiture for the Order of the Holy Sepulchre at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

A very large number of new members were inducted, I believe over 50 new Knights and Dames, including several priests and deacons.  It was a joy to welcome them.

During the ceremony, we also announced that Dame Marianne Luthin has been named the new Lieutenant, succeeding Sir Gerry Foley.

It’s the first time we have had a woman appointed as Lieutenant for the Northeast Lieutenancy, which is certainly a big step for us.  Marianne is very, very committed to the Order, and if anyone deserves that distinction, it’s her.

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The following day, I traveled down to Baltimore for the USCCB General Assembly, where I participated in meetings for the Committee for the National Shrine and the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

In the assembly, of course, we discussed many topics, but perhaps the most important one we addressed was immigration.  As a result, our President issued a strong statement in the name of the conference that I’d like to share with you here:

As pastors, we the bishops of the United States are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ.  We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.  We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.  We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.  We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.  We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools.  We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones.

Despite obstacles and prejudices, generations of immigrants have made enormous contributions to the well-being of our nation.  We as Catholic bishops love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity.  For this very reason, we feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.

Catholic teaching exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants.  We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures.  Human dignity and national security are not in conflict.  Both are possible if people of good will work together.

We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good.  Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation.  Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks.

The Church’s teaching rests on the foundational concern for the human person, as created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). As pastors, we look to Sacred Scripture and the example of the Lord Himself, where we find the wisdom of God’s compassion.  The priority of the Lord, as the Prophets remind us, is for those who are most vulnerable: the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger (Zechariah 7:10). In the Lord Jesus, we see the One who became poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9), we see the Good Samaritan who lifts us from the dust (Luke 10:30—37), and we see the One who is found in the least of these (Matthew 25).  The Church’s concern for neighbor and our concern here for immigrants is a response to the Lord’s command to love as He has loved us (John 13:34).

To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26). You are not alone!

We note with gratitude that so many of our clergy, consecrated religious, and lay faithful already accompany and assist immigrants in meeting their basic human needs.  We urge all people of good will to continue and expand such efforts.

We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.  We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.  We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials.  In this dialogue, we will continue to advocate for meaningful immigration reform.

As disciples of the Lord, we remain men and women of hope, 

and hope does not disappoint!  (cf. Romans 5:5)

May the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe enfold us all in her maternal and loving care and draw us ever closer to the heart of Christ.

I also want to share with you some pictures of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is the first cathedral of the United States, and where we have our annual Mass with the bishops.

It was my first time visiting the crypt where John Carroll, the first American bishop, is buried.

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On November 15^th, I celebrated Mass for the opening day of the Shalom Catholic Community’s North American Congress that was held at St. Anthony in Cambridge.

There was a very good crowd of people, with some coming from as far away as Canada and Florida, in addition to those from the Northeast.

We were so grateful to be joined by Moysés Azevedo, founder of the Shalom.  It was his first time here in North America.

In my homily, I spoke to them about the importance of unity and communion in the Body of Christ and that true mission comes from surrendering our hearts to God. And I told them Shalom’s charism of peace and joy is truly a gift for the Church.

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Later that evening, I attended the Boston Black Catholic Community’s annual Healy Award Dinner at BC High.

As always, it was a very lively celebration, and I particularly enjoyed the performance by the archdiocese’s Haitian choir.

This year’s Healy Award Recipient was Father Michael Davidson, S.J., and I was the recipient of the Ruffin Award.  Maître Jean-Louis Daniel also received the Meyer Chambers Award.

 

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From November 16th through the 20th, I was in St. Louis for the Pontifical Mission Societies National Directors Conference, where I gave a retreat.

It was held at the Augustine Institute, which is a magnificent facility there.  It was formerly a conference center for the Boeing aircraft company, and it is just stunning.

While I was there, I had a nice meeting with the institute’s president, Dr. Tim Gray.

Father Roger Landry, the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, organized the retreat.

He brought a Frenchman whose daughter, Mayline Tran, was miraculously cured through the intercession of Blessed Pauline Jaricot, the founder of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

Mayline was in a coma with very severe brain damage that the doctors presumed was permanent, and then the family began a novena.  She was miraculously healed, and this was the miracle that led to Blessed Pauline’s beatification.

I also learned that Blessed Pauline Jaricot had started a rosary crusade called the Association of the Living Rosary.  There are actually millions of people who participate in this rosary around the world; it really is amazing.

Blessed Pauline Jaricot, whose spiritual director for many years was the Cure of Ars, was truly an extraordinary person whose devotion to the missions has resulted in this extraordinary effort and has been a source of support, both spiritual and economic, for the work of the Church throughout the world.

So, I was very happy to be able to give this retreat and encourage the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies, particularly because of its long ties to Boston.  When the Diocese of Boston was founded, our then-missionary diocese received a great deal of help from the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, one of the three Mission Societies.

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Next, I went to Washington, D.C., where, on November 21st, I had the privilege of celebrating one of the Masses marking the visit of the relics of St. Therèse of Lisieux to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  I had a noon Mass there on Friday, and the basilica was packed.

It was very moving to see so many people willing to come out in the middle of a weekday, and there were many, many priests as well.

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That evening, I went with a group of friars to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hartke Theater at The Catholic University of America.  They had free admission for religious, so the price was right!

It’s kind of an unusual musical that came out in 1970, and a lot of people criticize its theology.  But it’s important to remember that it’s the Passion story as seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.  If you lose sight of that, then you’ll be very worried about the theology, but if you think about the fact that it’s supposed to be from Judas’s point of view, it all makes a lot more sense.

The school of performing arts was founded by Father Hartke, who was quite a figure in the university’s history.  He would always do a presentation every year on the White House, and many famous actors and actresses in Hollywood studied in his school.

I hadn’t been back to the Hartke Theater since 1975, when I organized a conference on preaching social justice there for the Holy Year.  I invited Bishop Fulton Sheen and Father Avery Dulles (later Cardinal Dulles) to give the talks, and it was a wonderful experience.

So, it was good to be back there again, and the kids all did a great job and had beautiful voices.  And, while I was there, I ran into the provost and a number of people from the university board of directors and faculty whom I knew.  It was a lovely evening.

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On November 25th, I was at the State Department for the swearing-in ceremony of Dan Negrea as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. on economic matters.

They have refurbished a series of rooms in the State Department building with the style of 18th-century America, and the swearing-in ceremony was in one of those very beautiful rooms dedicated to Benjamin Franklin, the first ambassador from the United States to France.

I’ve known Dan for many decades, since he was sent to me late one Friday afternoon at the Centro Católico in Washington, D.C.

I often got calls at that time because I figured the immigration office people wanted to go home, and if they had cases they couldn’t solve by the weekend, they would just send them to me, whether they were Hispanic or not.  This particular day, they sent this young man in his early 20s who came on a diplomatic mission from Romania and asked for political asylum.  (This was during the time of the Communist dictator Ceausescu.) They granted his asylum but didn’t know what to do with him, so they sent him to me.

When he arrived, he said, “Father, I’m not sure why they sent me here.  I’m not Hispanic, and I’m not Catholic.” And I said, “Well, I can’t make you Hispanic, but I can make you a Catholic!” And, as a matter of fact, years later, I did receive him into the Church, presided at his marriage to his wife Nikki, and baptized his children.

So, it was a privilege to be present as he was sworn in for this important position.  It’s not exactly typical to have a cardinal present for these sorts of things.  So, in his remarks, he explained his story and why I was there.

I was asked to give the invocation, and I used part of the prayer that Archbishop John Carroll composed for George Washington’s inauguration.

Dan began his comments by using Yogi Berra’s famous line about Dublin electing a Jewish mayor: “Only in America!” And Dan said, “Well, only in America could a penniless immigrant arrive and a few decades later be the representative of that country to the United Nations.” It was a wonderful moment.

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While in Washington, I also had a visit from Mauricio Villeda of Honduras at the Capuchin monastery.

Mauricio and his wife, along with the Cascos, worked with me many, many years ago to start the pro-life movement in Honduras.  We took Dr. Bernard Nathanson to speak to the Congress there and at the medical school, and we were able to reverse the legalization of abortion in that country.  The pro-life movement in Honduras remains very successful even to this day.

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I was also able to greet members of the Secular Franciscans of the Fraternity of El Camino, who were having a day of recollection at the monastery.  Many, many years ago, before I ever knew El Camino Neocatecumenal, I started a secular Franciscan fraternity at the Capuchin parish in Washington and gave it the name “El Camino.”

It was amazing to see how much it has grown since those days.  There are something like five different groups that have come out of it, and also a youth group.  So, it was very good to be able to talk to them and have my picture taken with them.

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Finally, I spent Thanksgiving with our community in Washington, and all the friars chipped in to make a great meal.  We were about 40 or so at the house, and there were several turkeys.  And I thought, “Oh, it’ll be so nice.  The next day we’ll have turkey sandwiches for lunch.” The amazing thing is, there was just a tiny piece of turkey left.  It was like the plague of locusts had descended!

Until next time,

Cardinal Seán