EUROPE/POLAND - "We have no fear of the future certain that the Risen Christ is with us and that God is greater than any of our difficulties or limits": Archbishop Hoser is installed in the diocese of Warsaw-Praga

Warsaw (Agenzia Fides)- "To we all wonder about the future, the future of our situation, of ourselves, our families the future of Poland, Europe, the whole world" Archbishop Henryk Hoser, of Warsaw-Praga said in his homily during the solemn Mass for his installation as the new archbishop on June 28. Until his recent appointment Archbishop Hoser had been Secretary Adjunct of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, and President of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
The Archbishop encouraged his people not to be discouraged by difficulties: "The Church knows she is built on the rock of the faith of Peter and the gates of hell will not prevail against her (Mt 16,18). Until the end of time the Risen Christ lives in the Church. In occupied Warsaw the image of Christ the King by Adam Styka in a stained glass window in Nowy Świat was a sign of hope that the dark night would give way to the light of the Resurrection. This image is within the territory of our archdiocese ".
Archbishop Hoser went on to remark that his installation coincided with the open of the Year of St Paul indicted by Benedict XVI: "This jubilee for the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle of the Nations will be the basis of our diocesan pastoral programme. We will discover the pertinence of St Paul's extemporaneous apostolic universalism, his apostolic method which could face any new situation, challenge and task, his extraordinary ability to discern the working of the Holy Spirit in areas which today we would call: inter-cultural, inter-religious dialogue, ecumenism, dialogue of the intelligence of the faith and active love of God and neighbour".
"My Bishop's motto comes from the words of the 1st Letter of St John: - Maior est Deus God is Greater (1Gv 3,20). Read in their first context and significance these words mean that God is far greater that our human heart often troubled and broken, filled with fear and limits. Another significance is for our situation of life. We need not be paralysed or hampered by conditioning, 'because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world' (1 Jn 4,4). Let us look then towards the future with courage and confidence, since God comes from the future. On this path we never walk alone: together with the whole Church and all men and women of good will we are accompanied by the Spirit of the Risen Christ who is in our midst". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 1/7/2008 righe 34 parole 470)