Naumann Calls for Healing in KC Diocese After Finn

Here’s an excerpt from Archbishop Joseph Naumann’s letter to the Kansas City- St Joseph diocese Catholics after Bishop Robert Finn’s resignation:
” I pray that the coming weeks and months will be a time of grace and healing for the Diocese. All of us, who are privileged to serve in leadership for the Church, do so for only a season. It is not our Church, but Christ’s Church. We are mere stewards of His Church for a time.

By definition, the role of an Administrator is for a very short season. This will not be a time for innovation or change, but a time to sustain the ordinary and essential activities of the Church and where possible to advance the initiatives that already are under way.

It is my desire to do all that I can to prepare this Diocese to welcome well its new bishop. I pray that your new bishop, when he arrives, will find a community united both in their love for Jesus and His Bride – the Church – as well as eager to proclaim the truth and beauty of His Gospel to the world.

For this to happen, I will need the prayers and support of the Priests, Deacons, Religious, Diocesan and Parish lay staffs, and most importantly the people of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri. I want to be as available as I can, while still fulfilling my responsibilities as the Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas. I am confident that I can count on the prayerful support of the Priests, Deacons, Religious and Laity of Northeast Kansas to assist me in fulfilling these dual roles to the best of my ability.”