AFRICA/CONGO - “A Bishop should be involved in the daily life of his people, sharing in their joy and sadness, their hope and their suffering.” Homily of Cardinal Dias at the ordination of the Bishop of Quesso

Brazzaville (Agenzia Fides) – “Being a Bishop in the Church today is a very difficult task, that demands a great responsibility and implies service to God and the faithful with all the care and love of the Good Shepherd,” said Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in his homily given during a Mass celebrated for the 25th anniversary of the Diocese of Quesso (Congo). During the Mass, celebrated on September 7 in the Cathedral in Quesso, Cardinal Dias ordained Father Yves Marie Monot, of the Holy Ghost Fathers, Bishop of the Diocese. The Cardinal is visiting the country on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of its Evangelization.
Cardinal Dias explained that “while a Bishops’ task demands total openness to the work of the Holy Spirit,” it also “needs the grace of God and the support of his diocesan priests from the moment he takes on his role as Good Shepherd with the flock that the Holy Father has entrusted to him.”
The Cardinal mentioned that, “a Bishop should be involved in the daily life of his people, sharing in their joy and sadness, their hope and their suffering, and accompany him in finding solutions to problems, alleviating human, physical, and moral miseries, including the forgiveness of their sins.”
In the homily, Cardinal Dias explained the meaning behind the various parts of the Rite of Ordination, highlighting the fact that “with the solemn ordination, the Bishops pray to the Lord, asking that He come upon His servant, Father Monot, giving him strength from on High, the same Holy Spirit that descended upon Christ in the Baptism at the Jordan and on the Apostles on Pentecost, in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.”
“Always be grateful to those who have accepted to become your Bishop and Father, and try to always be joyful and consoling towards those who exercise this service of love among you, as pastor, teacher, and spiritual guide,” Cardinal Dias said at the end of his homily, expressing his gratitude to “the apostolic workers in the Diocese of Quesso, especially the Holy Ghost Fathers, of whom Fr. Monot was a member, for being the first to evangelize these lands.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 11/9/2008)