Palliums For Archbishops With Warnings And Calls For Collegiality

Interesting hand shake.  No ring kissing for AB Cordileone.  At least everyone is smiling.

 

Today in Rome certain archbishops and bishops were given the pallium, a lambswool stole symbolic of their postion as shepherds of their flock. What interests me about this particular ceremony is Pope Francis used it to discuss increasing the Vatican II concepts of collegiality and synodality in harmony with the Petrine Office. I wrote previously that if Pope Francis accomplished nothing more than increasing the input of National Churches and bishops he would have accomplished a great service. To stress these very points at this particular service brings joy to my heart. That Francis continues to stress simplicity, humility, listening, living as Christ, the Church is a poor church for the poor, and pounding on careerism in the hierarchy is balm for my soul. The following is the full article on today's service from Andrea Tornielli at Vatican Insider.

Francis: "We need to grow in collegiality"

Andrea Tornielli - Vatican Insider - 6/29/2013
On the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul Pope Francis imposed the pallium – the white woollen stole that symbolises the special tie with the Bishop of Rome – on 34 new archbishops from across the world, including Mario Aurelio Poli, Jorge Bergoglio’s successor as leader of the Buenos Aires diocese.

In his brief homily, the Pope reflected on a passage in the Gospel where Peter scolds Jesus for talking about his passion. But Jesus responds firmly, warning him not to think in “worldly terms”: “Get behind me, Satan!” He went on to explain that confirming brothers and sisters in the faith is  Peter’s task and that of his successors. This is something that started with him but it “is founded upon his [Peter’s] confession of faith in Jesus” and “is made possible by a grace granted from on high.”(I certainly hope Sal Cordileone got this particular message about the Satan thing.)


Peter’s “readiness to lay himself open, personally, to be consumed for the sake of the Gospel, to make himself all things to all people, unstintingly, that gives him credibility and builds up the Church,” Francis said. But this is true not only for the Pope but for every shepherd: The Bishop of Rome, but also all of you, bishops and archbishops are called to live and to confirm his brothers and sisters in this love for Christ and for all others, without distinction, limits or barriers.” After speaking about being servants of unity and explaining that “communion” in the Church “does not mean uniformity” because the Catholic way is that of unity through difference, he discussed collegiality, mentioning the Second Vatican Council.(I hope you were squirming when you heard this, Sal.)

“We need to develop the Synod of Bishops in harmony with the primacy and grow in synodality, in harmony with the primacy,” Pope Francis said. His words pointed to possible reforms in the structure of the Synod of Bishops and how it operates, in the spirit of collegiality. Today’s ceremony was attended by the delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople headed by Metropolitan Joannia Zizioulas who represented Bartholomew. During the liturgy, hymns were sung in the Sistine Chapel and by the Lutheran Choir of the Thomaskirche of Leipzig, Bach’s own church.  (A Lutheran choir during a pallium ceremony?  Oh my, good thing SSPX left the fold a few days earlier. This is a horrible example of secularist ecumenism.)

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I will admit that I am still waiting for concrete action on all the corruption stuff, that is beyond kitchen cabinets and special investigative bodies, but the more I hear Pope Francis speak about collegiality and broadening the scope of synods and kicking clerical butts about careerism the more I think my initial excitement might have some basis in more than my own wishful thinking.  Wow, that would be something really novel when I gloomily meditate on the fact that over half my life has passed by with all these key Vatican II concepts shelved or used for door mats.

On a personal note, for the first time in well over two years, I will be taking some vacation time.  It will begin on the 4th of July and carry on for three weeks or so.  I can use it to say the least.  Since my daughter will be coming to visit me, I will not be going on the road and so will have more time to piddle around with my blog.  The lack of posting in the last three or four months has had a lot to do with just flat running out of gas.  I'm hoping I'll get recharged and return to a more frequent schedule of posting.  The more I hear from Francis the more recharged I seem to be getting, and too many times that is in spite of my cynicism.  Perhaps it's a little breeze from the Holy Spirit or whatever.