Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: This Question Shook John Paul II — Now Another Man Must Answer Christ’s Summons

On the Sunday before the conclave begins, a good many cardinals will visit their “titular churches” in Rome. This Sunday they will have a Gospel text that should inspire their preaching as they ready themselves to elect a new pope.

The assigned reading for this Sunday is John 21:1-19. Jesus asks Peter three times to profess his love, and three times confers upon him the mission of caring for the entire flock — “feed my lambs, tend my sheep.” As it is the assigned reading for Sunday Mass all over the world, homilists everywhere will likely preach about Peter’s primacy.

Every cardinal, upon receiving the red hat, is assigned a church in Rome, becoming, as it were, the local parish priest. He is not actually that, but the titular assignment maintains an ancient tradition that a bishop is selected by the local clergy — in this case, that the bishop of Rome is elected by the clergy of Rome. The College of Cardinals expresses the universality of the entire Church; their titular churches link them to the local diocese of Rome. ….

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