Vatican cardinal visits Cameroon as Catholic Church seeks to resolve Anglophone crisis

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2018 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis sent his prayers and condolences to Japan Monday following the death of at least 119 people in some of the worst flooding and landslides the country has seen in decades.

Heavy rains a… […]

Vatican City, Apr 29, 2019 / 04:46 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Monday appointed Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage to be coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle.

As coadjutor, Etienne will assist Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, 66, in the administration of the Archdiocese of Seattle, and succeed Sartain upon his retirement or death.

Seattle also has two auxiliaries, Bishops Eusebio Elizondo and Daniel H Mueggenborg.

Etienne, 59, served as a priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis from 1992 until 2009, when he was appointed bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In 2016, Pope Francis named him to head the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska.

Etienne wrote in a blog post April 29 that he is excited and surprised by the announcement of his new appointment, and noted that his time as head of the Anchorage archdiocese the last two and a half years was “too short.”

“But I am mindful of a phrase in Sacred Scripture that refers to God’s timing, known as ‘the fullness of time,'” he wrote. “That time has now come in God’s plan for new leadership” in Anchorage.

The archbishop said he has known Archbishop Sartain for many years, and has nothing but “admiration and esteem” for him, and that he has been praying for the people of Seattle and western Washington since receiving the news of his appointment April 13.

He also expressed his gratitude for the “profound faith” of the people of Anchorage: “We now place the future once again, as always, into the hands of a faithful and loving God,” he said.

Archbishop Etienne’s Rite of Reception in Seattle is scheduled for Friday, June 7.

Etienne, an outdoorsman, grew up as one of six children. He has two brothers who are priests and a sister who is a religious sister.

He graduated from the University of St. Thomas/St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, Minnestoa, with a degree in Business Administration before studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

After serving as an associate pastor and assistant vocations director in Indianapolis for a period, he returned to Rome to receive his License in Spiritual Theology.

In the U.S., he later served as the vocations director for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, vice-rector of the Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary in Indianapolis, and as a parish priest.

He was also a member of the Council of Consultors and Council of Priests for the archdiocese before being appointed bishop of Cheyenne in 2009. He has served as metropolitan archbishop of Anchorage since November 2016.

The Archdiocese of Seattle covers the western part of Washington state, from the Canadian to the Oregon border and from the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

It has 173 parishes, missions, and pastoral centers and serves over 579,500 Catholics.

Reflecting on the fact the announcement of his appointment was made on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, Etienne said he is mindful of her and her “profound love for God the Father, for her Lord, Jesus Christ, for the Holy Father and for the Church.”

“For many years, I have seen St. Catherine as a companion and a kindred spirit,” he said. “She called the Holy Father ‘Sweet Christ on earth.’ She was his emissary on various occasions, and she offered many sacrifices for the unity of the Church.”

Etienne asked for prayers through St. Catherine’s intercession, that his ministry “will be fruitful and conducive to the unity of the Church and the salvation of God’s people.”

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Pope Francis addresses pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, Sunday, July 28, 2024. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 28, 2024 / 08:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday noted three gestures from the Bible account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes which he argued are mirrored by Jesus at the Last Supper and by the faithful in each Mass.

The pope pointed out “offering, giving thanks, and sharing” as highlights of the miracle recounted in the Gospel of John, offering his reflection on the Sunday Gospel before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered under the scorching sun in St. Peter’s Square. 

The temperature for the noonday prayer was already at 95 degrees as many in the crowds sheltered from the heat under colorful umbrellas.

“The Gospel tells us about a boy who has five loaves and two fish,” the pope noted, saying that the boy’s gesture of offering, as well as our own, is an acknowledgment that “we have something good to give, and we say our ‘yes,’ even if what we have is too little compared to what is needed.”

The pope left his text to insist that Catholics are invited to offer what we have and are, even if the offering seems too insignificant and poor.

This offering is lived out in each Mass, as the priest offers the bread and wine, “and each person offers himself, his own life,” he said. This offering becomes the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

“It is a gesture that may seem small, when we think of the immense needs of humanity,” the pope acknowledged, “…but God makes it the material for the greatest miracle there is: that in which He Himself — Himself! — makes Himself present among us, for the salvation of the world.”

“We can ask ourselves,” the pope suggested: “Do I truly believe that, by the grace of God, I have something unique to give to my brothers and sisters?”

Our offering is intimately linked to the next gesture, that of gratitude, the pope argued. 

The pope suggested words we can pray to the Father: “All that I have is your gift, Lord, and to give thanks I can only give you back what you first gave me, together with your Son Jesus Christ, adding to it what I can.”

“Each of us can add a little something,” he insisted, inviting the faithful to reflect: “What can I give to the Lord? What can the little one give? Our poor love. Saying, ‘Lord, I love you.’ We poor people: Our love is so small! But we can give it to the Lord, the Lord welcomes it.”

Fruit of everyone’s gift

These gifts then lead to sharing, the pope explained.

“In the Mass is Communion, when together we approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ: the fruit of everyone’s gift transformed by the Lord into food for all. It is a beautiful moment, that of Communion, which teaches us to live every gesture of love as a gift of grace, both for the giver and the receiver,” he said.

The pope invited the faithful to receive Our Lady’s help to live each Mass with this attitude of faith, “to recognize and savor every day the ‘miracles’ of God’s grace.”

After praying the Angelus and giving his apostolic blessing, the pope assured his closeness to those who have suffered from landslides in Ethiopia. 

Landslides hit the remote mountainous zone of Gofa in southern Ethiopia Sunday night into Monday morning, triggered by heavy rains in the region. Well over 200 people are already confirmed dead, with the United Nations projecting that the death toll could end up closer to 500.

The pope then spoke of the continuing problem of world hunger, calling the international community to take a stand against the “scandal” of “wasting resources to fuel wars large and small.”

“While there are so many people in the world suffering from disasters and hunger, we continue to build and sell weapons,” he lamented. He said this “contradicts the spirit of brotherhood of the Olympic Games that have just begun. Let us not forget, brothers and sisters: War is defeat!”

“I will not forsake you”

The pope also noted that today is the 4th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a celebration he initiated in 2020. This year’s theme is drawn from Psalm 71: “Do not cast me off in my old age.”

“Today’s day calls us to listen to the voice of the elderly who say, ‘Do not forsake me!’ and to respond, ‘I will not forsake you!’” the pope said.

“Let us say ‘no’ to the loneliness of the elderly! Our future depends greatly on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together. Let’s not forget the elderly!” he said, inviting the faithful to a round of applause for all the grandparents.

The pope concluded his weekly meeting with the faithful with his traditional good wishes for a nice lunch, and the request: “Please don’t forget to pray for me.”

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