Nov. 14, 2009

I am honored to announce, with great joy, that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has appointed as ninth bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend the present Bishop of Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), Kevin C. Rhoades.

Bishop Rhoades was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Harrisburg in 1983. He has advanced degrees in canon law and theology from the Gregorian University in Rome.

He has served as rector of Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. — one of the oldest seminaries in the United States. I was privileged to visit there as part of the apostolic visitation of seminaries in 2005. And even though Bishop Rhoades was no longer at the seminary since he had been appointed as bishop of Harrisburg, one could see among faculty and students great respect for his intelligence, holiness and priestly character.

As a seminarian, he studied Spanish intensely and is fluent in that language. This will be a great blessing, for the increasing number of Hispanic Catholics in our diocese.

There are two important points I would like to make before Bishop Rhoades speaks.

1. This appointment shows the great importance Pope Benedict XVI places on this diocese. He has sent us a well-prepared bishop, who has served five years as bishop of a diocese larger than ours — Harrisburg, Pa., which is also the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I know from other sources how beloved he is there, and this will be painful for them. A gift for us. A loss for them.

In the Year for Priests, we have received an exemplary priest. He is devoted to sanctification and formation of priests. He has a track record of attracting young men to the priesthood. When he became bishop, there were 11 studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Harrisburg, now there are 25. One of the great issues of the times in light of all we have been through is the careful screening and sound formation of priests, and this is his main expertise. He is dedicated to the spiritual formation of families and young people.

2. Bishop Rhoades is bishop of his home diocese — a place where he grew up in the small town of Mahanoy City, Pa. He probably presumed he would be bishop there for the rest of his life, and he certainly was content there. Yet, he immediately accepted the request of Pope Benedict XVI. Like the apostles in the fifth chapter of Luke, he left everything to follow the call of Christ.

Now, we have an obligation to welcome him with love. To realize, in faith, that he is sent by Christ. To give thanks to God and to the successor of Peter for this great gift. To cooperate with him and collaborate and pray for him from this moment on. He is a sign that the apostolic ministry will continue in our midst. The Eucharist will be celebrated, the Gospel will be proclaimed, sins will be forgiven, priests will be ordained, the poor will be served and the faith will be nourished. Thanks be to God.

I am pleased to tell you that his installation as Bishop is scheduled to take place at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Jan. 13, 2010.
Pope Benedict XVI has kindly appointed me as apostolic administrator until the installation on Jan. 13, 2010.

Bishop Rhoades: We welcome you as we would welcome Christ himself, for you have come in his name.

Today, I wish to present the South Bend community, but more especially, to the family of Saint Joseph’s High School, my decision about the future of this school.

Why has this taken so long? This decision required many consultations. The building of a new high school at what is now the location of Saint Joseph Medical Center, so graciously offered to the diocese by the hospital, is quite attractive in some ways and yet presents many concerns.

Is it right to spend so much money on one institution? What are the ramifications of a decision? The bishop must be a good steward and cannot allow the financing of a totally new school building to be so excessive that it can only be accomplished by increasing tuition, so that a beautiful new school is built on the backs of families.

Indeed, I have to keep in mind my successor, and must not place an undue burden on him. The appointment of a new bishop cannot be too far away. I have made it clear that he will need to review this decision and, indeed, it will be his obligation to do so. But I always believed that, in light of my long tenure here, I had the obligation of making a firm decision while still bishop.

Is it right to leave this beautiful property in the midst of one of the finest settings of Catholic higher education in the world? Also, there was the consideration which needs to be given to Marian High School. The diocese is committed, and I am committed, to two excellent high schools in the Michiana area. All four of our diocesan high schools have achieved exemplary status according to the standards of the State of Indiana. We continue to be committed to four excellent high schools and to our large elementary school system, all achieved without benefit of tax funds.

It was also important to take into account the keen desire of many of the Saint Joseph’s High School family to proceed with the possibility of a new school building on a different site. Saint Joe, like Marian and our two Fort Wayne high schools, has a great tradition — Catholic, academic, cultural and athletic.

Also, it was necessary to take into account, the intense interest of the wider community of South Bend in such a project, including the University of Notre Dame. I have shared these concerns over many months with an ever-widening circle of educators, pastors, parents and others.

I have met with parents: with the Saint Joseph’s High School board; with the Saint Joseph’s High School faculty; with officials at the University of Notre Dame; with the Brothers of Holy Cross; members of the Marian High School board and faculty members at Marian High; the Council of Priests in the diocese, which is the major consulting body of the bishop, and also with the Diocesan Finance Council as required by canon law.

The Marian High School board had already advised me in a meeting with board members, the principal, Carl Loesch, and the faculty that I should do what I thought was best and right for Catholic secondary education in the South Bend area. Indeed, Marian is also considering a fund-raising effort, though on a much smaller scale.

On Aug. 13, we held a major meeting here with representatives of all these groups and others.

At this Aug. 13th meeting, the proposal was made that the Saint Joseph community be given permission from the bishop to see if it was able to raise the funds necessary to build a new school on the site of the Saint Joseph Medical Center within a certain timeframe; and if this proved not to be possible, that there be a fallback position which would be the restoration/renewal of the present building, also including some new construction. After prayer and further consultation, I have accepted this proposal with certain restrictions to preserve the fiscal integrity of the diocese and of Saint Joseph’s High School. Here are some of those conditions.

1. The cost of new construction must be raised — $35.5 million. The interest on any loans needed during construction must also be pledged. At the time construction begins, a reserve of 3 percent of outstanding pledges must also be funded so total pledges realized cover the total cost of the project.

2. Saint Joseph’s High School must be debt free to begin construction. Saint Joseph’s currently has a debt to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, on which they are paying.

3. This new school must accommodate at least 850 students.

4. The construction must be of a quality that is acceptable to a Diocesan Review Committee.

5. Pledges must be paid over three years, while larger pledges ($200,000 or more) may be paid over five years.

6. The selection of the professional consulting fund-raising firm will be made by the diocese.

7. The cost of the professional consultants must be raised with the campaign.

8. Fundraising must be complete by June 2011, which includes 15 months of actual fundraising (December 2009 through July 2010 and December 2010 thru June 2011).

9. The diocese does not allow any other fundraising during the time of the Annual Bishop’s Appeal, which is Aug. 1 through Dec. 1 of each year.
10. Cash-on-hand needs to be $26,625,000 before construction can begin. This is in concert with diocesan requirements for any building: 75 percent must have been received in cash and the rest in pledges before construction can begin. A construction loan may need to be financed outside of the diocese, for example, by the Knights of Columbus or similar entities. The Knights of Columbus has recently assisted in financing the building of St. Pius X School, Granger, and also Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Fort Wayne.

If these criteria and conditions are not entirely and completely met, planning for restoration and new construction at the current site will begin. Donors who have pledged for new construction at the new site will be contacted to ascertain if their pledge can be used for a restoration/new construction project at the current site.

The following is a talk Bishop John M. D’Arcy presented to his priests at the fall presbyterate meeting Oct. 22 at Sacred Heart Parish, Warsaw:

It is never right for a bishop to conclude a day with priests without offering some brief reflection on the beautiful life that we are privileged to live together. As the time remaining for me as bishop lessens, and indeed, my time in this life lessens, I treasure every day more and more. The gift of priesthood, which we share. So challenging. So beautiful. So filled with mystery and with opportunity.

In a few days, I will have the great privilege of ordaining two more young men who will join us, prostrate themselves on the floor of the sanctuary of our cathedral church, as you did so many years before. As I did in another cathedral. Twice, once to be ordained as a priest and once later in life, a bishop.

I am currently still involved in the installation of pastors, a journey, which began in midsummer and still continues. So I hear over and over again, Sunday after Sunday, the response of the priests renewing with a full heart the promise that they made on the day of their ordination, to offer the Eucharist, to pray for the people, to preach the word of God, to offer the sacraments and to be faithful to the church.

When I see coming along the young men, in which we find so much hope, at times I think I would like to ordain them — Andy Budzinski next year and then the two Coonans. But then again, I think how wonderful and encouraging it will be to the next bishop that he finds three young men of such quality, whom he will have the privilege of ordaining. Will that not give him great encouragement, and make him realize that there is a local church here with vitality and strength? It will, in a way, be a gift that you have given him — greater than any gift you might offer him or we might offer him, such as a miter or a crosier on the day he is ordained — but we should do that also.

I have consecrated some altars recently, two at Notre Dame. I have consecrated churches here and the focus is always on living stones. It is important, as is the beauty of the church; it is the living stones, the hearts and minds being offered to God, a sign of the true vitality of the church.

St. Gregory the Great said this, “What is God’s altar, if not the souls of those who lead good lives? Rightly, then the heart of the just is said to be the altar of God.” So as we watch two more young men prostrate themselves before the altar, we cannot let it become simply nostalgia or some kind of a romantic experience. Rather, this ordination during the Year for Priests is a call to all of us to renew and strengthen our offering of our love — to God.

A call to fidelity.
The sub-theme of the year given by Pope Benedict XVI was “Fidelity of Christ, Fidelity of the Priest.”

What is this fidelity, to which we are called and which we should renew at the sacred day of ordination in our diocese in our mother church — now only a few days away.

I would propose to you three aspects of this fidelity for us to ponder during the year.

First, it is a fidelity to love. Second, it is a fidelity to truth. Third, it is a fidelity to a life of prayer, for I do not think we can have the first two without the third.

All three make possible the fidelity of the priest — and all three are necessary if we are to experience the joy that comes from a total fidelity — none of these can be left out.

Fidelity to love
Tonight, I am going to speak at Little Flower Parish. I was asked about a month ago, and I said I would speak on their patron saint. To her and to the saints there is given a realization, a conviction about the love of Jesus Christ for us. You all know about Therese’s desire to be a martyr, an apostle, a missionary. She is the patron saint of missionaries although she never left her home area, except for her trip to visit the pope at the age of 15.

Here is what we find in her biography, which is considered a classic. Her great heart was filled with love and she wrote, “I feel within me other vocations. I feel the vocation of the Warrior, the priest, the apostle, the doctor, the martyr,” and the commentator says, “What was missing in the core of her life at the Carmel could also be missing in the life of the priest and the life of the martyr … Now turning from every particular ideal, be it a Carmelite, priest, apostle or martyr, Therese chose to ‘be’ love, right where she was…” — Patricia O’Connor, “The Inner Life of Therese of Lisieux.”
“… The apostle explains how all the most perfect gifts are nothing without love. That charity is the excellent way that leads most surely to God.”

“I finally had rest…”

“I understood it was love alone that made the church’s members act, that if love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood…”

“Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus my love … My vocation, at last I have found it … My vocation is love!”

“… In the heart of the church, my mother, I shall be love. Thus I shall be everything …”

At last, this young woman said she found peace, “I will be love in the heart of the church.” I am speaking here of a personal love for Jesus Christ, which overflows in service. It is the love that draws the priest to the cancer ward. The love that will bring him to the homes of those who are homebound. The love that will forbid him from turning that ministry over entirely to laity, and never himself entering the door of that home with the body and blood of Christ.

It is the love, which makes the priest realize that it draws him to intense preparation before preaching. To preach out of love for the word he is speaking and out of the love for the flock who are listening. As I mentioned in our conference last spring, St. Paul was very much aware that he did not speak with eloquence, “lest the word of God be emptied of its meaning.”

The second fidelity is to truth
I was struck by two recent experiences in our diocese about this fidelity to truth. Fidelity to truth for the priest means that he is willing to give the hard saying. Hard for himself, perhaps because he does not believe it strongly enough; because he thinks it is too hard for the people and they might reject it. Or a greater temptation, he may worry that they might reject him.

Two things brought this home to me. In early September, we had in this very city, some excellent speakers focused around a serious pastoral problem. The widespread use of contraception and contraceptives among Catholics, and a related problem among good women in good marriages. I refer to infertility. This conference was sponsored by our family life office, and there were over 100 people present — including many who work in ministries to families.

Two people, a man and a woman, spoke to me about fidelity. The man was Dr. Holly from St. Vincent’s Parish. I knew of him. Fred and Lisa Everett have spoken to me about him and about his conversion, and they have worked with him. But it was his own words that were especially powerful. Dr. Holly had always prescribed contraceptives to Catholic women and indeed to women of all different faiths. How it had troubled him, and how when he went with his family to a Japanese restaurant, he was greeted by the restaurant owner saying, “Oh, big family, good Catholic family, good Catholic man.”

A grace came. He said to himself, “I am not a good Catholic man; I am not a good Catholic doctor.” Knowing it would cost him financially; he went to his office on Monday morning and told his staff he would never again prescribe contraceptives. He had heard the call of God to be faithful to the truth. Christ gives similar graces of courage to his pastors — if we are open to them — the courage to be faithful to the church — to truth.

There was a woman at my table from St. Pius X Parish, Granger. A convert to the faith, drawn to this meeting, because of the publicity concerning infertility, and because she had been referred to Dr. Holly who in turn referred her to Dr. Hilgers at Omaha, in the hope she could have a child. During the break, she told me some of her story. She said how good she felt, because she received support in this diocese and in her parish for fidelity to the church. But she spoke of how hurt she was and scandalized when she went to confession at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, shared with her confessor the anguish about not being able to have children, and how she was told to try in vitro fertilization. She told that to the group at the conference.

Two people who were faithful
Two people who were faithful to truth, and one priest who was not.

The other incident was the presentation given to us by Father Bransfield at our study week, and how he presented, so beautifully, the church teaching on this issue. How it relates to the dignity of the woman and of the man, grounding it in Pope John Paul II’s “Veritatis Splendor” and other church documents, such as the “Vade Mecum for Confessors,” of which I have a copy for you today.

No one would dare prostrate themselves before the altar and rise up for the imposition of hands, if he did not believe and hope that the call was from Christ, through and in the church.

The church calls us, the church ordains us, the church gives us the mission, the church gives us the truth. We can never, in the confessional or the pulpit, give anything but the teaching of the church of Christ — or ever imply that we support going against it.

Yet there has been a massive failure of priests and bishops to express this truth in all its beauty. And it is beautiful. I want to repeat the story I told at the meeting and also at the priests’ study week at Pokagon. Our teacher, on study week, showed us the beauty of the church’s teaching on these issues. How it relates to the dignity of the human person, to the attractiveness man and woman find to each other, to children and the future of humanity. This requires study on your part and mine.

How many opportunities have been given to the parish priest to make this truth real in the confessional? In the high school classroom? To public school students? In the pulpit? In preparation of young people for marriage? In counseling of married couples? Of course, some will resist it. The culture is powerful — especially in this area.

Delicacy is called for, and also restraint, and understanding, and compassion. But today, more than this, courage is called for on the part of priests. Courage to proclaim the truth, in season and out of season. I sometimes recall when I was in Rome as a student priest. It was during the late days of the Second Vatican Council and many people came to speak with us, including famous theologians. But the only one I really remember was the great Dorothy Day. Someone said to her “what is the role of the priest, or what do priests mean to you,” or some question like that. She replied briefly, “My priest is the one who gives me the hard saying.”

In the discussions during the study week, I mentioned what Pope John Paul II had told to us bishops during his recent pastoral visit to the old Spanish mission in California. Two nights ago, while preparing these thoughts, I went back and found the phrase that had struck me so much and prompted me to speak of it again at the “ad limina” visit with the Holy Father.

“It is sometimes reported that a large number of Catholics today do not adhere to the teaching of the church on the number of questions, notably sexual and conjugal morality, divorce and remarriage. They sometimes claim that the dissent from the magisterium is totally compatible with being a good Catholic and poses no obstacles to the reception of the sacraments. This is a grave error, which challenges the teaching of the bishops of the United States and elsewhere. I wish to encourage you in the love of Christ to address this situation courageously in your pastoral ministry, rely on the part of God’s truth to attract assent and on the grace of the Holy Spirit.”

“We must also constantly recall that the teaching of Christ’s church, like Christ, himself, is a ‘sign of contradiction.’ It has never been easy to accept the Gospel teaching in its entirety, and it never will be. The church is committed; both in faith and morals, to make her teaching as clear in understanding as possible; presenting it in all the attractiveness of divine truth… The revelation of God par excellence is found in the cross of Christ, which makes God’s folly wiser than human wisdom.”

What struck me then and stayed with me, which I presented to the pope later at the “ad limina” luncheon, was the term: attractiveness. It was only one word. How do we make it attractive, I asked him. Then he gave me that response that is forever written in my heart. He got very serious, like a philosopher, and said, “It is necessary to understand the soul of the woman. All these things, which are meant to liberate the woman: premarital sex, contraception and abortion, have they liberated her or have they enslaved her?” Keeping in mind the great Dorothy Day, I ask this question to you and to myself, have we been faithful to the truth and willing to give people the hard saying? My dear priests, I ask this question to myself in prayer and repentance and in truth, seeking only to know his will and to do it.

The third and final fidelity, on which the other two depend, and from which they receive their life:
The fidelity of prayer
In his beautiful book, “Jesus of Nazareth,” Pope Benedict XVI speaks of prayer as central to vocations. He said the drawing of vocations is not like hiring employees, vocations are always founded in prayer. The prayer of the young man, himself. The prayer of his pastor. The prayer of his parents. Because if it comes from prayer, then we know it comes from God.

Are we faithful to prayer? I refer to the fullness of prayer:

1. The Liturgy of Hours, the whole thing, every day. I find myself, if I start excusing myself, because I had a busy morning, or busy afternoon, or busy evening, I need not say a part of the Divine Office, then I would find that excuse every day. I believe we all have the obligation to say all of it, every day.

2. Fidelity to offer Mass every day, keeping in mind what Pope Benedict XVI said in his letter on the Year for Priests about John Vianney, that he offered his whole self afresh to God at every Mass. Also quiet prayer and adoration, the prayer of love.

3. The sacrament of penance every month, a good confession, honest and true.

Prayer is a communion of love every day between the priest and the heart of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that the Year for Priests started on the feast of the Sacred Heart, for it is in that mystery that we find the meaning of the priesthood. John Vianney said it, “The priest is the love of the heart of Christ.” That word of his is quoted in the catechism of the church.

When we pray, we offer ourselves to God afresh, then we will go to those in need, even when we prefer not to. Then we will be faithful to the Word of God. Then love will be a reality, and so will Jesus Christ.

May I close with the words of Pope Benedict XVI.

“The faithful expect only one thing from priests, that they be specialists in promoting the encounter between man and God. The priest is not expected to be an expert in economics, construction or politics; he is expected to be an expert in the spiritual life.”

May God grant us a presbyterate filled with the love of God, with fidelity to truth and fidelity to prayer.
Thank you. Let us sing the Salve Regina.

• Weekday: 8 a.m., 12:10 p.m.
• Holy Day 8 a.m., 12:10 p.m.
• Reconciliation: 10 a.m. to noon
• Closed Saturdays, Sundays and National Holidays

Address

114 W. Wayne St.
South Bend, IN 46601

(574) 289-4263

Leadership

• Rev. William H. Donahue, CSC
• Rev. James Blaes, CSC
• Rev. Leonard Chrobot
• Rev. John Klimczyk

• First Sunday of the month – 12:30 p.m.

Address

950 Main St.
Lagro, IN 46941

Leadership

• Rev. Sextus Don

• Saturday — 5 p.m.
• Sunday — 9 a.m.
• Reconciliation: Half hour before Masses

Address

5725 S – 1025 E
Hudson, IN 46747-9605

(260) 837-7115
(800) 570-8080

Mail to:
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
1098 County Road 39, Waterloo, IN 46793-9779

Leadership

• Rev. David Carkenord

Oct. 13, 2009

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

After consulting with the regional vicars and receiving competent medical advice, I have determined in the best interest of the health of all in our communities and especially our young children, that we will suspend the administering of holy Communion through the chalice. This will be effective the weekend of Oct. 17-18, 2009 — the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In reaching this decision, we have consulted medical authorities, especially Dr. Deborah McMahan, health commissioner of Allen County. Dr. McMahan informs us that the present situation is classified as a pandemic, meaning that individuals do not have any natural immunity to H1N1. Dr. McMahan has endorsed the suspension of drinking from the cup. This was also the advice from the majority of our regional vicars.

The H1N1 virus may have run its course in three months, or it may last longer. We will monitor the situation, but I want to make it clear that no parish may give holy Communion from the cup until the suspension is lifted. That will be done as soon as the present serious situation has eased.

This suspension applies to all parishes and at all Masses: Sundays, solemnities and weekdays. I urge that it also be followed by religious houses.

Also, for further protection of the health of all, the greeting of peace is optional or may be given verbally or by a nod of the head.

We do this not only for parishioners, but for the wider community. Protecting all, especially our dear young children, must be the concern of everyone.

Let us remember the age-old teaching of the church. The body and blood of Christ is fully present and totally received under either species.

The eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ. — Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1377.

I shall remove this suspension as soon as the competent authority tells us that the danger is over.

With every best wish and prayer, I remain

Sincerely yours in our Lord,
Most Reverend John M. D’Arcy

1. Healthcare reform is both a moral imperative and a national priority. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that basic health care is a right and not a privilege. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops supports universal health care coverage, which protects the life and dignity of all, especially of those who are most vulnerable — the poor, the elderly, those with mental or physical disabilities, the unborn or the immigrant. In fact, while there is a widespread effort to deny immigrants their right to basic health care, the church cannot and does not support this. Instead, the church supports effective, but not overly intrusive, measures to expand basic health care affordability and accessibility for every human being from conception to natural death.

2. Genuine healthcare reform preserves and protects human life and dignity. The church opposes any efforts to expand abortion funding, mandate abortion coverage or endanger the conscience rights of healthcare providers and religious institutions. Since 1976, the Hyde amendment has severely restricted the use of federal funds for abortion. While originally limiting federal funding to cases where the life of the mother was endangered, in 1993 it was expanded to include the cases of rape and incest. Such cases as these, however, constitute only about 1 percent of abortions. As Catholics, we should urge all members of the House and Senate to oppose further expanding the use of federal funds for abortion or the weakening of conscience rights. Health care is on behalf of life, not for the destruction of life.

FORT WAYNE — Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., has been appointed the bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. He was introduced by Bishop John M. D’Arcy and greeted those gathered for the 8 a.m. Mass at the St. Mother Theodore Guérin Chapel.
Video of the press conference can be accessed here.

Whirlwind tour of the diocese introduces
new diocesan shepherd
FORT WAYNE — “This is a historic and spiritual moment,” said Bishop John M. D’Arcy of the announcement that the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend will have a new bishop. Bishop D’Arcy welcomed the new bishop, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, on Nov. 14, at the morning Mass celebrated in the St. Mother Theodore Guérin Chapel on Cathedral Square.

Bishop Rhoades hails from Harrisburg, Pa., where he was ordained into the priesthood in 1983. He served in the Diocese of Harrisburg for 26 years in several parishes, the past five as its bishop.

Following Mass the two bishops joined many of the diocesan priests in a special welcoming service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and later in the afternoon, again at St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend, where Bishop Rhoades was introduced to the presbyterate. In his remarks to the priests the energetic Bishop Rhoades said, “I am really looking forward to getting to know you, to learning about your ministries here in the diocese, and to working together with you in serving the church in this portion of the vineyard of the Lord.”

Bishop Rhoades spoke of his commitment to interior renewal, not only for the priests but for the whole church. The bishop also offered his continued pledge to promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, which was one of his priorities in his former diocese.

Fort Wayne press conference
Media staff from around the Fort Wayne area waited in anticipation as Bishop D’Arcy and his successor Bishop Rhoades joined them and the diocesan staff for an official press conference held in the Archbishop Noll Catholic Center.

In a statement, Bishop D’Arcy announced that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Bishop Kevin Rhoades.

He continued, “This appointment shows the great importance Pope Benedict XVI places on this diocese. He has sent us a well-prepared bishop, who has served five years as bishop of a diocese larger than ours — Harrisburg, Pa.,. … I know from other sources how beloved he is there, and this will be painful for them. A gift for us. A loss for them.

“Bishop Rhoades is bishop of his home diocese. … He probably presumed he would be bishop there for the rest of his life, and he certainly was content there. Yet, he immediately accepted the request of Pope Benedict XVI. Like the apostles in the fifth chapter of Luke, he left everything to follow the call of Christ,” said Bishop D’Arcy, adding that the diocese must welcome him with love, to cooperate and collaborate with him and “pray for him from this moment on.”

Bishop Rhoades, who has a devotion to the Blessed Mother, said in his acceptance statement, “I am both humbled and honored by Pope Benedict XVI’s appointment of me as ninth bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. I am particularly humbled to succeed Bishop John D’Arcy, who has served the faithful of this diocese with such great devotion and love for over 24 years. I am deeply grateful to Bishop D’Arcy for his very warm welcome and I look forward to learning from him about this wonderful diocese as I prepare to become your new shepherd.”

The enthusiastic new bishop requested prayers as he noted how difficult it will be to leave his home diocese, family and friends, but added, “With joyful anticipation, I look forward now to serving as bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. I look forward to meeting the priests, deacons, men and women in consecrated life, and lay faithful of the diocese. My greatest joys as bishop have been in being with the people, teaching the faith and celebrating the sacraments. I am looking forward to visiting the parishes, schools and other communities of my new diocese.”

Bishop D’Arcy opened the floor to questions which concerned the discernment process of the appointment and Bishop D’Arcy’s thought process involved in handing the pastorate over. He spoke of the letter of retirement at age 75 that he submitted over two years ago and admitted, “Then you don’t know.” He added, “I still enjoy everyday here.”

When asked about future plans the outgoing bishop reported that he will reside in Fort Wayne, in the house he occupies currently, and “help any way the new bishop wants.”

Bishop Rhoades interjected that he felt blessed to have Bishop D’Arcy remain in the diocese.

When asked about his priorities as he joined the diocese, the congenial Bishop Rhoades said his first priority would be to get to know the diocese and its people. Secondly, the new bishop, who admits to a mindset of Pope John Paul II’s new evangelization, hopes to promote vocations, support Catholic schools and religious education. He hopes to strengthen youth ministry for vocation formation and “get the priests behind it.”
The new bishop blessed those in attendance and said, “I pledge to the people of my new diocese my love and my prayers.”

South Bend press
conference
A few hours later in  South Bend Bishop Rhoades was asked about his other top priorities.
“Bishop D’Arcy is leaving the diocese to me in very good shape,” answered Bishop Rhoades. “I think it’s very similar to my own diocese in that some of the priorities and needs are the same.  Promoting priestly vocations would be way up there …that’s very important. We need more priests, no question.”

He also addressed financial challenges facing Catholic schools, saying he dealt with that in Harrisburg. Bishop Rhoades is in the middle of a $45-million building project in Harrisburg.

He talked about growing secularism and relativism in today’s society, and the need to “bear witness to our faith with courage.”

Bishop Rhoades is fluent in Spanish, having served in several Hispanic parishes and participating in the culture before becoming a bishop. Enid Roman-DeJesus, director of Hispanic Ministry for the diocese, says she’s excited.  “I think this is going to be a great thing for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, absolutely,” said Roman-deJesus, discussing her hope that more resources might be added to the Office of Hispanic Ministry.
“Hundreds of people need our services, and now that the economy is kind of run down, the people need a lot of social outreach … food pantry, things like that … (help with) problems in the family,” explained Roman-deJesus. “The Hispanic community tends to come to the church for whatever they need … the church is pretty much everything for them and it’s a safe place for them to ask for help.”

Bishop Rhoades says he’s looking forward to meeting Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, and looks forward to a “personal and pastoral relationship” with the Notre Dame community. Bishop Rhoades said he is “very aware” of the controversy this past spring surrounding Father Jenkins’ decision to honor President Barack Obama, despite the president’s support of abortion.

“I supported the position of Bishop D’Arcy and his pastoral concerns this past year,” said Bishop Rhoades. “I feel there’s a responsibility of the bishop to promote Catholic education at Catholic universities, especially in their own dioceses, and especially to promote the strengthening of Catholic identity. I think that’s just part of the role of the bishop. And I think that Bishop D’Arcy has done that in an admirable way, and I hope that I can do the same.”

While Bishop Rhoades asked for prayers as he begins his new job, Bishop D’Arcy said his successor makes personal prayer a priority himself.
“We were looking last night for a place for him to live,” explained Bishop D’Arcy,  “and he said he was thinking of where he could make his holy hour every day in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. What a wonderful thing to hear.”

Bishop Rhoades says he is grateful that Bishop D’Arcy will remain in residence in Fort Wayne, and as a token of appreciation gave him a gift from Hershey, Pa. — a 5-pound chocolate bar may help make up for what Bishop D’Arcy refers to as “a cross to bear.”
“There is one thing that has to be said,” deadpanned the Boston-born Bishop D’Arcy. “No one is perfect, and I’ve always been honest with the press. The new bishop is a New York Yankee fan!”

After the laughter died down, both bishops met with members of the media, diocesan staff members and others who wished to visit. Moments earlier, Bishop Rhoades called on Our Lady to guide us all.

“I was very happy to learn that the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend,” concluded Bishop Rhoades. “Let us implore her intercession, that we may fulfill the  tasks which Christ has entrusted to us. Our Blessed Mother accompanies us, with her maternal care, as we journey together on our earthly pilgrimage of faith, hope and love.”

As summer plays itself out on the beautiful campus by the lake where the young Holy Cross priest, Edward Sorin, CSC, pitched his camp 177 years ago and began his great adventure, we must clarify the situation that so sundered the church last spring: What it is all about and what it is not about.

• It is not about President Obama. He will do some good things as president and other things with which, as Catholics, we will strongly disagree. It is ever so among presidents and most political leaders.
• It is not about Democrats versus Republicans, nor was it a replay of the recent general election.
• It is not about whether it is appropriate for the President of the United States to speak at Notre Dame or any great Catholic university on the pressing issues of the day. This is what universities do. No bishop should try to prevent that.
• The response, so intense and widespread, is not about what this journal called “sectarian Catholicism.” Rather, the response of the faithful derives directly from the Gospel. In Matthew’s words, “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good works, and glorify your heavenly Father” (5:13).

Public witness

Does a Catholic university have the responsibility to give witness to the Catholic faith and to the consequences of that faith by its actions and decisions — especially by a decision to confer its highest honor? If not, what is the meaning of a life of faith? And how can a Catholic institution expect its students to live by faith in the difficult decisions that will confront them in a culture often opposed to the Gospel?

Pope Benedict XVI, himself a former university professor, made his position clear when he spoke to Catholic educators in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 2008:

Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the church’s magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution’s life, both inside and outside the classroom.

In its decision to give its highest honor to a president who has repeatedly opposed even the smallest legal protection of the child in the womb, did Notre Dame surrender the responsibility that Pope Benedict believes Catholic universities have to give public witness to the truths revealed by God and taught by the church?

Another serious question of witness and moral responsibility before the Notre Dame administration concerns its sponsorship over several years of a sad and immoral play, offensive to the dignity of women, which many call pornographic, and which an increasing number of Catholic universities have cancelled, “The Vagina Monologues,” by Eve Ensler.

Although he spoke eloquently about the importance of dialogue with the president of the United States, the president of Notre Dame chose not to dialogue with his bishop on these two matters, both pastoral and both with serious ramifications for the care of souls, which is the core responsibility of the local bishop. Both decisions were shared with me after they were made and, in the case of the honorary degree, after President Obama had accepted. For the past 24 years, it has been my privilege to serve as the bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

During this time, I have never interfered in the internal governance of Notre Dame or any other institution of higher learning within the diocese. However, as the teacher and shepherd in this diocese, it is my responsibility to encourage all institutions, including our beloved University of Notre Dame, to give public witness to the fullness of Catholic faith. The diocesan bishop must ask whether a Catholic institution compromises its obligation to give public witness by placing prestige over truth. The bishop must be concerned that Catholic institutions do not succumb to the secular culture, making decisions that appear to many, including ordinary Catholics, as a surrender to a culture opposed to the truth about life and love.

The local bishop

The failure to dialogue with the bishop brings a second series of questions. What is the relationship of the Catholic university to the local bishop? No relationship? Someone who occasionally offers Mass on campus? Someone who sits on the platform at graduation? Or is the bishop the teacher in the diocese, responsible for souls, including the souls of students — in this case, the students at Notre Dame? Does the responsibility of the bishop to teach, to govern and to sanctify end at the gate of the university? In the spirit of “Ex Corde Ecclesiae,” which places the primary responsibility on the institution, I am proposing these questions for the university.

Professor John Cavadini has addressed the questions about the relationship of the university and the bishop in an especially insightful manner. He is chair of the theology department and an expert on the early church, with a special interest in St. Augustine. His remarks were a response to Father Jenkins’s rationale for presenting the play mentioned above.

The statement of our President (Father Jenkins) barely mentions the church. It is as though the mere mention of a relationship with the church has become so alien to our ways of thinking and so offensive to our quest for a disembodied “excellence” that it has become impolite to mention it at all. There is no Catholic identity apart from the affiliation with the church. And again, I do not mean an imaginary church we sometimes might wish existed, but the concrete, visible communion of “hierarchic and charismatic gifts,” “at once holy and always in need of purification,” in which “each bishop represents his own church and all of (the bishops) together with the pope represent the whole church…” — Lumen Gentium, Nos. 4, 8, 23.

The ancient Gnostic heresy developed an elitist intellectual tradition which eschewed connection to the “fleshly” church of the bishop and devalued or spiritualized the sacraments. Are we in danger of developing a gnosticized version of the “Catholic intellectual tradition,” one which floats free of any norming connection and so free of any concrete claim to Catholic identity?

The full letter can be found on the Web site of the Notre Dame student newspaper, The Observer.

It has been a great privilege and a source of joy to be associated with Notre Dame in the past 24 years as bishop. In so many ways, it is a splendid place. Part of this is because of the exemplary young men and women who come there from throughout the country. It is also because of its great spiritual traditions. The lines of young people preparing to receive the sacrament of reconciliation at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Masses in the residence halls, the prayerful liturgy at the basilica and the service of so many young people before and after graduation in Catholic education and catechetics, and in service to the poor in this country and overseas, is a credit to the university and a source of great hope. The theology department has grown in academic excellence over the years, strengthened by the successful recruiting of professors outstanding in scholarship, in their knowledge of the tradition and in their own living of the Catholic faith. This growth is well known to Pope Benedict XVI. It is notable that a vast majority has been willing to seek and accept the mandatum from the local bishop.

Developments on campus

Yet the questions about the relationship of the university as a whole to the church still stand, and what happened on campus leading up to and during the graduation is significant for the present debate about Catholic higher education. I released a statement on Good Friday, asking the Catholic people and others of good will not to attend demonstrations by those who had come avowedly to “create a circus.” I referred to appropriate and acceptable responses within the Notre Dame community led by students. Titled “ND Response,” and drawing a significant number of professors, these responses were marked by prayer and church teaching, and they were orderly.

This journal and others in the media, Catholic and secular, reporting from afar, failed to make a distinction between the extremists on the one hand, and students and those who joined them in the last 48 hours before graduation. This latter group responded with prayer and substantive disagreement. They cooperated with university authorities.

In this time of crisis at the university, these students and professors, with the instinct of faith, turned to the bishop for guidance, encouragement and prayer. This had nothing to do with John Michael D’Arcy. It was related to their understanding of the episcopal office — a place you should be able to count on for the truth, as Irenaeus contended in the second century when he encountered the Gnostics.

I attended the baccalaureate Mass the day before graduation, for the 25th time, speaking after holy Communion, as I always do. Then I led an evening rosary at the grotto with students, adults and a number of professors. We then went to a chapel on campus. It was packed for a whole night of prayer and eucharistic adoration.

It was my intention not to be on campus during graduation day. I had so informed Father Jenkins and the student leadership, with whom I was in touch nearly every day. This is the kind of deference and respect I have shown to the Notre Dame administration, to three Notre Dame presidents, over the years. I found it an increasingly sad time, and I was convinced that there were no winners, but I was wrong.

As graduation drew near, I knew I should be with the students. It was only right that the bishop be with them, for they were on the side of truth, and their demonstration was disciplined, rooted in prayer and substantive. I told the pro-life rally, several thousand people on a lovely May day, that they were the true heroes. Despite the personal costs to themselves and their families, they chose to give public witness to the Catholic faith contrary to the example of a powerful, international university, against which they were respectfully but firmly in disagreement. Among those in attendance were many who work daily at crisis pregnancy centers on behalf of life.

The silent board

In the midst of the crisis at Notre Dame, the board of trustees came to campus in April for their long-scheduled spring meeting. They said nothing. When the meeting was completed, they made no statement and gave no advice. In an age when transparency is urged as a way of life on and off campus, they chose not to enter the conversation going on all around them and shaking the university to its roots. We learned nothing about their discussions.

I firmly believe that the board of trustees must take up its responsibility afresh, with appropriate study and prayer. They also must understand the seriousness of the present moment. This requires spiritual and intellectual formation on the part of the men and women of industry, business and technology who make up the majority of the board. Financial generosity is no longer sufficient for membership on the boards of great universities, if indeed it ever was. The responsibility of university boards is great, and decisions must not be made by a few.

Like bishops, they are asked to leave politics and ambition at the door, and make serious decisions before God. In the case of Notre Dame, they owe it to the Congregation of Holy Cross, which has turned this magnificent place over to a predominately lay board; they owe it to the students who have not yet come; they owe it to the intrepid missionary priest, Edward Sorin, CSC, and the Holy Cross religious who built this magnificent place out of the wilderness. They owe it to Mary, the Mother of God, who has always been honored here. Let us pray that they will take this responsibility with greater seriousness and in a truly Catholic spirit.

Critical Questions

As bishops, we must be teachers and pastors. In that spirit, I would respectfully put these questions to the Catholic universities in the diocese I serve and to other Catholic universities.

Do you consider it a responsibility in your public statements, in your life as a university and in your actions, including your public awards, to give witness to the Catholic faith in all its fullness?

What is your relationship to the church and, specifically, to the local bishop and his pastoral authority as defined by the Second Vatican Council?

Finally, a more fundamental question: Where will the great Catholic universities search for a guiding light in the years ahead? Will it be the Land O’Lakes Statement or “Ex Corde Ecclesiae”?

The first comes from a frantic time, with finances as the driving force. Its understanding of freedom is defensive, absolutist and narrow. It never mentions Christ and barely mentions the truth.

The second text, “Ex Corde Ecclesiae,” speaks constantly of truth and the pursuit of truth. It speaks of freedom in the broader, Catholic philosophical and theological tradition, as linked to the common good, to the rights of others and always subject to truth. Unlike Land O’Lakes, it is communal, reflective of the developments since Vatican II, and it speaks with a language enlightened by the Holy Spirit.

On these three questions, I respectfully submit, rests the future of Catholic higher education in this country and so much else.