Cardinal Fernández consecrates two new archbishops of DDF

By Devin Watkins

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday evening.

The Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confered episcopal consecration on Archbishop John Joseph Kennedy, Secretary for the Disciplinary Section of the same Dicastery, and Archbishop Philippe Curbelié, Undersecretary of the Dicastery.

In his homily, Cardinal Fernández reflected on the gift and duty bestowed on men chosen for the episcopate.

He noted that some people still talk of “the strength of the Church or its power,” even at a time when “we perceive our fragility and limits more than ever before.”

Rather than being hung up on seeking worldly power, the Cardinal urged the two new bishops to heed Christ’s call in the Gospel not to oppress people as do the rulers of nations.

He said their mission involves bringing peace and the light of Christ to people suffocated by the world.

“Dear John and Philippe, what is happening in this ordination rite is not a mere matter of mitres and incense, of worldly glories or human power,” said Cardinal Fernández. “It is simply about being receptive to the gift of the Holy Spirit being poured out this evening; it is about letting oneself be grasped and blessed by Him.”

He said that what matters for a bishop is allowing Christ to embrace him, so that he might let Christ’s words and actions become their own.

“The ordination of a Bishop,” said the Cardinal, “is at the same time an engagement, an alliance of love, with which you strengthen more than ever your bonds with the entire Church, so that every suffering of the Church is yours, her every humiliation is yours.”

In conclusion, Cardinal Fernández reminded the new bishops that their service is a gift “entirely oriented towards the good of the people of God.”