THE TABLET, DECEMBER 17, 2005

NEW ROUND OF PARISH VISITATIONS

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

On New Year's Eve, I will have finished my visitation to the 216 parishes of the Diocese of Brooklyn. An effort that I believed would take a year or so, has taken a little more than two years since October 2003 when I was installed as Bishop of Brooklyn. It has brought me great joy and satisfaction to have visited all the parishes of Brooklyn and Queens for the celebration of the Eucharist or other liturgical celebrations.

The latest "Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops" makes a significant point that the Bishop should visit each parish and celebrate the Eucharist for the people as an opportunity to show his pastoral care and understanding for the particular communities of faith for which he has responsibility. The directory also gives great importance to the responsibility of a Bishop as their pastor to support and encourage the clergy and Religious who work in the parishes.

By visiting each parish in the Diocese, I have a very good understanding not only of their geographic location, but also how they fit into the mission of the Diocese of Brooklyn, namely, to carry out the New Evangelization. Our parishes reflect the ethnic diversity of the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens and come in large and small sizes. I must say that I felt welcomed in each parish and experienced the enthusiasm of the people to greet the new Chief Shepherd of the Diocese.

The visits have not been without some criticism. At our recent Convocation of Priests, I responded to the claim that I come to and leave a parish so quickly by saying that, "I am sure people will now complain and wonder what I will be doing there all morning long." In fact, this is the plan for the new round of visitations. I will be coming to each parish for a complete Sunday morning to celebrate the Eucharist or preside, and to preach in those languages with which I am familiar. Some of our parishes are quite diverse, as you realize, having as many as five different language Masses on Sunday. In my new round of pastoral visits, I will attempt to keep Saturday evening for special celebrations, anniversaries and other special events, while Sunday morning should be reserved for parish visitations, except when responsibilities at St. James Cathedral Basilica or outside the Diocese might take precedence.

Deacon Jaime Varela, my special assistant and Master of Ceremonies, has the responsibility for scheduling my visitations. He does not have an easy job tracking down our pastors and matching the availability of a parish with my calendar. I take this opportunity to thank him for that special effort.

During these Sunday morning visitations, I hope to be able to meet with the pastoral council and finance council, as well as a youth group or any other group that might be able to be assembled before or after the Eucharistic celebrations. A more in-depth understanding of each parish can truly be helpful to me, as we need to make decisions about our parishes. Already, I have gotten to know the configuration of parishes, our personnel there and some of the special circumstances. I will not boast to know everything; there is still much to learn about this Diocese.

I am looking forward to putting out into the deep again, learning more about each parish, its pastoral teams and its laity. Brooklyn has been called the Diocese of Immigrants and it might soon be called the Diocese of a Migrant Bishop, as I like to keep on the move and conduct the ministry of presence as much as possible.