Today’s announcement by the Holy Father that he has named Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York and Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto to the College of Cardinals has brought great joy to me and to the faithful of the Diocese of Buffalo.

Read More »

Greetings in our Lord, Jesus Christ, whose coming to us on earth as our Savior is remembered anew as we again celebrate the feast of Christmas.

Blessed by God to have been called to serve you as Bishop of Buffalo, I am grateful for that grace and for this opportunity to celebrate the glorious feast of Christmas with you, and to extend to all of you my prayerful best wishes for this holy day and in its holy season.

As with faith and joy we recall the birthday of our Lord, may we welcome Him into our hearts and lives as the true light of the world, and experience with great joy and gratitude the gifts of love, hope, and peace He offers with His coming on earth.

Read More »

As we reflect on the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, we continue to pray for the repose of the souls of the victims whose lives were cut senselessly short. We offer thanksgiving for the first responders who gave so selflessly in rescue and recovery efforts, and we continue to pray for all whose lives were touched in some way by this dark day.
 

As I approached my 75th birthday on June 4, and prepared to comply with the requirement of Canon 401, §1 of the Code of Canon Law that requires bishops to submit their resignation from office to the Holy Father upon reaching that age, I have been invited to offer a reflection on the latter seven year part of my tenure of 29 years as a bishop, which has been here as Bishop of Buffalo.

That prospect draws me to think back to how it all first came about, that the call for my episcopal service and ministry would take me from Nashville to Buffalo. Interestingly, the “call” was literally just that, a telephone call from then Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the papal representative for the United States. The phone call went to the chancery, but I was yet at my residence preparing for presiding at the funeral of a religious sister later that morning of August 3, 2004.
 

This is my homily from the March for Life Mass that we celebrated at the Washington Plaza Hotel on Jan. 24, 2011.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today, we gather in our nation’s capitol for our annual March for Life. From the bottom of my heart, as your bishop, I thank you for the sacrifices you have made to be here today and for all that you do each and every day to protect, defend and uphold the sanctity of life from the moment of natural conception until natural death.

I am especially grateful for the witness of our young people, the present and future of our Church, and for our seminarians and deacons and priests and religious for your example and leadership in the cause for life! Indeed I am profoundly grateful for all of you!

When the Vatican announced on Jan. 14 that Pope Benedict XVI would beatify the John Paul II on May 1, I was filled with joy!

From the moment he appeared for the first time as Pope John Paul II on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square in 1978 and said, “Do not be afraid,” I had the sense we were witnessing the start of something extraordinary. What followed was a papacy of presence, witness and a call to holiness.

Throughout its entire history the Roman Catholic Church has found its strength in the sacred mysteries celebrated in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist. It has nearly become cliché to say that “the Liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed, at the same time it is the font from which all the Church’s power flows” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council n.10) Such phrases become cliché because they so ably express commonly accepted truths. The liturgy celebrates God’s plan of salvation, fulfilled by Christ, the Lamb of God.
 

Thanksgiving can be a wonderful time of the year for family.  We gather together, maybe watch some football, and then enjoy a meal that can serve as a reminder of all of God's blessings.

I have long collected prayers, and one of my favorites is simply called "Family," which I would like to share with you on Thanksgiving.