We experienced an historic day, on Saturday, 2nd March, during the celebration of the episcopal ordination of Bishop Carlos Castillo and the beginning of his ministry as Archbishop, Primate of Lima (a celebration that lasted five and a half hours). Without a doubt, it was a celebration full of so many signs that gave rise to hope in the Church of Lima. In this short article I want to highlight only some of these signs.
Bishop Carlos wanted to return to the tradition of Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, who in 1580 walked from San Lázaro to Lima, along the streets of the poor, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Lima. For Carlos, San Lázaro is like Bethany (the house of the poor) and Lima is similar to Jerusalem, so to cross the stone bridge, which leads from the old church of San Lázaro to the cathedral of Lima, was to start from the marginalized. This symbolic act was done in the hope that his mission might become fruitful, and that Lima might feel the call to become Jesus. In fact, along the way there were many people from the communities where Carlos has worked, holding posters and shouting out, and singing to the sound of a popular music band, under the strong Limean sun. A colleague was heard to comment: "Wow, it seems that things are going to change".
The priests were seated in their chairs, waiting for the bishops to enter. For many it was a surprise to see that Father Gustavo Gutiérrez was next to Carlos, not with a staff but with a cane. Once in the presbytery, Gustavo was placed to the right of Carlos, while to his left was Cardinal Cipriani. And a little later, Gustavo was the priest in charge of presenting Carlos, before the Nuncio, for ordination. As another colleague said: "The turns that life brings!". Be that as it may, I confess that I was moved, because I know a little about the exclusion that Gustavo has suffered.
From the beginning of the Eucharist one could see that this was going to be a different celebration. This time the singing was not dominated by the organ and the violin, there was also the charango and the zampoña, animated by the Sowing Group: "The poor rise up, your people are on the move, let no one get comfortable, the Lord is coming ...” After many years the palms of the faithful were heard clapping to the rhythm of the music. At the Lamb of God, Carlos himself began to walk around beating his palms and encouraging everyone to accompany him. It seems to me that the town felt at home in its cathedral.
The Nuncio's homily was forceful and passionate. I was very impressed by his exhortations to the new archbishop, because he not only praised the human and pastoral quality of Carlos, but invited him to be close to the people, to "pedal" the city (a reference to Carlos' habit of walking and cycling). My colleagues applauded a lot when they said that a bishop has to listen to his priests, that it is not possible to make them wait days, months or years to give them an appointment. It would be worthwhile to reread the Nuncio's homily, which will surely be published shortly.
I also liked the simple way in which bishops, priests, religious and laity all participated, without the unnecessary rigidity of other occasions (It was a tender moment to see the acolytes smiling as they approached Carlos for the washing of hands). When Bishop Luis Bambarén approached, at the time of the imposition, Carlos kissed his hands with great respect. Among the people who went up to greet him, there were religious "without habits", those who at times had been marginalized for not wearing a habit (I am a witness to those events). Carlos embraced and blessed each person with great affection.
There were more signs that I could point out, but I said it would be brief. Finally, the words of Bishop Carlos (these can be read on the Internet). It was the message of a pastor and a theologian, someone who always stood up for the synthesis between both these services to the Church. When I was young and listening to Carlos, I was struck by the fact that he could speak "in double registers": at an academic level and at a pastoral level. His speech lasted twenty minutes, it was almost two thirty in the afternoon when he finished quoting Vallejo (I can not resist the temptation to transcribe the verses, because Vallejo is Vallejo).
¡Unos mismos zapatos irán bien al que asciende
sin vías a su cuerpo
y al que baja hasta la forma de su alma!
¡Entrelazándose hablarán los mudos, los tullidos andarán!
¡Verán, ya de regreso, los ciegos
y palpitando escucharán los sordos!
¡Sabrán los ignorantes, ignorarán los sabios!
¡Serán dados los besos que no pudisteis dar!
¡Sólo la muerte morirá! ¡La hormiga
traerá pedacitos de pan al elefante encadenado
a su brutal delicadeza; volverán
los niños abortados a nacer perfectos, espaciales
y trabajarán todos los hombres,
engendrarán todos los hombres,
comprenderán todos los hombres!
And I say, may God transform these signs into actions. Amen!
Raúl Pariamachi sscc
03/04/2019