He is urging priests of the diocese to "have the smell of the sheep".

Gielen said that all the former Christchurch bishops have brought their own personalities and style to the position and that he is honoured to follow in their footsteps.

Holding out the promise of new exciting adventures, Gielen said "Jesus does not call individuals", and reminded the diocese that together people are stronger.

"I look forward to joining with you," he told the congregation during his homily at his Mass of Installation on Saturday in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Christchurch.

Gielen drew his inspiration for his homily from the Gospel story where Jesus suggested Simon Peter put the nets out the other side of the boat and was surprised at what he found, so much so he needed help to land the catch.

Drawing a parallel he said the "Catholic Church in Christchurch is alive today because our ancestors pushed out from the shore. Not all of them were highly Catholic, but they were all courageous.

He said to think about those who sailed the Waka.

"Think of the courage that they had in their hearts that called them to leave what they knew for exciting adventures and foreign lands.

"We have our faith because bold men and women answered the invitation to bring the gospel to God's furthest outpost."

Gielen said that before leaving Auckland for the last time he went to a great party where 45,000 people gathered at Eden Park.

He recalled the Crusader unity, the tightness of the players who were fighting for each other.

"They were united, despite a stadium full of Aucklanders willing their demise.

"You, the people of Christchurch are renowned for your unity, for your resilience, for your courage."

The congregation, laughing, enjoyed how quickly he changed his colours when he said "And I am so excited to be on a winning team."

On a serious note, Gielen acknowledged that it had not all been good news in accepting Jesus' call and he is resolved to ensuring the Christchurch Church is a safer place.

"The wounds caused by the sin and crime of abuse in our church, I resolve to ensure our church as a safer place.

"I asked God, God's help to give me the strength and humility to truly be a channel of peace and healing."

Gielen said that as Catholics we are here today because people have said yes before us, yes to impossible challenges, yes to voyages to unknown places and, more specifically, people said yes to Jesus.

He said that Mary is a great strength in his life and that she taught him to say ‘yes' to Jesus.

"She has taught me to say yes when the future looks bleak, bleak and challenging.

"I know she's helped many of you say yes as well as to go where he calls no matter what life throws at you to remain faithful."

He said that we can learn to love again, not to be afraid, to give again. Just small steps, to serve and to trust that together we will find "unexpected catches."

He concluded by inviting the diocese to say yes, and for some, to say yes again and sail off together and see what the adventure holds.

Source

• Homily of Bishop of Christchurch, Michael Gielen

Video courtesy of the diocese of Christchurch

An estimated 4000 protesters tried to block Bishop Juan Barros Madrid from entering the cathedral in Osorno on March 21.

Inside the cathedral, there were clashes between the bishop's opponents, carrying black balloons, and supporters, carrying white ones.

While Bishop Barros was celebrating the Mass, many kept screaming "Paedophile!" and "Get out!".

The celebration had to be cut short, skipping the homily, Communion, and other parts of the liturgy.

Bishop Barros was escorted out of a side-door under police guard.

Three people were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Weeks of protests, candlelight vigils and letters to Pope Francis were not enough to persuade him to rescind his decision in January to appoint Bishop Barros.

Bishop Barros was a close associate of the Fr Fernando Karadima, a Santiago priest whom the Vatican found guilty of sexual abuse in 2011.

The abuse took place in the 1980s and 1990s.

Fr Karadima was ordered to retire to a "life of prayer and penitence".

Three of Fr Karadima's victims have accused four Chilean prelates, including Bishop Barros, of covering up for Fr Karadima and of being present while he abused them.

One victim accused Bishop Barros of threatening seminarians if they spoke out.

Another accusation charges that Bishop Barros, while serving as secretary to a cardinal, destroyed letters addressed to him reporting the abuses.

Bishop Barros has denied any knowledge of the abuses.

One victim, Juan Carlos Cruz, said the Pope's decision to appoint Bishop Barros was a slap in the face.

To date, the Vatican has made no statement in response to the criticism of his appointment.

Chilean Archbishop Fernando Chomalí discussed the Barros appointment and the subsequent reaction with the Pope in Rome on March 6.

The archbishop said the Pope was very well informed about the situation and had told him he found no reason to reverse his decision.

Sources

• Crux
• New York Times
• Image: Sydney Morning Herald

I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.

In the Gospel we heard that "Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife" (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: "Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ's upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ's Mystical Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model" (Redemptoris Custos, 1).

How does Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at every moment with loving care. As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good times and bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and joyful hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and during the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the day-to-day life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his trade to Jesus.

How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God's presence and receptive to God's plans, and not simply to his own. This is what God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want a house built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God himself who builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit. Joseph is a "protector" because he is able to hear God's voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God's call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!

The vocation of being a "protector", however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents. It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God's gifts!

Whenever human beings fail to live up to this responsibility, whenever we fail to care for creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically, in every period of history there are "Herods" who plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.

Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be "protectors" of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment. Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to be "protectors", we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!

Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!

Today, together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating the beginning of the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, which also involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power upon Peter, but what sort of power was it? Jesus' three questions to Peter about love are followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the Cross. He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all of God's people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Only those who serve with love are able to protect!

In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, "hoping against hope, believed" (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope! For believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God, which has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.

To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out, yet one to which all of us are called, so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect with love all that God has given us!

I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.

Sources:

• Vatican Radio
• Image: News Day