September 21, 2011

Bishop Timothy L. Doherty’s statement upon today’s news of Archbishop Buechlein’s retirement

Bishop Timothy L. DohertyToday’s news is bittersweet. Any of us who know Archbishop Buechlein also know the loss to us and to him. He is a fine shepherd and a holy man. The people of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis know these things, as do the other Catholic bishops in Indiana. His ministry to the people of Indiana is not over, and will continue in powerful ways simply because of the man he is. Turning over the reins of administration frees him from some things, and for others.

The byline of Archbishop Daniels’s column in The Criterion has been “Seeking the face of  the Lord.” This is what all Christians seek. Anyone who read to the end of Pope John Paul II’s 1993 encyclical letter “The Splendor of  Truth” also realized that ‘the truth’ is not a paragraph or doctrine, but the face of the Christ. All of us who seek to be our best selves can rely on this wisdom, proclaimed for us in 2 Corinthians 3:15-18.

I am personally grateful for Archbishop Buechlein’s part in my own life and ministry. I pray for him, and for the people of the Archdiocese, as he enters a new chapter in his ordained ministry.

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