Michigan and Bishops Meet with Pope Benedict XVI on Ad Limina Visit

Courtesy of L’Osservatore Romano and AoD blog: From left: Auxiliary Bishop Jose Arturo Cepeda of Detroit; Auxiliary Bishop Donald F. Hanchon of Detroit; Bishop Joseph R. Cistone of Saginaw; Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing; Bishop Walter A. Hurley of Grand Rapids; Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit; Pope Benedict XVI; Bishop Bernard A. Hebda of Gaylord; Bishop Paul J. Bradley of Kalamazoo; Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette; Auxiliary Bishop Francis R. Reiss of Detroit; and Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Byrnes of Detroit.

The bishops of Michigan and Ohio were on their ad limina visit in Rome this past week.  The last time Michigan's bishops met with the Holy Father was in 2004 when Cardinal Maida was at the helm. This is a first ad limina visit for most of these men, at least representing this region, including Archbishop Vigneron.  Bishop Boyea, now of Lansing was an auxiliary bishop for Detroit during that 2004 visit, and Bishop Reiss was there, as well.

The Archdiocese of Detroit and bishops have been blogging since shortly before leaving for Rome.  Here is an excerpt from Archbishop Vigneron's post following his visit with the Holy Father:

We’ve just come back from the audience with the Holy Father, all of us bishops from Michigan. It was a wonderful experience. We talked about really all the themes that are important in the pastoral life of the Catholic Church in our diocese. The Holy Father was very sympathetic when we told him about the economic troubles of our region. He assured us of his prayers. 

We spent a good bit of time talking about the liturgy. The Holy Father encouraged all of us to do whatever we can to be sure that your experience of the liturgy is an experience of the Church as she exists in every age. 

Throughout all of his remarks, and also a theme in our conversation with him, was the New Evangelization, which gives us all great hope for the future – especially the evangelization of families.

Auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon, consecrated a bishop in May of 2011, is responsible for the area in which Assumption Grotto resides.  He posted this:

On Thursday morning before our mid-day meal, Archbishop Vigneron, accompanied by Bp. Byrnes, Bp. Blair, Bp. Cistone, Bp. Sample and myself went inside the Apostolic Palace to meet with Abp. Dominique Mamberti (charged with the Vatican’s Relations with States) to ask for his counsel in addressing the serious matter of freedom of conscience for Catholics and other people of faith in light of the proposed policy of the U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Services requiring the inclusion of “reproductive services” (including contraceptive and abortion-related ones) in all plans for universal Health Care. I hope the impact of this on all Americans, and on our witness before the people of the world, has gotten wide press coverage, because it deserves to! [continue reading Bp Hanchon's post: A Word on Freedom]

Yes, Bishop Hanchon!  It has gotten pretty good coverage and many of us have been glad to see so many bishops speak out with one voice.  In fact, Tom Peters at Catholic Vote has a running list of bishops speaking out accounting for more than 80% of US bishops.  I'll be sure to email him your post to be added to the list!

Archbishop Vigneron meets Pope Benedict XVI

You can see photos of each of the five bishops of Detroit shaking hands with the Holy Father in this post.

The bishops also discuss the excitement of being in Rome during the unusual snowfall, with pictures.  Rome Reports has made a very nice video of this...

Visit the Archdiocese of Detroit blog and scroll through the many posts there about the ad limina visit.


I hope the bishops will continue using that blog on a regular basis. With five bishops in Detroit now, this should be a walk in the park now.

See also the coverage of the ad limina visit in the Detroit Free Press by Niraj Warikoo: Bishops share concerns for Michigan in meeting with Pope Benedict XVI

---

Yesterday I posted on Bishop Edward Slattery's wholesome response to the assault on religious liberty. Check that out if you have not yet seen it.

Also, New Advent is a very good aggregator of news stories and posts on the HHS mandate, and more.  I recommend making a daily visit there to see the latest.

---

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Ad Limina Quoteworthy: Pope Benedict to Bishops of England and Wales

The bishops of England and Wales had an ad limina visit with the Holy Father.  The entire address is good reading, but I found this particularly quoteworthy (emphases in bold, mind):

Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed. I urge you as Pastors to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended. Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth. Continue to insist upon your right to participate in national debate through respectful dialogue with other elements in society. In doing so, you are not only maintaining long-standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion, but you are actually giving voice to the convictions of many people who lack the means to express them: when so many of the population claim to be Christian, how could anyone dispute the Gospel’s right to be heard?

[snip]

Make it your concern, then, to draw on the considerable gifts of the lay faithful in England and Wales and see that they are equipped to hand on the faith to new generations comprehensively, accurately, and with a keen awareness that in so doing they are playing their part in the Church’s mission. In a social milieu that encourages the expression of a variety of opinions on every question that arises, it is important to recognize dissent for what it is, and not to mistake it for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate. It is the truth revealed through Scripture and Tradition and articulated by the Church’s Magisterium that sets us free. Cardinal Newman realized this, and he left us an outstanding example of faithfulness to revealed truth by following that "kindly light" wherever it led him, even at considerable personal cost. Great writers and communicators of his stature and integrity are needed in the Church today, and it is my hope that devotion to him will inspire many to follow in his footsteps.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!