Nine bishops of the Province of Atlanta celebrate Mass Monday at the Diocese of Charlotte’s Pastoral Center. The gathering was the semi-annual meeting of bishops of the Province of Atlanta, and included Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin and Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer. (Photo by Brian Segovia).CHARLOTTE — Bishops of the Carolinas and Georgia urged Catholics to embody Jesus by walking more closely with the poor and marginalized, signing a statement Dec. 2 after a two-day gathering at the Diocese of Charlotte’s Pastoral Center.
The nine bishops were in Charlotte Dec. 1-2 for a semiannual meeting of the Atlanta Province, which includes the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the dioceses of Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, S.C., and Savannah.
While together, they reflected on Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te (I have loved you). Released in October, Dilixi Te urges believers to use their Christian faith to become disciples in service to the poor and those on the margins of society.
“Many of us fall short … by not fully infusing the mind and heart of Christ into every aspect of the human endeavor, especially as it relates to the fullest respect for the dignity of every human person,” the statement read.
The bishops urge people to find the face of God “in the unborn, the poor, the migrant, the incarcerated, the aged, the undereducated, the unloved, the ill and those with whom we disagree. …
As disciples seeking the fullness of life, we must unite ourselves with, advocate for and care for those who are cast aside: the poor among us.”
The sentiments in the statement were foreshadowed in the opening Mass in the Pastoral Center chapel celebrated by Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv. Concelebrants were
Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv.; Raleigh Bishop Luiz Zarama; Charleston Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune, C.S., and Charleston’s retired Bishop Robert Guglielmone; Savannah
Bishop Stephen Parkes; and Atlanta’s three auxiliary bishops: Bishop Joel Konzen, S.M., Bishop Bernard Shlesinger III and Bishop John Nhan Tran.
During his homily, Archbishop Hartmayer said, “We are going to see how we can increase our own awareness of the poor and heighten that awareness in our own dioceses.”
Read the full statement here.
— Christina Knauss
