Conclave: Time to offer prayers for cardinal electors

    The next days will be filled with drama as the College of Cardinals meets in conclave to elect the next pope. What are your thoughts about the historic nature of what is happening?
    This is a historic election because, as everyone knows, something like this has not happened in 600 years – when a pope has resigned his papal office. This is an opportunity for us to renew our faith in Christ and in his church. Jesus said he would be with us always, until the end of the age. The Holy Spirit is leading us as a new pope is selected.
    What do you make of the way in which the secular news media is analyzing the conclave, particularly attributing Pope Benedict’s resignation to pressure engendered by the clergy sex abuse scandals?
    Some on the media love to take advantage of these situations because it is an opportunity to discredit the church. So, we shouldn’t be surprised by that. But I say this quite frankly: some of this discrediting is the result of the sinfulness of the church and its human leaders, particularly the clergy who have committed these acts and the bishops who in some cases did not do what they needed to do to protect children. A few decades ago, trained psychiatrists looked at these cases and thought abusers could be cured. We’ve learned now how mistaken that was, and children have had the heaviest price to pay. There is no getting around that. This crisis was of our own making and we must apologize. When the media point to this, all we can really say is that we were wrong and we are sorry and we are taking historic steps to ensure that it does not happen again. My solace is that God forgives and God heals. This is not only a historic time for the church but also a time of purification for the church. This is the time for us to persevere and pray for our own conversion and for the church’s conversion. We have to tolerate the media and be honest in acknowledging some of the faults of the church. We must continually remind people that the church is not led ultimately by human beings but by the Spirit.
    The historic conclave coincides with the opening of the exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art on the life of Pope John Paul II.
    I view this as providential. The main purpose of the exhibit is to honor Blessed John Paul and to recall his 1987 visit to New Orleans. But now that the conclave is set to begin, there will be unprecedented attention given to the papacy and what a “pontificate” means. This is great opportunity for us to evangelize the culture, and I look forward to the prospect of thousands of students and parishioners and people of every faith reaching out to John Paul II once again. This is a true blessing to the archdiocese. I want to personally thank Wendy Vitter for putting the exhibit together. She received so much professional help from the Museum of Biblical Art Dallas and from NOMA. The level of excitement is extremely high. When NOMA called for volunteers to help with the exhibit, they were expecting a few people to show up for the orientation meeting – and 150 people actually did! So, everyone is excited. If you want more information on the exhibit, go to www.JPIIinNOLA.com.
    Questions for Archbishop Aymond can be sent to [email protected].