Soon to be installed as Archbishop of Boston, his Excellency Richard G. Henning warmly endeared himself to the people of Rhode Island when, at his first public Mass at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, the new episcopal arrival unfurled the glistening white Rhode Island state flag and drew the attention of the congregation to the region’s dominant emblem, an anchor, and the area’s perennial motto, Hope. The bishop here was earnestly reminding the citizens of the state of Rhode Island and the faithful of the diocese of Providence that governmental concerns and ecclesiastical concerns have an overlapping interest. The emblem and motto were both drawn from the inspired Letter to the Hebrews: “…we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm…(Hb6:18-19).” So, whether it be civic duties or religious obligations, the people of Rhode Island are charged to be a hopeful society, trusting on the machinery of government entrusted to the citizenry by our founders but trusting especially in the Providence of God as also appreciated by our founders.
Rhode Island’s pride in the anchor as a state symbol no doubt found good company in Bishop Henning’s own pride in his oceanside escapades as a boy and a youth on the beaches of Long Island Sound. Often used as a starting point locally in the bishop’s homilies, adventures of rowing, sailing, and motor boating off the New York shoreline became energetic tales developed into handy lessons about religion, spirituality, and faith.
Confirming evidence of how much the sea and the seashore’s instructions mean to Bishop Henning is the unique choice of his episcopal motto: “Put out into the deep (Lk5:4).” St. Peter and his fellow fishermen had “worked hard all night” and had caught nothing. But at the instruction of Jesus, the disciples cast their nets again. “When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing (Lk6:4-6).” Clearly, by the option for this motto, young Bishop Henning, like the young lad on Long Island Sound, looked forward to taking some chances, risking a few opportunities, for the powerful advancement of the Kingdom of God and the Roman Catholic Church he had been summoned to lead.
Pope St. John Paul II took an ecumenical risk in his day when, in 1986, he invited representatives of various Christian denominations and world religions to come together at his invitation to Assisi, Italy, the city of St Francis. They were united then by a common goal — the desire for world peace. Some few, of course, criticized the Roman Pontiff for seeming to put himself on the same level as non-Catholic and even non-Christian religious leaders. Pope Francis has recently received some similar blame for discussing religion openly with youthful members of Middle Eastern and Oriental religions. Locally Bishop Henning has not been shy about introducing himself to local Christian and Jewish leaders. During a chance meeting with Rhode Island Episcopal Bishop Knisely, I asked if he thought he would be meeting with the newly arrived Bishop Henning. “Oh, I’ve already met him!” was his Grace’s grateful reply. Not long after that, Bishop Henning met formally with a group of local rabbis. When his schedule was too tight to attend a Holocaust Memorial Service, Bishop Henning sent a thoughtful personal word of respect.
Many readers of Rhode Island Catholic can look back nostalgically on the expansive administration of Bishop McVinney; there wasn’t an empty lot he didn’t have his eye on. Readers will gladly recall the exuberant tenure of Bishop Louis E. Gelineau; there wasn’t a hand he didn’t shake or a banquet he didn’t attend. Bishop Robert E. Mulvee dealt pastorally with the 9/11 and the Station Fire disasters. Bishop Thomas J. Tobin quite courageously defended the unborn, quite boldly upheld the nature of sexuality, while sheltering the homeless and warming the chill. Now soon to be Archbishop of Boston Richard Henning will take his place in diocesan memory as a pre-eminently available priest and prelate, as a special friend of Rhode Island’s Spanish community, and, let’s not forget, as a faithful weekly columnist for Rhode Island Catholic! Ad multos annos!