‘FEED MY SHEEP’

Homily delivered by His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop of Manila during the Mass to welcome the new Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines,
Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, on August 19, 2011 at 6 p.m. at the Manila Cathedral.

“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you,” Simon Peter answered the Lord. Then Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:7). That was how the third time the same question on love was answered by Simon Peter. And for the Lord Jesus to demand the same answer three times was not only a prerequisite to undo the damage of a previous triple denial, but it was to assure the disciples, and most of all Simon Peter, that the first condition for leadership of the flock and the shepherding of a community is love. There is no other valid motivation for service in leadership in the Church except love.

It is to be noted that the required promise/oath was not to support and uphold a set of rules, a constitution or tradition of a people, but to love, not only the people to be served, but to love God. “Do you love me?” If the answer to love God is yes, then Simon Peter already has given not only the best answer but the only valid response to any leadership role in Christ’s mystical body, the Church. Love in leadership summarizes all laws and teachings in the Church. Saint Paul reminds us of this in his clarification of love and the law in his letter to the Romans. “The only thing you should owe to anyone is love for one another, for to love the other person is to fulfill the law. All these: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and all the other commandments, are summed up in the single phrase: You must love your neighbor as yourself. Love can cause no harm to your neighbor and, so love is the fulfillment of the Law” (Romans 13:8-10).

Having assured the Lord of this promise to love, the Lord Jesus entrusted the highest form of leadership and service in the Church of believers to Simon Peter and to the successors of Peter, the succeeding Pontiffs. In order that the bishops, the successors of the Apostles “might be one and undivided, he (the Lord Jesus) put Peter at the head of other apostles and, in him he set up a lasting and visible source and foundation of the unity both in faith and communion” (LG 18). The beauty of the Petrine ministry of faith and communion is that no matter how distant in land and material space the Pontiff is to the local churches and their Bishops, the Holy Father is always near and in contact with these pastors through the Legates of the Roman Pontiff (Canon 363, 1). Such a legate, the personal representative of the Holy Father is the present Apostolic Nuncio, who for us now is the tenth Apostolic Nuncio and the 16th Papal Representative to the Philippines.

It is the Apostolic Nuncio’s role to extend the presence of the Pope in the country. And his visits and addresses bring to us Pope Benedict XVI’s presence vicariously and to resound the papal voice for us through his words.

Numerous are his tasks among which is to strengthen and make effective the bond of unity between the Holy See and the local churches (Arch/Dioceses, Prelatures and Apostolic Vicariates) in the Philippines. He facilitates information from the Vatican to the Local Churches and he assures equally effective information from the Local Churches to the Vatican. Various forms of help and channels of communication are made available through the Apostolic Nunciature, either directly to Bishops, the local Churches and/or through the Episcopal Conference. His personal visits to the provinces become instructive of Papal ministries and they are also assuring signs in the Philippines. When the Papal legate visits the dioceses, both his presence and his words become unqirue forms of encouragement for the local bishops and the local church concerned.

The three Papal Pastoral Visits in the past did not only bring the Philippines closer to the Supreme Pontiff’s mind and heart, but they also had rekindled the faith and love for mission among Catholic Filipino priests, religious and laity. Nuncios, as papal legates, always remind us of the Holy Father’s closeness to the Philippines, long after he has gone. They stayed behind and remain with us after every visit.

Your Excellency, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines, we warmly welcome you to the Philippines as the Holy Father’s personal representative, just as our Government has accepted you as the Vatican State’s Nuncio and Ambassador to our country. We understand that your Excellency comes from the city of Noci in the southernmost part of sunny Italy. Your Excellency, you will find out that the sun is also warm here, but our welcome today and everyday is warmer than the sun in your country.

Welcome Archbishop Giuseppe, and MABUHAY!