"Summer gatherings "by Bishop William S. Skylstad (From the Aug. 23, 2001 edition of the Inland Register)
The Knights’ meeting was one of two international events I attended this summer. Both are instances of how groups in the Church gather for common cause. In the particular instance of the Knights’ convention, delegates from all over Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Philippines, countries in Central America, and a few others come together for reports, elections, dinner, and social gatherings. Several hundred delegates with spouses and families make up the bulk of attendance. I find it remarkable that people from all walks of life make up this gathering in a spirit of solidarity and great respect for one another. About 70 bishops were in attendance. This gathering fosters the building of acquaintances and friendships across national borders. Toronto’s metropolitan area numbers about four million people. One has only to walk the streets of this modern city to see the tremendous ethnic diversity. By the way, Toronto next July will be the site of World Youth Day, where youth will gather from all over the world for a week of celebration, catechesis, and socialization. At the States’ Dinner, each province and state’s song, along with national anthems, provide a wonderful mosaic of the ethnic diversity in the Church. The opening Eucharist as well as the talks at the dinner were multi-lingual. We are reminded of the gift of Pope John Paul II with his remarkable linguistic expertise and the time he takes in preparing his special messages in many languages. Sometimes we hear resistance to bilingual exposure in our country. I hope that more and more our culture will see the wisdom and treasure of multilingual knowledge and capability. Such facility expresses a sense of hospitality and respect for others. As our world becomes more and more a global village, relationships fostered in the sharing of language and ethnic treasure can bring about a great transformation of our world. Can you imagine what a changed place the Balkans would be if there were this appreciation and respect? In the middle of July, the international convention of World Wide Marriage Encounter took place at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. There were almost 1,000 couples who came from all over the world. The movement has now spread to 80 countries, most of whom were represented at the gathering. Banners, songs, presentations, and celebrations of Eucharist expressed an appreciation of the many cultures represented. The energy of the gathering, the joy of the participants, and the deep appreciation of the Church were clearly visible. The common cause of enhancing marriage and family life continues to be a very important mission of the Church. I find it most remarkable that a lay movement such as Marriage Encounter has become a great force for good in this search for better assisting couples to live fruitfully their sacrament of marriage and to keep in perspective their lives in the midst of cultural pressure that at times is not so positive. In our diocese of Eastern Washington, we have some cultural and ethnic diversity. Frankly, Spokane is mostly a white city. We have three Native American reservations and a very large presence of Hispanics in the Southern and Western regions of the diocese. As Church, we must make every effort at every level — local, national, international — to appreciate this diversity. The Church is uniquely situated to help bring about a sense of solidarity in the human family, with reverence and respect for every person. The call for such vision is solidly rooted in our Church teaching and in Pope John Paul’s recent encyclical, The Gospel of Life. May we espouse with gratitude this reality of God’s people and prophetically live this truth as we call the world community and ourselves to accountability for reverence towards every human being. Perhaps today holds greater promise, as at no other time in human history, that this vision can be realized. Much peace and many blessings upon all of you!
Bishop Skylstad’s Schedule
Aug. 20-22: Archbishop Hunthausen celebration, Helena, Mont.
 Home |
One of the advantages of modern
technology is to use time for
writing this column on my notebook computer as I fly back from
Toronto this morning from the Knights of Columbus Supreme
Convention. E-mail to the Inland Register completes the process of
handing on my reflections.