Reduce the Height of Religious Walls and Increase the Height of Humanity – Bishop Dr Peter Paul During Episcopal Ordination
Episcopal Ordination of 14th Bishop Dr Peter Saldanha Begins at Rosario Cathedral – Live
Mangaluru: The 14th Episcopal Ordination of Dr Peter Paul Saldanha has begun at the Rosario Cathedral here on September 15.
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The Archbishop, Bishops, Priests, Nuns and the faithful gathered in large numbers to witness the historic episcopal ordination of Dr Peter Paul Saldanha. He is the 14th Bishop of the Mangaluru Diocese and will take charge Today, September 15 at 9:30 am.
Outgoing Bishop of Mangalore Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza celebrated the solemn Eucharistic c Mass along with the newly elected Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha. The New Bishop was consecrated during the solemn Eucharistic celebration by Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza
Later a felicitation programme was held at the Rosario Cathedral grounds. The programme began with an invocation. Rector of Jeppu Seminary Fr Joseph Martis welcomed the gathering. All the Bishops felicitated the newly ordained Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha said, “My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king” (Ps 45, 1). Indeed, my heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for his great love towards me. I cannot really count the blessings of the Lord, manifested through the goodness of so many of you who have put in an immense amount of hard work out of sheer love and have considered this programme as your own. May God be praised! May God bless you.”
Bishop Dr Peter Paul further said, “To the praise of his glorious grace”, the grace of God is at work in each one of us and we are witnesses for the fact that the same God’s Spirit has brought us together, men and women of different faith traditions. This shows love is stronger than death; love is nobler than any particular ideology and it is higher than all narrow dividing walls. We need to reduce the Height of Religious Walls and Increase the Height of Humanity.”
Bishop Dr Peter Paul also said, “The Bible depicts man and woman as created in the image and likeness of God. If you really worship God, then, you will respect and protect the image of God, that is, every man and woman; that is a sweet sacrifice pleasing to God. I desire mercy, not sacrifices, says God in the Bible and Jesus repeats it. Today is the day of a great call to love, respect and protect every human being and his/her habitat – our common home, that is the sure sign that we truly love God.”
Today, you have collaborated in the ordination of a Catholic Bishop, a leader of the Christian community, a shepherd who stands in the name of Jesus Christ; he is also called as the Vicar of Christ; that is, to represent him. The mission of a Bishop is to be a bridge between the people; to be an angel of peace and to be a prophet of truth.
As a bishop, I am called to represent the Christian community. Christians are never for their own sake. Neither a bishop is for his own sake. You protect the Christians and you will see them becoming more and more kind and gentle to cater to the needs of all people, irrespective of caste and creed. You protect the Hindus and they become extremely generous to lend a helping hand; you protect the Muslims and you will see them becoming genuinely compassionate.
We have to play on the tender strings of human hearts and produce a harmonious melody. A single instrument, however sweet music it may produce, cannot give the effect of a concert. When all instruments are played in unison and the human voices blend with them, you have the angelic experience. We need to work hard, practice daily to produce the sweet melody of Love, Truth and Mercy from human hearts. Let us, then, protect and appreciate one another; let us absorb prejudice and violence like a sponge and turn it into compassion towards one another.
We belong to one human family. Our needs and fears are the same. If you look deep into the eyes of another you notice the pain hidden behind those eyes. If you listen to the heart-beat of another you will hear the cry for love. Unfortunately, we have built walls of suspicion and over the years, they have been reinforced and our hearts have become hardened. Can we take up this occasion to start anew to build a better humanity around us? Can we create free space for the fresh air of love to flow in, so that we breathe healthy oxygen? Our land is called the land of the Learned and Wise. However, there is much to learn till we die and there is much more to experience to be wise.
At this juncture I would like to thank the Pope in a special way for nominating me, I would also like to thank Msgr Javier D Fernandez, Nuncio, New Delhi; Archbishop Peter Machado, Bengaluru; Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, Goa and Daman; Bishop Robert Miranda, Gulbarga; Bishop Antony Kariyil, Mandya; Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Kolkatta; Bishop Alex Vadakunthala, Kannur; Bishop Varghese Chakkalakul, Calicut; Bishop Derick Fernandes, Karwar; Bishop Joseph Arumachadath, Badravathi; Former Archbishop Bernard Moras, Bengaluru; Bishop Gerald Almeida, Jabalpur; Bishop Rogat Kimario; Bishop Cyprian Moniz, Asansol; Bishop Ignatius D’Souza, Bareli; Bishop Lawrence Mukkuzhy, Beltangady; Bishop Pius Thomas D’souza, Ajmeer; Bishop Francis Serrao, Shivamogga; Bishop Oswald Lewis, Jaipur; Joseph Mar Macario, Puttur; Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo, Udupi; Bishop T Antony Swamy Chikkamagaluru and Bishop Henry D’souza, Bellary for gracing this occasion.
Outgoing Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza was also felicitated on the occasion. Addressing the gathering Bishop Aloysius said, “I have served for 22 years in this diocese and all the people of the diocese have supported me. I hope you will continue your support towards the new Bishop. For 22 years I have served the diocese with integrity and transparency. If I have hurt anyone directly or indirectly I ask for forgiveness. I wish all the success to the new bishop of the diocese Dr Peter Paul Saldanha.”
