Sep 24 - New Bishop: Catholic Church Has A Role In Important Social And Cultural Debates
Gibraltar’s new Bishop has said that the Catholic Church has a role to play in contributing to social and cultural debates.
In a homily delivered today at a Mass to celebrate his installation as Bishop of Gibraltar, Bishop Carmelo Zammit said: “There are those who would like the Church to limit its presence to within its walls and to remain silent outside. But the Church has both a role to play in society and the same freedom as everyone else, so valued in Gibraltar, to outwardly and openly express its view when important religious, social or cultural questions crop up.”
Although already establishing himself as both more outspoken and sensitive to modern ethical dilemmas than previous incumbents, especially following his recent intervention in the single sex marriage debate, the Bishop stressed that his wish for the Church to be more involved should “in no way […] be considered as inappropriate interference in the political sphere.”
Bishop Zammit also pledged to confront the challenges which are part of a modern secular society like Gibraltar: “We live in a culture which promotes hedonism and individualism. Materialism has taken over the lives of many. But these are realities that have no quick solutions and that we have to face. My mission as a bishop in the coming years is to lead and accompany you in our response to these challenges.”
Taking his cue from the more conciliatory, open and tolerant tone adopted by Pope Francis, he said: “As a bishop I am committed to be a bridge builder. Pope Francis urges us to be a Church where everyone can feel welcome, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live according to the gospel. There is a place and space in the Church for all, whether married or separated or divorced, for sinners and for holy people and for not so holy people and for of all sexual orientations. Nobody is excluded.”
Here is Bishop Zammit’s homily in full:
Your Excellency, Chief Minister, Minister Stefan Buontempo, (who is representing the Prime Minister of Malta), Dear brother bishops and priests and representatives of the various other Christian denominations and religions, esteemed dignitaries and guests, dear brothers and sisters: I welcome you all to this Cathedral church, dedicated to Mary Queen of the Universe, and thank you for joining me at my installation as the eighth Bishop of Gibraltar.
May I first of all thank our brothers and sisters who have come from Spain.
Muchas gracias a los Obispos de Cádiz y Ceuta, Sevilla y Tánger por acompañarme en esta ocasión tan especial, cuando he sido oficialmente instalado como Obispo de Gibraltar. Realmente aprecio su presencia aquí. Espero que nuestra comunión en el orden Episcopal y la proximidad de nuestras diócesis nos fortalezca en la mutua cooperación. También me gustaría darle gracias a los sacerdotes que han venido de España juntos con algunos de sus parroquianos. Me honra su presencia y aprecio su muestra de amistad y apoyo.
And thank you also to those of you who have come from Malta. Very especially to Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta, who also travelled to support me on this occasion in spite of his heavy commitments. He has been a tower of strength for me during the time he was auxiliary bishop and now archbishop of Malta. I cannot miss thanking Fr Mario Tong also and everyone else who travelled from Malta to be present here.
And of course to those of you who have come from the United Kingdom. I am very grateful to Bishop Ralph, my predecessor, for coming to hand over this diocese to me as its new bishop. And a very special greeting and thank you to Mgr Vincent, secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature in Britain, who is so kind to represent Archbishop Mennini, Apostolic Nuncio to Britain.
The people of Gibraltar have been waiting for quite some time to have a new bishop and I am humbled and honoured by the trust His Holiness has shown in me, and of course I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Church in Gibraltar again having already spent twenty years of my priesthood serving here.
I did nothing to deserve this ministry which, as Cardinal Nichols told me in his homily during my recent ordination in Malta, is not a promotion, but a call to witness to Christ and to bear hardships willingly, confident that His grace comes to us freely, and never because of anything we have done. So I know that being a bishop is a call to serve.
My duties as a bishop are those of leadership, of teaching and of sanctifying, bringing you the good news of God’s love and mercy. The promises I made at my Episcopal ordination are to teach faithfully what the Church teaches, to serve especially those in need and to seek the stray sheep. I can only do all this with the cooperation of my brother priests of the diocese who share in my ministry. I am called to be a father to all, but especially to my brother priests.
Someone in my Episcopal ordination in a humorous way told me that the occasion looked more like a big wedding. He actually was more accurate than he knew. The ring a bishop wears is a symbol of the love that every bishop is called to have for his Church, just as Christ loved her and gave his life for her.
When I consider my mission among you, I feel very apprehensive, knowing that there are so many challenges which we have to face. But I am confident that God’s grace will always be present to sustain and guide me. My prayer is that I will not fall short of what God, the Church and you all expect from me.
In Gibraltar, as in most other developed countries, there is a flood of secularisation. We live in a culture which promotes hedonism and individualism. Materialism has taken over the lives of many. But these are realities that have no quick solutions and that we have to face. My mission as a bishop in the coming years is to lead and accompany you in our response to these challenges. Everything that we say and do in this respect should flow from and reflect the fact of us having made Jesus Christ the centre of our lives.
There are those who would like the Church to limit its presence to within its walls and to remain silent outside. But the Church has both a role to play in society and the same freedom as everyone else, so valued in Gibraltar, to outwardly and openly express its view when important religious, social or cultural questions crop up. In no way should this be considered as inappropriate interference in the political sphere. The Church does not impose its views on others. It has no power to do so. But it has every right to say and propose what it considers to be best for the common good.
As many of you already know, I love Gibraltar and I very much enjoy living here. In my long years of living among you in Gibraltar I have experienced for myself the very strong desire and commitment that there is here to live together in peace and harmony with each other without the tensions that elsewhere exist due to religious, cultural or other differences.
As a bishop I am committed to be a bridge builder. Pope Francis urges us to be a Church where everyone can feel welcome, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live according to the gospel. There is a place and space in the Church for all, whether married or separated or divorced, for sinners and for holy people and for not so holy people and, for of all sexual orientations. Nobody is excluded. All are God’s children and created in his image and likeness. All are entitled to the same dignity and respect in our Church and in society.
We have the formidable task in the present situation of passing on the faith to the next generation, of evangelizing a modern and largely sceptical society, not to mention inspiring young people to serve the Church as priests and religious.
Some grandparents and parents may wonder whether they are going to be the last Catholics or even believers in their family! The only answer to these challenges is to witness to our faith in the way we live our life. Faithful witness to the values of the gospel did inspire people in the past and it will surely inspire others in the future. We must try harder to reach out and to understand young people and others who are sceptical, and acknowledge that they are themselves influenced by the same modern society and they see things different to us who are somewhat older.
We are approaching the end of the jubilee year of mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis. I have chosen as my Episcopal motto the expression found in the hymn of the Te Deum: “Lord have mercy on us”. This expression reflects my need for God’s merciful love and forgiveness for my past failures and for future ones.
Today in the Church we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, which reminds us of our heavenly mother’s intervention in our favour before her Son. In my life, Mary has figured very prominently, since in my parish in Malta we celebrate three village feasts dedicated to Mary, and in Gibraltar we have this Cathedral dedicated to Mary and also the shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Europe. I would like to ask you all today to pray for me to the Mother of God, and also that she surrounds all of us with her love and protection.
May I end with the last verses of the Te Deum: “Have mercy on us Lord, have mercy. Lord show us your love and mercy, for we put our trust in you. In you, Lord, is our hope, and we shall never hope in vain”.
May God bless Gibraltar and all its people.
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