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Ex-diocese leader turns 97 on June 17
By Jean Peerenboom
Bishop Aloysius Wycislo has seen more changes in the Catholic Church than many people. And, for most of that time, he has had a ringside seat.
With all the changes in the past year, he continues to have much hope about where the church is going, he said. As the retired Green Bay bishop prepares to celebrate his 97th birthday June 17, the nation’s oldest bishoptook time to reflect on the church and its trying times.
It has been a year that saw a change in leadership in Rome. Pope John Paul II, who was a personal friend of Wycislo, died in April and was replaced by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Wycislo said he doesn’t really know the man who became Pope Benedict XVI, but he thinks he could be the right person to get the church going “in the direction that God would have it be.”
“I’m hopeful about where the church is going,” he began as he settled into a comfortable chair in the glassed-in porch of his home on the diocesan grounds. “I say that based on the conviction that the Holy Spirit has been with the church for a little over 2,000 years and has guided the church and its leadership and membership. The church has gone through various stages of ups and downs based principally on how the culture of a country changes and sometimes the influence of that culture on the church.
“Through the ages, the church has often influenced the culture of a country,” he said. “It would seem today — at least it is my feeling — that culture may have influenced the church more than the church would desire. Holding fast to tradition and that which has proven sound is not always easy and does take strong leadership.
Full article
By Jean Peerenboom
Bishop Aloysius Wycislo has seen more changes in the Catholic Church than many people. And, for most of that time, he has had a ringside seat.
With all the changes in the past year, he continues to have much hope about where the church is going, he said. As the retired Green Bay bishop prepares to celebrate his 97th birthday June 17, the nation’s oldest bishoptook time to reflect on the church and its trying times.
It has been a year that saw a change in leadership in Rome. Pope John Paul II, who was a personal friend of Wycislo, died in April and was replaced by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Wycislo said he doesn’t really know the man who became Pope Benedict XVI, but he thinks he could be the right person to get the church going “in the direction that God would have it be.”
“I’m hopeful about where the church is going,” he began as he settled into a comfortable chair in the glassed-in porch of his home on the diocesan grounds. “I say that based on the conviction that the Holy Spirit has been with the church for a little over 2,000 years and has guided the church and its leadership and membership. The church has gone through various stages of ups and downs based principally on how the culture of a country changes and sometimes the influence of that culture on the church.
“Through the ages, the church has often influenced the culture of a country,” he said. “It would seem today — at least it is my feeling — that culture may have influenced the church more than the church would desire. Holding fast to tradition and that which has proven sound is not always easy and does take strong leadership.
Full article