Công Giáo posted an update in the group
4 weeks ago
Dio ClevelandBishop Ed Malesic has released a statement as the conclave to elect the next pope begins. The statement can also be found on our website dioceseofcleveland.org/conclave.
As I continue to mourn the death of Pope Francis, I also eagerly look forward to hearing the joyous news of the successor to St. Peter being named. I am sure that the Lord will provide the Pope we need for our times. When I contemplate the awesome responsibility of the Pope to lead the 1.4 billion Catholic faithful around the world, I am drawn to the homily Pope St. John Paul II gave prior to the conclave during which he was elected as pope. Then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla spoke these words:
“The succession of Peter, the summons to the office of the papacy, always contains within it a call to the highest love, to a very special love. And always, when Christ says to a man, ‘Come, follow me,’ He asks him what He asked of Simon: ‘Do you love me more than these?’ … A human heart must tremble, because in the question there is also a demand. You must love! You must love more than the others do, if the entire flock of sheep is to be entrusted to you, if the charge, ‘Feed my lambs, feed my sheep’ is to reach the scope which it reaches in the calling and mission of Peter.”
We pray for a pope who will be filled with love, have zeal for the Gospel, and seek the salvation of souls with a shepherd’s heart.
Please join me in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to guide and fill the hearts of the cardinals participating in the conclave as they undertake the enormous task of selecting the next Vicar of Christ.
