Dear Friends,continue at MadCatHerald
Well it’s been seven months, but it was surely worth the wait! I was simply overjoyed in recent days to have my first moments with our Holy Father, Pope Francis. I hope to have some pictures to share with you by next week.
Simply put, I had never met Cardinal Bergoglio previously and, since his election as Bishop of Rome, I’ve had a tremendous desire to have a few moments with the man to whom my mission is so intricately tied.
I’ve spoken of it many times before, but I’ll recall here again that it is one of the key duties of the diocesan bishop to reach out and to act as a sort of glue which holds people fast to the heart of the Church and to be a sign of unity among the Body of Christ in His diocese. It is one of the key duties of the Pope to act as that glue and that sign of unity among all the bishops of the world and their people united with them.
Meeting Pope Francis
And so, given how intensely that responsibility weighs on my mind and my heart each day, you can see why I’ve been so eager to know the current pope, to listen to what he’s written and said, and, certainly, to meet him face to face.
When I did meet him, it was a confirmation of what we believe to be the case about the unity that comes through the Bishop of Rome. In that encounter it came very naturally to me to recognize Peter. Without thinking about it really, I knew that this man had been graced, in a special way, with that responsibility that has only been given to Peter and his Successors. It was Peter there, just in the same way as I had seen in Pope Benedict and in Blessed John Paul II.
Both being Jesuits btw.
Photo
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