For Pallium Day 2016, a small crop

palliumToday, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis will once again be giving out he pallia to the world’s new metropolitan archbishops (or to their representatives). The actual imposition of the woolen band signifying the bond with the Rome and the world Church will take place in the archdioceses at a date of the prelates’ own choosing, per the changes introduced last year.

There are 27 new archbishops in this round, all appointed between 29 June 2015 and today. Here’s the list:

  1. Archbishop Felipe Accrocca, Benevento, Italy
  2. Archbishop-elect Basilio Athai, Taunggyi, Myanmar
  3. Archbishop Théophile Barakat, Homs (Syriac), Syria
  4. Archbishop Luiz Cabrera Herrera, Guayaquil, Ecuador
  5. Archbishop-elect Christopher Cardone, Honiara, Solomon Islands
  6. Archbishop Jozef De Kesel, Mechelen-Brussel, Belgium
  7. Archbishop Zanoni Demettino Castro, Feira de Santana, Brazil
  8. Juan Cardinal García Rodríguez, La Habana, Cuba
  9. Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Saint Paul and Minneapolis, United States
  10. Archbishop Fidel Herráez Vegas, Burgos, Spain
  11. Archbishop-elect Roger Houngbédji, Cotonou, Benin
  12. Archbishop Dominique Lebrun, Rouen, France
  13. Archbishop Salvatore Ligorio, Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo, Italy
  14. Archbishop Corrado Lorefice, Palermo, Italy
  15. Archbishop Francisco Moreno Barrón, Tijuana, Mexico
  16. Archbishop Darci Nicioli, Diamantina, Brazil
  17. Archbishop Juan Omella Omella, Barcelona, Spain
  18. Archbishop Roque Paloschi, Porto Velho, Brazil
  19. Archbishop Marcos Perez Caicedo, Cuenca, Ecuador
  20. Archbishop Lorenzo Piretto, Izmir, Turkey
  21. Archbishop Eugeniusz Popowicz, Przemysl-Warszawa (Ukrainain), Poland
  22. Archbishop Ruy Rendón Leal, Hermosillo, Mexico
  23. Archbishop Kenneth Richards, Kingston in Jamaica
  24. Archbishop Adam Szal, Przemysl, Poland
  25. Archbishop Lauro Tisi, Trento, Italy
  26. Archbishop Rodolfo Weber, Passo Fundo, Brazil
  27. Archbishop Matteo Zuppi, Bologna, Italy

Most of the archbishops will still come to Rome, even if there is no official imposition taking place. Among these is Mechelen-Brussels’ Jozef De Kesel, the only archbishop from northwestern Europe in this year’s relatively small crop.

In his homily on last year’s feast, Pope Francis entrusted the archbishops  with a call to prayer, faith and witness:

“The Church wants you to be men of prayer, masters of prayer; that you may teach the people entrusted to your care that liberation from all forms of imprisonment is uniquely God’s work and the fruit of prayer; that God sends his angel at the opportune time in order to save us from the many forms of slavery and countless chains of worldliness. For those most in need, may you also be angels and messengers of charity!

The Church desires you to be men of faith, masters of faith, who can teach the faithful to not be frightened of the many Herods who inflict on them persecution with every kind of cross. No Herod is able to banish the light of hope, of faith, or of charity in the one who believes in Christ!

The Church wants you to be men of witness. Saint Francis used to tell his brothers: “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words!” (cf. Franciscan sources, 43). There is no witness without a coherent lifestyle! Today there is no great need for masters, but for courageous witnesses, who are convinced and convincing; witnesses who are not ashamed of the Name of Christ and of His Cross; not before the roaring lions, nor before the powers of this world. And this follows the example of Peter and Paul and so many other witnesses along the course of the Church’s history, witnesses who, yet belonging to different Christian confessions, have contributed to demonstrating and bringing growth to the one Body of Christ. I am pleased to emphasize this, and am always pleased to do so, in the presence of the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, sent by my beloved brother Bartholomew I.

This is not so straightforward: because the most effective and authentic witness is one that does not contradict, by behaviour and lifestyle, what is preached with the word and taught to others!

Teach prayer by praying, announce the faith by believing; offer witness by living!”

 

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Harvest of bishops continues in Rome’s summer.

It is summer, but you wouldn’t know it from the Congregation for Bishops, which continues churning out new bishops on a daily basis. In recent weeks we saw two appointments and a retirement in Germany:

bentzIn the Diocese of Mainz, Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Udo Bentz as auxiliary bishop. He succeeds Bishop Ulrich Neymeyr, who went to Erfurt in September.

Born in Rülzheim in 1967, the new bishop was ordained by Cardinal Lehmann in 1995, after completing his theology studies in Mainz and Innsbruck. He was subsequently subsequently assigned to the parish in Worms, and in 1998 he became Cardinal Lehmann’s personal secretary. In 2002 he began studying for his doctorate in dogmatics in Freiburg, which he combined with parish work. In 2007 he took over as head of the diocesan seminary. After his consecration, he will continue as such until further notice. Until 2017, he also heads the conference of seminary directors in Germany.

Judging from an interview from 2013, Bishop-elect Bentz is a man in the mold of Pope Francis:

“Faith is also and always socially and politically relevant. The Christian is a witness. And he contributes to shape of society, based on the conviction of the Gospel. In this context a priest also has a special responsibility. This aspect should not be denied. Mere ‘piety’ is not enough. One must learn to be aware of the social and political processes, to be able to critically distinguish and evaluate against the background of the Gospel”.

Bishop-elect Bentz’s has been given the titular see of Sita in modern Algeria. His consecration is set for 13 September.

dominicus-meier-osb-webOn the same day, the Archdiocese of Paderborn announced the appointment of Fr. Dominicus Meier as its new auxiliary bishop. He succeeds Bishop Manfred Grothe, whose retirement was also announced on the same day. More on him below.

Bishop-elect Meier has served the archdiocese between 1992 and 2001 as Defender of the Bond, and since 2013 as chief judge of the archdiocese. He is a Benedictine, having made his profession in 1982 at the Abbey of Königsmünster in Meschede. Born Michael, he took the name Dominicus. Between 2001 and 2013 he was the abbot of that community.

The new auxiliary bishop was born in 1959 in Lennestadt-Grevenbrück and after his profession he studied in Würzburg, Münster and Salzburg. In 1991 he became a diocesan judge in the latter archdiocese, frther completing his studies in canon law. Since 2002 he is a professor of canon law at the theological-philosophical Hochschule in Vallendar near Koblenz.

Bishop-elect Meier has been a priest since 1983 and will be consecrated as bishop on 27 September. He has been given the titular see of Castro di Sardegna.

Grothe_webAs mentioned above, Bishop Manfred Grothe retires as auxiliary bishop of Paderborn, but continues in his other office: that of Apostolic Administrator of Limburg. it is likely that that situation will continue until Limburg has a new bishop.

Bishop Grothe was auxiliary bishop of Paderborn from 2004 to 2015, and was presented with the task of putting the Diocese of Limburg back in order after the financial crisis that followed the extreme expenses on the diocesan offices and private residence of Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, who resigned in 2014. How long he will continue with that job is a guess. His retirement as auxiliary bishop should perhaps not be seen as related to Limburg, as Bishop Grothe turned 76 in April and was therefore due for retirement on the basis of his age.

Currently, there remain two vacant dioceses in Germany: the aforementioned Limburg, and Dresden-Meißen, who’s bishop, Heiner Koch, will be installed as Archbishop of Berlin on 19 September. Close to retirement continue to be Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz (he turned 79 in May) and Bishop Heinrich Mussinghoff of Aachen (he will turn 75 in October).