This week’s column in The Kerryman newspaper.
Michael Commane
There is not a village or town across the land that does not have someone belonging to them living in the United States. That’s why I was surprised when I read or saw nothing about the new Catholic archbishop of New York, Ronald Hicks.
His appointment by Pope Leo is another giveaway of how the pope is thinking.
A bishop is required to offer his resignation to the pope when he reaches the age of 75; it’s custom and practice that the man stays on for some time after that. But in the case of New York, Pope Leo did not delay in accepting Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s letter, and appointing Ronald Hicks as his successor.
Cardinal Dolan did no favours for the Irish Catholic Church when he visited here in 2011 to investigate seminaries and the state of the church following the abuse scandals. Yes, he appears to be a palsy-walsy type of person, but there obviously is a side to him that is deeply clerical in nature.
The new archbishop in New York is 58, he’s from Chicago, the same town as Pope Leo and was for a short time an auxiliary bishop in his home town, where Cardinal Blase Cupich is archbishop.
Cupich is, in my humble opinion, America’s leading church man. Last week he criticised the Trump administration for its objectionable racist comments on Michelle and Barack Obama.
He speaks out on social justice issues when often there’s not a word from his fellow US bishops. Hicks is clearly from the Cupich school.
His installation Mass as archbishop in St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on Saturday, February 7 was a spectacle of prayer, reverence, humanity and sacredness.
Hicks’ words were inspiring, diplomatic too and he also spoke in Spanish, which was ironic as Donald Trump criticised the decision to have Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny perform at the Super Bowl the next day. He said the Spanish-language performance was ‘a slap in the face to our country’.
At the New York Mass the choir, the music sung, would lift one’s heart, almost force one to pray. The clapping, flowers, relatives, friends, dignitaries in the sanctuary, humour, joy, in other words, normal human behaviour was something to behold. And yet, all done with great reverence and dignity and faith too.
I imagine Hicks is somewhat of an outsider among the American episcopacy, but remember he’s Leo’s man.
Then think what happens in so many dioceses in Ireland. Only recently I heard of someone who was told they could not bring a wreath to a funeral Mass.
Who made that rule and why? It makes no liturgical sense.
On the website of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois there’s a letter from diocesan bishop Paul Connell about guidelines for the use of churches for reposing of remains.
It’s far too long, turgid and the bishop seems to be saying there are different liturgical guidelines for the burial of priests and bishops as there are for the ‘lay folk’, for example not leaving a coffin open in church.
I pity poor Leo but he’s giving me great hope. Watching that Mass in New York was an inspiring moment. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.
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