Newark auxiliary bishops participate in Vatican’s New Bishops Formation Program (Q & A + Photos)
Catholic bishops from around the world — 155 in total — gathered in early September in Rome for the New Bishops Formation Program. This year’s class was larger than usual because the formation week had been on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three of the Archdiocese of Newark’s auxiliary bishops — Elias Lorenzo, Gregory Studerus, and Michael Saporito — were in attendance. They took time to speak with Jersey Catholic about their experiences in the program and what they gained from it.
JC: What were some of the goals of this formation program and do you feel that they were achieved?
+Lorenzo: The title given to the formation program articulates its goal: “To Announce the Gospel in the Changing Epoch and after the Pandemic: The Service of Bishops.”
Virtually all the presentations, in one way or another, dealt directly with synodality and being a synodal Church with bishops as synodal leaders.
+Studerus: This formation program helped the bishops attending to come into union with the goals and objectives of our Holy Father Pope Francis to meet the challenges of the world today.
In terms of the themes and coverage of a great range of pastoral and very practical issues facing our church today, the program was very complete. The challenge of such a program was to not only find the limit to the depth of information that could be presented, but also to recognize the tremendous range of cultural, societal, and even political diversity of the bishops serving the diverse population of this worldwide church.
+Saporito: The goals of the Formation Program were to speak to the bishop’s role in announcing the Gospel in a changing world and after the pandemic. A great deal of time was spent on the thoughts and vision of Pope Francis in addressing these areas. Central to that were presentations on the Synodal Way of the Church, leadership skills required in the synodal church, the church in a post-modern society, the importance of the role of the family, and universal fraternity among all people.
We all walked away understanding that a great shift is going on within the highest quarters of the structures and operations of the Roman Curia. As such, change is never easy and always challenging, but it is clear that Pope Francis is trying to change the tone and the mission of bishops.
JC: What was the key(s) to the program’s success?
+Lorenzo: There is no doubt in my mind that this group of new bishops (from 2019-2021) both understand and embrace the Synodal path that Pope Francis has set for the Church.
Implementation in various countries and in different cultures around the world will surely not be identical. But the synodal path is wide and there is room for a rich tapestry of persons and experiences all of which build up the Body of Christ, the Church.
In addition to the formal presentation, the informal moments such as the coffee breaks and meals together provided an opportunity for fraternal dialogue and exchanges not possible in the large group.
+Studerus: The sense of the bishops gathered was very positive because the presentations were so very complete and spoke to the realities of the church today. Not every issue could be answered, but there was a frankness to the presentation of the challenges being faced today.
Possibly the element lending success to the whole week was the opportunity and time allowed to share some thoughts and experiences with men of such worldwide diversity.
+Saporito: The key success for me is the impulse it gave me to go back and reread documents or shift approaches to the everyday work I now do in Bergen County.
As a pastor, being involved in the day-to-day lives of people happens more naturally than it does as a bishop.
One of the poignant parts of the leadership presentation is that change efforts fail 70% of the time. They do so not because the changes themselves are not worthy but because leading change and maintaining day-to-day activities are two different things and require different skills. We are often caught up in day-to-day demands that our attentiveness to leadership wanes – or worse, is ignored. That’s got to get our attention if any of what we spoke about will happen on a large scale. It impacted me.
JC: Do you have a favorite memory from the formation program and why was it meaningful?
+Lorenzo: First among my favorite memories was the two-hour private audience with the Pope. As new members of the college of bishops, having this open forum for Q&A with the head of the college was a unique opportunity and blessing for all of us.
The second was the small group discussion that was held in various language groups: Arabic, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Portuguese. My only regret is that there was not sufficient time for more small group discussions on these fine presentations.
Finally, after the program, the three auxiliary bishops made a pilgrimage to Montecassino, at their request. It was the one thing we did together outside the formation program. We had a guided tour and joined the monks for midday prayer and pranzo. While I had been there many times in the past, it was wonderful to share this experience with Bishop Saporito and Bishop Studerus.
+Studerus: In one bus ride to the heart of Rome from the Legionaries of Christ facility I was in a very frank conversation with a bishop from and serving in Iraq. Here was an opportunity to hear and perhaps feel some of the hardships of the Catholic people who are suffering today in persecution and prejudice, and of the deep emotional involvement of a bishop daily engaging with and supporting his people in their ongoing struggle.
+Saporito: The experience provided enough downtime to get to know some of the bishops more personally. So often we meet at meetings, celebrations, and pre-arranged events that it’s hard to have any conversations. This gave us all a chance to bond a bit.
It was also impressive to be joined by bishops from all over the world. Some of them face challenges, safety, small numbers, and oppression that make our problems look so small.
After a week of hearing about synodality, we were set to meet Pope Francis on the final day of the course. I was expecting a short talk and then the customary greeting. We gathered together after Mass at St. Peter’s earlier. The Pope entered the hall and opened the microphone for questions. He spent two hours with the group before the individual greetings. He genuinely wanted to listen. He was attentive and spoke freely. He modeled what had been spoken about all week. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that!
JC: Now as you return to the Archdiocese of Newark, what from this program will you take back with you to be applied and utilized in your role as auxiliary bishop?
+Lorenzo: I’ve returned with a renewed appreciation and interest in listening to our priests and people. Listening is at the heart of the synodal path that Pope Francis has set out for the Church to move forward in faith, hope, and charity.
As a Benedictine monk, I was reminded by Cardinal Kurt Koch that the first word in the Rule of St. Benedict is “Listen.” Attentive listening requires blocking out the noise and ideas of my own experience to truly hear another. It’s curious that the words “listen” and “silent” are made up of the same letters but in different order. More silence and greater listening from bishops to the priests, deacons, religious, and Christian faithful is the path forward for our Archdiocese.
+Studerus: We as the Church of this age, a globally involved institution with the challenge to bring the Gospel to bear on the challenges of today, must face those challenges with open minds and hearts to the current realities that our brothers and sisters, indeed all humanity is facing. They are a wealth of issues and challenges never to be faced before. As a Church, we cannot think we have the answers to all things, but we must bring our faith in an all-loving God to our response to the suffering that is happening now and to that which will come.
+Saporito: This is not as easy a question as it might appear. Over time, I might be able to answer this more precisely. But it reinforced something I hope will always influence my ministry. I have a responsibility to serve, and in all things that is my desire. I do so because the message of Jesus Christ changed my life for sure and no matter what we are actually doing, I desire to bring that hope to as many as possible.
The experience helped to expand my vision of the Church and the work I do. I have so much to learn, many places to grow, and the desire to experience renewal in our Church. Every person has a role and gifting that will help us make a difference. The lessons of trying to promote meaningful communication and listening in all aspects of ministry and to provide needed leadership for any initiatives among the clergy and people of the Archdiocese that result from our own Synod report seem to me to be the most pressing thing.
A full timeline of the orientation program, as told by Bishop Elias Lorenzo:
Friday, Sept. 2
The first keynote presentations were given by the leaders in the Secretariat for the Synod: Cardinal Mario Grech and Sr. Nathalie Becquart on “The Ministry of the Bishop in the Context of the Synodal Way of the Church.”
Saturday, Sept. 3
The day began with a concelebrated mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. We then returned to Regina Apostolorum and focused on “Educating for Synodal Leadership.”
Father David McCallum, SJ from Discerning Leadership gave the first presentation, which focused on best practices for both managerial and leadership development in organizations. Father Hans Zollner, SJ gave the second presentation on the management of crises, with a focus on the resolution of clergy abuse cases.
Sunday, Sept. 4
The bishops had the great blessing to concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis in the Piazza of St. Peter’s Basilica for the Beatification of Blessed John Paul II.
That evening the American bishops were hosted to a supper at Villa Stritch, the residence in Rome for American priests working in the Roman curial offices.
Monday, Sept. 5
The morning presentations were on “The Church in the Postmodern Society after the Pandemic.” Professor Mauro Magatti and Professor Chiara Giaccardi gave presentations on “Understanding the Change of Epoch.”
That afternoon, Cardinal Peter Erdó offered a presentation on the “Canonical Administration of a Diocese” and Professor Paolo Ruffini and Professor Natasa Govekar on “Living in the World of Media beyond the Technocratic Paradigm.”
The evening was dedicated to better understanding the Oriental rites in the Catholic Church in a presentation and dialogue with Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect for the Dicastery for Oriental Churches. We were blessed with 46 eparchs/bishops from various Oriental Churches with us, among them were nine Ukrainian bishops (two Latin rite and seven Oriental rite).
Our fraternal dialogue with Ukrainian bishops and listening to their stories of the suffering Church moved the hearts of all the bishops present. There was palpable solidarity with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters among the new bishops.
Tuesday, Sept. 6
The first presentation was by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, focusing on the apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” and the apostolic encyclical “Fratelli Tutti.” Joining him in the presentations and dialogue were Gabriella Gambino and Linda Ghisani.
The day concluded with a presentation by Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect for the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, along with Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, and Fr. Avelino Chico, SJ.
That same evening the American bishops joined the rector and staff at the Pontifical North American College for supper.
Wednesday, Sept. 7
A day of prayer, beginning with a presentation by Cardinal Kurt Kock, Perfect for the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
He spoke about the spiritual identity of the bishop in a synodal church.
The heart of that presentation moved me greatly when Cardinal Koch said, “If you want to know about being a synodal leader, read the Rule of St. Benedict.” He continued to explain the various aspects of synodality in the Benedictine way of life.
The rest of the day was spent in silent prayer with Eucharistic Adoration and the opportunity for the Sacrament of Penance.
Thursday, Sept. 8
The final day was the climax with a concelebrated Mass at the Chair of Peter in the Basilica of St. Peter.
Following the Mass, the new bishops had a private audience with Pope Francis in Clementine Hall.
To our surprise, Pope Francis had no prepared remarks. He walked in (not in a wheelchair) and simply opened the floor to questions which he responded to from his heart. New bishops from all around the world asked a wide variety of questions and the Pope responded to each one of them.
In this way, he modeled what we had been learning about synodal leadership: listening with the ear of one’s heart.
Featured image: The bishops participating in the New Bishops Formation Program concelebrate Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Sept. 3. Credit: José Carlos Hernández Bazaldúa.
