Bishop Nickless hears hope-filled message, guide for ministry

(In lieu of Bishop R. Walker Nickless' traditional "The Shepherd Writes" column, he gave the following interview relating to his experiences of the recent papal visit.)

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
April 24, 2008

Weeks prior to the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI the fact that he was to focus his message on hope was well known. Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City said that theme came through time and again.

"The pope came as a messenger of hope and he certainly displayed that in every aspect of his personality and in all the words that he spoke," said Bishop Nickless. "He wanted to give the American church hope. There is a reason for hope and we as American Catholics should not be afraid to express our faith in the public square."

The pontiff offered words of hope and encouragement to the American people, Catholic faithful, educators, priests and bishops. At the same time, through his talks the pope gave the faithful a task, a mission - all in the context of hope and living out the Gospel.

"He came to bring hope to the American church in what has been difficult times for us in the past few years, especially with the clergy sexual misconduct crisis," noted the bishop, who added that the pontiff didn't shy away from addressing the crisis.

Bishop Nickless also spoke of the excitement that surrounded the visit.

Even as the bishop traveled to Washington, D.C., citizens in airports recognized that he was a member of the clergy and they would ask him if he was going to see the pope. Once in Washington, even the courtesy van driver inquired about the trip.

"In Washington, they must see all kinds of dignitaries, but there was something different about the Holy Father and his presence there. It excited them and set them on fire with enthusiasm and joy," said Bishop Nickless.

Through all of the pontiff's talks, Bishop Nickless said it felt as though the pope was speaking to him personally and offering a vision that he could try to accomplish as a bishop.

"He gave me a blueprint, something to follow in my ministry here in the diocese," said the bishop. "I felt he knew the American church and knew the bishops - what we were going through and our struggles and yet he still was able to bring a sense of hope and enthusiasm that caught fire. It buoyed me up and I was excited to try to put into practice some of the things he said and encouraged us to do."

Bishop Nickless took part in three major events of the papal trip: the welcome on the White house lawn, bishops' prayer and meeting with the Holy Father and Mass at Nationals Park.

White House welcome

The day before the bishop left for Washington, D.C., he was informed that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had received tickets to enable bishops to attend the welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn at the White House.

He was among the bishops - three busloads in all - to say yes to the invitation. The bishops received a police motorcade escort to the White House early in the morning on April 16.

"They closed all of the streets and we were zipping through everything to get to the White House," noted Bishop Nickless.

He pointed out that security was threatened to be difficult but as it turned out the bishops' cassocks and zucchettos appeared to provide the needed clearance.

Reflecting on the pontiff's speech at the White House, Bishop Nickless found that this quote stood out for him: "Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility."

When people throughout the world think of America, said the bishop, they think of freedom - what the forefathers fought for and have strived to maintain through the years.

"The Holy Father picked up on that right away that with freedom comes responsibility," said Bishop Nickless. "We've been given much and much will be expected of us. The challenge for me as a bishop was to hear the Holy Father say that and to think about the ways that I as a bishop can put that into practice in a particular way here in the Diocese of Sioux City."

The bishop referred to respecting the freedom of people - especially immigrants. Whether legal or illegal immigrants, the ultimate issue is respect that is due each person.

"He started off with that responsibility and the great gift that we as Americans are known for is the freedoms that we enjoy - freedom of speech, freedom of religion and how we put those into practice," said Bishop Nickless.

Bishop Nickless was pleased that President Bush was so open to recognize the presence of a religious leader in the country. The bishop added that the president never hid the fact that the United States is a religious nation.

"It was funny to see the bishops just as excited as the rest of the tourists," said Bishop Nickless. "We had our cameras. We were taking pictures and had people take pictures of us in front of the White House."

The most moving part of the ceremony for the bishop came when President Bush asked everyone to sing Happy Birthday to the pope.

Prayer with bishops

Later that day, they gathered as a group of bishops. They were taken to the crypt at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

"It's a smaller venue, a smaller place - more intimate," described Bishop Nickless. "We began with evening prayer."

The bishop commented that many people saw him on television and wondered how he got such a good seat, located in the front pew just behind the cardinals. He acknowledged that the bishops had filed off the bus and filled in the one side of the church.

"A priest came down and said, 'Bishops I know you are all good Catholics and you want to sit in the back, but you can sit in the front.' I happened to be standing right there and we went right into the front row," said Bishop Nickless. "I didn't know at the time, but the cardinals were going to be sitting right in front of us and Cardinal DiNardo would be right in front of me."

The bishops were seated for 90 minutes prior to the start of the prayer vigil. Bishop Nickless witnessed the care that was taken in preparing for the service.

"It was beautiful. The Holy Father came in and began with normal evening prayer that priests and bishops say every day," he noted. "It was solemn. It was sung, the readings were done and then he left."

Most of the bishops thought that the pope would address them during the prayer service, but he didn't. When a chair was brought back out, they knew the pontiff was returning.

Cardinal Francis George, the president of the USCCB, welcomed the pope in the name of the bishops and spoke about the priorities of the bishops' conference. He let the pontiff know that they wanted to be of assistance to the Holy Father.

Talk to bishops

The pontiff told the bishops that his primary reason for his visit to the United States was to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the dioceses of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Louisville, which was celebrated at Yankee Stadium. His second reason was to speak to the United Nations.

"He also took the opportunity to speak to us as the chief shepherd among shepherds," said Bishop Nickless. "He was very complimentary of the faith that he senses in America. He said America is a land of great faith."

The pontiff complimented the laity and the wide range of gifts they offer to the church and society at large.

The Holy Father, he noted, challenged the bishops to sow the seeds of the Gospel today.

"We have to do that by clearing away some of the barriers that prevent people from having an intimate relationship with the Lord and really growing in the faith and a religious approach to things," he said.

The pontiff spoke of the increasing influence of secularism and individualism.

Bishop Nickless made mention that one of the Holy Father's quotes touched him deeply: "Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching or to adopt positions that might contradict the right-to-life of every human being from conception to natural death?"

Those are questions that the bishop will continue to reflect upon and will actively seek ways to put the answers to the questions into practice.

"It's easy to say that we believe and it's easy to say that we go to Mass, but going to Mass is not enough," stressed the bishop. "We have to put the words of our faith and the teachings of the church into practice or what good does it do?"

A challenge of the bishops and all priests, he noted, is to help the faithful understand the significance of being a practicing Catholic.

"He was very clear about a counter-sign to the Gospel - the sexual abuse of minors," said the bishop. "He spent considerable time telling us the enormous pain our communities have suffered when clerics betray their priestly obligations. He encouraged us to continue to strive to eliminate this evil wherever it occurs - the God-given responsibility that we have as pastors to bind the wounds caused by the breach of trust, to foster healing and promote reconciliation."

He was touched that the Holy Father modeled his challenge to the bishops, meeting with a group of victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The bishop noted that the pope admitted that sometimes bishops handled the crisis badly.

After calling the bishops to responsibility, the Holy Father asked them to never forget their priests during this time.

"That was a wakeup call to me that the priests have suffered a lot," noted Bishop Nickless. "A very small percentage of priests have abused their priestly vows. There are so many good, hardworking priests that are serving under suspicion and under difficult times today. As bishops, we truly need to be a father, a brother and a friend to them."

The Holy Father also challenged the bishops to spend time in prayer. Again, the pope modeled this by praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

The big Mass

Early the morning of April 17, the bishop was among the bishops to participate in the Mass at Nationals Park. Upon entering the visitors' locker room at the baseball park to vest, the bishops were surprised to see that the Archdiocese of Washington provided them with a red chasuble and white miter to wear for Mass. The gifts were to serve as reminders of the papal visit.

"It took my breath away when I walked out of the locker room into the stadium and saw and felt the enthusiasm of the people," said Bishop Nickless. "The people were so happy - it was a great time to be a Catholic and not be afraid to celebrate our faith and express it in the most beautiful way that we could, in Mass."

As the popemobile circled the stadium, the bishop said you could feel the wave of excitement. Even though there were 46,000 people in attendance, he called it a prayerful experience.

What struck him in the pope's homily was the reference to the challenges of nurturing the faith in an increasingly secular and materialistic culture.

"Almost everywhere he spoke was the accountability to be responsible for what we believe - not just be passive but actively live our faith and put it into practice," said the bishop.

Given that the Holy Father is 81 years old, Bishop Nickless said it is doubtful this pontiff will be back.

Bishop Nickless encourages the faithful of the diocese to read the complete texts of Benedict XVI's talks available at: www. vatican.va.