Newly ordained Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost is in Rome attending the formation course for new bishops. As his time permits, he plans to send photos and regular updates on the program. Below is the second installment.
Greetings from Rome on Sept.14, feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and Day 2 of new bishops’ school.
Today’s schedule began at 7:30 a.m. with Mass combined with Morning Prayer. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM presided and preached at the Eucharistic liturgy. Mass this morning was celebrated in Italian, Latin, Spanish and English. Like yesterday, breakfast followed at 8:30 a.m.
The Dicastery of Bishops entitled today’s theme as “The Church in the Postmodern Society after the Pandemic.” From 10-11a.m., we gathered in the auditorium for a lecture by Msgr. Tomas Halik, a priest of Czechoslovakia, a professor of sociology at the Charles University in Prague, pastor of the academic parish of St. Salvator Church in Prague and president of the Czech Christian Academy. He has lectured on topics of philosophy and theology in numerous colleges and universities around the world.
Msgr. Halik presented “Thirty-Three Theses on the Church in a Time of Epochal Change.” Mercifully for me, he lectured in English. It was erudite, challenging and profound. I felt like I was in the lecture hall at some university’s doctoral program.
Taking his lead from the writings of Pope Francis, Msgr. Halik noted that we are living in an epoch of change. The moral and cultural environment is changing in our secularized world, and not for the good. Social conditions and the lived experience of individuals and communities is changing radically, as seen in ongoing global conflicts, the migration of mass quantities of people, the ever-present plight of the poor and so forth. Institutions and the expertise of leaders are suspect and often ignored, including religious institutions and leaders. This is the world in which the Church has been called to preach the Gospel and continue the mission of Jesus. With the state of the world as it is, Msgr. Halik indicated that the Church faces two dangers – “on the one hand, uncritical conformity to the spirit of the age (that is, ‘dependence on public opinion, ideologies, prejudices and stereotypes’), and on the other hand, ignoring the signs of the times (that is, the revelation of God’s presence in the world and our daily lives).” He reminded us that in such an environment we need to hold fast to Jesus’ admonition: “Do not be afraid!”
Like the Sept. 13 presenters, Msgr. Halik emphasized the significance of the synodal process. He offered a broad theological and sociological analysis of “the signs of the times.” To accurately discern the authentic signs of God’s activity in the world today, he noted the need for a deepening of the spiritual life, dialogue with various groups within the Church and communication with other Christians, other religions and those on the margins of society to build understanding and work for the common good. Synodality should lead us to seek the mystery of the presence of God in the heart of every person.
Following Msgr. Halik’s lecture, we had a 30-minute break. Afterward, we returned to the auditorium for a 45-minute period of questions and further discussion with Msgr. Halik. This allowed the bishops to reflect on their own experience of changes in the religious, social, cultural, economic and political dimensions of their home dioceses. These exchanges provide an important snapshot of what is happening in the global Church.
Blessedly, we had lunch at 1p.m. following this discussion and then a two-hour break.
The afternoon session began at 4 p.m. with Evening Prayer in chapel, after which we gathered again in the auditorium for two presentations. Bishop Carlo Roberto Redaelli spoke for about an hour on the “Canonical Experience for the Administration of a Diocese.” As you can guess from the title, Bishop Redaelli is an expert on Church law. He reviewed parts of canon law, as well as theological and pastoral principles, which bishops should attend to in administering and shepherding their dioceses. The most interesting part of our time with him came after his lecture when bishops recently appointed to head their dioceses began to ask him questions based on their experiences as new bishops. The Church is universal and so are its concerns, issues and challenges. Bishop Redaelli concluded his remarks by reminding us that, as bishops, we should never forget the goodness of God, the importance of charity towards all and the need to laugh -- even at ourselves -- often.
After another 30-minute break, we returned for a presentation entitled “To Live in the World of Media beyond the Technocratic Paradigm.” This was presented by two members of the Vatican’s Communications Dicastery, Natasa Govekar and a press secretary who read a paper by Paolo Ruffini, the prefect of the dicastery, who is traveling with Pope Francis in Kazakhstan. They spoke for about 50-minutes and described the dicastery’s approach to heralding the Gospel message through contemporary media. They stressed that the Church’s vision of communication relies on building communion among peoples. It is not just about making statements, but about deepening relationships. This, they said, is how the Church attempts to discern technological advancements in media and communications through the lens of our faith tradition. While technology and various forms of social media and communication have impacted people throughout the world in positive ways, they noted that these advancements cannot provide the ultimate means of engaging the mystery of God, one of which is participation in the Church’s liturgy, especially the celebration of the Eucharist. (Yes, I was practically out of my seat jumping for joy!) The 45-minute question and answer period focused primarily on bishops’ concerns for livestreaming Masses even after the pandemic’s recession and how to invite all our people to return to in-church celebrations.
At the conclusion of this conversation, we moved to the dining hall for dinner at 8 p.m.
Back in the auditorium at 9:10 p.m., we had an hourlong presentation and conversation with a member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches who described to us the struggles of many Eastern rite Catholics around the world. Most notably, he described how the war in the Ukraine is impacting the life of the faith community there. He also spoke of the difficulties faced by the Eastern Churches in the Holy Land and India. He told us that a number of new Eastern rite bishops had attended last week’s formation session and so none are here this week. However, he encouraged us to reach out to the Eastern bishops in our own areas and learn from them firsthand about the gifts, blessings and challenges of the Eastern Churches in our part of the world.
This brought our day to a close around 10:15 p.m.
Until tomorrow, know that I am keeping all of you in prayer and remembering our diocesan community in the celebration of the Eucharist here in Rome. May God bless you and your families in a special way as we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, our peace and hope of salvation.