“I’m not making this a sad introduction,” said Jack Giovannazzo, chair of the First Friday Forum of Lorain County, as he introduced Cleveland Bishop – and now Philadelphia Archbishop-designate – Nelson Perez at the group’s Feb. 7 lunch meeting at Lorain County Community College’s Spitzer Conference Center in Elyria. Instead, Giovannazzo said it was a happy occasion. “You’re the first Cleveland bishop to get a promotion since Bishop (James) Hickey,” he noted.
Bishop Hickey was installed as bishop of Cleveland in 1974, was named archbishop of Washington, D.C. in 1980 and was created a cardinal in 1988.
“This is my last First Friday here,” the archbishop-designate said. “And this is what obedience looks like. I leave with great sadness. I even tried to get out of it,” he quipped of his upcoming Feb. 18 installation as archbishop of Philadelphia after nearly 2½ years as shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.
Most of his talk before the First Friday Forum focused on the role of young people in the Church, something close to the archbishop-designate’s heart. He quoted liberally from “Christus Vivit (Christ is Alive),” Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation to youth, young adults and to the whole world.
‘Youth is a state of mind,” he said, explaining that the Church, which is more than 2,000 years old, can continue renewing itself. “Let us ask the Lord to free the Church from those who make her grow old, who encase her in the past.”
He said the Church is young when she returns to her source: the kingdom of God. “Young people keep the Church young,” he added. The archbishop-designate also had several kernels of wisdom to share, including, “Youth and young adults are not the future of the Church; they’re here now.”
He pointed out a young boy in the crowd who attends St. Jude School in Elyria. “Eliot is the president of my fan club,” he quipped. “He says he wants to be a priest. I think he wants to be a bishop. We have to make room for people like Eliot.”
Archbishop-designate Perez said he convened a think tank eight or nine months ago, asking the members to discern what Church outreach is needed for young people in the next three to five years. They told him young people yearn for a sense of community, a place to belong -- they want to be connected; they want to learn about their faith – “and don’t dumb it down,” they told me – and they want to serve in a meaningful way.
“Our generation doesn’t give them space. They’re having a hard time penetrating the little worlds of our parishes. We live in the most potentially connected world ever. Social media is supposed to do that, yet we’re very isolated,” he said, explaining that instead of being outside interacting, people sit in their rooms alone “connecting” on social media.
One concrete thing Archbishop-designate Perez did in Cleveland was to insist that diocesan committees and groups include young adults, effectively helping them get that seat at the table.
“We have to stop giving lip service, saying youth is important, and not doing anything about it. Those of us who are no longer young need to find ways to keep listening to the voices of young people,” he said.
“I know your young hearts want to build a better world. You hold the future; don’t leave it to others. You have to be protagonists for change. I ask you to build the future and build a better world. Don’t just be bystanders – get involved,” the archbishop-designate said.
“Listen, make space and give them (young people) a place at your table,” he said.
In the question and answer session, the archbishop-designate fielded a variety of questions, including one on how the diocese will be represented at the upcoming meetings on EdChoice, an income-based state scholarship program that provides funding for students in some communities to attend non-public schools. However, legislative delays have placed the program in limbo so students already participating in the program are unable to apply for renewal.
Archbishop-designate Perez said the Catholic Conference of Ohio, the second-oldest state bishops' conference in the country, urged legislators to finalize the program. He also encouraged the public to contact their legislators and express their feelings on the program.
Regarding his successor, the archbishop-designate said the bishop’s office in Cleveland will be empty on Feb. 19 -- the day after his installation in Philadelphia. If a bishop is not appointed administrator of the diocese (as was the case with Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas after Bishop Richard Lennon retired), the College of Consultors -- a group of priests in the diocese -- will meet to elect an administrator to run day-to-day operations of the diocese until a new bishop is named.
Once the administrator is named, the papal nuncio in Washington, D.C. (Archbishop Christophe Pierre) is informed and the search for a new bishop begins. “It’s not up to me,” Archbishop-designate Perez said. The process to name a new bishop usually takes about six to nine months, he added.
Another question was what young people can do to get the pope to listen to them. The archbishop-designate referenced the story of Jesus and the apostles on the road to Emmaus. He said Jesus didn’t start talking to them with Bible lessons. Instead, he walked with them, talked with them and then taught them.
Someone also asked about surrendering to the call and doing God’s will. Archbishop-designate Perez said he’s doing that now.
“This isn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing,” he said referencing pulling up stakes to move to Philadelphia with a month’s notice. But he said sometimes if you hold on too tightly, it’s not good. “We’re not in control. We’re not consulted about when we’re born or when we die,” he said. “Detachment can be a gift. Being too attached can weigh down the heart.”
Giovannazzo thanked the archbishop-designate for his service to the people of the Diocese of Cleveland.
“You know what I like so much about this bishop?” he asked. “I see Christ in him.”
For more information on the First Friday Forum of Lorain County, call 440-244-0643, email ffflorai@gmail.com or follow the group on Facebook.