Archbishop O’Brien Installed in Baltimore

A crowd of about 2,000 people filled the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore Oct. 1 to celebrate the installation of Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien as the 15th archbishop of Baltimore. In a ceremony rich with tradition, Archbishop O’Brien called it “an honor and a privilege” to serve as the spiritual leader of more than 500,000 Catholics in the archdiocese. “Whatever I am, and all that I have I give to you,” he said in a homily that was interrupted several times by applause. “And until that day when he calls me to judgment, I will seek to serve you with the wholehearted love of Jesus Christ.”

Archbishop O’Brien succeeds Cardinal William H. Keeler, who retired after heading the archdiocese for 18 years. Eight cardinals and nearly 70 archbishops and bishops from across the country and around the world attended the ceremony. More than 400 priests and 62 deacons joined the bishops in an opening procession that lasted more than 30 minutes. His homily was filled with gratitude for the past and with promises for the present and future. “The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus sees his divine image in each of us, and that same God is offended when that image is defaced—defaced by degrading poverty, defaced by unjust discrimination, defaced by addiction and by the crime that feeds those addictions, and defaced by the horrific sexual abuse of the young. For the times when the church has failed to do its utmost to curb these evils, we ask God’s forgiveness and yours.

“I pledge today that I shall make every effort to ensure that whatever sins of omission or commission have been committed in the past will have no place in the future. It was passion for justice that led priests of this archdiocese to take leadership roles in the defense of the civil rights of African-Americans in the early 1960s. It was that passion for justice that led Lawrence Cardinal Shehan to face down jeers and catcalls when he testified before the Baltimore City Council in 1966 on behalf of open-housing legislation. And it is precisely that same passion for justice that is at the root of the Catholic church’s combined defense of the right to life, from conception until natural death.

“And I pledge more. No one has to have an abortion. To all those in crisis pregnancies, I pledge our support and our financial help. Come to the Catholic church—let us walk with you through your time of trouble, let us help you affirm life, let us help you find a new life with your child, but let us help you by placing that child in a loving home. But please, I beg you, let us help you affirm life. Abortion need not be an answer.”

Episcopal Bishops Take Decision on Gays

In a decision with implications for Catholic-Anglican relations, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church vowed not to authorize any public blessings of same-sex unions or to elect another openly gay bishop while consultations continue throughout the Anglican Communion on “the pastoral needs of gay and lesbian persons” and other matters. The pledge came in a document called This article appears in October 15 2007.