Many things on my mind today and the week just ended has been one of the most physically taxing in a long time since the normal Advent and pre-Christmas schedule was interrupted by a trip to Baltimore for a meeting at Catholic Relief Services. So, here goes,

Bishop John Noonan was installed as fifth bishop of Orlando on Thursday at the Shrine Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe. A congregation in excess of 2,500 warmly welcomed their new shepherd and in his homily, the new shepherd demonstrated the warmth of his love and fondness for his new diocese. The ceremony was quite lovely and lasted less than 105 minutes which is a miracle in itself. Bishop Noonan did a wonderful thing at the end of Mass when in speaking of Advent as the season of hope, he invited all the seminarians present to come forward as witnesses to hope which the faithful should have for their Church. The bishop has spent almost seventeen of his twenty-seven years in the priesthood working in seminary formation at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, as Dean of Men and then for a good number of years as President-Rector. About eighty seminarians came forth to a standing and prolonged ovation from the people at the Shrine and proudly I could identify about twenty-five as being from our diocese.

Last night saw the annual Christmas dinner for our seminarians and their families (about 190 persons), their pastors and priest friends, and myself. Following Mass in the St. James Chapel we proceeded to Archbishop Favalora Hall where we had dinner and bade farewell with great gratitude to Father Leonard Plazewski who has held the position of Vocation Director of this diocese for twelve and a half years. An earlier post here indicated the transition and who his replacements would be in that very important position within the diocese. The seminarians are fond of Father Len and so the leave-taking was not that easy for him or for many but the Church of St. Petersburg owes him a debt of thanks for his hard work over the years recruiting and assisting seminarians through to priesthood. It is always wonderful to see our men and their families in a relaxed atmosphere and to begin to acknowledge the coming of Christmas with their return to their homes.

Father Len Plazewski saying his good-by and thanks to those present for the annual Christmas dinner for our seminarians and their families. (Photo courtesy of A. Padilla, seminarian)

The Bethany Center is fast becoming my second home as I seem to be spending many nights there lately. Prior to last night, I held the third of my overnights with our priests, this time being the international priests (born and formed in other countries like Poland, India, African nations, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, and Central and South America). Our lengthy conversations about their experiences in coming to minister in the United States and in this diocese were both illuminating and helpful to me. They are a great and generous group of men who understand the challenges of language, culture, accent, etc. and who wish nothing more than to be accepted by me, by you, and by their brother priests as no longer a category (e.g. “international priests”) but just as priests of the diocese.

I have had only one angry over-the-top “comment” to a blog entry here which focused on the lack of a “corpus” (figure of Christ) on the large crucifix at Holy Family Catholic Church and made much of the stained glass window of the “Risen Christ” in the rear of the sanctuary. I regret ruining this readers day then and now as I failed to mention that the wood-carved body of Christ did not arrive on time to be installed on the cross and is due in a few weeks and as for the “stained-glass window”, it was in the church since its first dedication and was a sine qua non for the older parishioners in the renovation. When the figure of Jesus arrives and is placed, I will put a picture here in the profound hope that the reader will calm down but I would bet not. He was from Michigan, anyway, not the parish or the diocese.

This evening a number of the staff of our Pastoral Center gathered at Pinellas Hope to prepare, serve and feed the 262 residents on this cold Florida night. Working without a raise for the last two years, this group paid for the food, prepared it, and served it. I lent them my presence and not my culinary expertise of which I have none.

Pastoral Center staff serving one line at Pinellas Hope on December 19, 2010

Father Bob Morris and his mom also helped out

When the new year begins, forty bishops from the East Coast (the Wilmington diocese down to Miami) will gather for their annual retreat from the 3-7 of January at the Bethany Center. Several Cardinals, four archbishops and the rest bishops will spend their first visit to Bethany being led in our prayer and reflection by Bishop Jaime Soto who is the bishop of Sacramento, California. They are all looking forward to coming back to the Diocese of St. Petersburg after having spent a week here this past summer, hoping for warm weather (a coin toss in early January as we locals know), and ready to enjoy our hospitality and the beauty and comfort of Bethany. So I still have some blogs left in me right up to and including the Feast of the Holy Family a week from today but after that – SILENCE until the 7th of January.

That just about empties the file I have in my mind. Enjoy this final week of hope and expectation.

+RNL

When my mind is unable to focus on a single thought, it is time to share many scattered and unrelated thoughts with you. So here we go.

Cardinal-designate Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington

Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Pope Benedict named new cardinals yesterday including two Americans, Archbishops Raymond Burke, formerly of St. Louis and now in Rome and Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. Cardinals came into being in the Church in 1056 when the Emperor of the Holy Roman Emperor was a six year old boy. Until that time, the emperor and other political figures had a significant say in who was to become Pope so the Church taking advantage of a moment when the sovereign was too young to do anything about it established a new rank of prelate, namely cardinals, who would meet as needed to elect a new pope upon the death of his predecessor. The end of the eleventh century was a particularly challenging time for the Church because it did not have good control over its priests and bishops who were too often subject to outside influence and interference. Thus the birth of a group of men whose main task was to elect popes. Over time, the college took on additional meaning and duties and can be and has been called on occasion to advise the Pope on matters of concern to him. Pope Paul VI limited the number of cardinals who could vote in a papal election to 120 members under the age of eighty. Pope John Paul II while never changing that “magic” number did give it some elasticity at times and often, as did Pope Benedict XVI yesterday took into consideration the number of soon-to-reach-the-eighty age limit. Yesterday’s choices marked somewhat a return to a heavier preponderance of archbishops working in the Vatican than in the trenches but little should be made of that in my opinion since there have been a number of changes in administrative offices whose head is usually a Cardinal. In the time of Popes Pius XII and John XXIII, elevation to the cardinalate was not done that often and made significant news when done. Now it seems to happen about every three years and the secular media largely gave the moment a giant yawn except in the U.S. in Pittsburgh and Washington where Archbishop Wuerl once served and now serves. On a personal note, I was elated that Archbishop Wuerl was chosen as I regard him very highly as a churchman of great principal, good mind and a pastoral heart. I think he will serve the Church in the United States very well as a member of that special group of advisors to the Holy Father. Enough said.

If yesterday marked the coming of the “red tide”, today in this diocese we welcome Catholic women from around the state as they gather here for their once every two year statewide meeting of the Florida Council of Catholic Women. I will offer Mass for them tomorrow morning and officially welcome them and on Saturday afternoon, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami will make his first visit to our diocese as our Metropolitan Archbishop to say Mass for the FCCW. Welcome ladies and enjoy your time on Florida’s west and best coast.

Like most of you, I can not wait for November’s elections to end. The bitter acrimony and charges and counter-charges which mark the Florida landscape this year is deafening and downright depressing. Visitors to this state from other countries who make the mistake of turning on the television in their hotel rooms or apartments must wonder about the nature of our form of democracy. Scare tactics rule the discourse and untruths and partial truths are the order of the day. I am early voting again this year so I can shut myself off to all the last minute diatribes and for the first time will have voted purposely without listening to a single debate – what is there to hear other than charges and counter-charges between the candidates and no plan for real recovery and hope. God help us!

Earlier this week I joined thirteen other bishops from the South in a meeting to discuss financing of Catholic education. The meeting was held in a hotel adjacent to the Atlanta airport and was organized and paid for by the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education program. Our schools throughout the region, except perhaps for Atlanta where the population continues to explode with parents with good annual incomes, are in trouble and the number of students declines either due to demographic shifts, economic reality, better public school options like charter and fundamental schools, etc. The bishops listened to a number of presentations on how we might access more federal and state monies for our own children in our own schools. An outstanding advocate for parental choice in education from Tampa, John Kirtley, spoke of his experience spearheading the corporate income tax credit program (STEP UP, FLORIDA) through the legislative and administrative process and my brother bishops deeply admired his commitment, counsel and concern. Good stuff!

Finally, on Saturday I will celebrate the annual jubilee Mass for religious women and men who pass this year their 25th, 50th, 60, 70th anniversaries of religious profession. The number of jubilarians is in steep decline as the religious age and die. In my first years as bishop, fourteen years ago for example, we acknowledged annually about fifty religious passing significant anniversary dates. This year I think we are half that number and only about eighteen can be present for Mass and lunch. I would do it even if there were only one left because these women and men have given their life and love to the Church unconditionally, and sometimes that has not always been “easy street” for them. Happy Anniversary Sisters, Brother and priests. We still love you!

+RNL

I am back from fishing and after a long day in the office found myself on a plane to South Bend and the University of Notre Dame. I had been invited to celebrate the graduation Mass, give out the certificates which precede the diplomas and preach for the seventeen members of the ECHO group who are graduating and those returning this week-end for their second year in their dioceses and those who will be beginning their two year service in the dioceses of the country starting, well tomorrow for some. We have had the privilege of three ECHO students in our diocese for the past two years who are graduating today: Anthony Paz who served at St. Jude Cathedral, Katie Muller who served at St. Paul parish and Holy Family parish, and Ellen Voegele who served at Blessed Trinity parish. Anthony is from Eureka, California and graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, Katie is a graduate of Marquette University and is from the Chicago area and Ellen is from Batavia, Ohio and graduated from Marian College in Indianapolis. The two young women are returning to continue to serve at Blessed Trinity as Director of Faith Formation and St. Paul’s as High School Youth Minister and Middle School Religion teacher and Anthony is joining the staff of St. Luke’s parish in McLean as Coordinator of Adult Faith Formation. Congratulations and gratitude and appreciation is extended to these three wonderful young people for their educational and pastoral accomplishments during the last to years of ECHO. When they are in the diocese of St. Petersburg, Brian Lemoi, the Director of Religious Formation is their mentor and thanks are also due to him. Father Joseph Waters attended the ceremonies in South Bend for Anthony who served one year with the new pastor of the Cathedral.

Happily, their places will be taken by three new ECHO representatives serving at Holy Family parish in St. Petersburg, at St. Jerome parish in Indian Rocks Beach and at Espiritu Santo parish in Safety Harbor. ECHO at Notre Dame is an activity of the Center for Catechetical Initiatives which itself is a part of the Department of Theology. During their two years in the program, its participants called “apprentice catechetical leaders” experience four important dimensions of growth: academic formation leading to a Master’s degree, professional ministerial formation, communal formation, and spiritual formation.

Our liturgy was lovely and what great readings for the Mass this week-end. One can count on the fingers of both hands the number of times in a three year cycle when all three readings can be tied together thematically and this is one of them. It was a great Saturday for me and for the ECHO program. Tomorrow I fly to Orlando for a meeting with my brother bishops of Florida. Who says summer is a time of rest and relaxation. In fourteen years I think I can prove that summer only sees a slight decrease in activities in our Church.

ET ALIA

Some readers have asked me to comment when I return on how successful I was at “fishing” the last few weeks. I caught nothing as my friends would expect but it was relaxing.

I was out-of-town when George Steinbrenner died and I regret that I could not be present to his family at the time of their great loss. I knew him as a very generous and great man whose love for his children and grandchildren was exceptional. He was generous to a number of Catholic institutions (the Academy of the Holy Names and St. Cecilia school to name two) and very generous in this community. I loved being with him as he constantly teased me about the high school which I graduated from in Columbus, Ohio (St. Charles) while he was coaching at our arch-rival, Aquinas High School. More than the Yankees should be mourning his loss. His heart was larger than his reputation was occasionally controversial. Rest in peace, good friend of the Bay area and great head of a family.

Finally, you should be reading new entries several times a week in the coming month. I missed the discipline which this exercise requires. It is nice to be back.

+RNL

Update 8/5/10: Anthony went to Amherst College, not the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Here’s another set of random thoughts while shaving……..

Vacation days are upon us. At our office we can tell when things begin to shut down in our parishes with pastors and associates taking their vacations and a dearth of phone calls and letters to be answered are the rule of the day here at the Bishop Larkin Pastoral Center. For we older generation types, the window of summer vacation weeks has been narrowed considerably by the earlier opening of school, now in early August instead of after Labor Day as  back in the “days of the giants.” This has it effects not only on parents of school age children and their teachers and administrators, but pastors and associates as well. Generally one can not get away until school is closed and must be back prior to school reopening. What was once a twelve week window for my brothers is now more like an eight week window at best and imagine the complications next year when Easter is on the last possible day it can be observed, April 24th, and Pentecost is not until June 12th. I am ready to resume a full confirmation schedule next year and am hoping that more parishes will choose a date prior to Ash Wednesday and after Christmas or at least the first five weeks after Easter. So we have the same challenges of “when to rest from our labors” as many of you do.

Finally, while on this topic, don’t forget Sunday Mass when you are away. I am edified at the number of people in the summer who fill the huge Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of the Universe at Disney. I am also edified by those who attend Sunday Mass on cruise ships when the opportunity is offered by a cruise line (now just Holland America and Crystal among the major players) and at our national parks. The rule of the Church has always been that you can be excused if you are actually travelling (read that on the road, plane, train or ship) during Sunday Mass times but must attend if at all possible otherwise. The Creator deserves our praise for the beauty of creation, after all.

For readers from the Diocese of St. Petersburg, four priests who were originally a part of our diocese but now minister in the Diocese of Venice (we call them “SOB’s” which means “South of the Bridge(rs)”) have been recommended by Bishop Frank Dewane to the Holy Father for receiving papal honors. Monsignor Edward Moretti, V.G. Vicar General of the Diocese of Venice and pastor of Saints Peter and Paul parish in Bradenton has been named as a Protonotary Apostolic with the title of Monsignor; Monsignor Gerard M. Finnegan, Pastor of St. Mary, Star of the Sea on Longboat Key,  and Monsignor Stephen Edward McNamara, pastor of Resurrection of the Lord parish in Fort Myers were both named Chaplains of His Holiness and Father Fausto Stampiglia, pastor of St. Martha in Sarasota and a member of the Pallotine Order has been given the  Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award. Congratulations are in order to our alumni.

Monsignor Norman Balthazar, for the past decade almost the Director of Catholic Cemeteries is retiring at the age of seventy as is allowed and will be returning to his home on Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts,  next month. Monsignor has done an outstanding job of transforming Calvary Cemetery into a beautiful final resting place for our loved ones and has made all of us proud of what a Catholic cemetery can look like. I wish him well in his retirement.

Finally, stay off the roads at the end of next week because that is when all our priests who are changing assignments and returning to new assignments will be moving. There are quite a few this year but not nearly as many as my first Spring as bishop here when about thirty were reassigned and it was referred to, quite irreverently but comically as “the lynchings.” All the alia I can think of for now.

+RNL

Theology on Tap is a program for interested Catholics who wish to know more about their faith. While it was begun for and principally attracts twenty and thirty somethings, it is open to any interested Church member. They are held in bars and restaurants so that those attending can combine post-wok relaxation and dining with learning more about their Church. This Spring’s four weeks of Theology on Tap are ended and since most of us missed the occasion of hearing the presentations, I wish to draw your attention to the podcasts of the speakers which can be accessed by going to our diocesan podcast http://blogs.dosp.org/podcast or to the iTunes store where you can download or subscribe for no charge. Apropos of this week, you might especially like to listen to Father John Tapp’s presentation on the Sacred Triduum.

Tomorrow at St. Jude’s Cathedral at 1130am is the annual Chrism Mass, a liturgy which takes it name from the fact that the Sacred Oils of the Sick, the Catechumens, and Chrism are blessed and consecrated during the ceremony. However, it is also the annual occasion for the priests to renew the promises and commitments which they made on the day of their ordination and they turn out in great number for this lovely liturgy. Delegations from all the parishes and missions in the diocese accompany the oils so the Cathedral is fairly full but there is always room for some more so if you have nothing to do and would like to experience the Church at its best, please join us. If, however, you are unable to be physically present, you can join us by tuning into Spirit FM 90.5 [WBVM] for a live broadcast.

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II (on Good Friday, April 2nd) and last week was the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador who was wantonly murdered in his own Cathedral. We should pray for them both. The Holy Father is well along in the process of beatification prior to canonization as a recognized saint by the  Church and the latter should be further along than he is but that will come in time.

Finally, this is the last blog posting of Holy Week although my homilies throughout the week will be posted here. Easter week I am retreating “into my shell” for some R&R but will be back on the blog on or around the First Sunday of Easter (April 11th). I take this moment to extend to all my readers my prayers for a most blessed Triduum and Easter joy. Welcome to our near 1500 catechumens and candidates who will be entering the Church at the Easter Vigil and the love of Christ and my own to all of you.

Bishop Robert N. Lynch (aka “+RNL”)

Early reports about Thursday night’s THE LIGHT IS ON FOR YOU are that despite the heavy rain and strong wind throughout the five counties, many people still made use of the opportunity to approach the sacrament of reconciliation, including many who were returning to the sacrament after a long period away. In the Church in which I heard confessions, we were not busy or “slammed” and I thought perhaps that last year’s success was wearing off. But, when outside the sacrament, I would inquire what was the impetus for seeking the sacrament this night , many told me that they had seen the thirty-second spots on TV (especially ESPN) and decided to come home. Today, we have heard from a number of pastors that confessions last night in their Church were steady and extremely worthwhile.

Sunday is Laetare Sunday which is Latin for “rejoice”. We are at the halfway point in Lent and Holy Week and the reenactment Lord’s passion and resurrection are drawing near. It is also the Sunday when we take up in all the parishes and missions around the country the annual collection for Catholic Relief Services. CRS’s work and importance shown once again in their response to the earthquake in Haiti and no Church has a disaster and development program to rival our own CRS. Some of the money also goes to Migration and Refugee Services, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the USCCB Committee for International Justice and Peace and to the Holy Father for his assistance to nation’s suffering from disasters, natural and manmade. Please be generous this week-end to one of the best causes for which special collections are taken in the United States.

This afternoon (Friday) I took the occasion to visit the Intensive Care Unit and the fifth floor of St. Anthony’s Hospital which took such great care of me in the days and weeks of my hospital confinement. The reason for my visit which was spontaneous on my part was to thank those wonderful, dedicated women and men (nurses, aids, cleaning people) who took care of me and take great care of all. I would say that they loved seeing me and a number commented that they seldom see people whom they have nursed back to good health after they leave the hospital upon discharge. Many could not believe how much weight I have lost. I had a great time telling of the lady who approached me at the Cathedral to ask if it was really Bishop Lynch standing before her and then commenting on my loss of weight asked me if it was “Weightwatchers” or “Jenny Craig.” Even the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES declared me healed. One could not ask for a better source on the subject!

The Diocesan Pastoral Council meets tomorrow (Saturday) at the Bethany Center and on Sunday I will be celebrating the 1030am Mass at St. Mary’s parish, Lutz, where the pastor has returned to the Philippines for kidney replacement surgery. I wish to assure the parishioners of my concern and prayers for their Father Jude Vera and my concern for them during this time without a shepherd.

Finally, it is not too late to get serious about Lent and preparing for Easter. Starting on Palm Sunday, this space will include a special reflection for each day of Holy Week. I will shut down for the week after Easter and return on “Low Sunday” – a term which I will attempt to explain when the day gets here.

+RNL

The title of this blog entry which will arise from time to time means “and other things” and signals that you should look for an entry that most likely lacks “unity, coherence and emphasis.” In other words, I will use occasions like this to raise a number of issues which are clearly unrelated to each other. So fasten your seat belt, here goes:

One thoughtful reader upon reading the entry on the level of charitable giving in the US to Haiti in the five weeks since the earthquake asked what the likelihood is that it is getting to the people who need it the most. It is a good question and all I can do is share my experience, now several years old of chairing the Board of Catholic Relief Services. Haiti is a challenging place for non-profits to work. There is a dreadful combination of corruption and violence present in that country which every private voluntary organization working there must be prepared to deal with. It is nothing to have a band of armed men break into a warehouse with food and steal it only for the purpose of selling it on the black market. The strongest of locks and the presence of armed guards secures nothing in that country for sure. Yet, most of what is donated for the needs of the general population does get to those in need. Giving it to the government to distribute is not a great idea because of the corruption factor and one thing which helps CRS is that they can use a vast network of parishes and churches as distribution points and that works more often than not. To the writer of the comment, the pictures of the army using force to drive away those storming the food distribution points was likely necessary to keep the method of distribution to those most in need going. I would have bet that had those storming the food center been successful, everything being shared, donated, sent for the poor and needy would have ended up on the black market. Haiti can be chaotic at times but I think that CRS and other PVO’s are succeeding in seeing that what they have to give gets to the right people. Will it be perfect? Not likely. Can it still be effective and fair distribution? Yes.

Health care is back on the burner and I am suspicious that the anti-abortion protection of the House language will not be present in what is parleyed through the legislature in the coming weeks. We need health care but we do not need a new “open sesame” which for all intents and purposes directs yours and my taxes to support abortion services. It looks like the action is slated for the Senate and I encourage all to “swamp” Senator Nelson with pleas that he change his position. The rest of this diocese’s elected representatives in the House remain pro-life but they need some pressure to work harder for an acceptable health care proposal in general. Remember, the official position of the Church is that access to safe, affordable health care is a right in itself.

On a much, much smaller scale of human interest, most of my doctors have declared me “cured” and my surgeon has politely and appropriately begged “never to see me again” – professionally. I am back to work, taking the major public liturgies which I used to celebrate without fail but will continue through Spring not “to overdo it.” My recovery is an answer to many prayers – my own and many of yours as well. It is wonderful to feel useful once again.

The Florida bishops meet in Tallahassee next week for what we call “Catholic Days at the Capitol.” Joined by several hundred volunteers we annually descend on the legislature as it opens its annual session, usually but likely not this time see the Governor for a discussion of issues of mutual concern, celebrate the annual Red Mass for the executive, legislative and judicial branches (usually only a sparse representation of the legislature shows up), and meet as a state conference of bishops. It can be one and a half long days so we will see what my staying power is this year.

On Tuesday I am going to drive right through Tallahassee and keep going to spend an hour with my dear friend and fellow bishop, John Ricard, of Tallahassee-Pensacola. He is in rehab at the moment and remains in need of many prayers. He is a great man and a good bishop and the priests, deacons, religious and people of his diocese are worried about and for him. I will report in this space how he seems to be doing after I see him on Tuesday.

Don’t forget, we are once again lighting our Churches next Thursday night, March 11th and hearing confessions from 5-8 pm. The Light is ON for You.

So now you know what the Latin phrase et alia means – assorted and unsorted thoughts while shaving. God bless.

+RNL

Some updates on subjects taken up recently on this blog.

The Holy See press officer acknowledged this week that its handling of the lifting of the excommunication of the four Society of St. Pius X bishops did not serve the Church well and that Pope Benedict had taken the action without the knowledge of the comments of Bishop Williamson on the Shoah. The Holy Father himself engaged the issue at a Wednesday audience and the Holy See has made it clear that the England born now in Argentina Williamson must totally recant before any other action, at least in his case, can be taken. The other three bishops have either distanced themselves or disavowed Williamson’s preposterous statements. In the end, we look foolish, nonetheless.

Contacts between senior curial personnel in Moscow for the enthronement of His Holiness, Kiril, as patriarch of Moscow were warm and cordial and Pope Benedict gave a chalice to the new head of Russian Orthodoxy.

There is still no Freedom of Choice Act introduced in this Congress but in all likelihood there will be. The giant postcard campaign in Catholic Churches against FOCA has now been refocused by the USCCB Pro-Life Committee and directed to all legislative initiatives which would broaden abortion access or challenge conscience clause protection currently in place.

Beautiful Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago where I once took Pope John Paul II (in October 1979) suffered significant fire and water damage on Wednesday from an early morning roof fire. It will be closed for repairs for an indeterminate time.

+RNL