Amidst the
statistics about the bishops attending Archbishop Óscar A. Romero‘s beatification on May 23rd, one geographical
point of origination stands out: Papua
New Guinea. The bishop making the
trip from there will travel approximately 9,000 miles (nearly 15,000 km) to
attend the ceremony—further than any other bishop attending so far. We caught
up with Bishop Donald Lippert, O.F.M. Cap., who will travel from the
mountain diocese of Mendi, on an island nation located north of Australia, for
the occasion.
“Bishop Don,” as
he likes to be called, a Pittsburgh native, was appointed Bishop of Mendi by
Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. Bishop Don
was invested in a ceremony deeply imbued with the cultural notes of his mission
land, replete with drummers and tribesmen wearing their indigenous dress at an
outdoor ceremony attended by 3,000.
Cardinal Seán O’Malley, a mentor (and fellow Capuchin), was the
principal consecrator. The ceremony was
celebrated on February 3, 2012, the same date on which Archbishop Romero was
named in 1977, and the date on which Pope Francis signed the decree approving
his martyrdom earlier this year. Lippert’s
episcopal motto is “To Think with the
Church”—the same as Romero.
Before his
appointment as bishop, he had served as a philosophy professor at the Catholic
Theological Institute in Bomana, near the Capital of Papua New Guinea. Lippert had been involved in training
Capuchin missionaries to the island for years: “I tell them they’re really living in the Acts of the Apostles,” he
would say. “They’re the first to bring
the Good News to the people. There aren’t too many areas like that left in the
world.” In the United States,
Lippert was also known for his ministry to Latinos, which dates back to his
deacon year in Puerto Rico.
SUPER MARTYRIO. How is the
trip from Mendi to San Salvador?
A. Mendi
is 16 hours ahead of San Salvador. I
will be traveling alone. I depart Mendi
on a small plane on 19 May and spend an overnight in Port Moresby [Ed.: the
capital of Papua New Guinea]. I travel
to Brisbane [Australia] the next day and transit to San Salvador over the
Pacific thereby losing a day. There are two stops, LA and Atlanta. This leg of the journey alone is 41
hours. The biggest sacrifice is the
expense given our salaries for priests and religious which amounts to the
equivalent of $120.00 per month, half of which goes for food. But this is a
pilgrimage and the spiritual benefits will far outweigh any difficulties or
challenges. I will start back directly to PNG three days after the
beatification - after a short visit with Salvadoran friends.
Q. How
did you become interested in Archbishop Romero?
A. Monseñor Romero was martyred the year I
began theology studies in Washington, DC. I joined peaceful protests of the US
involvement in the civil strife in El Salvador. I heard first-hand stories of
the effects of this conflict from the countless Salvadoran refugees that poured
into the DC metro area in these years as a young intern at the Centro Católico Hispano directed then by
now Cardinal Seán O´Malley; and later at The Shrine of the Sacred Heart located
in what was then a mostly Latino barrio of DC (where the people nicknamed me ‘Padre
Donato’). I ‘caught’ my love for
Archbishop Romero from the campesinos
for whom Archbishop Romero was the only beacon of light and hope in the midst
of unspeakable darkness. They rightly
revered him as their saint from the beginning.
I was inspired beyond words by what he wrote in his diary and pastoral
letters. I became a disciple. In Washington, as in El Salvador, some adopted
(and I would say perverted) Mons Romero’s message to their own political
ideology (and theology). I saw Mons
Romero always and totally as a man of God, a man of the Church, who
courageously incarnated the gospel of Jesus Christ despite vicious opposition
from both the left and right. I wanted
to follow his example. I still want to
follow his example. When I was
surprisingly called to the episcopal ministry, there was no doubt that I would
choose Mons Romero’s motto: Sentir con la
Iglesia. For me, this motto has two
aspects, which reflect in some ways the evangelical genius of Mons Romero. The first aspect as I understand it is that
we as Christians are called to be faithful to the Lord by following the
teaching of the shepherds that he has called to care for his flock. The second aspect is that the shepherds can
best lead and serve if they know their people well and are one with them. Mons Romero knew what it was to have ‘the
smell of the sheep’ long before Pope Francis articulated this insight so well.
Q. What
do you hope to gain by attending?
A. This
beatification clearly show us a chapter of the gospel that has come to life in
the inspiring life, ministry and martyrdom of Mons Romero. The world now as in
every age needs the light of the gospel to give hope and voice to the excluded
and marginalized and to speak truth to power which represses and exploits. Mons Romero, a holy priest, a compassionate
shepherd, a courageous witness is an undeniable sign that God still hears the
cry of the poor and is not far from His People. Ever since Super Martyrio and other outlets began floating the news of a
possible beatification, which I had been praying for a long time, I felt the
call in my heart to attend. I would like
to be present to add my small ‘amen’ to the great ‘Amen’ of the church to the
saintly witness of this man of God and of the people.
Perhaps Bishop
Don will find a little bit of Romero among the Salvadorans he meets; and in
turn, Salvadorans will see a little bit of Romero in Bishop Don.
See also
10 reasons why you should go
Visit Bishop Don on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bishop.donald.lippert
Bishop Don’s Blog http://www.bishopdon.blogspot.com.au
Twitter: @BishopMendi
See also
10 reasons why you should go
Visit Bishop Don on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bishop.donald.lippert
Bishop Don’s Blog http://www.bishopdon.blogspot.com.au
Twitter: @BishopMendi
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