Cardinal Fernández consecrates two new archbishops of DDF

By Devin Watkins

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

The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith conferred episcopal consecration on Mgr. John Joseph Kennedy, secretary of the disciplinary section of the same dicastery, and on Mgr. Philippe Curbelié, undersecretary of the dicastery.

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

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

Rather than dwell on the pursuit of worldly power, the cardinal urged the two new bishops to heed Christ’s call in the Gospel not to oppress people as the leaders of nations do.

He said their mission is to bring the peace and light of Christ to those stifled by the world.

“Dear John and Philip, what happens in this rite of ordination is not a simple matter of miters and incense, of worldly glories or human power,” Cardinal Fernández said. “It’s simply about being receptive to the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out tonight; it is a matter of allowing ourselves to be grasped and blessed by Him.

He said what matters for a bishop is allowing Christ to embrace him, so he can let Christ’s words and actions be his own.

“The ordination of a bishop,” declared the Cardinal, “is at the same time a commitment, an alliance of love, with which you strengthen more than ever your links with the entire Church, so that all the sufferings of the Church be yours. her, every humiliation is yours.

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