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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has named an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles - Oscar Azarcon Solis – as the tenth Bishop of Salt Lake City, United States.

Bishop Solis will be the first Filipino-American Bishop to lead a Diocese in the United States.

He said: “It’s a beautiful thing to receive the appointment. It’s a recognition of the diversity of the Church in America and the universality of the Church. It is a tremendous blessing and a responsibility and a privilege to be of service to the local Church in the United States of America, coming from the Philippines.”

Bishop Solis was born October 13, 1953 in San Jose, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

He attended the Christ the King Seminary of the Society of the Divine Word, Tagaytag City, to study philosophy and the Pontifical Royal Seminary at the University of Saint Thomas in Manila for his theological studies.

Bishop Solis was ordained a priest on 28 April 1979 for the Diocese of Cabanatuan and served as chaplain to a number of organisations, as Prefect of Seminary Studies and as Diocesan Vocations Director.

In 1984, he emigrated to the United States and until 1988 he was a Parochial Vicar in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Later, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, in 1992, where he served in four different parishes.

Bishop Solis was named as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and was ordained on February 10, 2004. He was the first Filipino-American bishop ordained in the United States.

In 2009 he was named Episcopal Vicar for the San Pedro Region and has served on the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Solis will be officially installed at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, on Tuesday, March 7.

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(Vatican Radio) “2016 drew to a terrible close in Venezuela, amid much desperation. With negative results from all points of view”. 

This is according to the President of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Diego Padron Sanchez, who was addressing the Plenary Assembly of Venezuelan Bishops in Caracas at the beginning of the year.

Linda Bordoni reports:

A long list of the evils that lambasted the crisis-riddled nation of Venezuela in 2016 topped Archbishop Padron Sanchez’ discourse to his brother bishops, as he thanked the Church for never having given up reaching out to the poor in a desperately difficult situation and for never having stopped offering the world a realistic view of the dire reality.

“Almost 29,000 violent deaths; hunger and malnutrition; lack of medicine and the resurgence of epidemics; over 120 political prisoners unjustly and illegally detained; rampant corruption; the systematic attack against private businesses and the independent media; the  anti-constitutional attempt to ignore directives issued by the National Assembly; the confusion and fear brought about by the Government’s threat to withdraw the national currency were just some of the evils cited by the prelate.

Padron Sanchez also defended the attempt on the part of the Holy See to provide mediation between President Maduro and the opposition and stated that “never – in the history of the nation – had a Government caused so much suffering  to its people due to its actions and omissions”.

The Archbishop ended his speech with a desperate appeal to political actors to continue to press government authorities to allow the opening of a humanitarian channel through which Caritas should be able to distribute much needed medicine and basic goods”.

There are over 3 million children in Venezuela, he said, under five years old, 12 percent of whom will suffer acute malnutrition in 2017 if things don’t change.

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Vatican City, Jan 10, 2017 / 08:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday the Vatican announced the appointment of Filipino-born Bishop Oscar A. Solis, currently an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as the new head of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

Bishop Solis, 63, will fill a more than 20-month vacancy in Salt Lake City, after the previous bishop, John Charles Wester, was tapped to lead the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M. in April 2015.

In an interview with L.A. diocesan newspaper Angelus News, Solis called his new role as the 10th bishop of Salt Lake City “a recognition of the diversity of the Church in America and the universality of the Church.”

“I know what it means to be a pastor, a shepherd of a particular diocese,” he said. “It is a tremendous blessing and a responsibility and a privilege to be of service to the local Church in the United States of America, coming from the Philippines.”
   
In 2003, Bishop Solis became the first Filipino to be appointed a bishop in the United States when he was named as an auxiliary to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope St. John Paul II. He will now be the first Filipino to head a U.S. diocese.

In a statement on the appointment, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez said “our loss will be a gift to the family of God in Salt Lake City.”

“I know that Bishop Solis will be for them a model of prayer and compassion and a great bishop. And I fully expect that he will become the leading voice for the millions of Filipino Catholics in this country, who are a beautiful sign of growth and renewal in our Church and in our country.”

Bishop Solis was born in San Jose City in the Philippines Oct. 13, 1953. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cabanatuan April 28, 1979.

From 1979-1984 he held significant positions within the diocese, including serving as rector of the diocesan high school and college seminary, the vocations director, a professor, and on the diocesan priests council.

He was sent to Rome in 1984 to pursue doctoral studies in Canon Law. He also took time to visit family in the U.S. where he carried out some pastoral work, which led him to discern a new direction in his vocation.

“I fell in love with parish life,” Solis said in the interview. “I never did parish work in the Philippines.”

“That’s the mystery of God’s grace,” he said. “Just be open and be ready for surprises because our God is a God of surprises. Just like now!”

Moving to the U.S. in 1984, he served as parochial vicar of a parish in Union City, N. J. and later in parishes in Louisiana. In 1992, with permission from the Ordinary of his diocese in the Philippines, he was incardinated in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana.

He served there until 2003, when he was appointed Titular Bishop of Urci and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. As Bishop, he served as Episcopal Vicar for Ethnic Ministry from 2004-2009.

Since 2009, he has been Episcopal Vicar of the San Pedro Pastoral Region within the Archdiocese of L.A., and also served on the USCCB Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs, first as chairman and later as a member. He speaks English, Tagalog and Spanish.

“I will miss friends and priests and L.A.,” Bishop Solis told Angelus News, “but I know God has something in store for us when he leads us to a new place. I have wonderful priests in Utah and wonderful people. I know we won’t go wrong if we work together as a Church, as a community. God will provide the rest.”

Archbishop Gomez said that he could not be happier for Bishop Solis. “He is a fine priest and a good bishop.”

“I have relied on his good advice and pastoral judgment, and I am inspired by his love and dedication to the people of the San Pedro Pastoral Region and the whole family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. We are all going to miss him greatly.”

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Woltering family via Reuters

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ATLANTA (CNS) -- Olga Woltering, a bedrock member of her parish and the Atlanta Cursillo movement and beloved to her family and many friends, was among five people killed in the Jan. 6 shooting at a Florida airport.

Woltering, 84, was leaving for a cruise with her husband, Ralph, to celebrate his birthday and were flying through Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when a gunman started shooting people in a baggage claim area. Ralph Woltering was not injured.

Esteban Santiago, a 26-year-old Army veteran, is charged in connection with the incident. In addition to the five people who were killed, six were injured.

The Wolterings, who are great-grandparents, have been active members of Transfiguration Church in suburban Marietta for nearly 40 years, according to the parish. Her funeral Mass will be celebrated at the parish Jan. 12.

"Olga was one of the most joyful, loving, caring and committed people I have ever met," Father Fernando Molina-Restrepo, Transfiguration pastor, said in a statement.

"This is a horrible tragedy for everyone here at Transfiguration, especially because Olga was so loved," the statement said. "May God give consolation to all of the victims of this tragedy and may God give eternal rest to those who died. Especially to our beloved Olga."

The statement noted that the couple always sat in the front row at 5 p.m. Mass and had been members since 1978. Ralph Woltering is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Olga Woltering met her husband in her native England when he served in the Army there, according to Sister Margaret McAnoy, a member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and spiritual director of the Atlanta Cursillo movement. They have been married more than 60 years.

"They were still obviously so much in love. They just demonstrated the sacrament of marriage," said Sister Margaret said.

Sister Margaret recalled how Olga Woltering would tell stories during the Cursillo weekends that would both entertain the group and offer spiritual insight. She had "a wonderful presence," Sister Margaret said.

"When she made the Cursillo, she got involved right away. She would do anything she was asked to do. It's a great, great loss," Sister Margaret added.

"I was never around Olga when she was not smiling and joyful. She always had a positive attitude," said Glenn Zipfel, who serves on the Atlanta Cursillo leadership team.

The Woltering family issued a statement and requested privacy "as we mourn her loss and support our father and each other in the coming days."

"Olga Woltering was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and good friend to many. She, along with our father Ralph, is the cornerstone of our family, and while she's absent in our lives now, she remains in our hearts, thoughts, and memories forever," the family said.

"Mom's heart and soul rested in this church and its spirit-filled community," the family said of her involvement with the parish.

"She spoke to groups about her personal faith as a testament to the power of God's love for us. She will be terribly missed by her faith community," the family said.

Sister Margaret explained how receiving the news of the tragedy was devastating.

"I burst into tears. You couldn't wrap your head around it," she said.

The Wolterings had flown to Florida a day early for their cruise because snow was predicted in Atlanta.

"I don't know why God called her home at this moment," Sister Margaret said. "If anybody walked into heaven, she did."

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This story was contributed by the staff of The Georgia Bulletin, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/J.D. Long-Garcia, The Tidings

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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis has named Auxiliary Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Los Angeles as bishop of Salt Lake City.

Bishop Solis, 63, a native of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, has been auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles since 2004. Previously he served the Archdiocese of Manila and the Diocese of Cabanatuan, both in the Philippines before coming to the United States in 1984.

The appointment was announced Jan. 10 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Solis served as associate pastor of St. Rocco Church in Union City, New Jersey, from 1984 to 1988 and was incardinated in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, in 1988 and served as a parish priest for 15 years prior to his appointment to Los Angeles.

In the archdiocese, he was the vicar for ethnic ministry and was the auxiliary bishop of the San Pedro Pastoral Region, covering southern Los Angeles County.

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By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus astonished people with the way he taught and interacted with others because he wasn't aloof, domineering or hypocritical, Pope Francis said in a homily.

"Jesus wasn't allergic to people. Touching lepers, the sick did not disgust him," whereas the Pharisees -- who strolled around in fine clothes -- looked down on the people and considered them ignorant, he said at the Mass Jan. 10 in the chapel of his residence.

"They were removed from the people, they weren't close," the pope said of the Pharisees. "Jesus was very close to the people and this gave him authority."

The pope's homily centered on the day's Gospel reading (Mk 1:21-28) in which people gathered at the synagogue in Capernaum "were astonished" at Jesus' teaching because he displayed an authority that differed so greatly from that of the scribes.

The people would listen to and be respectful toward the doctors of the law and the scribes, but the people didn't take what they said "to heart," he said.

These teachers felt themselves superior, as if to say: "We are the teachers, the princes and we teach you. No service. We command, you obey," the pope said. But Jesus "never passed himself off as a prince. He was always the servant of everyone and this is what gave him authority."

The traditional teachers were hypocrites, declaring the truth, but not doing what they preached, Pope Francis said.

Jesus "lived what he preached," he said, representing the harmonious union of "what he thought, felt and did."

"Jesus, who is humble, who is at the service (of others), who is near, who doesn't despise people and who is consistent, has authority," the pope said. "This is the authority that the people of God sense."

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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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