The Tablet October 2, 2004

A Visit with the Holy Father

Having just returned from the "ad limina" visit in Rome , I wish to share with you what this visit means in the life of the Bishop and in the life of a Diocese. The ad limina visit, literally to the threshold of the Apostles, prescribes that Bishops every five, and this last time six, years must prepare a report for the Holy See on the status of the Diocese from all aspects: spiritual, administrative and temporal. This extensive report (ours was over 400 pages) describes in detail the life of the Diocese and progress over the last five years. Each Diocesan Bishop is required to present this report and meet personally with the Holy Father and the other heads of the offices in the Vatican , to share information and to learn of the current thinking of the Holy See.

The Province of New York, with its eight Dioceses, its Diocesan Bishops and Auxiliaries, decided as a group before our departure that certain questions would be asked of the nine dicasteries, or departments, of the Holy See, which we were to visit. Each Bishop was assigned a particular office for which he would make a presentation and prepare questions. I was assigned, not by accident, the Office of the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples because I am a member of that Pontifical Council.

Our meetings with the heads of various Congregations and Councils were certainly enriching to all the Bishops who attended. There is always something to be learned and something to be shared. The meetings serve as contact points with those who are responsible for the major activities of the Holy See. For example, we visited the Congregation for Bishops, that oversees the nomination of Bishops and the work of Bishops throughout the world, as well as the Congregation for the Clergy, which does the same for priests and deacons. We also visited the Council for the Laity, as well as the Council for the Family, the Congregation for Consecrated Life, the Congregation for Divine Worship, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Council for Justice and Peace, and finally the Congregation for Catholic Education. All of these offices have international staffs that attend to the various issues of vital interest to the Church. For example, when we visited the Congregation for Divine Worship, Francis Cardinal Arinze, a native Nigerian and a man of keen wit and humor, explained to us some of the latest directives of that Congregation in a way that all could understand and accept with good reasoning.

Of course, the highlight of the ad limina visit, besides the celebration of Masses at the Basilica of St. Peter and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, is the visit with the Holy Father. Each Bishop is given a private audience of 15 minutes or so during which time the Holy Father asks questions regarding the state of the Diocese.

To be alone with the Holy Father speaking about the Diocese of Brooklyn was a wonderful experience. As soon as I entered he said " Brooklyn " with a smile that he could manage in his difficult condition. As we spoke, I reminded him of his last visit to Brooklyn when he celebrated Mass at Aqueduct Race Track, after being drenched in the Newark Archdiocese the day before. He remembered the sun had come out on the Brooklyn celebration. It was in that spirit that we discussed the state of the Diocese.

I responded to his short questions with a description of the things of most concern to him, the clergy, vocations, family life and religious life, as well as our efforts at education. In my personal meeting with the Holy Father, I thanked him for his example of patient suffering which he now offers to the Church as a testimony of his love for all of God's people.

It so happened that for spiritual reading during the ad limina I had taken with me the latest book of John Paul II entitled: Rise, Let us Be on Our Way. It is his personal reflections on 45 years as a Bishop. In the book there is a section where he mentions the ad limina visit. This is what he said: "I draw a great profit from meeting Bishops: I could say in all simplicity that from them I learn about the Church. I need to do this constantly because I am always learning new things. From my conversations with them I come to know about the situation of the Church in different parts of the world … the visits 'ad limina apostolorum' are a particular expression of collegiality."

In fact, in the general session which he has with all the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province, in our case the State of New York, the Holy Father gave us a summary of the longer talk distributed to us which is given to each province as they finish their ad limina visit. It so happens that the subject of our instruction was the role of the Bishop in governing the Church. The Holy Father reminded us that we are ambassadors for Christ and that our governance of the Church is not in any way administrative, but rather it is a call to build up the Kingdom of God in charity and communion. That communion first begins with the Holy Father himself and among the Bishops. It is collegiality that he mentioned to us, a collegiality that must come from a union of mind and heart and through a consensus among ourselves and in the Conference of Bishops.

The Holy Father ended the instruction by reminding us of the special challenges that face us as a province, including the attendance at Sunday liturgy, the use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the proper understanding of the Sacrament of Marriage and the special care for immigrants who are so numerous in our area.

The words "rise and let us be on our way" are the words of Christ Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane as he told His apostles that His hour had come. The Holy Father in his book mentions that the invitation "rise and let us be on our way" is addressed particularly to the Bishops, successors of the apostles and chosen friends of the Lord, but that invitation too is given to all of us, rise and do not be afraid.

We may add the other words of Jesus to His disciples when they were fearful, "let us put out into the deep." This we must do constantly as we, the Bishops, clergy, religious and people of the Diocese of Brooklyn, recognize our special task in building up the Kingdom of God.