1,000 gather in St. Paul's Cathedral ceremony

Kathleen A. Shaw, T&G STAFF

WORCESTER- Bishop Robert J. McManus was installed yesterday as fifth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester in a ceremony filled with the time-honored rituals of the Church of Rome and witnessed by hundreds of the faithful.

Bishop McManus, auxiliary bishop of Providence, heard Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the official letter from Pope John Paul II naming him bishop of Worcester.

The 52-year-old bishop looked toward the Bishop's Chair, swallowed and then walked toward it where he was seated by Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, who is metropolitan for the New England bishops.

While almost 1,000 people gathered inside St. Paul's Cathedral, many more watched the live broadcast on Charter Community Access Channel 3. Bishop Daniel P. Reilly welcomed the television audience.

As the ceremony proceeded inside, some alleged victims of sexual abuse and advocates stood outside the cathedral on the sidewalks.

After being officially installed, Bishop McManus told area Catholics what his priorities are for Worcester as he came among them as "chief shepherd."

He called for a "new evangelization" for all baptized Catholics to reach out and bring back to church those who might have grown slack in practice of their faith.

Bishop McManus said he is keenly aware of the hurt and alienation felt by many local Catholics as a result of the clergy abuse scandal and pledged to work for healing and reconciliation.

"I am painfully aware that more than a few Catholics feel alienated from the church today because of a betrayal of trust by some of its clergy or religious leaders," Bishop McManus said.

With support of clergy, religious and laity, he said he wants to "help to heal the hurt that has kept some Catholics from feeling at home in the church of their youth. This effort at healing and reconciliation must be an essential part of the new evangelization here in the Diocese of Worcester," he said.

The bishop reminded Catholics, whether clergy, religious or laity, that from the day of Baptism until death "we Christians are called to bring the love of God to a world that longs to be touched, to be healed, to be embraced by the God who is love." It can only happen if all participate, he said.

Eight priests were removed from ministry by Bishop Reilly in the last two years after allegations of sexual misconduct were made. The diocese still has more than a dozen civil lawsuits pending before the courts. A report compiled for the bishops National Review Board last February shows more than 45 priests were accused of misconduct since 1950.

Although Catholics interviewed recently acknowledge that their numbers have dropped and other surveys show half the residents of Central Massachusetts have no church affiliation, Catholics still constitute the largest religious group in the area.

The bishop reiterated his plan to encourage more men to consider the priesthood. He has served as rector of the minor seminary for the Providence Diocese for the past six years. "I know firsthand of the generosity of so many young men who, sometimes at great personal sacrifice, respond joyfully to the Lord's call to follow him as his priest," he said. The bishop said he has lived with the seminarians, prayed with them and taught them.

He noted that he chose as his motto "Christus Veritatis Splendor," which means "Christ, the Splendor of Truth," in Latin. Pope John Paul II has said that all people of good will must understand "that at the heart of the moral life is the inseparable relation between freedom and truth," he said.

"In our day and at this crucial juncture in the moral direction of our American society, we need to learn this lesson once again. We live in a society where the very existence of moral truth, of what constitutes basic right and wrong, is being called in question. In many quarters of our American culture, from our university classrooms to the chambers of our legislatures and even to the ordinary person on the street, the question of Pontius Pilate to Jesus at the beginning of the Lord's passion resounds with a haunting familiarity, "What is truth?'" he said.

Bishop McManus holds a licentiate and a doctoral degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, which is operated by Jesuits.

Archishop O'Malley, a Franciscan monk, at the conclusion of the Mass brought some welcomed Catholic humor into the proceedings with a joke about a Franciscan and a Jesuit who were walking along the street one day. A young man came up to them and asked how many novenas he had to say to get a BMW. "What's a BMW?" asked the Franciscan. "What's a novena?" asked the Jesuit. Most Catholics know a novena is any devotion that occurs in a series of nine. Many Catholics also own BMWs, which are expensive cars.

Archbishop O'Malley said bishops are "vessels of clay," but he asked Catholics to reflect on the spiritual treasures that they bring.

Bishop McManus was officially greeted by people representing the community at large. They included Mayor Timothy P. Murray of Worcester, the Rev. Dianne Kessler, who heads the Massachusetts Council of Churches, the Rev. Allyson D. Platt, who heads the Worcester County Ecumenical Council, Monsignor Thomas J. Daley, the Rev. Tomasz J. Borkowski, Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Sigura, Deacon and Mrs. Francisco Escobar, Barbara A. Spence, Brother Paul Feeney, CFX, Sister Kathryn Geisel, PBVM, Brandan Colvert and Annie Perla.

The Worcester Diocese, which claims more than 300,000 members, was founded in 1950 and cut from the Springfield Diocese. Bishop John J. Wright was named first bishop. He was succeeded by the late Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan, who was succeeded by Bishop Timothy J. Harrington, followed by Bishop Reilly. Bishop Reilly, although a generation older, grew up in the same general section of Providence as Bishop McManus.

May 21, 2004

Chapter 5: New leader installed

By Kevin Luperchio

WORCESTER – Pledging to help bring about a new springtime in the life of the Church, Bishop Robert J. McManus was installed Friday as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Worcester.

More than 1,000 invited guests, including hundreds of priests and bishops, crowded St. Paul Cathedral to witness the installation Mass of the 52-year-old former auxiliary bishop of Providence. The Mass was also broadcast live on local television and radio.

Bishop McManus, in his homily, urged all Catholics to help in bringing about what the pope has termed “the new evangelization.”

This evangelization, the bishop said, is an attempt to re-introduce the person and message of Jesus Christ to those who have fallen away from the Church for any reason.

He said he was painfully aware that the betrayal of trust by some clergy and religious leaders brought to light in the clergy sexual abuse scandal has alienated some Catholics.

“I hope that I, supported by the clergy, religious and faithful laity of the diocese, can help to heal the hurt that has kept some Catholics from feeling at home in the Church of their youth,” he said. Several alleged victims and victims’ supporters picketed outside the cathedral before and during the Mass.

The bishop also spoke of the need for all Christians to surrender to Jesus “in the face of such profound moral confusion.”
“We live in a society where the very existence of moral truth, of what constitutes basic right and wrong, is being called into question,” he said. “In many quarters of our American culture, from our university classrooms to the chambers of our legislature and even to the ordinary person on the street, the question of Pontius Pilate to Jesus at the beginning of the Lord’s passion resounds with a haunting familiarity, ‘What is truth?’”

Bishop McManus, former rector of Our Lady of Providence Seminary, also reiterated his focus on increasing vocations in the diocese.

He begged the congregation “to pray daily and earnestly for many good holy vocations to the priesthood” and asked diocesan priests to minister in such a way that promotes vocations.

The two-hour installation Mass, parts of which were celebrated in Vietnamese and Spanish, began with a long procession that included representatives of various Catholic groups and interfaith communities, clergy from the Worcester and Providence dioceses and more than 30 (arch)bishops and abbots.

Bishop Reilly welcomed the congregation, saying Bishop McManus’ installation began “a new period in the life of our beloved local Church.”

The installation itself began when Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read a decree declaring Bishop McManus the diocese’s latest bishop.

Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, chancellor, presented the decree to the diocesan College of Consultors, a specially appointed group of diocesan priests. (The consultors later met to sign a document verifying they saw the decree and witnessed the installation.)

Bishop McManus was then led to his cathedral chair and presented his crozier by Archbishop Montalvo and Boston Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley, who, as metropolitan bishop, presided over the installation.

“In accepting the chair Bishop McManus accepts the threefold ministry of the bishop: priest, teacher and shepherd,” noted Father Robert K. McManus, director of the diocesan Office for Worship.

After being seated, the bishop received several greeters who, according to Father Johnson, represented the broadness of the diocesan community.

They were: Worcester Mayor Timothy Murray; Rev. Diane C. Kessler, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches; Rev. Allyson D. Platt, executive director of the Worcester County Ecumenical Council; Annie Perla and Brendan Colvert, students at local Catholic schools; Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Sigura, members of the Brazilian Catholic community; Deacon Francisco Escobar and his wife Fanny; Barbara A. Spence, a member of the African American community; Brother Paul Feeney of the Congregation of Francis Xavier; Sister Kathryn Geisel of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and Msgr. Thomas J. Daley and Father Tomasz J. Borkowski, the diocese’s oldest and youngest priests.

Deacon Escobar, who ministers to the Hispanic community in the cathedral parish, said he and his wife welcomed the bishop to the diocese and said they are praying for him.

“For us there’s a hope,” he said, a hope that Bishop McManus will give spiritual support to the Hispanic community at St. Paul’s.

Following the Mass, a reception was held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel/St. Ann’s Italian/American Cultural Center, 28 Mulberry St