By Michael Lindenberger
mlindenberger@dallasnews.com
4:19 pm on October 6, 2013 | Permalink
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, center right, talks with clergy (including Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell, left) after the Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington Sunday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
WASHINGTON — The catholic bishop of Dallas stepped into the very divided political atmosphere in this city Sunday morning, giving the homily at the annual Red Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral. (Read the homily here.)
Bishop Kevin Farrell‘s sermon focused on the power of the Holy Spirit to bring divided peoples together, using wisdom as a bring to overcome divides.
“Petty partisanship and ever-politicizing rhetoric should have no place at all when men and women of goodwill come together to serve the common good,” he said at the annual mass, where traditionally the Church prays for the Supreme Court, whose new term starts next week. A majority of the sitting justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, attended the mass.
Farrell stressed that debate requires respect for the other side in every argument, but does not require agreement. Echoing comments made by Pope Francis in Rome recently, Farrell also said his church must be careful not to heap scorn on those who do not accept its teachings — a lesson that appeared to apply to political figures in Washington as well.
We believe in the dignity of each and every human being made in the image and likeness of God. We may disagree. But there can be no place for derision or smugness. Especially at this time of particular polarizations, we need to be reminded that we Catholics have every right to register what we believe in the public square and do it with pride and conviction. However, in a pluralistic society, we also need to be respectful of those who do not agree with or follow our teachings.
If dialogue means anything, it means not only that we take another seriously but it means that we revere the other as a fellow human being with gifts and talents from God. If honest and respectful dialogue means anything, it means that we need to strike a balance in our words and rhetoric so that conviction should never become stridency and saying things with commitment should never become caricaturing anyone else’s positions or beliefs.
He spoke with pride of the church’s commitment to the poor and to immigrants. Without explicitly referencing immigration reform, now stalled due to the government shut down and before that the debate over Syria, Farrell spoke out for embracing newcomers to this country. He cited the example of church of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in D.C.
“The parish also does what so many parishes do today. They welcome the stranger in our midst in new and ever-changing circumstances. The immigrants who built the church building and the immigrants who populate the church today had and have different needs. The languages spoken are many, and it is from the many languages that we and they offer praise and thanks to God for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on these shores. There may be many languages spoken on the Fourteenth Street corridor but there is among so very many a common purpose; many languages yet a common purpose to better themselves and the lives of their families and the nation where they have made their home. The history of our nation is a living proof of this common goal.”
The history of the Red Mass dates to 13th Century France, Farrell said, and takes its name from the red vestments the priests wear in recollection of the Holy Spirit, who is said to have descended upon believers with tongues of fire.
Farrell has been bishop of Dallas since March, 2007, when he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.
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