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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5353 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Fri Apr 18th, 2008 01:45 am |
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WASHINGTON -- Pope Benedict XVI ended a prayer service for bishops Wednesday evening by acknowledging "the immense suffering endured by the people of God in the Archdiocese of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina."
He then presented a silver chalice to New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes as "a sign of my prayerful solidarity with the faithful of the Archdiocese and my personal gratitude for the tireless devotion which he and (former) Archbishops Philip Hannan and Francis Schulte showed toward their flock entrusted in their care."
 The presentation of the chalice, the cup used during the celebration of the Mass, culminated an eventful day that began with a sun-drenched welcoming ceremony Wednesday morning at the White House attended by more than 13,000, including top congressional leaders and Bush administration officials.
Archbishop Hughes seemed touched with the pope's presentation, extending his hands to the pope to express his appreciation. It came a week after Hughes announced the merging, downsizing or clustering of 33 parishes by the end of the year, a move he said would cause "a lot of frustration and anger and grieving."
After receiving the chalice, Hughes said he was thrilled with what he described as unique honor.
He said the chalice would be used at Mass Sunday at St. Louis Cathedral, and that other archdiocese churches could use it during future Masses.
Unusual move
It's unusual for a pope to single out an archdiocese for recognition. Catholic scholars said the gesture indicates the importance he gives to the continuing rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina four months after he assumed the top position in the Roman Catholic Church.
Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center, said the gift of the chalice reflects the pope's desire to promote the rebuilding of a city that has long had a large, devout Catholic population.
After the presentation, the bishops, following the example of the large crowd at the White House on Wednesday morning, serenaded the pope by singing "Happy Birthday." Benedict celebrated his 81st birthday Wednesday.
Seriously wronged'
But his address to the bishops was certainly not all positive.
He suggested that the clergy sex scandal had not been handled well by church leaders.
"It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust to foster healing to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged," Benedict said.
At the White House ceremony, which was attended by many members of Congress, including Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La.; David Vitter, R-La.; and Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, the pope said that religious people should be actively involved in public life.
"The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility toward the less fortunate," the pope said.
During his private meeting with President Bush, Benedict, who has been critical of the war in Iraq and America's tougher stance on immigration, pushed for the United States to rely more on diplomacy to resolve foreign disputes. In a joint statement, the president and pope said they "reaffirmed their total rejection of terrorism, as well as the manipulation of religion, to justify immoral and violent acts against innocents."
Landrieu said she was thrilled the pope mentioned New Orleans and its long road toward recovery.
"His message of peace, love and reconciliation is particularly welcome to Louisianians and our archdioceses as we still struggle to recover from the 2005 hurricanes," Landrieu said.
The above article is reposted from the New Orleans Times Picayune.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Steven Barrett
Member
| Joined: | Tue Nov 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Hadley, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 980 |
| First Name: | Steven | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, Episcopal communicant, Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Apr 18th, 2008 05:05 am |
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 It's nice that the Pope recognized New Orleans' plight, which is more than could be said for Bush's "Brownie" of FEMA.  But I was intrigued by Vitter's appearance and the lack of your guv and hizzoner, Nagin.
We have all fallen short of the Lord.
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For anybody interested in reading commentary from a Catholic's socially conservative/fiscally liberal viewpoint, go to my new blog at http://www.politicsramble.com/ .
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CajunRick
Network Helper
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5353 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Fri Apr 18th, 2008 11:52 am |
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Steven Barrett wrote: It's nice that the Pope recognized New Orleans' plight, which is more than could be said for Bush's "Brownie" of FEMA. But I was intrigued by Vitter's appearance and the lack of your guv and hizzoner, Nagin.
We have all fallen short of the Lord.
The recognition of New Orleans came at a meeting with the bishops of the United States, and both the current and former archbishops of the city were present. Dignitaries were not invited to that meeting.
Senators Vitter and Landrieu and Congressman Melancon (my congressman) were present at the White House for the official welcome ceremony. Mayors and governors were not invited. All three officials are Catholic.
Governor Bobby Jindal, who is a Catholic convert and apologist, met with John Paul II several times. I suspect he also met with then-Cardinal Ratzinger, but I don't believe he has met with him as pope, and certainly not since being elected governor. He has been rather busy with the legislature, overhauling the state's ethics laws, working on the tax structure and educational system, and preparing for the next hurricane season and a rebuilding of the state's coastal wetlands. Because of the price of oil Louisiana's treasury is overflowing with cash, and he is determined to see that money used to restore the coastline and infrastructure rather than be used on pork-barrel projects, as has previously been the case when the state had extra money. Time will tell, but in his first few months in office he may well already be responsible for the biggest change in Louisiana politics since Huey Long.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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