Scottish Catholic Observer

The new Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh says he is in ‘listening mode’ to find out how to heal his archdiocese as he prepares for his ordination on Saturday.

Archbishop-elect Leo Cushley (right) told the SCO in an exclusive interview this week—as he returned to Scotland after 20 years working for the Vatican diplomatic service—that he wanted to hear from the priests and laity of St Andrew’s and Edinburgh before ‘jumping right into’ solving its problems.

He also said that Pope Francis had advised him to be ‘merciful but firm’ in his new role, and stated that he wished to follow the Holy Father in emphasising the Church’s efforts to help the poor. He added that he hoped to adopt a co-operative style of leadership and said it was for the Vatican to decide if Cardinal Keith O’Brien could return to Scotland.

The archbishop-elect said that before returning home, he had spoken to Pope Francis, who was well aware of the situation in the Church in Scotland.

“He spoke very intelligently and wisely about the situation in Scotland and St Andrews and Edinburgh,” he said. “And although he is someone I’ve got to know quite well, at the end of our conversation I started to recognise him as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, a man seasoned by all that experience who was immediately able to share the burden of the office I was about to assume.”

He also said the Holy Father had told him that ‘Our Lord is merciful and we are called to imitate that mercifulness.’

“He said to me, though, that being merciful is not being soft, it means being gentle, but also being firm,” he said. “It needs to be both. And I thought that was a lovely way of giving me a mission based on his own experience.”

Message

Mgr Cushley also said that he understood many in the Scottish Catholic laity had been badly shaken by events of the past year, which had seen Cardinal O’Brien retire unexpectedly and historic allegations of abuse in schools run by a religious order, but he urged them not to lose heart.

“I would encourage them to see the big picture and although things have happened that are very difficult, dismaying and scandalous, we are only talking a handful of individuals out of a whole Church of nearly three quarters of a million people,” he said. “The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not change, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, that is the message of hope and renewal I hope to propose once more to the Catholics of Scotland. The Faith remains what it was and that must surely be a comfort to us. That is not an excuse for us to sit back but rather an invitation for us to renew our efforts to make the Church a better and happier place to be than it has in the past year.”

Mgr Cushley (right) also said that while he did not think it would be best for Cardinal O’Brien to return to Scotland that was only a ‘personal opinion’ and nothing had yet been decided.

“This is a question for the Holy See, the Holy Father and the organs that serve him,” he said. “In any case Canon Law tells us that a bishop like myself is not competent to judge a process involving a bishop or for that matter a cardinal. Rome has taken the matter in hand, as was its duty and that is continuing. What will happen to the cardinal in the future remains to be seen, and when that will happen and where that will happen and how is all yet to be decided by  the Holy See. My opinion may be interesting to the media but it is not important in how this will all play out.”

Style

As far as his own tenure as archbishop will proceed, he said that he is still working that out, but he does intend to adopt a more collegiate style than some other bishops.

“In one of the nunciatures I was serving in, there was a wonderful bishop, who found it difficult to promote priests because he, himself, did everything so well,” he explained. “But when he retired the diocese fell apart. I have thought about that a lot and I would like to see more people in leadership roles, mainly clergy, but also laity, so that the diocese has a wide experience of leadership. I think my personality lends itself to that style of working and I’ve had success with it in the past.”

In addition, he wishes to follow Pope Francis’ example and put a greater stress on the work the church can do to help the poor.

“It’s very hard to emulate such a strong and positive figure as Pope Francis,” he said. “But I would like to get familiar with the institutions we have in the archdiocese that look after the poor, the marginalised and the needy. I want to develop a good knowledge of that and then do what I can to help promote awareness of that work, among our own people and those outside who can help us with it, in the state and private individuals.”

Surprise

Despite looking forward to these fresh challenges he admitted part of him was ‘very surprised’ to be back in Scotland as the Vatican ‘has spent 20 years training me in the very specific field’ of Vatican diplomacy.

“As people have been speculating for months in the press, you do notice your name, so it did seem as if this was slowly heading towards me in a way that seemed inevitable,” he said. “But until recently, I confidently expected that in a year or two I would leave the Vatican and go back to a nunciature somewhere far away and difficult, where there might be war and disease.”

However, he believes he is well equipped to take what will be a period of tremendous change for the Scottish Church.

“The change in the hierarchy means that we are all going to be a lot younger,” he said. “That will be a change, not just in leadership, but how we are, and how we are together. I think that is exciting and that we can open up a great new chapter for the Scottish Church.”

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