Mr. George Weigel speaking of “The Catholic Moment”

Special events in celebration of 150^th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Providence continue to take place throughout the area.  It was in Rome on February 16, 1872, that Pope Pius IX, in the 26^th year of his pontificate, signed the Papal Bull which, to use the proper term, ‘erected’ the diocese.  On Wednesday, March 23, noted scholar, papal biographer, columnist and prolific author, George Weigel, presented a talk at Our Lady of Mercy R.C. Church in East Greenwich, titled “The Catholic Moment: The Church in the United States and the Redemption of American Democracy.”  The lecture was co-sponsored by the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture.  Chris Fisher, its executive director, had the honor of introducing Weigel who is no stranger to the Institute, having served as its keynote speaker in June 2013.  Among the attendees in the overflow crowd were members of the Institute’s Board of Advisors, Dr. Mary Beth Klee and Dr. Timothy Flanigan. 

The evening began with a warm welcome from Fr. Bernard F. Healey, the host pastor, who noted the appropriateness of hosting the presentation in his parish which was founded in 1853, close to 20 years before the diocese itself.  Seated nearby were Fr. Joshua A. Barrow, former assistant pastor at O.L. of Mercy, now the pastor of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus Church, Pawtucket, and Fr. Nathan Ricci, a former Weigel student, currently Vice Chancellor and Administrative Assistant to Bishop Tobin.  Fr. Healey introduced the bishop by saying that he, “the shepherd of our diocese, has always been, and will continue to be, strong, loving and wise, and we thank him for that.” 

 

 

At Our Lady of Mercy Parish, East Greenwich, RI

In his opening remarks, Bishop Tobin quoted from Psalm 126: “The Lord has done great things for us, indeed we are filled with joy,” which is the theme of this anniversary year.  He also reminded those gathered of the talk to be given by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York on May 15 in the Cathedral.  Bishop Tobin in turn introduced Fisher who gave a brief overview of the Institute and explained that it is “an educational and spiritual apostolate of Portsmouth Abbey and St. Louis Abbey, both of which are American houses of the English Benedictine Congregation.  The Institute magnifies their voices in putting our Benedictine monastic and educational vision in service to the Church.”  He thanked Fr. Andrew Senay, who was present, for representing the St. Louis monks.  Weigel had spoken in St. Louis for the Golden Anniversary of St. Louis Abbey after which he has maintained a close friendship with Abbot-emeritus Thomas Frerking who told me that, “perhaps his friendship is due to the fact that I greatly admire and appreciate the powerful defense he gives of the Catholic faith, all over this country and also abroad.” 

Weigel opened by sharing that, in preparation for his visit, “I thought I should learn something about the history of Rhode Island and came across a review of a new book published by one of the most distinguished historians in the United States who spent fifty years at Brown, Gordon Wood, great scholar of the American Revolution. And I found this about Rhode Island. Rhode Island declined to attend the Constitutional Convention in 1787, stubborn bunch up here, and got James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, really unhappy.  To wit, and this is James Madison speaking of Rhode Island, ‘Nothing can exceed the wickedness and folly which continue to rule there. All sense of character, as well as of right, is obliterated there.’ Well, I’m sure 150 years of the Diocese of Providence and 170 years of this parish have changed that situation completely!” Segueing to his topic of the evening, Weigel explained that, in light of the sesquicentennial, “it might be helpful to look back in order to look forward. To look back in order to locate this particular moment in Catholic history, not without its turbulence, to try to identify the source of that turbulence, to ask what’s going on amidst that turbulence, and to then think together about what that might mean for the Church’s service to our country. I have had occasion to tell audiences across the country that while there are libraries of books of Church history, there is only one divinely-inspired book of Church history, it’s called the Acts of the Apostles. It’s the only divinely-inspired book of Church history.” 

“How does it end?” he asked and, answering his own question, reminded everyone that Acts “ends with a shipwreck which becomes the occasion to extend the mission of the Church to someplace where the Gospel had never been preached before. And in that sense, that Providential wrapping-up of the Acts of the Apostles provides a metaphor for all of Catholic history.”  The New Jerusalem Bible translates it as “a hurricane, the ‘north-easter’ as they call it” (cf. Acts 27:14), and Rhode Islanders know a thing or two about nor’easters. Prefiguring further thoughts about the mission of the Church that he would expand upon later in the evening, Weigel cited Matthew 28:19 by reminding everyone of the challenge that the Lord laid before the Church in the great commission to, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” He also referenced the 1990 encyclical Redemptoris Missio, or Mission of the Redeemer, in which Pope Saint John Paul II wished “to invite the Church to renew its missionary commitment.” In other words, mission does not exist for itself, Weigel emphasized, and “there is no Catholicism which is not in mission.” In closing, he told of once attending a gigantic mega-church in Texas with a parking lot which held 5,000 cars. At every single exit were signs that read, “You are now entering the mission field,” and, assuming that each car held two people, it meant that at least 10,000 people per church service were getting the message.” Thus, he said, “Everyone in the church is a missionary, every place is mission territory. We all should understand our missionary vocation.”  

It was a reminder that just such a sign is posted less than a mile from the Portsmouth Abbey campus. On the north side of Hedley Road, between East and West Main, is located the 1891 Portsmouth Camp Meeting grounds with a small sign with the exact same message to all those exiting.