Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder has admitted that he has needed the strength the Lord has lent during the past 10 years as head of the Archdiocese of Nassau, to bear his responsibilities during that period as the world, the country, the church and its people experienced unprecedented changes.
"My stewardship had been attended by challenges great and small, both expected and unexpected," said Archbishop Pinder who became shepherd to a church of about 50,000 people in 30 parishes scattered over 11 islands of the archipelago, as he celebrated his 10th anniversary. "I don't hesitate to admit that I have needed that strength every day and every hour of these past 10 years. Since 2004, the world, this country, the church and its people have experienced great and unprecedented changes."
As archbishop he was charged with overseeing all the details, spiritual and temporal of the life of the widely dispersed body. Additionally, his ecclesial province as a metropolitan see encompassed the Diocese of Hamilton, Bermuda and the Mission of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Last month, he was elected to a second term as president of the church's Bishops Conference.
Pinder said the past decade of his mission has been a balance in his mission, and that his stewardship had as many blessings as challenges. As with many dioceses in the West, The Bahamas suffered a paucity of vocations. The problem was further complicated, he said, by the loss of the pastoral services of the Benedictines and the Sacred Heart Fathers, when their congregations withdrew after 114 and 50 years of service in The Bahamas, respectively. The Sisters of Charity have given 117 years of service.
In spite of the challenges, he said, the Lord kept alight the flame of hope. And that it was a blessing for him to preside over the ordination of two Bahamians -- Father Noel Clarke in June 2006 and Father Oswald Ferguson in December 2013. Under his tenure, Father Anselm Russell, a professed monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey, also returned home to join the Archdiocese.
During the past 10 years, Pinder took a delight in developing youth pilgrimages, having taken personal responsibility for the journeys of faith formation, as he sought to awaken in young Catholics the desire for knowledge of the church, to demonstrate the need for participation in the life of the church and to help them appreciate their vocations in life.
During the Mass of Thanksgiving held at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, he took joy in the dedication of two new churches -- Holy Family in Nassau and Our Lady of Hope at Mastic Point, Andros.
He told Catholics that as he prepares for the next 10 years, he is called to ready Catholic education to meet the challenges of the 21st century -- challenges that he said are many.
"Education is liberation. Sound education is one of the foundations of an ordered society," he said. "Catholic schools have been a dedicated and needed partner to education in this country since 1889. We cannot fail to step up to the plate in a time when even greater needs for sound educational opportunities exist."
He said the quality of the Catholic response to the 21st century call for partnership in Bahamian education could be seen in the new Aquinas College on Gladstone Road. And that the school's curriculum and facilities had been designed to articulate with the academic, technical and vocational skills needed by young Bahamians.
Church is not isolated
The archbishop said as servants of Christ, people must always make the foregoing concerns a priority. He said the church does not exist in isolation from the economic and social climate. The recession he said required careful financial management and even retrenchment in some areas to ensure the continuance of the church's vital spiritual and social ministries. To his dismay he said it meant the closure of some schools and the amalgamation of others.
As he looks to the future he said the church has to intensify its focus on the quality of life in its community. And that Bahamians cannot afford to dismiss the phenomenon of evil as a crisis for other countries. The archbishop said the evil is pervading The Bahamas. He said like the rest of the world, the building an economy of exclusion established on the idolatry of money.
"More and more people are spurning their obligations to strive for the common good. In consequence, financial systems, governments, pressure groups are increasingly bent towards ruling rather than serving. In the mindless pursuit of power and wealth, there is a growing blindness and insensitivity toward human suffering. As a consequence, the gap between the haves and the have not's is growing wider. It takes no great mental leap to know that feelings of inequality, anger, emptiness and despair spawn violence. The evidence surrounds us. Dominated by angry youth, who feel they have been dispossessed, the criminal element seems to have cast off any of the normal societal restraints. Communal activity, family life and productivity have been among the greatest and most tragic casualties," said Pinder.
The Catholic Church leader told parishioners that it is time for self-examination, not only in the secular community, but also in the church. He told them to ask themselves if they were not falling prey to worldliness, selfishness and destructive pessimism.
Pinder said that daily there is advice as to how the country can be returned to the "Eden" they are convinced it once was -- and that opinions have included exposing and placing more restrictions, demanding the expulsion of illegal immigrants, more police, more courts and more hangings. He said while some of the "notions" may prosper for a while, he said that Christ and the life in Christ are the only source of salvation and lasting peace.
What the world needs
"What the world needs now is a church of missionary disciples. We need a church fired with renewed evangelizing zeal and a revived missionary spirit that expresses itself in word and especially by example."
The archbishop said the tendency to cast aside the God of the New Testament who is love incarnate was distressing. And that too many people have tried to pervert the simple message of salvation in following their own selfish way of thinking. He said the Gospel of Christ is not meant to repel by imposing upon its own personal cultures and prejudices. He said it does not authorize Christians to sit in judgment of others. He said there is a dire warning attached to doing so.
"God reserves judgment to himself. That time is not now. Today, we are still in the time of grace, a day which dawned on the first Easter day when Christ rose from the dead." And he said no one who desires is excluded from the embrace of the Gospel that he said is the "good news," and a message designed to attract, and promises and brings love and joy to those who accept it and follow it for a fulfilled life.
Pinder reminded Catholics of their social teaching that says it is the belief that every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ. And that everyone is of immensurable value to the Father and that everyone is a member of the human family. He said every person has value, endowed from birth with a right to life, and that it should be a life consistent with the dignity that is God's gift to his creation and not dependent upon any personal quality or accomplishment.
"The church must remain committed to its social mission dedicated to the common good and supporting better communities. The social mission is an essential aspect of our faith and devotional life. We are called to work for justice, to speak out in the face of injustice and prejudice, to promote education, to transmit right values among other things. We must work to rescue the poor. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, 'To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren.'"
Pinder said his chief goal for the next 10 years with the Lord's will, will be the renewal of evangelizing and community building. He said his desire would be to contribute to healing the community and he invited support, communion and prayers in his mission from his parishioners.
"I have every confidence that, if I remain in [God's] will, I can place full reliance on his unfailing strength," he said.
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