Cardinal tells his story at press conference

BY KARA KOCZUR, Globe staff reporter
March 27, 2008

It was from the people of northwest Iowa that Sioux City's former "baby bishop" learned how to be a shepherd. Now a "baby cardinal," he said those same lessons are still relevant to his growing flock.

"If you can be a good shepherd at the local level, then when you're called to do and be and have further responsibilities for the universal church, you hope you don't lose that shepherd's touch with people," Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said Monday at a news conference in Sioux City.

With his arms folded and resting comfortably on the podium, Cardinal DiNardo told a group of about 20 news media prior to his Mass of Thanksgiving that his return to Sioux City was a "genuine homecoming."

"I'm glad and delighted to be back in Sioux City," he said. "The wind is still blowing here by the way," he added with a chuckle.

The main differences between the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the Diocese of Sioux City are the population size, the presence of multiple ethnic groups and the traffic, the cardinal said.

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has close to 1.5 million Catholics, plus another 2,000 who entered the church this past Easter, the cardinal proudly said. The city of Houston itself contains 4.5 million people, which he added can create traffic problems.

"I knew to get to Spencer it took me 2 hours and 5 minutes," Cardinal DiNardo said. "I can have a parish that is 20 miles away from downtown Houston and it takes me over two hours to get there."

Although the cardinal recognized the growing Hispanic and Vietnamese presence in the Diocese of Sioux City, he said it doesn't compare to the diversity of Houston. For example, one of his parishes has 23,000 people who speak numerous languages and dialects.

"What we have in Houston is basically the United Nations," he said, adding that 40 percent of all Catholics in the archdiocese are Hispanic. "I always say in Galveston-Houston, 'We have many beautiful cultures, just one Catholic faith.'"

That one faith also stretches up to northwest Iowa, where the background of the people may be different, but their roles just as necessary in the life of the church, he said.

"Whereas Houston is more expansive with a wide variety of cultures, in Sioux City the diocese was very rooted in the earth because the people came from a farming and agricultural tradition," Cardinal DiNardo said. "Both dimensions are important in the growth of our Catholic faith."

However, there is one thing he finds his southern home lacks. "There aren't as many hog roasts in Houston," he said with a laugh.

Cardinal DiNardo told reporters that he never thought he would be named a cardinal. In fact, he expected to always be a parish priest in Pittsburgh, and was very happy being one. When he became Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, there had never been a cardinal from the South, and he never heard any discussion that there ever would be, the cardinal said.

"It was a total shock and surprise to me," Cardinal DiNardo said of being elevated to a cardinal. "I think it was a total shock and surprise to most people, which is good. That way it's all the grace and gift of the Holy Father."

And though he is still a parish priest at heart, the cardinal does recognize the new responsibilities the title brings. He respects the fact that Pope Benedict would make him a cardinal, and therefore takes the responsibility seriously. He just tries to be careful that he doesn't take himself too seriously, he said.

The excitement people in the southwest part of the United States feel about his new responsibilities is felt beyond the Catholic population, Cardinal DiNardo said.

"I got a letter from a non-Catholic, a Baptist as a matter of fact," the cardinal recalled, "and the letter said: 'Dear Sir, I just heard on TV you're a cardinal. I don't know what it means, but it sounds real good for Texas.'"

While Cardinal DiNardo in the news conference remained focused on his role as head of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and his presence in the South, he also touched on the larger role U.S. cardinals play in the world.

With 94 percent of the world's Catholics living outside the U.S., and many in poorer countries, Cardinal DiNardo said U.S. cardinals are looked to for leadership and to help other countries in areas of need, such as education. It is a role he thinks U.S. cardinals take seriously, he added.

Although the cardinal is a "happy camper in Houston," there are some things he misses from his days in the Diocese of Sioux City. One of those things is Casey's doughnuts. Another is "county blacktops."

"I did much more driving in Sioux City," he said. "I would drive upwards of 35,000 miles a year going throughout the diocese. It's those kinds of things that are very dear to me."

The memories he has of the people he shepherded for six and a half years and the kindness they showed him are also very dear to him.

"The Sioux City people were so friendly and respectful, but never in awe, which is important when you're dealing with human beings," he said with a smile. "The Sioux City Diocese not only taught me how to be a better bishop and be a good bishop, but the people also taught me in terms of their depths of their thinking about the faith."