VATICAN LAUDS

‘LIVELY FAITH’

            The prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops said an extensive report of the state of the Diocese of Brooklyn for 1998-2003 gave evidence “that the People of God possess a lively faith and an active generosity which gives great hope for the future.”

In a letter to Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re noted the diversity of the Catholic population of Brooklyn and Queens and wrote that “the continual influx of immigrants presents many challenges.”

He viewed the response of the Diocese to the arrival of newcomers in positive terms, saying he was “pleased to see how they are welcomed and assisted as well as how they appear to become immediately involved in the life of the local parishes.”

The report of the activities of the offices and agencies of the Diocese was prepared for the “ad limina” visit to the Holy See required of heads of dioceses every five years to describe the status of their respective sees. Bishop DiMarzio and the diocesan bishops of New York State presented their reports in October, 2004.

Cardinal Re’s letter, issued in late 2005 through the office of Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the apostolic nuncio in Washington, observed that during the latter part of the reporting period, “the tragedy” of Sept. 11, 2001---“an event which shocked the world”---had “lasting effects” on the lives of the faithful.

“So many in the Diocese were directly affected by this event and many generously offered direct assistance to those in need,” the Vatican official wrote.

He said the “charitable initiatives” of the people of the Diocese were “an eloquent witness to the ‘faith, hope and love’ which must mark the life of every disciple of the Lord,” quoting from an address given by the late Pope John Paul II.

Alluding to a section of the report that described the priests of the Diocese as “unsung heroes,” Cardinal Re said he applauded their “dedication and zeal” and stressed the importance of a “strong and vibrant life of prayer and piety.”

He applied to the diocesan priests sentiments of Pope Benedict XVI when he spoke to the clergy of Rome last May: “Spending time in God’s presence in prayer is a real pastoral priority; it is not an addition to pastoral work: being before the Lord is a pastoral priority and in the final analysis, the most important.”

Brooklyn and Queens Catholics were also “blessed with the presence” of many women and men Religious whose lives “give witness to the values of the Gospel” in such apostolates as education, health care, social services and pastoral work, he said.

Extolling the Diocese for the programs and services it offers and encouraging “a renewed evangelization,” Cardinal Re also expressed as “a chief concern” the “low percentage of faithful who attend Sunday Mass.”

In his letter, the Vatican official quoted from an address by Pope Benedict last June in which he said “participation at Sunday Mass must be seen by a Catholic not as an imposition or weight, but as a need and joy.”

Without Sunday, the Holy Father said, “we Catholics cannot live.”

Cardinal Re said the Holy See was grateful for diocesan efforts to “defend the true nature of marriage, to challenge the divorce and pro-abortion culture” and to assist families struggling with the effects of addiction and poverty.

Recognizing that Bishop DiMarzio had assumed the leadership of the Diocese late in the quinquennial period, Cardinal Re lauded his “many pastoral visits, the reorganization of the diocesan curia and the sharing of leadership with episcopal vicars.”

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1/31/06