{"id":15679,"date":"2016-08-25T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T21:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/want-catholics-back-in-church-reflect-jesus-denvers-new-bishop-says-41046\/"},"modified":"2016-08-25T21:48:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T21:48:00","slug":"want-catholics-back-in-church-reflect-jesus-denvers-new-bishop-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/want-catholics-back-in-church-reflect-jesus-denvers-new-bishop-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Want Catholics back in church? Reflect Jesus, Denver’s new bishop says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Denver, Colo., Aug 25, 2016 \/ 03:48 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Father Jorge Rodriguez, the next auxiliary bishop of Denver, believes there is a way to help lapsed Catholics return to church.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we go far away, but Jesus is always the one who attracts to our pews,\u201d Bishop-designate Rodriguez said Aug. 25. \u201cInasmuch as we present the true Jesus, then people will come back. They really need him.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\nIf Catholics will \u201creactivate\u201d their own communities, he said, people will return.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Pope Francis appointed Mexico native Fr. Rodriguez, 61, as the next auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver. The former professor and past vice-rector of Denver\u2019s St. John Vianney Seminary presently serves as pastor at Holy Cross Church in Thornton, Colo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve met this wonderful Catholic community that we have here,\u201d he said at a Thursday press conference. \u201cThere are lots of wonderful people in Colorado. I feel very honored to be able to live in this beautiful state and to serve the Church here, for our brothers and sisters in the archdiocese.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bishop-elect was born March 22, 1955, in M\u00e9rida, Mexico, in the state of Yucat\u00e1n, where his family still resides.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Hispanic origin and background connects me particularly with the growing Hispanic community here in Denver. I\u2019ve been able to celebrate the joys and to share in their needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also had a request for Denver\u2019s Catholics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI beg for your prayers. That\u2019s what I really need now,\u201d he added. \u201cIn everything may Jesus Christ be praised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop-designate Rodriguez said Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver has been promoting the formation of Catholics as disciples using the Amazing Parish program \u201cin order to revitalize parishes and bring back Catholics to our pews.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his parish, Holy Cross, has been doing this, and there is \u201ca lot of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Archbishop Aquila, he welcomed the appointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cPope Francis has given to us a great gift in Bishop-elect Rodriguez,\u201d the archbishop told CNA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means that we will have a Hispanic bishop from our own archdiocese who has served here for over 10 years and knows the archdiocese well. He will be able to reach out to the Hispanic community and be a very real presence for them. One who understands, certainly, Mexican culture and will be able to enhance the handing on of the faith and that encounter with Christ that is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the Hispanic community, especially monolingual Spanish speakers, face challenges finding parishes where they can feel at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the challenges that they have are certainly in the area of catechesis and the area of learning English,\u201d Archbishop Aquila explained.<\/p>\n

Sixty of the archdiocese\u2019s 115 parishes have Mass in Spanish. Over 50 percent of the archdiocese is Hispanic, according to the archbishop.<\/p>\n

Bishop-designate Rodriguez joined the Legionaries of Christ after high school and was ordained a priest Dec. 24, 1987. He has served as a theology professor and was dean of the Theology Department of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome.<\/p>\n

Father Rodriguez will be ordained a bishop Nov. 4.<\/p>\n

Previous auxiliary bishops of Denver include Jose Gomez, who went on to head the San Antonio and then the Los Angeles archdiocese, and Bishop James Conley, who now heads Nebraska\u2019s Diocese of Lincoln.<\/p>\n

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Denver, Colo., Aug 25, 2016 \/ 03:48 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Father Jorge Rodriguez, the next auxiliary bishop of Denver, believes there is a way to help lapsed Catholics return to church.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes we go far away, but Jesus is always the one who a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nWant Catholics back in church? 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