A new morning
with Pope Francis/ Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl is the Catholic archbishop of
Washington.
The
Washington Times | 7/8/2013
For
some years now, the Catholic Church in the United States has been experiencing
signs of new energy and new life — something of a new Pentecost. We just
witnessed this real, tangible and electric energy when we saw images of Pope
Francis at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, praying with and celebrating Mass
before an estimated crowd of more than 3 million joyous and enthusiastic young
people.
Here
in Washington, signs of this energy and life are manifested in many subtle yet
substantial ways. For example, in the Archdiocese of Washington last Easter, we
received more than 1,200 new members into the church. Young people and young
adults are responding with a new openness to the voice of the church and the
call of the Gospel. Our two-year-old Blessed John Paul II College Seminary is
filled, and a new wing is underway. Pope Francis has become a catalyst for this
fresh awareness of the importance of Jesus’ Gospel and what it offers us as we
seek to respond to the perennial questions of the human heart: How shall I
live? What are the values I want to embrace? What is the purpose of all of
this?
