Denver Catholic

4 SEPTEMBER 12-26, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Cover Story H ow does one go about greeting the Vicar of Christ? This is the question Catholics in the United States are asking as we prepare for the upcoming visit of Pope Francis, who will visit three cities in six days later this month. To answer that ques- tion, the Denver Catholic sat down with Cardinal J. Francis Sta¨ ord, arch- bishop of Denver from 1986-1996, who welcomed Pope St. John Paul II to the archdiocese in 1993. Q: What does a visit from Pope Fran- cis mean to Catholics in the United States? Cardinal Sta ord: All of us are thinking about this visit, refl ecting upon it, refl ect- ing upon it in the context in which we fi nd ourselves as American Catholics. It is a context that [includes] many blessings as Americans, but also many challenges, especially in these times. And the chal- lenges are dealing with how the message of Christ is to be expressed in the United States. The Holy Father is coming here in the hope that he will fi nd that the message of Jesus is being received by the Catholic people of the United States, not as the word of men, but as the very Word of God. He comes hoping to be confi rmed in that expectation. His claim is profound. He comes as the Vicar of Christ. He comes as the succes- sor of Peter. He comes as the one who has been given and entrusted with the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven—an incredible gift. And what he hopes to fi nd is, as a matter of fact, that the message that has been proclaimed by the Church here has truly been the message of God, the Word of God, and not the word of man, and that it is being received by the Catholic people as the Word of God. Q: What message will Pope Francis bring to the Catholic Church in the United States? Cardinal Sta ord: The Pope will be coming as a pilgrim. A pilgrim is kind of a wayfarer—somebody who is on the way. He has not yet reached the homeland. So one of the things he is going to tell us is that like himself, so you are to be a pilgrim. We are all fellow pilgrims. This earth is not our homeland. Through Jesus, God has established, he will say, an alternative community to the world. That alternative community has " He comes as the Vicar of Christ" BY KARNA SWANSON 303-715-3230 karna.swanson@archden.org www.twitter.com/KarnaSwanson Q&A with CARDINAL STAFFORD Cardinal J. Francis Sta‡ ord, who served as Archbishop of Denver beginning in 1986, was asked by Pope John Paul II to serve in Rome as president of the Pontifi cal Council for the Laity in 1996. He was made a cardinal in 1998, and in 2003 was appointed Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary. The Baltimore native retired in 2009, and continues to live in Rome. PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT/DENVER CATHOLIC

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