Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades

  • Lent: A journey of conversion

    “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” With these words, Jesus began his public ministry. He calls us to conversion. We hear this call anew every year during the season of Lent.

    The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that our Lord’s call to conversion “does not aim first at outward works, ‘sackcloth and ashes,’ fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance” (CCC 1430).

    Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are good and important practices during Lent and are a great help to our spiritual growth. They help us on our journey of conversion. However, these practices must not be performed only as an external fulfillment, but as the expression of our interior disposition: the conversion of our hearts, what the Fathers of the Church called cumpunctio cordis, “repentance of heart.”

    Our external works of penance are to be accompanied by an interior desire to return to the Lord, to turn away from evil. We ask the Lord to help us to overcome sinful habits, to cleanse us of unholy desires, and to purify un-Christian ways of thinking or acting that may have crept into our lives. Sometimes, we can experience powerful forces within us, temptations to sin, that we find hard to resist. During Lent, we resolve to do battle with sin in our lives. We say to God: “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.” We ask the Lord to take us by the hand and lead us along the way He wishes us to follow.

    The Catechism describes interior repentance as “a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace” (CCC 1431).

    The good news of Lent is that God gives us the strength to begin anew. He gives us his grace. We think especially of the great gift he has given us in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Jesus instituted this sacrament to offer us a new opportunity to convert and to be restored to God’s grace. It brings about a true “spiritual resurrection” in us. In a sense, we pass from death to life when we go to confession and receive absolution. I encourage all to receive this sacrament of conversion during the season of Lent.

    As I mentioned, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are important forms of penance during this Lenten season. They are to be expressions of our “interior penance.” Recall the preaching of Isaiah in the Old Testament. The people were fasting and they did not understand why God did not seem to notice this or reward them for their fasting. The problem was that their exterior fasting did not express interior penance. In fact, God reprimanded them through Isaiah, telling them that their fasting was not acceptable to him because it was merely external. They were unjust in their dealings with others and ignored those in need.

    It should not be surprising that God ignores fasts or other practices if those who perform them commit sins against justice and charity. God says he will have nothing to do with the hypocrisy of those who perform fasts but behave wickedly, whereas he will certainly listen to prayers and fasting if they are accompanied by acts of justice and charity. This is a warning to us not to just go through the motions of religious observance. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy are signs of authentic conversion and growth in holiness. Love of neighbor and works of mercy manifest true love of God. When we examine our consciences, it is important to ask ourselves whether the fruits of love are present in our lives.

    Pope Benedict’s Lenten message this year focuses on the following passage from the letter to the Hebrews: “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” (Heb 10:24). The Holy Father highlights concern for others, responsibility towards our brothers and sisters, as essential to the Christian life. This “concern for others entails desiring what is good for them from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual.” He cites two parables of Jesus as examples for us: the parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, both found in the Gospel of Luke. “Both parables show examples of the opposite of ‘being concerned,’ of looking upon others with love and compassion.” Pope Benedict states that “reaching out to others and opening our hearts to their needs can become an opportunity for salvation and blessedness.”

    Acts of charity towards our neighbor are part of our Lenten journey of conversion. I think especially of almsgiving, by which we express concrete concern for the poor.

    During this Lenten season, let us not forget the priority of interior conversion, the conversion of the heart. Our hearts are moved to this conversion when we look upon him whom our sins have pierced. Saint Clement of Rome wrote: “Let us fix our eyes on Christ’s blood and understand how precious it is to his Father, for, poured out for our salvation, it has brought to the whole world the grace of repentance.”

    On Ash Wednesday, we heard the words of Saint Paul imploring the Corinthians: “on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!” This invitation rings out to us to take the Lenten call to conversion seriously. God wants to create a pure heart in us. Let us open our souls to God’s grace and live intensely this holy season, this journey of conversion towards Easter!

    Posted on February 29, 2012, to:

  • Ten days in Rome: Ad limina apostolorum

    I am writing this column on the plane on my flight home from the ad limina visit in Rome. It is a long day of travel: from Rome to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Fort Wayne.

    I thoroughly enjoyed my first ad limina visit. In many ways, it was like a spiritual retreat, something I did not expect. Our daily Masses at different Basilicas in Rome, as well as time for prayer each day in these beautiful churches, were a highlight for me. We had three Masses in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the course of the ten days: at the altars of the tombs of Saint Peter, Blessed John Paul II, and Blessed John XXIII. We celebrated the Mass at the tomb of Blessed John Paul II on February 11th, the 37th anniversary of Bishop D’Arcy’s 37th anniversary of episcopal ordination. Bishop D’Arcy was one of the main concelebrants at that Mass. We congratulated and prayed for Bishop D’Arcy on that special occasion.

    I was happy to be the principal celebrant on our final day at the Mass at the tomb of Blessed John XXIII. This year, on October 11th, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his opening the Second Vatican Council. On that day, the universal Church will begin the celebration of the “Year of Faith.”

    We also celebrated Masses at the three other Major Basilicas in Rome: Saint Paul outside the Walls; Saint Mary Major, and Saint John Lateran. When we arrived in Rome on Wednesday, February 8th, we celebrated Mass with the seminary community at the Pontifical North American College. I stayed as a guest at the North American College (where I lived as a seminarian) during the ad limina visit. It was good to see one of our own seminarians who is a resident there: Royce Gregerson. Royce, a parishioner from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Fort Wayne, is doing very well and is enjoying his first year of theological studies at the Pontifical University “Santa Croce.”

    The ad limina visit by the bishops of Region VII of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (comprising three ecclesiastical provinces: Chicago, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis) included meetings each day at various dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Each meeting was interesting. It was good to learn more about the work of the Roman Congregations, Pontifical Councils, and Tribunals. The Roman Curia serves the Holy Father and the universal Church. The Cardinals, Bishops, priests, religious, and laity of the various dicasteries who met with us already knew a lot about our situation and that of the Church in the United States. It was good to share our thoughts, to ask questions, and to discuss issues of mutual concern.

    The following are the dicasteries that I visited during the ad limina: the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments; the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; the Congregation for Bishops; the Congregation for Clergy; and the Congregation for Catholic Education; the Apostolic Signatura; the Pontifical Council for the Family; and the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization.

    Our meeting with the Holy Father was certainly the major highlight of the visit. We met by provinces, not by region, with Pope Benedict XVI. So Bishop D’Arcy, the other Bishops of Indiana, and I met with the Holy Father together on February 9th. As always, we experienced the wonderful kindness, gentle spirit, and wisdom of the Holy Father. He asked each of us about our dioceses and about our ministry as bishops. We spoke about the new evangelization and the challenges to faith and the Church’s mission in today’s increasingly secularized culture. As Jesus instructed Saint Peter “to confirm the brethren in the faith,” we as bishops, successors of the apostles, felt truly confirmed in the faith by Pope Benedict, the successor of Saint Peter.

    One very positive aspect of the ad limina was the time spent with brother bishops from our ecclesiastical region. It was a good opportunity to get to know one another better, not only at the Vatican meetings, but also over meals and social time. These conversations and our daily prayer together strengthened our fraternity and collegiality.

    During free time, I took some good long walks in the city, visiting favorite sites from my student days in Rome. At each Mass and in many visits to churches, I remembered the faithful of our diocese in my prayers. I prayed especially for the sick, for those in special need, and for those who no longer practice the faith, for their return to the Church.

    I enjoyed two special visits while in Rome: pranzo (dinner) with Father Richard Warner, the Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and his staff at the Holy Cross Generalate in Rome; and cena (supper) with the students from Saint Mary’s College who are studying a year or semester abroad in Rome. I thank both for their wonderful hospitality.

    Father Warner gave me a very special gift: a relic of Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, whom we pray will soon be canonized a saint. Among the Saint Mary’s students I had dinner with were four wonderful young women from our diocese: Ana Diaz-Aguilar, Samantha Marley, Ashley Stopczynski, and Devree Stopczynski. I thank the directors of the Saint Mary’s Rome program for their warm welcome: Dr. Portia Prebys and Meagan McHugh.

    As we begin this holy season of Lent, may we be diligent in our works of penance and charity! May our Lord purify our hearts of sin so that we will be prepared to celebrate worthily the Paschal Feast at Easter!

    Posted on February 22, 2012, to:

  • ‘Ad limina’ visit

    I am writing this column prior to my departure on February 7th for my first ad limina visit to Rome. Bishop D’Arcy and I will be joining our brother bishops from Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin for this ten-day visit to the Vatican. The ad limina visit is an obligation of diocesan bishops and has three purposes: to venerate the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul (ad limina apostolorum means “to the threshold of the apostles”); to meet with the Holy Father; and to meet with the officials of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

    Though ad limina visits traditionally take place every five years, the last visit by U.S. bishops was in 2004. I was ordained a bishop in December, 2004, so I just missed the last visit of U.S. bishops to Pope John Paul II.

    Prior to the ad limina visit, diocesan bishops are required to make a report to the Holy Father on the state of their dioceses. This report is called the quinquennial report. It is examined by the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the Holy Father receives a synthesis of each quinquennial report. Preparing the report provides the bishop an opportunity to reflect on the situation of the diocese and pastoral planning for the future. I am very grateful to Bishop D’Arcy and to my Cabinet and diocesan office directors for their help in preparing this comprehensive report. Special thanks to Fred and Lisa Everett for their excellent work as editors of the report!

    The quinquennial report has 22 sections and examines all the various aspects of the life of the Church in our diocese (e.g. Catholic education; Catechesis; the life and ministry of the Clergy; the Laity; etc.). I learned a great deal from this report. When visiting the Holy Father and the officials of the Roman Curia, this report will have been studied beforehand and provide very helpful information for our discussions.

    The ad limina visits foster the communion of all the bishops of the world with the Pope, the successor of Saint Peter. It is a concrete expression of the Pope’s solicitude for the whole Church.

    In the apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus, issued by Blessed John Paul II in 1988, we read the following: “On the one hand, these visits give the bishops an opportunity to sharpen their awareness of their responsibilities as successors of the Apostles and to feel more intensely their sense of hierarchical communion with the successor of Peter. On the other hand, the visits in some way constitute the highest and most central point in that universal ministry that the Holy Father is carrying out when he embraces his brother bishops, the pastors of the particular Churches, and takes up with them the business of sustaining their mission in the Church.”

    The ad limina visit reminds us of Saint Paul’s visit to Saint Peter as described in Saint Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Saint Paul wrote that he went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas (Peter) and stayed there with him for fifteen days. Fourteen years later, he did so again. This visit manifests the communion of Saint Paul with Saint Peter. The ad limina visits today manifest the communion of the successors of the Apostles with the Successor of Saint Peter.

    We read in Pastor Bonus: “The natural result of this meeting with Peter’s successor, first guardian of the deposit of truth passed on by the Apostles, is to strengthen unity in the same faith, hope and charity, and more and more to recognize and treasure that immense heritage of spiritual and moral wealth that the whole Church, joined with the bishop of Rome by the bond of communion, has spread throughout the world.”

    I ask for your prayers for Bishop D’Arcy, me, and our brother bishops, as well as for the Holy Father, during this time. Our ad limina visit begins on February 8th and ends on February 17th. I will be praying for the people of our diocese each day as we celebrate Mass in different Roman basilicas. I am the principal celebrant of the Mass on the last day of the visit which will be celebrated at the altar over the tomb of Blessed John XXIII in Saint Peter’s Basilica. We will also be celebrating Masses at the altars over the tombs of Saint Peter and Blessed John Paul II in Saint Peter’s Basilica, as well as at the basilicas of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (over the tomb of Saint Paul), Saint Mary Major and Saint John Lateran.

    May the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul intercede for us!

    Posted on February 8, 2012, to:

  • Unprecedented attack on our religious liberty

    On Friday, January 20th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

    This alarming mandate not only negatively impacts the Catholic Church in the United States directly, it also strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty of all citizens of any faith.

    Our Founding Fathers recognized the innate right to religious liberty when they enshrined this right as our first freedom in the Bill of Rights. The author of the First Amendment, James Madison, wrote: “Conscience is the most sacred of all property.” Thomas Jefferson wrote: “No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.”

    We as Americans cherish our religious liberty, which includes freedom of conscience. The mandate from HHS is an unprecedented attack on this liberty since it coerces religious institutions and citizens to pay for actions that violate our moral teachings and religious beliefs.

    We cannot and we will not comply with this unjust federal order. We cannot and we will not accept this egregious affront to our religious liberty.

    For institutions and individuals that have on moral grounds not provided these illicit “services” before, HHS extended the deadline for compliance with its mandate to August 1, 2013, in effect, giving us one year to prepare to violate our consciences, which we cannot and will not do. Instead, we need to do all we can in the coming months to correct this terrible wrong. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is actively exploring options for litigation and legislative proposals to remedy this injustice.

    The implications of this mandate for the Catholic Church in the United States, including our diocese, our Catholic health care institutions, our Catholic colleges and universities, and our Catholic Charities are grave. This injustice also negatively affects other religious institutions and people of faith who share our moral beliefs on these issues. Many who do not share our beliefs also object to the HHS rules, recognizing that they are a violation of religious freedom and the rights of conscience.

    Some have noted that HHS included a religious exemption in the new mandate. But to be eligible for this exemption, an organization must meet four strict criteria, including the requirement that it both hire and serve primarily people of its own faith. Catholic schools and hospitals would have to eject their non-Catholic employees, students and patients to qualify for the exemption. Catholic Charities and other Catholic social service agencies would have to eject their non-Catholic employees and provide help primarily to Catholics. As some have noted, Jesus and his apostles would not have been “religious enough” for this exemption, since they healed and served people of different faiths.

    In the aftermath of the HHS ruling on January 20th, I and many of my brother bishops have spoken out forcefully against the unjust mandate, against this unconscionable decision of the Obama Administration. On January 20th, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles, wrote:

    “I cannot imagine a more direct and frontal attack on freedom of conscience than this ruling today. This decision must be fought against with all the energies the Catholic community can muster. For me there is no other fundamental issue as important as this one as we enter into the Presidential and Congressional campaigns. Every candidate must be pressed to declare his-her position on all of the fundamental life issues, especially the role of government to determine what conscience decision must be followed: either the person’s own moral and conscience decision, or that dictated/enforced by the Federal government.”

    Indeed, we must focus our energies in the coming months on fighting this unjust mandate and defending our religious liberty. I exhort all, our priests, deacons, religious, and laity to be engaged on this issue. We need to defend our cherished rights and resist violations of our first freedom. We must hold firm and be courageous in this matter. I am indeed grateful for the strong public stance taken by the presidents of the Catholic colleges and universities in our diocese as well as that taken by our Catholic health care leaders. We must be united in our defense of the religious liberty granted us by God and protected in our nation’s Constitution.

    Just a couple days before the announcement of the HHS decision, Pope Benedict XVI, in an ad limina address to Bishops of the United States, spoke about his worry that religious liberty in the United States is being weakened. He called it the “most cherished of American freedoms.” The Holy Father said:

    “Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience. Here once more we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society.”

    As a community of faith, we must commit ourselves to prayer and sacrifice so that truth and justice may prevail and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing. With God, nothing is impossible. I also recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

    May the Holy Spirit guide us and strengthen us in this battle!

    Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades

    Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend

    Posted on February 1, 2012, to:

  • The consecrated life

    Blessed John Paul II wrote: “The consecrated life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit.”

    This coming week, we give thanks in a special way for the gift of consecrated life as we celebrate the World Day for Consecrated Life. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. On this day, forty days after Christmas, we remember the presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple. This feast is also called Candlemas Day since it is the day on which candles are blessed symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world. It is an appropriate day to celebrate consecrated life in the Church since consecrated men and women are called to reflect the light of Christ to all people.

    We often speak of those in consecrated life as men and women religious. They are those who are consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. They are religious sisters, brothers, and priests who have answered the Lord’s call to serve him with an undivided heart. Most belong to religious congregations and are active in various apostolates of the Church, according to the charisms of their communities. Some live a cloistered life, devoted to prayer and contemplation.

    Consecrated life is truly a gift to the Church. I think of the religious sisters who taught me through twelve years of Catholic education back home in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. I will be forever grateful for their excellent teaching and especially for their beautiful witness of the faith. One of my favorite sisters, who taught me at Lebanon Catholic High School, recently wrote to me that she has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Please remember her in your prayers. She is a beautiful woman of faith who had a very positive influence on my life and my vocation. I am sure that many who are reading this column have had similar experiences of wonderful religious sisters, brothers, and priests who helped them in their lives in a multitude of ways.

    We are very blessed by the large presence of consecrated men and women in our diocese.

    We have over 200 Holy Cross priests and brothers in our diocese, serving at the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, and in parish, health care, and educational ministries. The U.S. Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross (priests and brothers) and the Midwest province of the Brothers of Holy Cross are headquartered here in our diocese. We have nearly 200 Sisters of the Holy Cross in our diocese. The Sisters of the Holy Cross, who sponsor Saint Mary’s College, also have their provincial house here and are active in various apostolates.

    We have over 70 Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration in our diocese. Their provincial motherhouse is in Mishawaka where we are blessed to have a Chapel of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The Sisters of Saint Francis sponsor the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne and are quite active in health care and educational apostolates. The corporate offices for the Sisters’ health care system, the Franciscan Alliance, is also headquartered in Mishawaka.

    We have over 70 Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ in our diocese. Their provincial motherhouse is in Donaldson. The Poor Handmaids sponsor Ancilla College and they are also active in health care and social outreach ministries.

    The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Victory have their provincial motherhouse in Huntington. We have over 80 “Victory Noll Sisters” who are involved in the mission of catechesis and pastoral renewal. Archbishop John Noll was instrumental in their founding and locating in our diocese.

    Many of the religious sisters, brothers, and priests mentioned above are now retired from active ministry, but not retired from religious life. They continue to bear witness to Christ and to serve the Church through their prayers, sacrifices, and witness of faith.

    In Fort Wayne, we also have two new communities of consecrated men and women, the Franciscan Brothers Minor and the Franciscan Sisters Minor. As new communities, they are not yet “religious institutes,” but are “public associations of the faithful,” according to canon law. The brothers strive to live the original Rule of Saint Francis according to the Capuchin reform. The sisters are discerning a contemplative life according to the Rule of Saint Clare.

    We have many other religious men and women serving or living in our diocese (some as students at our Catholic universities) who belong to congregations that are not headquartered in our diocese. The men belong to the following religious institutes: the Friars Minor Capuchins, the Friars Minor Conventuals, the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, the Order of Friars Minor, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, the Society of Divine Word, and the Society of Jesus. The women belong to the following religious institutes: Adrian Dominicans, Congregation of Saint Joseph, Daughters of Divine Charity, Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, Dominican Sisters of Peace, Felician Sisters, Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Handmaids of the Most Holy Trinity, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of Providence, Sisters of Saint Agnes, Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, and Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Third Order of Saint Francis.

    Let us remember all these men and women religious in a special way in our prayers on February 2nd. They are a blessing to the Church. Let us intensify our prayers for vocations to the consecrated life. We definitely need more religious sisters, brothers, and priests, just as we need more diocesan priests. We need these witnesses of what Pope John Paul called “the radicalism of the Gospel.” Living the evangelical counsels, they are a sign to all of us of our call to follow Christ and to conform our existence to him. They follow Christ in a special way and give their lives in the service of God and his Church. The Church needs men and women who devote themselves totally to God and to others out of love for God.

    We are all called to holiness. Consecrated men and women remind us of this call. They follow a specific path to holiness through their profession of the evangelical counsels. How many saints of the Church were consecrated men and women religious! Just think of some of some of the more recently canonized saints like Holy Cross Brother, Saint Andre Bessette, and Indiana’s own Saint, Mother Theodore Guerin. Later this year, we will see the canonization of another American religious, Mother Marianne Cope, who served the lepers on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. And, of course, there is Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom I pray will also soon be canonized. May these saints pray for us and for an increase of vocations to the consecrated life in the Church!

    Posted on January 25, 2012, to: