Father Thomas Welbers' Homily

By the grace of God, this will be the last Sunday that we are without a “chief shepherd,” without a Pope. Everyone is predicting a rather short conclave, and it’s difficult for me to imagine it taking longer than a week. But we never know, do we? It will be interesting as this week unfolds.

The image of Jesus as a shepherd is echoed in our view of the Holy Father as “chief shepherd,” and yet the strongest Christian tradition is that the local bishop is the one who stands in the place of Christ the shepherd, and is our shepherd. I was reminded of that very forcefully yesterday because we had confirmation – two ceremonies with 132 young people of our parish confirmed, completing their initiation as Catholic Christians by receiving the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit.

The presider at confirmation was Bishop Gabino Zavala, our regional bishop, and during the ceremony I was looking at his crosier, the staff he carries, which is a simply carved, graceful wood shepherd’s crook, a long stick with a curved hook at the end. The reason why shepherds carried such a stick was to be able to pull their sheep out of danger, such as falling into a ravine or wandering from the flock and being vulnerable to wolves – a very apt symbol of the responsibility and ministry of the bishop.

This coming week, while we will rejoice in having a new pope, we recognize that what the cardinals are actually doing, beginning tomorrow, is to elect the bishop of Rome. Cardinals are actually honorary diocesan priests of the diocese of Rome. Originally, the bishop of each diocese was elected by the clergy and people of the diocese. Through the first ten centuries or so, that election process got corrupted by the influence of kings and monarchs – secular powers. To protect the distinction and sacredness of the office of bishop, the process of directly appointing them by the pope gradually became more and more widespread. The pope, as bishop of Rome, had always been recognized as having primacy because he was the successor of Peter, but he remained fundamentally a bishop among bishops, a shepherd among shepherds. Also in the course of centuries, the popes looked beyond the diocese of Rome for international support, and so gave important churchmen in various countries the title of honorary priest of Rome, that is, cardinal.

So it is really a gathering of shepherds throughout the world – the cardinals, including our own Cardinal Mahony – who now come together to elect the bishop of Rome, the shepherd who has primacy.

One of the interesting things happening now is that both the so-called liberal and so-called conservative voices among the cardinals seem to be together calling for greater collegiality in the governance of the Church, that is, a wider voice in the running of the universal Church, along with the pope.

The last few weeks, for the first time ever, the cardinals of the Church throughout the world, who are nearly all bishops of local dioceses, have been meeting in a way that they never have before. None of the cardinals, except for two, have ever elected a pope before. During these past two weeks, these cardinals have been meeting together, living together, talking together in an unprecedented way, not only taking care of day-to-day Church business, but getting to know in new ways how the governance of the Church works. Never before have the cardinals had the opportunity to do this. In past papal elections, most of the cardinals arrived at the last minute, and often formed ideological and national groups quite quickly. Now, I think the Holy Spirit is truly working in a different way during this time of intense communication among the cardinals. While positions and attitudes still play a part, I think there is shared among them an overriding awareness and concern for the reality of the Church’s situation, not merely in one country, such as the United States, but worldwide. And so, the cardinals entering into the conclave tomorrow will be prepared for this election in ways that they never have been before. And whoever is elected, will have already forged a relationship and close communication with the cardinals worldwide that will undoubtedly continue, grow, and deepen.

As we begin this week, let us keep our prayers alive that the cardinals will truly be open to the power of the Holy Spirit working in their midst, and continuing to work in our midst.

As I mentioned earlier, we had confirmation yesterday, The Holy Spirit is truly alive in our Church. The 132 young people confirmed yesterday are an eloquent testimony of the life and vibrancy of our Church today. Let us continue to pray as well that we may be open to the Holy Spirit in our midst.

© 2005 Thomas Welbers