a) I KNOW I AM A BISHOP

"With fear and trembling, I confide in his grace"

At the unexpected announcement of my elevation, I reflected upon the burden the episcopal office entailed, a formidable burden even for angels.  Conscious as I was of all that I lacked, I wept and prayed to the God of all mercies, imploring him to exempt me from the holy duties of the episcopate, which are neither few nor light, for neither my talents nor my youth were equal to the awesome task, poor as I was in virtue and quite conscious of all my deficiencies.

But then, considering the authority of the holy Vicar of Jesus Christ, I realized that this was unmistakably the will of God.  Trusting in the grace of him who gives strength to those on whom he confers the honors of office (St.  Leo the Great, Sermo 1), with fear and trembling but with resignation I accepted the ministry placed on me, without trying to search into the hows and whys of the divine Goodness.  I now had supreme confidence and trust that he who works in me both to desire

and to work will surely strengthen, direct, and help me unceasingly.¹

"Christ Jesus lives in the bishop as in a living sacrament"

Unworthy though I be, I am your bishop.  Who has given me authority over you if not Jesus Christ, through the one who takes his place here on earth?  Christ Jesus, as it were, lives in the bishop as in a living sacrament.  The life of the bishop draws all its vigor from this intimate union with Christ, the Prince of Shepherds, and with his visible representative, the Pope.  It is only through this union that,  within his diocese, the bishop has authority to teach, command, forgive, and punish.  It is only through this union that the bishop preaches the gospel, administers all the sacraments, consecrates the ministers of God; that he is judge, teacher, pontiff, and legislator.

So, if the Church's authority is human in the means it uses, there is nothing human in the source from which it descends.  Those who tell you what you must believe are indeed men, but they do not teach their own doctrine.  They simply echo the teachings of the Word of God.  What they set before your faith is precisely what they themselves, like you, must believe.  When they command, they obey.  No, they do not exercise dominion; rather they share with you the joy of their certitude.²

"The Bishop of our souls continues his ministry through the bishops"

St. Paul calls Jesus Christ "the great shepherd of the sheep" (Heb 13:20), and St. Peter refers to Jesus Christ as "the bishop of our souls." (1 Pt 2:25)  This Jesus Christ, made eternal priest by God the Father with an irrevocable oath (Ps 109:4), visibly exercised the pastoral ministry when, clothed in our humanity, he visited the peoples of the earth, illuminating those who were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, pointing out to them the paths of peace, soaking with his sweat his mystical field, a field of grace and unceasing fruitfulness, a field prepared from the beginning of time, namely, the Catholic Church (...).

Through the bishops, successors of the Apostles, Jesus Christ continues to exercise his sublime ministry even in our day because the

episcopate, one with Peter, is the continuation of our Savior's mission and life on earth.  Hence, the episcopate is rightly called by the Apostolic Constitutions (Lib.  II, 26), "an earthly Divinity."  St. Augustine would say that the episcopate is a reenactment of the high priesthood of Christ in time and space.³

"The Pope is the foundation, the bishops are the columns"

What is a bishop?  In him our senses see only a human being, a human being like all the rest.  But faith tells us that he is an angel appointed by God to guide us on the paths of righteousness.  He is the high priest who represents the Christian people before God.  He who is Pontiff for all eternity anointed him with his holy oil and enriched him with the sevenfold Spirit.  Placing the gospel book into his hands, He said to him: Go!  Go and teach people my heavenly doctrine.  Go and sanctify them with the sacraments.  Go and rule them with the power I communicate to you.  "He appointed bishops to rule the Church of God."

Through an uninterrupted succession, the bishop is united with those first chosen by Christ, with the Apostles, to whom the Savior said: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you.  Whoever listens to you listens to me.  Whoever rejects you rejects me.  Whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." The bishop, then, continues on earth the saving work of Jesus Christ.  He is the successor of the Apostles.  He is the depositary, propagator, judge, defender, and guardian of the faith, in close union with the bishop of bishops, the Pope.

The Church is the living and sole temple of God.  The Pope is its foundation; the bishops are its columns.  The Church is a body of which the Pope is the visible head; the bishops are its noblest members.  The Church is a ship of which the Pope is the captain; the bishops are its pilots.  The Church is like a kingdom of which the Pope is the supreme leader; the bishops are its commanders.⁴

The mission of the bishop"

What is the bishop's mission?  Only one mission, a magnificent one, which sums up all the others, namely, to prepare the ways of the Lord in souls (...).

On earth people yearn for God, they need God, they thirst for God.  In their hearts they nourish thoughts, desires, and feelings that have something infinite about them: thoughts, desires and feelings that reach out to the infinite.  Hence the unutterable groans of humanity and that immense emptiness that no created power can fill,

Now, the bishop is the crossing, the bridge which the God-made-man builds over this abyss to unite creature and creator, heaven and earth, God and man.  This is the bishop's mission. This is why, in the holy books and in the liturgy, the bishop is called pontiff: "Pontiff, that is to say, a bridge-builder" (St. Bernard).

In the spiritual kingdom, the bishop is God's sentinel.  That is why you see him sitting on a throne, whence he looks out with watchful eye.  He is charged to give answer to the mysterious question that reaches him every morning from the heights of eternity: Sentinel, what have you discovered in the darkness of the night?  Custos, quid de nocte?  The darkness of the night, according to St. Augustine, is the errors, the prejudices, all those obstacles that keep God from entering the hearts of people.⁵

"Spouse of the Church"

He is the spouse of the Church, having been united to her at his consecration.  In fact, on his finger he wears her mystical ring.  She is the object of all his affections.  Indeed, for a bishop, his diocese represents everything the world holds dearest: father, mother, children.

The crosier a bishop holds in his consecrated hands is not just the rod of justice but also the shepherd's staff, on which he leans when he goes searching for the lost sheep.  He has the mind, heart, and sentiments of a father.  His fatherhood is a thousand times more sublime, more tender, more intimate than the fatherhood deriving from nature because a bishop's fatherhood is more similar to the fatherhood of God.

Hence, a bishop feels deeply in his heart the joys as well as the sorrows of his children in Jesus Christ.  He can truly say with the Apostle Paul: "Who among them is suffering, and I am not suffering?" (...).

So, the poor, the widows, the orphans, the wretched of all sorts are the bishop's favorites. He tries, to the best of his abilities, to come to

their help.⁶

There is nothing more difficult than the office of bishop"

There is nothing more difficult in this world, nothing more burdensome, nothing more dangerous than the office of bishop, says St. Augustine: Nihil in hac vita difficilius, laboriosius, periculosius Episcopi officio.

Indeed, to direct the priestly army and move it in battle array in the conquest of souls; to choose the right battlefield for this peaceful warfare against error and human passions; to assign to each soldier of Christ the place that fits his abilities; to distribute offices according to merit; to moderate the impatience of some and enkindle the fervor of others; to arouse enthusiasm in the apathetic; to encourage the valiant; to communicate the sacred fire of the apostolate to everyone; and, on the other hand, to be able to blend severity and compassion, the rigor of justice, and the tenderness of a father; to protect the flock from wolves, especially from the wolves that move around within the flock dressed in sheep's clothing; to enlarge one's heart so as to embrace all people; to ponder night and day the needs of his people; to watch jealously over their spiritual interests; to come up with abundant remedies for the various infirmities; to nourish his people by word and example; to pour himself out entirely for them, at every moment, without reservation, without expecting remuneration from people; to courageously defend the honor of the cross he wears on his chest, always ready to drench it with his blood rather than abandon it; finally, to be the center of holy teaching and sacred authority solely for the purpose of becoming a fireplace whence comes light, heat and life: this is the mission of a bishop.⁷

"A bishop is not master of his own good name"

"Be strong and trust in the Lord."  At least defend your honor if you cannot defend the honor of those near and dear to you.  Do not make easy promises nor accept conditions down there.  Remember that not to defend yourself, at least before the Pope, can cause scandal rather than edification.  Some people will say you are thereby admitting your guilt.  I understand respect, obedience,

reverence, and heroism; I understand everything.  But a bishop is not master of his own honor as a private citizen is.

I am sure things will take care of themselves for you.  But I repeat: defend yourself, with reverence, of course, but with all the energy you can muster.  Defend yourself, defend yourself.⁸

"I know I am a bishop"

So, what should we do?  Must we let ourselves be destroyed?  Personally, we don't count, at least I don't.  But what about the souls under our care, the Church, the interests of Jesus Christ?  My God, what have we come to!  Personally, I believe we should defend ourselves against these intrigues by showing episcopal moderation in all we do, by preserving leniency in our hearts, but being firm in what we say.  We must defend ourselves publicly, too, but as far as possible without accusing anyone (...).

Poor archbishop!  What humiliations!  May God help and comfort him!  I'm thinking seriously about writing a long letter to the Pope, a memorandum in which I intend to boldly vindicate the freedom of bishops.  I want to tell him that, if the accusations are allowed to be publicly bandied about, he should not be surprised if he sees in print the letters I send to him in legitimate self-defense.  I am sick and tired of having to go to puppets and connivers (...).

I know I am a bishop.  I will be one without any ifs, ands and buts.  I know it's like beating the air, but I don't care.  If nothing else, I am providing documents for the Church history of these miserable times.⁹

"The interests of Jesus Christ and of the Church"

If the bishops do not realize the grave danger threatening the Church or if those who do understand it do not have the courage to confront the enemy, then the cause is doomed.  I'm sending you two issues of the well-known newspaper.  Have the patience to read the parts I marked in red and tell me if you are not being impudently

alluded to and judged.  My God, what an abomination!  I feel so exasperated that I have to kneel long and hard before the crucifix.  What will you do?  A bold and energetic move against those veritable demons could bring down a little harassment on you but would help you and everybody else.  It would surely help the cause of Jesus Christ and of the Church.¹⁰

"I am very well aware of my position before the Government"

Your Eminence, I would like you to clearly understand that I am deeply conscious of the sensitive task assigned to me and am very well aware of my delicate position before the Government.  The Government bitterly opposes me, albeit furtively for the moment, especially after I warned my Missionaries in New York not to ask the Ministry for a subsidy, which the consul general had suggested they do.  I told them: "You mustn't be either servile or hostile.  Be on good terms with local authorities, and don't ask the Government for anything."

It is true that in the last pamphlet I wrote, I was somehow addressing the Government itself.  But, as your Eminence must have understood, my purpose was to pour water on the hysteria and frenzy of many people against priests, bishops, and the Holy See.  Besides, this is how I was reasoning: either the Government grants draft exemption to the clerics as I have been publicly suggesting ‑- something I don't envision ‑- or it does not.  In the first case, all the better for the Church.  In the second case, the Government will clearly display its bigotry and hatred against us before the whole world ‑- which in fact did happen.

Your Eminence, how awful it is to be under fire from all sides!  Assure the Holy Father that I pay attention only to him and that my whole ambition is to please him alone, knowing that, in so doing, I am pleasing Almighty God.¹¹

"Jealous of the hierarchical principle"

"Instead, you secretly instructed him to look into the religious situation of the Italian communities in relation to the goals envisioned by the Sacred Congregation..."  But, Your Eminence, is it possible that some people think I am so stupid and foolish as to send a lay man, howsoever holy he may be, to report back on matters that pertain unequivocally to the clergy?  I, who am so jealous of the hierarchical principle?  Had I even thought of this, I would have been fit for a mental institution, to say the least.  My constant, undeviating practice is this: not to send out expeditions of priests without an understanding with the bishops themselves.  Only on receiving their reports do I evaluate or have I evaluated the needs of the emigrants....

I would already have published the repudiation you urge me to publish if the Milan newspaper had not had the impudence to try to force it on me, summoning me publicly before its own tribunal, almost demanding that I give them an account of my behavior.  The authority of a bishop ‑- even of one as wretched and miserable as I am ‑- is sacred; it is divine.  Nor may we sacrifice it before the outcry of an ordinary newspaper.  This would mean destroying the hierarchical principle, on which the future of the Church rests.

Nonetheless, Your Eminence, out of respect for you I will gladly issue a statement as soon as the opportunity presents itself.  In fact, even before I do so, I will make it a point to submit it to you for your judgment.¹²