by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
I thank God for sending us the 19 cardinals who were appointed by Pope Francis at the February 22 public Consistory at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Consistory was held on the Feast of the Chair of St Peter.
As you know, among those now joining the College of Cardinals are two persons from our region: Archbishop Emeritus of Castries Kelvin Edward Felix, 81, born in Dominica, the first Cardinal in the English-speaking Caribbean; and Bishop Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes, 55 years, the first Haitian Cardinal who, when he was asked about his ‘elevation’ said: “It is not exactly the title that interests me, but rather the service.”
Cardinal Felix was one of three Archbishops Emeriti who “had distinguished themselves by their service to the Holy See and the Church”. I urge you to read about the lives of these two great men. They certainly demonstrate servant leadership and will be an asset to the College of Cardinals as they contribute to the governance of our Church.
These 19 cardinals are the first appointed by Pope Francis since he was elected Pope in March 2013. When he announced the appointments in January 2014, he said: “I will name 16 new cardinals who, belonging to 12 different nations from each part of the world, represent the deep ecclesial relationship between the Church of Rome and the other churches scattered around the world.”
They truly reflect the universal nature of our Church.
Let us pray for our cardinals, the most senior clergymen in our Church, that the Holy Spirit will fill them with wisdom as they serve the Church. The Catholic Register states that those promoted to this position “are truly outstanding for doctrine, virtue, piety and prudence in practical matters”.
Alan Johnston, BBC News, Rome, wrote: “We know the type of men that Pope Francis is likely to have gone looking for. They would have been clerics who have demonstrated a readiness to immerse themselves in the lives and problems of the believers around them. Pope Francis admires priests who, in his words, ‘smell of their flock’…”
This conjures up in our minds not only the image of Pope Francis with a lamb around his neck but also the story of the Good Shepherd as told in John 10:14: “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me…I lay down my life for my sheep.”
Today’s Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 3:16-23, reminds us that we “belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.” If we belong to Christ, then we would do as Christ did and be out there in the trenches with the poor, the vulnerable, those in need of our advocacy.
In his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis stated clearly the kind of Church he prefers: “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security…I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and then ends up by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.”
And since we are in the Carnival season, we all need to take heed of these other words in today’s Second Reading: “Didn’t you realise that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you?…the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple.”
We don’t have to take a count to know that Catholics play mas and frequent the various Carnival fetes. It saddens me to see how many of our people are degrading themselves by the way in which they dance/behave. My plea to the faithful is to remember Archbishop Joseph Harris’ words: “We have let the culture shape us instead of being the ones to shape the culture.” As we implement the Third Pastoral Priority, let us commit ourselves to seek to shape the culture so that it will reflect Gospel values.
The new standard that Jesus set us (see today’s Gospel, Matthew 5:38-48) is higher than the old one. He tells us: “You must…be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
We will spend our entire lives striving to be holy, striving to love our neighbour unconditionally. Let us keep in the forefront of our minds that, as disciples of Christ, our vocation is LOVE – the agape type of love.
