AD QUEM IBIMUS
WASHINGTON—Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York,
president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued this statement
moments after learning of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on February 11,
2013.
Statement of Cardinal Timothy Dolan
H.E. CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN - ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK
The Holy Father
brought the tender heart of a pastor, the incisive mind of a scholar and the
confidence of a soul united with His God in all he did. His resignation is but
another sign of his great care for the Church. We are sad that he will be
resigning but grateful for his eight years of selfless leadership as successor
of St. Peter.
Though 78 when he
elected pope in 2005, he set out to meet his people – and they were of all
faiths – all over the world. He visited the religiously threatened – Jews,
Muslims and Christians in the war-torn Middle East, the desperately poor in
Africa, and the world’s youth gathered to meet him in Australia, Germany, and
Spain.
He delighted our
beloved United States of America when he visited Washington and New York in
2008. As a favoured statesman he greeted notables at the White House. As a
spiritual leader he led the Catholic community in prayer at Nationals Park,
Yankee Stadium and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. As a pastor feeling pain in a
stirring, private meeting at the Vatican nunciature in Washington, he brought a
listening heart to victims of sexual abuse by clerics.
Pope Benedict often
cited the significance of eternal truths and he warned of a dictatorship of
relativism. Some values, such as human life, stand out above all others, he
taught again and again. It is a message for eternity.
He unified
Catholics and reached out to schismatic groups in hopes of drawing them back to
the church. More unites us than divides us, he said by word and deed. That
message is for eternity.
He spoke for the
world’s poor when he visited them and wrote of equality among nations in his
peace messages and encyclicals. He pleaded for a more equitable share of world
resources and for a respect for God’s creation in nature.
Those who met him,
heard him speak and read his clear, profound writings found themselves moved
and changed. In all he said and did he urged people everywhere to know and have
a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
The occasion of his
resignation stands as an important moment in our lives as citizens of the
world. Our experience impels us to thank God for the gift of Pope Benedict. Our
hope impels us to pray that the College of Cardinals under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit choose a worthy successor to meet the challenges present in
today’s world.
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