Tom Barrett and Archbishop Listecki - YAWN

The installation of Jerome E. Listecki as the 11th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee brought political opponents together.

Gubernatorial candidates Scott Walker and Tom Barrett were seated next to each other during the Mass.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

In his first remarks as archbishop Monday, the Most Rev. Jerome E. Listecki called on Milwaukee-area Catholics to reject secularism and recommit themselves with him in devotion to Jesus Christ and service to the Catholic Church.

"We must present a clear alternative to the established secular religion which permeates our daily lives," Listecki told the crowd of about 1,000 clergy, family, friends and well-wishers during his installation Mass at Milwaukee's Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

"We need to acknowledge mystery and our dependence upon God," Listecki said. "Adherence to the church's teaching is not always easy. However, one must sacrifice for the truth."

Listecki, 60, was installed Monday as the 11th archbishop of Milwaukee in a centuries-old rite that drew church leaders from around the country, including Cardinals Francis George of Chicago and Edward Egan of New York.

Listecki was named in November by Pope Benedict XVI to succeed Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan as the spiritual leader of southeastern Wisconsin's nearly 650,000 Roman Catholics. Dolan, who left in April to become archbishop of New York, was among those who concelebrated the Mass alongside Listecki on Monday.

...Civic and ecumenical leaders included Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and County Executive Scott Walker; bishops of the Episcopal Diocese and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and the head of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee.

Barrett said he looked forward to working with Listecki on civic issues. "I'm hoping it remains the positive, constructive relationship I've enjoyed with the archbishop in the past."

Here's a gallery of photos, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The coverage on TMJ 4 was well done. It was informative without detracting from the spirituality of the installation and the celebration of the Mass.

While waiting for the opening procession to begin, the camera briefly focused on Scott Walker and Tom Barrett. Although brief, it was an unfortunate couple of seconds for Barrett. Walker appeared to be reading. Barrett was yawning.









At least Barrett could have covered his mouth.
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Here's the transcript of Archbishop Listecki's homily.

I think it was excellent, both in content and delivery. I like his style very much. He's a teacher and expresses himself with sincerity and humility and confidence. Actually, he reminds me of Archbishop Dolan quite a bit.

Homily excerpt:

The office of the bishop is the link between the particular church which is entrusted to him in hierarchical communion with the Universal Church. In our own American society we must present a clear alternative to the established secular religion which permeates our daily lives. We need to acknowledge mystery and our dependence upon God. It is in our faithfulness in reflecting the mind and the heart of our Church that represents the singular voice of Christ to our community and the world.

Do you love me more than these? Then tend my sheep. The teaching office of the bishop helps to form and inform the faithful in their relationship to Christ and His Church. The goal for most teachers is that their students come to know and appreciate the subject matter they are presenting. In the teaching role of the bishop, the task is literally to come and to know the subject Jesus Himself, so that He the Christ may be taken into their lives.

As St. Paul said so well, it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. The truth of the Church’s teaching is to draw us into a relationship with the Lord.

The Church presents the Truth in Charity. It is the truth of the teaching that maintains our right relationship with Jesus. Our teaching on the dignity of the human person embraces life from the moment of conception to natural death. It reflects the love of life entrusted to us. This sacredness, which reflects the “imago dei.” The image of God. It is this very life for which Christ came into the world, to suffer, die and rise. In our social principles our care for the poor and neglected is mandated out of a love of neighbor grounded in the love of God.

As Benedict the XVI teaches: It is first and foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesial community at every level: from the local community to the particular Church and to the Church universal in its entirety. As a community the Church must practice love. In our protection of marriage and family life an environment is created for the responsible transmission of the faith.

Adherence to the Church’s teaching is not always easy. However, one must sacrifice for the truth. In this sacrifice we demonstrate our love. It is interesting to note that John Paul the II was applauded by the Western societies when he critiqued the godless communism of the east for their lack of individual rights and freedoms, yet those very same western societies turned a deaf ear to his warnings of the destructiveness of radical individualism, consumerism, materialism and relativism.

Given our situation today perhaps we should have paid more attention. The truth is at times difficult but the Church does not follow the Lord’s request to tend his sheep if it fails to teach the truth with love.