Much of this difficult year has been spent in uneasy, uncertain waiting – waiting for businesses and schools to reopen, waiting for the development of a vaccine, waiting for life to return to normal and, for some, waiting for COVID test results. Perhaps most of all, we have spent many anxious months simply waiting to see what happens next.

Now the Church calendar brings us to a different kind of waiting. The season of Advent, which appropriately begins a new liturgical year, is a time of expectation and preparation for the coming of Christ – at Christmas and again at the end of the world. For the Christian believer, this is a time of happy waiting because we know what is coming, and it is the greatest of all gifts.

The wonderful traditions of the Advent calendar and the Advent wreath give us excellent ways to observe this blessed season in the home, which I strongly encourage. The Church also gives us several beloved feast days to celebrate during these four weeks – St. Nicholas on Dec. 6, the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, and Our lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.

Advent comes during the darkest days of the year in the northern hemisphere. This is, however, the dark that precedes the dawn. The light of Christ is coming! We must be ready for it.

That is the message of St. John the Baptist in the Gospel readings for the second and third Sundays of Advent. John clearly knows who he is and what his mission is. He denies being the Messiah, or Elijah or the Prophet. Rather, he says he is “the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord” (Jn. 1:23).

The beginning of that same Gospel reading uses a different image for John the Baptist: “He was not the light, but he came to testify to the light” (Jn. 1:8). As Christian disciples, this is our mission as well – to radiate Christ, the light of the human race, and bring others into a deeper relationship with Him. The first person to present Jesus to the world was the Blessed Virgin Mary after accepting him into her womb. As a result of her “yes” to God’s will, “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn. 1:14).

The Incarnation is so important that Christmas is not just one day on the Church calendar, but an entire season that continues until the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the first Sunday after Epiphany. Even in the secular world, the social celebration of Christmas, marked by parties and visits with friends and family, is not relegated to just one day.

This year, one characterized by so many stresses and disruptions in our lives, we may find ourselves longing for “normal” Christmas celebrations – both at Mass and with our loved ones. However, it cannot be quite the same as we continue to struggle with the reality of the global pandemic. Churches that are usually packed on Dec. 24 and 25 may not be as full because of social distancing restrictions and the absence of those at risk for COVID. Choirs may be smaller. And in the social sphere, parties may be fewer.

However, what has not changed is far more important: God loves us so much that he sent His only Son as Emmanuel – “God with us” (Mt. 1:23) – to offer us peace, joy and the fulness of life. The celebration of that Good News is well worth the wait!

May you have a blessed Advent and a joy-filled Christmas. And if you are able to safely receive the sacraments but have not done so for several months or even several years, please come home for Christmas and experience the blessing and peace of the Christ child.

As we near the end of 2020, perhaps most of us are eager to see the completion of a troubling year that has brought great trials and deep pain to so many. And yet, even at this challenging time of COVID-19, job losses and civil strife, we have much for which to be grateful to God when we gather this month to celebrate Thanksgiving – whether in person or virtually.

In addition to our lives, we have the blessings of family, friends and faith. As Catholics, we also have Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. The very word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek for “Thanksgiving.” The absence earlier this year of public Mass, and the resulting separation from physical communion, makes us even more thankful for this incredible gift from God. Sometimes we do not fully appreciate what we have until we lose it.

Although our relationship with Jesus is personal, we celebrate the sacraments in the communal context of the Church. And, as we say in the Nicene Creed at Mass, the Church is “one, holy, catholic and apostolic.” Catholic means “universal.” The Church spans the globe, united by Christ’s teachings and the leadership of the Holy Father. In the Latin Church, we are also bound together by the same liturgical norms and Canon law.

In November, commemorated since 1990 as Black Catholic History Month in the United States, we are especially grateful for the universal nature of the Church as reflected in the strong faith of black American Catholics. One of the reasons this month was chosen for the observance is that November 3 is the feast day of St. Martin de Porres. Born in Lima, Peru, in 1579, he was the first black person in the Americas to be recognized as a saint when he was canonized by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962.

American history and the history of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have been graced with the lives of many other saintly black Catholics – women and men who radiated Christ, often in the face of injustice and discrimination, even from within the Church. Some of them are on the path to canonization. You will read about that and many other inspiring stories of black Catholics in this issue of The Catholic Telegraph magazine.

In the archdiocese we can point with special pride to Daniel Rudd, founder of the National Black Catholic Congress and of a black Catholic newspaper, The American Catholic Tribune. Although he was born into slavery in Bardstown, KY, in 1854, and died there, he spent many productive years in Cincinnati.  An active evangelist for the faith in the black community, he was quoted as saying the Catholic Church was “the only place on the Continent where rich and poor, white and black, must drop prejudice at the threshold and go hand in hand to the altar.” He also said: “The Catholic Church alone can break the color line. Our people should help her to do it.”

If we are to learn from history, however, it must be presented honestly. The Church was not free from the sin of racial discrimination in Daniel Rudd’s time, nor is it now. In its human dimension, the Church on earth still struggles to fully radiate Christ in respecting the life and dignity of each person. That is a continuing challenge for the entire Body of Christ, every one of us, not only those called to ordained leadership.

During this Black Catholic History Month, let us be thankful for the faithful witness of black Catholics over the centuries who embraced the Catholic Church and contributed mightily to it.

Dear Friends in Christ,

On Tuesday of this week, a Pennsylvania Grand Jury released a report detailing the names of 301 priests who sexually abused over 1,000 minors over a 70-year period in that state. This report, coupled with the recent revelations regarding the former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, shocks, saddens, and angers Catholics everywhere, including myself. The depth of depravity and evil described in these reports is stunning. No words can diminish the level of revulsion one feels at reading them.

From the depths of my heart, I am sorry for the terrible pain and suffering experienced by the victims of abuse throughout their lives. I am sorry for the deep shame that Catholic lay people rightfully feel at the inexcusable behavior of members of certain cardinals, bishops, and priests, the emotional exhaustion of having to defend their faith to friends and co-workers, and the discouragement of having to relive a deep tragedy that we all hoped was behind us. I am sorry for the stigma that good and holy priests who are committed to their vocation and vows have to endure wherever they go. I am sorry for the trust that has collectively been violated.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is unequivocally committed to the protection of all people, children and adults, involved with any of our various ministries. At this time, there are no active cases of clerical abuse of minors anywhere in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. If you suspect abuse on the part of any agent of the Archdiocese, please report it to the appropriate civil authorities, as well as to the Coordinator of Ministry to Survivors of Abuse in the Archdiocese at 513-263-6623 or 1-800-686-2724, ext. 6623. If you see something, please say something.

Since 1993, the Archdiocese has embraced and promulgated the Decree on Child Protection, which now also covers vulnerable adults, including:

• Complete background checks on all clerics, employees and volunteers;
• Ongoing required training for clerics, employees, and volunteers on recognizing the signs of abuse of children and vulnerable adults;
• Procedures for reporting suspected abuse;
• Immediately reporting all allegations of abuse to the appropriate civil authorities;
• A Child Protection Review Board that is comprised primarily of lay people;
• Training of children in Catholic schools and religious education programs on warning signs and appropriate responses for their own protection; and
• Onsite independent audit of policies and procedures by an outside firm.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is committed to transparency. To that end, for the past 15 years, we have published the names and status of all priests credibly accused of abuse on the archdiocesan website. This can be found at http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/protecting-children/resources-and-publications/status-report-on-clerics-accused-of-child-abuse/.

The Archdiocese is also committed to ensuring that the men who will be ordained to the priesthood are indeed suitable for ministry in the Church and worthy of the trust of the Catholic faithful. Every applicant to the seminary undergoes a full battery of psychological testing prior to acceptance into the seminary program. Once accepted, the candidate has, at a minimum, four years of formation in which he is taught what he needs to know in order to be a priest. During this time, his disposition, behavior, self-awareness, and stability and goodness of character are also evaluated. When a man discerns that God might be calling him to the priesthood, the Church has a duty to discern that call as well, to make sure he is truly called and of the right character to serve faithfully and well.

Many of you may be feeling that Jesus has forsaken the Church. This is not true. Rather, some members of the Church have forsaken Jesus and the call to be disciples. Jesus established His Church on earth and promised to never leave us. As we know from the Gospel of John, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:5).

Today, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced the foundation of a plan (included below) to comprehensively address the issue of abuse and the failure in leadership among our bishops. This plan will include the active involvement of both the laity and the Holy See. I pledge my personal dedication to this effort and to keeping you informed of its progress.

Please join me in praying for the healing of all victims of the grave sin of sexual abuse. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, patroness of the Catholic Church in the United States, continue to intercede for us. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and protect us.

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

 

 

 

Aug. 3, 2018

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am writing to share with you the remarks of Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, regarding the allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and the steps that the bishops will be taking as a result.

Catholics everywhere, including myself, are angered and saddened at these tragic revelations. From the depths of my heart, I express great sorrow for the pain that any victims of Archbishop McCarrick have endured. Let us all pray for their healing and peace. At the same time, I am grateful to those who have courageously stepped forward to bring these evil events to light.

I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s ongoing commitment to the protection of all people, children and adults, involved in any of our various offices, parishes, schools, or other ministries. Since 1993, we have embraced and promulgated the Decree on Child Protection, which now also covers vulnerable adults, including:

• Complete background checks on all clerics, employees and volunteers;
• Ongoing required training on recognizing signs of abuse via Virtus;
• Procedures for reporting suspected abuse; and
• Immediately reporting all allegations of abuse to the appropriate civil authorities.

Please join me in maintaining vigilance regarding the safety and protection of all people. If you see something, say something. Please report any suspected abuse on the part of any agent of the Archdiocese to the appropriate civil authorities, as well as to the Coordinator of Ministry to Survivors of Abuse in the Archdiocese at 513-263-6623 or 1-800-686-2724, ext. 6623.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, patroness of the Catholic Church in the United States, continue to intercede for us. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and protect us.

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr
Archbishop of Cincinnati