From Bishop Wester

Intermountain Catholic

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My dear brother priests and deacons, religious and lay faithful,

we join with the universal Church in expressing sadness at the news of our Holy Father’s intention to resign on February 28, 2013. His humble, gentle and loving service as our pastor and shepherd has endeared him to our hearts and has energized us in our journey of faith.

History will no doubt confirm what we already know, namely, that he strove always to communicate Christ’s love, a love that will be the hallmark of his papacy. His homilies, statements and books, as well as his life, never failed to remind us of God’s love and the importance of responding to that love by living and celebrating our faith each day, as he called us to do during this Year of Faith. No wonder his first encyclical was Deus Caritas Est.

In particular, we remember our Holy Father’s visit to the United States in 2008 and the many ways in which he made clear his love for the Church in this country. The canonizations of Kateri Tekakwitha, Marianne Cope and Damien de Vuestre serve to confirm his appreciation for the Church in North America, giving attention to the witnesses from this continent who have gone before us and who serve as models of the faith for our day.

In addition, the beatification of Blessed Basil Anthony Marie Moreau, founder of the Holy Cross Order, and the canonization of Holy Cross Brother André of Montreal endeared the pope even further to us in this diocese because of our beloved Holy Cross Sisters.

Pope Benedict XVI strove to bring unity and peace to our Catholic Church and to our world. Again and again, he gave witness to the importance of these gifts as he engaged people of all faiths and nationalities, especially our Jewish, Hindu and Muslim brothers and sisters. He used technology and social communication to promote Christ’s love for us and he traveled throughout the world to bring his message of peace and reconciliation. We will never forget the attention he paid to youth and families, underscoring the sacredness of life and the importance of the family in our Church and in our world. Whether he was responding to the violence in the Middle East, to the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, to the poor in Africa or to those gathered for World Youth Day, Pope Benedict always exhibited a loving solicitude.

In many respects, his papacy exhibited his unflagging devotion to the truth. In a world beset with relativism and secularism he sounded a clarion call for all people of good will, but especially us Catholics, to contemplate the truth in love, following the witness of Jesus Christ, himself the "…way, the truth and the life."

I ask that all of us in the Diocese of Salt Lake City make Sunday, February 24, a day of prayer for our Holy Father and his intentions, as we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the Church in the days ahead. In addition, I ask that the principal Mass on this day be offered for these intentions.

As we enter these holy days of Lent, my dear brothers and sisters, I extend to each of you my warm personal regards, gratitude and prayers, asking that we place our trust in God’s loving providence and remaining

Sincerely yours in the Lord,

Most Reverend John C. Wester

Bishop of Salt Lake City

February 11, 2013