Father Paul Rosing, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Stow, said he was giving some thought to retirement prior to Bishop Nelson Perez?s appointment as the 11th Bishop of Cleveland.
?I?m looking forward to a good time with Bishop Perez,? he said, as he introduced the bishop, who addressed the First Friday Club of Greater Akron on Oct. 6.
?Bishop, I?m sure you?ve heard that Cleveland is the best location in the nation, but did you know that Akron is the best part of the best location??? Father Rosing said.
?Can we say ?Akron rocks??? Bishop Perez asked, drawing applause from the sellout crowd that packed the banquet room at Tangier Restaurant. He also acknowledged the large group of students, representing several Akron area elementary and high schools, and posed for photos with them after his address.
Bishop Perez shared a story about staying at Pope Francis? residence while he was in Rome for some meetings. ?The pope was there, walking around. I celebrated Mass with him at St. Peter?s Square. There must have been 30,000 to 40,000 people there and I got to talk to him,? he said. The pope asked what country he was from and Bishop Perez explained that he was Cuban-American. ?I told him I was made in Cuba and unpackaged in Miami,? he said, recalling that the pope referred to him as ?the Cuban one.?
The bishop also noted that God might have been sending him a sign of his impending assignment to Cleveland, ?but I didn?t pick up on it.? He said several months ago, Father Joseph Kraker, a retired priest and longtime pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Akron, introduced himself after attending a Mass celebrated by Bishop Perez at a parish in the Diocese of Rockville Center, New York, where the bishop was an auxiliary prior to his appointment to Cleveland. Father Kraker was in New York for a wedding.
?Pay attention to signs,? Bishop Perez quipped.
He also acknowledged the priests, deacons and religious sisters in the crowd and thanked them for all they do.
And he reaffirmed a statement made in his installation homily: ?I was sent here to be a part of you, not the other way around. Eventually, I?ll be nothing but a picture on the wall,? he said.
?Someone asked if I?d be vising all the parishes. I said yes, but there are 185 parishes and 52 weeks in the year, so do the math,? he quipped. However, the bishop is celebrating Masses and greeting the faithful at 10 district receptions throughout the diocese, with the Summit County liturgy scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Holy Family Parish in Stow.
?We are called as a Church to go back to our roots, to be a Church on a mission, focused outward,? he said, adding that both Pope Francis and Pope St. John Paul II exemplify that philosophy.
?I was blessed several times to see John Paul II as a lay person and as a priest. The last time was in 1998 in Cuba. He was old, he shuffled and mumbled, but he captivated the crowd,? Bishop Perez said. ?We need to be a Church that is involved and engaged. The Church doesn?t live in a bubble. The truth is in the Gospels and it sets us free.? He added that Pope Francis urges us ?to be fruitful and joyful. The times we live in don?t call for young couch potatoes. We need someone to leave a mark. We must decide our future
