By Archbishop Raymond Burke
During the coldest spell of last winter, on the occasion of my installation as Archbishop of St. Louis on January 26, 2004, I received a very warm welcome to the city and to the archdiocese by Catholics and non-Catholics alike in the magnificent Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. From the sanctuary, I looked upon so many faces, diverse in age, walk of life, vocation and racial and ethnic background. Though each person was unique, together they formed a beautiful montage of rich racial and ethnic backgrounds, vibrant spiritual gifts and varied talents, radiantly witnessing to God’s truth, goodness and beauty.
Since the day of my installation, I have been constantly struck by the warm welcome of this city and region to one of its new citizens. St. Louis, a major metropolitan area, has the neighborliness of a smaller community. After almost a year in St. Louis, I find the neighborliness of the people one of its most remarkable and attractive qualities.
The world’s largest collection of mosaics—a beautiful canopy of holiness and inspiration on the ceiling and walls overhead—drew my attention from the people gathered in the Cathedral Basilica that day to the men and women captured in bright and colorful stones. These outstanding men and women above had contributed in a significant way, each in his or her own way, to the building up of a culture of life through the laying down of their lives in dedicated service to the poor, the weak, the oppressed and marginalized of every kind.
I am inspired in a particular way whenever I reflect on the mosaic depictions of the important work of my predecessor, Joseph Cardinal Ritter, who integrated the parochial schools of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1947, seven years before the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision of the United States Supreme Court. Because of Cardinal Ritter’s courage and tenacity against the growing tide of racism and its attack on the dignity of the human person, children of various ethnic and racial backgrounds—like a rich mosaic—today can peacefully attend Catholic schools together. The newly dedicated Cardinal Ritter High School for students of all races, not far from the Cathedral Basilica, is a beautiful testament to my predecessor’s commitment to racial equality and social justice.
During the Installation Mass, I repeated the words of Pope John Paul II, whose pastoral visit to St. Louis exactly five years earlier still remains vivid in the minds and hearts of those who saw and heard him in person or on television. “In the Heart of Jesus, we will find the inspiration and strength to be followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation.” (Homily, 27 January 1999, n. 5b.) We are called to be heralds and instruments of this Gospel of Life, wherever we live and work. As men and women of good will, inspired by the convictions of our faith, we can never relax our efforts to lift the burdens, nor can we turn a deaf ear to the cry, of those who experience the cross of discrimination in any of its unjust and painful forms.
Together, with our particular spiritual gifts and talents, with hearts of generosity, compassion and courage, we can form a beautiful mosaic of justice, peace and goodness in our city and region, as we daily seek to find the way to respect and promote the dignity of life of every brother and sister. May the neighborliness of St. Louis extend to all without boundary of race, origin or condition.
Archbishop Raymond Burke was named Archbishop of St. Louis in late 2003. He served as bishop of La Crosse in Wisconsin before he arrived and has held several national posts within the Roman Catholic Church.
