Returning from my mid-August journey to Australia, I came down with a mighty cold during the flight back from Melbourne to Tucson that made my jet-lag a bit worse.
But even the miseries of a summer cold couldn’t put a damper on the glow of my wonderful visit to Australia and New Zealand.
I was invited to Australia by Brother Mark O’Connor, a Marist Brother and head of the Office of Evangelization in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, to give this year’s Dom Helder Camara Lecture in Melbourne.
The lecture, now in its 25th year, was first delivered by the legendary Archbishop of Recife himself, and I was honored to follow in the line of speakers that has included Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Ireland, Cardinal Oscar Rodriquez of Honduras, Cardinal Walter Kasper, recently retired from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Professor Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
My topic was “The Living Message: What the Church Can Do To Better Communicate Its Message.”
(You can hear the lecture at www.newman.unimelb.edu.au/camara.)
I had never been to Australia or New Zealand, so I decided to make this lecture trip part of my vacation for this year. Two priest friends from the Archdiocese of Chicago, now both retired, accompanied me.
We spent several days in New Zealand’s north island visiting Auckland, the Bay of Islands, Camp Reigna and Rotorua.
I have always heard of New Zealand’s gorgeous scenery, and it is strikingly beautiful. Thick wooded forests intertwined with rolling green hills cover the landscape. They say there are more sheep in New Zealand than people, and I believe that from seeing so many sheep grazing in the pastures along the road.
Our summer is their winter, so the weather was between 50 and 65 degrees with quite a bit of rain – a relief from our 100 degree plus temperatures of Tucson.
Bishop Patrick Dunn, the Bishop of Auckland, and Bishop Robin Leamy, a retired bishop who served many years in the Cook Islands, invited us to dinner at the Cathedral Rectory one evening. Msgr. Bernard Kiely, rector of the Cathedral, who was a chef before becoming a priest, prepared a sumptuous dinner for us.
Appreciating our efforts to renovate our Cathedral, I was interested to see the work that they have done on their historic Cathedral that dates back to 1842. The Cathedral of St. Patrick and St. Joseph has been a part of downtown Auckland since the beginning of the city. It was reopened in 2007 after being closed for two years of renovation.
Cape Reigna was the highlight for me in New Zealand. It is on land bounded by the Tasman Sea on one side and the Pacific on the other. The Mauri people who inhabited this land from the beginning believe this is the place where loved ones send their spirits to the netherworld. Wind was raging at gale force during our visit ,which made the place even more haunting and beautiful.
Arriving in Australia, we spent four days as guests of Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, at Cathedral Presbytery next to the gorgeous Cathedral of St. Mary. Sydney is magnificent, with its bays glowing in the sun, its opera house and the Bridge.
The Sydney Zoo is quite a treat, with kangaroos, wallabies and Tasmanian Devils. (Later during our visit, we were able to walk among kangaroos in the wild, seeing them carrying their little ones in their pouches – quite an amazing sight.)
Tim Davis from the Office of Evangelization in Melbourne was sent by Brother Mark to accompany us in Sydney. He was a marvelous host. Tim had worked on World Youth Day celebrated in Sydney and has stayed on working for the Church. He is a surfer and played Australian Football as a professional. While he never got me surfing, I did get to see an Australian Football game, which made more sense after Tim’s explanation.
The main part of my time in Australia was spent in Melbourne, where I had the chance to witness the local Church in action.
I enjoyed an evening with the seminarians living at Corpus Christi Seminary in the heart of the city, dialoguing with them about ministry in today’s world. They are a very diverse group, as are seminarians in the U.S. There were seminarians from Croatia, Viet Nam, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Latin America and Australia. There was a marvelous spirit in the house, and they were interested to know what seminarians were like in the U.S.
I met with a group of archdiocesan priests to talk about preaching. Many of these men have served as priests for decades. They spoke of the challenge of preparing every week to break open the Word of God. I was inspired by their dedication and love of the Church.
I met with priests and parish staffs from a number of their large suburban parishes. Our discussion reminded me of our own communities in Tucson. The challenges of bringing people back to the Church, making liturgies prayerful and meaningful, the tension between the demands of administration and the desire to pastor all sounded very familiar.
I had a chance to speak to Catholic School educators. Catholic Schools in Australia receive substantial amounts of support from the government. It is a very different situation from ours. Teacher salaries are on par with public schools, and the government pays about 80 per cent of capital costs for schools. How blessed they are to have so much public support.
One of my most delightful experiences was the weekend at Sacred Heart Parish in St. Alban preaching at their Festival of Faith. Father John O’Reilly from Ireland has served in this parish for 43 years. He has two worship spaces, three primary schools and five secondary schools, and at age 73 is a dynamo of energy. What an inspiration! He was of the likes of Msgr. Todd O’Leary, Msgr. Richard O’Keeffe, Msgr. Bob Fuller and Msgr. Tom Cahalane, tireless in his priestly service.
His community, like our parishes, is very culturally diverse. There are migrants from Greece, Italy, Ireland, Malta and, more recently, from Sudan, Sri Lanka, China and Viet Nam. Father John reaches out to every group and makes them know they are welcome.
Brother Mark, our host, could not have been more hospitable. His graciousness reflected the spirit of the people we met.
The Church in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne is so much like our Church in the Diocese of Tucson, filled with dedicated and hard working priests, loving and serving women and men religious and countless lay women and men whose service is such a gift to the Church.
So, that’s what I did on my summer vacation. I have lots of photos to share!
[ view entry ] ( 5 views ) | permalink |
( 0 / 0 )A la vuelta de mi viaje a Australia a mediados de agosto, contraje un resfriado tremendo durante el vuelo de Melbourne a Tucson que empeoró bastante mi desfase horario. Pero ni el sufrimiento de un resfriado de verano lograba quitarle brillo a mi maravillosa visita a Australia y Nueva Zelanda.
El Hermano Mark O’Connor, Hermano Marista y director de la Oficina para la Evangelización en la Archidiócesis de Melbourne, me invitó a ir a Australia a dar el discurso principal en la conferencia anual Dom Helder Camara en Melbourne.
El primer discurso de este evento, hace 25 años, lo pronunció el legendario Arzobispo de Recife, por lo que me sentí muy honrado de ser el próximo en una lista de oradores en la que figuran personalidades como el Arzobispo Diarmuid Martin de Irlanda, el Cardenal Oscar Rodriguez de Honduras, el Cardenal Walter Kasper, quien acaba de jubilarse del Concilio Pontificio para la Promoción de la Unidad Cristiana, y la Profesora Mary Ann Glendon, ex embajadora de EE.UU. a la Santa Sede.
Mi tema fue “El mensaje vivo: Lo que la Iglesia puede hacer para comunicar mejor su mensaje”.
(Pueden escuchar el discurso en www.newman.unimelb.edu.au/camara.)
Como yo nunca había estado ni en Australia ni en Nueva Zelanda decidí aprovechar el viaje a la conferencia para tomar mis vacaciones a la misma vez. Dos amigos sacerdotes de la Archidiócesis de Chicago que ya están jubilados, me acompañaron.
Pasamos varios días en Nueva Zelanda, en la Isla del Norte, visitando Auckland, la Bahía de las Islas, el Cabo Reinga y Rotorua.
Yo siempre había oído hablar de los espléndidos panoramas de Nueva Zelanda y en realidad es un lugar de una belleza impresionante. Espesos bosques arbolados que alternan con verdes colinas onduladas dominan el paisaje. Se dice que en Nueva Zelanda hay más ovejas que gente, y después de haber visto tantas ovejas pastando en los prados adyacentes al camino, lo creo.
Nuestro verano es su invierno, por lo tanto la temperatura era de entre 50 y 65 grados y llovía bastante. En sí, fue un alivio de las temperaturas de más de 100 grados que padecemos en Tucson.
El Obispo Patrick Dunn, que es el obispo de Auckland, y el Obispo Robin Leamy, un obispo jubilado que desempeñó su cargo en las Islas Cook, nos invitaron una noche a cenar en la Rectoría de la Catedral. Mons. Bernard Kiely, el rector de la Catedral, había sido chef antes de ordenarse de sacerdote y nos preparó una suntuosa cena.
Conociendo el esfuerzo que tuvimos que hacer para restaurar nuestra propia Catedral, me interesaba ver el trabajo realizado en su histórica Catedral construida en 1842. La Catedral de San Patricio y San José ha sido parte del centro de Auckland desde la fundación de la ciudad y en 2007, después de dos años de restauraciones, volvió a abrir sus puertas.
Cabo Reinga fue el punto culminante para mí en Nueva Zelanda. En una costa limita con el Mar de Tasmania y en la otra con el Océano Pacífico. El pueblo Maorí, que habitó esa tierra desde el principio, cree que este es el lugar donde los seres queridos envían su espíritu al más allá. Durante nuestra visita, el viento que rugía con fuerza huracanada intensificaba la belleza la profundidad del lugar.
Cuando llegamos a Australia, pasamos cuatro días como huéspedes del Cardenal George Pell, Arzobispo de Sídney, en la Catedral Persbytery, junto a la hermosa Catedral de Santa María. La ciudad de Sídney es magnífica, con sus bahías resplandecientes bajo el sol, su Teatro de la Ópera y el Puente.
El Zoológico de Sídney es fantástico; hay canguros, ualabís y diablos de Tasmania. (Más adelante, en otro momento de nuestra visita, tuvimos la oportunidad de caminar entre los canguros en su hábitat natural y disfrutar de un espectáculo asombroso viendo cómo cargan a sus pequeñitos en la bolsa.)
Tim Davis, de la Oficina para la Evangelización en Melbourne, fue enviado por el Hermano Mark para que nos acompañara en Sídney. Fue un estupendo anfitrión. Tim había contribuído a las actividades del Día Mundial de la Juventud que se celebró en Sídney, y continúa trabajando para la Iglesia. Él hace surfing y antes jugaba fútbol australiano en la liga profesional. Si bien nunca logró que yo hiciera surfing, sí llegué a ver un partido de fútbol australiano, que pude entender un poco mejor después de la explicación de Tim.
En Australia, pasé la mayor parte del tiempo en Melbourne donde tuve la oportunidad de presenciar la actividad de la Iglesia local.
Disfruté de una velada con los seminaristas que viven en el Seminario Corpus Christi en plena ciudad, dialogando con ellos sobre el ministerio en nuestro mundo actual. Era un grupo diverso, como el de los seminaristas de nuestro país. Había seminaristas de Croacia, Vietnam, las Filipinas, Sri Lanka, América Latina y Australia. Reinaba un ambiente espiritual maravilloso en la casa, y el grupo estaba interesado en saber cómo eran los seminaristas en EE.UU.
Me reuní con un grupo de sacerdotes archidiocesanos para hablar sobre la predicación. Muchos de ellos han sido sacerdotes durante décadas. Hablaron sobre el reto que implica prepararse cada semana para compartir la Palabra de Dios. Su dedicación y su amor a la Iglesia fueron una inspiración para mí.
También me reuní con sacerdotes y personal parroquial de varias de las parroquias suburbanas de la región. Nuestras charlas me recordaban nuestras propias comunidades de Tucson. Los desafíos de la labor de volver a acercar a la gente a la Iglesia, el esfuerzo de preparar liturgias reverentes y significativas, la tensión que hay entre atender las exigencias de la administración y la necesidad de satisfacer el deseo de atender el rebaño de fieles, eran todos temas que me resultaban familiares.
Tuve la oportunidad de dirigir la palabra a educadores de las escuelas católicas. En Australia, las escuelas católicas reciben del gobierno una considerable cantidad de apoyo. Es una situación muy diferente de la nuestra. Los sueldos de los maestros están a la par con los de las escuelas públicas, y el gobierno paga un 80 por ciento, aproximadamente, de los gastos capitales de las escuelas. Qué bendición para ellos recibir tanto apoyo público.
Una de las experiencias más encantadoras del viaje fue el fin de semana que pasamos en la Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón en San Alban, predicando en su Festival de la Fe. El Padre John O’Reilly de Irlanda ha servido a esta parroquia durante 43 años. Tiene dos lugares de culto, tres escuelas primarias y cinco escuelas secundarias; y a la edad de 73 años está lleno de energía. ¡Qué inspiración! Al igual que Mons. Todd O’Leary, Mons. Richard O’Keeffe y Mons. Tom Cahalane, el Padre John es incansable en el desempeño del sacerdocio.
Su comunidad, al igual que nuestras parroquias, es de una gran diversidad cultural. Hay migrantes de Grecia, Italia, Irlanda, Malta y, en los últimos tiempos, de Sudán, Sri Lanka, China y Vietnam. El Padre John atiende a todos los grupos y los hace sentir bienvenidos.
El Hermano Mark, nuestro anfitrión, no pudo haber sido más atento. Su gentileza reflejó el espíritu de la gente que conocimos.
En Auckland, Sídney y Melbourne la Iglesia es muy parecida a nuestra Iglesia en la Diócesis de Tucson, repleta de sacerdotes dedicados y muy trabajadores, mujeres y hombres religiosos bondadosos y serviciales y un sinnúmero de mujeres y hombres laicos cuyo servicio es un don para la Iglesia.
Todo esto hice durante mis vacaciones de verano. ¡Tengo muchas fotos para mostrar!
[ view entry ] ( 3 views ) | permalink |
( 0 / 0 )Through much of June and July, nine stadiums around South Africa were jammed with screaming soccer fans. Some were draped in their country’s flag. Some wore painted faces. Many blew into their vuvuzelas, those horns that sounded like a huge swarm of bees.
Around the world, millions of viewers sat riveted before their televisions, watching the world’s nations compete for the World Cup.
I was one of the viewers.
I love watching soccer. While scoring happens seldom, the game has an intensity, with thrilling moments when goalies dive or leap after shots on goal. The suspense is palpable as one player stands before the goalie, setting himself for a penalty kick.
I watched while players cried and jumped into teammate’s arms at making a goal or when players fell to their knees dejected, despondent, defeated at losing a game and knowing they had disappointed their fans and sometimes even their nation.
In the end, only the teams of the Netherlands and Spain remained. They competed in the 64th game of the tournament for the World Cup. It was the most watched television sport event in the world.
Spain, as we all know, won. The nation flaunted its victory in the stadium and in the square in Madrid, erupting with shouting, chanting, and applause. All Spain stood proud.
Even though not so popular here in the U.S., soccer is the world’s sport. We might prefer our football or baseball, but for many there is no game like soccer.
Among all the news media accounts of the World Cup in South Africa, Celia Dugger’s story in the New York Times stood out for me. Headlined “To Those with Nothing, Soccer is Everything,” her story describes how Jessica Hilltout, a Belgian photographer, went on a seven month road trip across Africa, visiting some 30 villages to capture that continent’s love of the game.
Her trip resulted in an exhibition and book titled “Amen: Grassroots Football” in which she shows children playing the game on “dusty patches of ground, sandy beaches and lush fields,” leaping in jubilation as their team scored a goal.
Her images focus on an array of objects used by the kids to play soccer, including balls made “from plastic bags, old socks and rags tied up with string or strips of tree bark.”
The children play without uniforms or corporate sponsors, prompting Hilltout to comment, “So many people have so much and do so little with it. The people I met had so little yet managed to do so much with it.”
As we look to beginning a new year in our parishes and schools, I think we can take three lessons from the game of soccer for our ministry: teamwork, involvement and joy.
Soccer calls for teamwork. Passing the ball to a teammate is as important as taking a shot on goal.
Ministry calls for teamwork. Let’s try this year to help our teammates to do well by affirming their successes and encouraging them to draw upon their gifts.
Soccer calls for involvement. During the game, each player on the field has to be engaged all the time. No one can slack off.
Ministry calls for involvement. Our mission as Church is daunting, even formidable, but if more would become active and involved in the Church and lend their gifts, how much more we could accomplish. Everyone has much to contribute if they would get involved, get in the game. We need everyone’s feet, as it were, to get the work done. Get involved.
Soccer calls for joy, the joy reflected in the faces of the children playing the game in a remote African village.
The ministry that we do in our parishes and schools should fill us with joy. What we do for others should be done with passion and commitment. We should strive to love what we do. The passion and commitment we demonstrate will draw others into the mission that Christ has entrusted to us.
The Diocese of Tucson will never compete in the World Cup, but I hope we can bring to our ministry the teamwork, involvement and joy that characterize the game of soccer.
Here’s a big blast from my vuvuzela for encouragement!
[ view entry ] ( 40 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 31 )Durante gran parte de junio y julio, nueve estadios de Sudáfrica se vieron colmados de aficionados que alentaban a sus equipos con algarabía. Algunos se envolvían en la bandera de su país. Otros se pintaban el rostro. Muchos de ellos hacían sonar sus vuvuzelas, esas trompetas que sonaban como un enjambre de abejas gigante.
En todo el mundo, millones de espectadores siguieron paso a paso la acción sentados frente a sus televisores mirando a las naciones del mundo competir por la Copa Mundial.
Yo era uno de los telespectadores.
Me encanta mirar fútbol. Si bien los goles no se dan con mucha frecuencia, los partidos son intensos, marcados por momentos emocionantes en que los porteros saltan o se lanzan para interceptar un disparo dirigido a la portería. Y cuando un jugador se coloca frente al portero, disponiéndose a ejecutar un tiro penal, el suspenso es palpable.
Vi jugadores que lloraban y se lanzaban al abrazo de un compañero de equipo cuando anotaban un gol. Vi también jugadores que caían de rodillas abatidos, descorazonados, vencidos al perder un partido sabiendo que habían decepcionado a sus aficionados y a veces a su país.
Al final, solo quedaron los equipos de Holanda y España. Compitieron en el partido número 64 del torneo de la Copa Mundial. Fue el acontecimiento deportivo más mirado en todo el mundo.
España, como ya sabemos, ganó. El país hizo alarde de su triunfo en el estadio y en la plaza de Madrid, irrumpiendo en cantos, gritos y aplausos. Todo el pueblo español se mostró orgulloso.
Aunque aquí en EE.UU. el fútbol no es tan popular, en el resto del munto es el deporte favorito. Es cierto que aquí preferimos el fútbol americano o el béisbol, pero para muchos no hay otro deporte como el fútbol.
Entre todos los relatos de la Copa Mundial de Sudáfrica que la prensa nos brindó, me llamó la atención la historia de Celia Dugger, publicada en el New York Times . Titulada “Para quienes no tienen nada, el fútbol lo es todo”. Su historia describe un viaje de siete meses que una fotógrafa belga, Jessica Hilltout, realizó en África visitando cerca de 30 aldeas para captar el amor al fútbol que siente ese continente.
Su viaje resultó en un libro informativo titulado “Amen: Grassroots Football” en el cual ella muestra niños jugando al fútbol en terrenos polvorientos, playas arenosas y campos verdes, saltando jubilosamente cuando su equipo había marcado un gol.
Las imágenes que comparte en el libro muestran una variedad de objetos que los niños usan para jugar al fútbol, como pelotas hechas con bolsas de plástico, calcetines viejos y trapos amarrados con cordel o tiras de corteza.
Los niños juegan sin uniformes y sin el patrocinio de empresas o negocios, por lo cual Hilltout comenta que “Muchas personas tienen mucho y muy poco que hacer con ello. Las personas que yo conocí tenían muy poco y sin embargo se las ingeniaban para sacarle mucho provecho”.
A medida que se acerca el comienzo de un nuevo año en nuestras escuelas y parroquias, pienso que podemos aplicar tres lecciones del fútbol a nuestro ministerio: trabajo en equipo, participación y alegría.
El fútbol requiere de trabajo en equipo. Pasarle la pelota a un compañero de juego es tan importante como hacer un disparo a la portería.
El ministerio requiere de trabajo en equipo. Este año, hagamos todo lo posible para ayudar a nuestro compañeros de equipo a desempeñarse bien reconociéndoles sus logros y animándolos a utilizar sus dones.
El fútbol requiere de participación. Durante un partido, cada jugador que está en el campo de juego debe participar continuamente. Nadie puede desentenderse.
El ministerio requiere de participación. La misión de nuestra Iglesia es intimidante, aun formidable, pero si hubiera más personas activas y que participaran en mayor grado en la Iglesia y compartieran sus dones, podríamos lograr más. Todos tienen mucho que podrían contribuir si participaran, si se sumaran al juego. Necesitamos de los pies de todos, por así decirlo, para cumplir con el trabajo. Participe.
El fútbol requiere de alegría, esa alegría que se refleja en los rostros de los niños que juegan al fútbol en una remota aldea de África.
El ministerio que realizamos en nuestras parroquias y escuelas debe colmarnos de alegría. Lo que hacemos por el prójimo, debemos hacerlo con pasión y compromiso. Debemos esforzarnos por amar lo que hacemos. La pasión y el compromiso que demostremos servirá para atraer a otras personas a la misión que nos Cristo nos ha encomendado.
La Diócesis de Tucson nunca competirá en la Copa Mundial, pero espero que podamos infundir en nuestro ministerio el trabajo en equipo, la participación y la alegría que caracterizan al fútbol.
¡Me despido alentándolos con un trompetazo de mi vuvuzela!
[ view entry ] ( 32 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 23 )In the 1960s, young Oscar Magallañes was studying for the priesthood in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, when his discernment about his vocation took him on a different path.
He left the seminary, and in 1975 he married Olga. They started their family and raised two sons.
In his vocation as husband and father, Oscar began a career as a psychologist and worked at La Frontera in Tucson, counseling married couples and families.
Still feeling the strong pull to serve the Church, Oscar became a candidate for the permanent diaconate and was ordained a deacon for our Diocese, serving at Our Lady Queen of All Saints Parish in Tucson.
After Olga died and with their sons grown up, Oscar again felt called to the priesthood. He applied to be a seminarian for our Diocese, was accepted and went off for two years of study at Sacred Heart Seminary in Hales Corners, Wisconsin.
Now, as you read this, Father Oscar Magallañes is our newest priest.
I ordained him at St. Augustine Cathedral on Saturday, June 5. His first assignment is to Immaculate Conception Parish in Yuma.
When I was ordained a priest in 1967, Father Oscar would have been referred to as a “special.”
Back then, most of my classmates and I were referred to as “lifers.” We had begun our studies for the priesthood in high school. A “special” was an older man who heard God’s call to the priesthood later in life.
Today, we call men who become priests later in life “second career” priests, but they still are very “special,” and we are blessed in our Diocese by their service.
We have a number of second career priests who have brought many diverse skills, gifts and talents to our Diocese. Some have taught school, practiced law and dentistry, served in the military, operated businesses and held high positions in the corporate world. Whatever their experience, they now enrich our presbyterate.
Recently, I appointed one of our second career priests, Father Ricky Ordoñez, as our new vocation director.
Like his immediate predecessors (Father Miguel Mariano, Father Vili Valderrama and Father Mike Bucciarelli), he will bring boundless energy to his work.
And, I think his skills in the career he had before becoming a priest will come in handy. Father Ricky was an expert in promoting tourism. Now, he will be inviting men to consider going on a life-long journey of service to our Church.
Even with his skills, though, on his own Father Ricky would be like a voice in the wilderness. But, if all of us – priests, religious, deacons, laity and especially parents – are involved, Father Ricky’s outreach will be pervasive.
So, what can we do to support Father Ricky?
We need to encourage younger men in high school and college to consider priesthood.
And, we ought to look for potential candidates among older men, like Father Oscar, who might seek to be priests only later in life.
The young bring idealism, energy, creative ideas and excitement. Older candidates bring with them experience, proven worth and acquired wisdom.
God calls in unexpected ways, and a word of invitation to the young and not so young to consider priesthood can go a long way.
We need to encourage parents to be promoters of vocations.
Both young and more experienced candidates often speak of their parents as primary promoters of their vocation.
That was true for me. My parents did not push me, but I knew they supported my interest. My dad was raised by a priest after his mother died and his father could not take care of him. That priest was revered by my dad.
My mom, although not a Roman Catholic when I went to the high school seminary, grew very close to a priest who ultimately brought her into the faith. She, too, had a great respect for priesthood because of our young dynamic associate pastor.
Although I suspect that they both would have wanted their only son to get married, have children and pass on our family name, I knew I had their support in my decision to become a priest. Their support meant the world to me.
As our Diocese continues to pray and seek vocations to the priesthood, I encourage each one of us to identify those whom God is calling, be they second career candidates or younger men.
Both have a place in ministry today. Both can contribute to the work of the Church. Both need to be invited.
[ view entry ] ( 65 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 89 )
Calendar
