Jan. 26 ad limina report from Archbishop Aymond

   Archbishop Gregory Aymond is in Rome for an ad limina visit with Pope Benedict XVI and Vatican officials.

            In a telephone interview with the Clarion Herald, he summarized his activities on Thursday, Jan. 26, which included a private meeting with Pope Benedict along with the other bishops of Louisiana and the celebration of Mass at St. Mary Major Basilica.

            The archbishop also speaks about direct threats to religious liberty in the U.S. He has written a letter to be read at all churches in the Archdiocese of New Orleans this weekend.

            Can you tell me how the meeting with Pope Benedict went this morning? I understand you met with the pope, and the bishops of Louisiana joined you on that visit.

            It was a very powerful and profound experience. We went into the room and he greeted us individually by name and shook our hands, and we reverenced him as the Holy Father. We did some picture taking, and then all of us in the seven dioceses in the province of New Orleans (met him). We could also bring in others. I had the privilege to have Bishop Fabre here. Archbishop Hughes had his good friend, Msgr. (Cornelius) McRae, who is a spiritual director at the North American College. We also had Father Nile Gross, who is a priest from the archdiocese (who is) studying liturgy in Rome at the Santa Croce. So I had the privilege to introduce them. And then each ordinary – each bishop – from the various dioceses in the state introduced himself as well as anybody he had with him.

            The priests were asked to leave, and then the bishops sat down around the pope. He said some words of welcome and thanked us for our ministry. As we expected, he turned to me as the metropolitan (of the New Orleans Province) and asked me to introduce the day. I was able to explain to him the reason we were here – which he knew, of course. But I restated it. It was to visit the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul but also to pledge our obedience and loyalty to him. It’s also an opportunity to pray for in a very particular and profound way the people of our own archdiocese, the people that he entrusted to our care, and to assure him of our solidarity and faith and our appreciation for his very profound and prophetic ministry as the successor of Peter and in our ministry as the successors of the apostles.

            Then I began to (identify) some real blessings, which I and the other bishops of the state feel are truly present in the province. First, in  many ways, we are very Catholic. The Catholic Church is alive and well. Secondly, we are very proud of and appreciative of our youth and young adults who are a very important part of our ministry. And I specifically told him about the March for Life that happened in Washington, which we participated in to a huge extent. He was very intrigued by that. I spoke about our youth ministry office and (director) John Smestad.

            We talked about the spirit of evangelization that is taking place. We talked about “Catholics Come Home” and the people who have come home to the church from that project.

            We also talked about the hunger of people for the truth in a countercultural society and how people who want to become Catholic and who are Catholic can live the faith because it’s countercultural. And we’re very pleased and proud of that.

            I also mentioned to him some of our challenges. The most important challenge would be Katrina – and not just for New Orleans but for many other dioceses in the state. This has been a challenging time with the devastation, loss of life, complicated by the BP oil spill. He was very understanding and sympathetic about it and asked me specifically to communicate to the people who were affected, especially the people of New Orleans, his concern and prayers.

            We also talked about some of the other challenges and, specifically in our country, the weakening of marriage and family life, and, secondly, the attack on religious liberty, of which he was very familiar.

            And then we pledged to him again our support, our affection and our loyalty as bishops.

            He then asked about immigration. He asked about the Muslim community and our interest toward ecumenism. He expressed appreciation to the bishops for what we are doing. It was very positive exchange, and then he asked each bishop to talk about specific issues. They ranged from confirmation programs to the new Roman Missal to catechesis to seminary formation. He was very impressed that we had many vocations to the priesthood and religious life. (In the) more missionary parts of Louisiana, our bishops talked about their desire to bring others to a deeper knowledge of Christ and the teachings of the church.

            We talked about people who are away from the church and how we can bring them back. It was a very interesting, lively conversation, which lasted close to a half hour. It was formal at the beginning, with all the pictures and the formalities, but then it was a very informal discussion, and, I would say, a very helpful discussion. He said to us, after I gave my introduction, “I want to know more about what’s happening in the United States. I want to know what’s happening in your province. Tell me, and I will listen very carefully.”

            When you’re in the room, is anyone from his staff taking notes or is it just a private meeting?

            It is a completely private meeting. (The staff is) there until we start the meeting with the bishops and the Holy Father, and then everyone leaves.

            Did the pope seem to be very much aware of Katrina and the BP oil spill?

            Very much so. When I said Katrina, he lit up and I said, “As you know Holy Father, it’s not just New Orleans; it’s many dioceses in our state.” And he nodded, and I talked about the oil spill, and I said, “You know, it’s affected the Gulf of Mexico, the Archdiocese of New Orleans and many others.” It was obvious from his facial expressions and his questions that he had been keeping up with it.

            Had Father Nile Gross ever had a chance to meet the pope personally?

            He had not met the pope, so we were privileged in our meeting. We also had Msgr. McRae, who is a close friend of Archbishop Hughes and a spiritual director at the North American College. There’s also this shift of bishops, who might have a priest or a seminarian here – so we adopted a few, just to put them in the pictures! That’s the lively and fun part of all of this. The real part of it is just to be able to meet the Holy Father.

            I had the privilege to be the first one to walk up and greet him and introduce the other bishops of the province. He knows New Orleans. He remembered that his predecessor had been to New Orleans. He was grateful for that. He’s obviously never been there as the Holy Father, (but) he knows and has a solidarity with us. I say that very honestly came through in his concerns.

      I was curious, what was Bishop Fabre’s reaction to the meeting? This was his first time personally meeting the pope, correct?

            That is correct, and he was really in awe. The favorite scene was when I had the opportunity to introduce him to the Holy Father and said that he is a “very, very fine auxiliary,” and the Holy Father said, “A good auxiliary is a great blessing to the diocese!” And then Bishop Fabre came up and said hello. He said, “I have this medal that is for my mother, and I want you to bless it personally.” And (the pope) blessed it, and he said, “Be sure to tell your mother hello for me!”

            At the end of our meeting, he gave each one of us some rosaries and gifts to bring to others, and he gave us each a beautiful pectoral cross, which is a Benedictine cross, obviously reflecting his love for Benedict. I will wear it with great pride and a spirit of humility as I give it back to the archdiocese.

            He had similar meeting with other bishops from Region V that are from other states?

            Yes. He met with the Province of Mobile and Archbishop Rodi. He met with them before we met, and then on Monday, he met with the (Province of) Louisville bishops. He meets with each province. Actually of the three, we are the largest province. He was very personable, very interested in what we had to say. It was a positive.

            As soon as we were walking down the hall (after the meeting) – and, of course, in the Vatican you walk through waiting room after waiting room – (we walked into) this long room, and there were about 300 people waiting for another audience with the pope.

            It’s amazing that at his age of (almost) 85, obviously he is in good health, but frail. He does one to two to three audiences in the morning.

            Is the room in which you met close to where his residence is?

            It is. It’s his library.

            After that, archbishop, I think you did some interviews with Vatican Radio and with Catholic News Agency?

            Yes, I did some interviews with Vatican Radio. They were interested very much in a couple of things: particularly, Katrina and rebuilding, and then, secondly, in the issue of religious freedom.

            After that I had an interview with Catholic News (Agency), and they are somewhat of a new organization. They are very interested in what’s happening in the church and very eager to let people know. We talked about a whole range of things from Katrina to religious liberty to meeting with the Holy Father to the Year of Evangelization and the Year of Faith. It was an opportunity to give others a reflection on what’s going on here this week.

            You and the other bishops celebrated Mass at St. Mary Major Basilica?

            We did. It is the oldest basilica in the Vatican dedicated to Mary. There are four basilicas that we commonly go to when we do our ad limina visit. The first is, obviously, the Tomb of Peter; secondly, the Tomb of Paul, which we will do on Monday; thirdly, St. John Lateran, which is the pope’s cathedral, his archdiocesan cathedral; and then St. Mary Major, because of its devotion to Mary and its age.

            This year they’ve added a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Tomb of Blessed John Paul II. So, tomorrow morning we will have a Mass (there). We thank God for him and for his many years as the pope and chief shepherd.

            You had a reception tonight for priests from the U.S. devoted to service in the universal church?

            The United States – actually, every country – is asked to basically give, out of love and compassion, priests to serve for the universal church in the various congregations. At the present time, the United States has 21 priests serving in the Vatican in various offices. They are serving all the various dicasteries and congregations that we are visiting this week. The majority of ours work in the Doctrine of the Faith, which is very important. Also, I think the other (major) one is either (the Congregation for) Clergy or the (Apostolic) Signatura. We have a large number of priests working here who have residences here. We met with them tonight for a social and had an opportunity to thank them for their ministry. These are men who are very bright and very faith-filled and who are committing their lives right now for the service of the church internationally. And we thank them for their sacrifice, but it’s also a sacrifice on the part of their bishop, who lets them go in terms of having them available for ministry.

            Is anybody from Louisiana among those priests?

            We do not have anybody now. We have people from the South, but not anyone from New Orleans at the present time.

            I guess someone like Msgr. (Christopher) Nalty, who had served at the Congregation of Clergy, would be an example of a priest who was doing that kind of service for the Vatican.

            That’s right. After his ordination, his expertise in canon law and his commitment to the church enabled him to be invited by the Congregation for Clergy, and he worked with them for about five or six years and did a very, very fine job and is still very well respected by the congregation as a good canon lawyer and as someone who worked for them very faithfully.

            Tomorrow you will have the Mass at the tomb of Blessed John Paul, and you’re also going to see the secretary of state for the Vatican?

            That’s right. The schedule tomorrow is Mass at the Tomb of Pope John Paul, a meeting with the secretary of state to look at their worldview, and then I have some other personal interviews tomorrow afternoon. So, it’s been a very good time here, a very blessed time. It really gives one, particularly as a bishop, an understanding of the universal church, which we don’t get on a day-to-day basis, obviously. It’s obvious that the church is strong and alive throughout the world, but also it’s still grappling with real issues, not only in the United States but also in all countries.

            As we know, many people have asked today in the Vatican about religious liberty, religious freedom, and this is a real concern. Who would have ever thought in the United States that we would be talking about our freedom to practice our faith as we see it? It’s an issue for us in the United States, but for the Vatican, it’s a real issue. On Monday night we were able to express our concerns to the ambassador – at least to his staff (because) he was out of town. But this is something that we should really be concerned about. This could be a real turning point of religion in the USA as we know it.

            To say that we can go to our churches and worship as we want is one thing – anybody can go to their church. More and more, in Russia and Poland you can go to your church and worship. The point is, can you live your faith? And if our faith – the way in which we live it – is curtailed, do we have a free nation? We should and we definitely do make definite alterations and concessions for other religions. Here’s the mainstream of Christianity asking for something. My question is, will we be able to practice our faith?

            You have issued a letter on the threat to religious liberty that you hope will be read in all churches this weekend in the archdiocese.

            Yes, after prayerful consideration, my request is that the letter is read in each and every parish at every Mass this weekend at parishes, missions, Catholic institutions everywhere. We need to hear this message. It’s the message of the challenging news about what’s happening with religious liberty in our country. The good news is Christ has called us to be prophetic and to be strong in our voice for life and faith and hope. So, hopefully every parish will be able to give people the opportunity to hear this. Some people say, “What do you expect people to do?” Pray, talk about this. Eventually, down the line, we’re going to have to do some probable courses of action. We’re not even there yet. We just want to pray and ask God to guide us at this point.

            We appreciate your report and will talk to you tomorrow.

            Be sure that as I go to the Tomb of John Paul II, the people of the archdiocese will be very much present there. I thank God for being able to be the shepherd in our archdiocese. Our people are very special and loved by the Lord.