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Archbishop George Pell ordains Fr Chris Toohey as the new bishop of
Wilcannia-Forbes
By Johanna Bennett
It comes as something of a shock when a man in while chasuble, adorned with pale brown stripe
embroidered with fish, prostrates himself before the altar as Fr Chris Toohey did, while a cantor sang the Litany of Saints starting with Mary and ending with Australia’s Blessed Mary MacKillop.
Before
consecrating the new bishop, Archbishop Pell had spoken of how being a bishop was “not an honour, but a post and a function”, and that bishops “serve rather rather rule”. The act of prostration rather dramatically
underscored this.
The archbishop spoke of how the laying on of hands by those consecrating a new bishop was a gesture handed down from Jesus, who laid his hands on Peter, the first bishop of the Church, and
so down the generations of bishops to this day.
In a moving if crowded ceremony-within-a-ceremony, the laying on of hands by Archbishop Pell was followed by that of the other Catholic bishops present – the
altar of Holy Family was not built to accommodate quite so many eminent priests of the Church.
Following the prayer of consecration, in which he appointed the bishop-elect “a shepherd to your (God’s) holy
flock”, Archbishop Pell anointed Fr Toohey with chrism and presented him with the Book of the Gospels, asking him to “receive the gospel and preach the word of God with unfailing patience and sound teaching”.
Dr Pell then ‘invested’ the bishop-elect with a ring and, in words reminiscent of the marriage ceremony, asked the new bishop to “protect the bride of God, his holy Church”.
Lastly, he placed the bishop’s
mitre on Fr Toohey’s head and presented him with his shepherd’s staff of dark polished wood to help him watch over his flock.
The consecration concluded with the kiss of peace, which was bestowed on Bishop
Toohey by the archbishop and the other bishops present.
A somewhat emotional new bishop then celebrated Mass. At its conclusion, wearing a beaming smile, he processed down the aisle of the church, which had
been beautifully decorated with flowers for the occasion.
In his first speech as the bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes, he promised to carry out his new role with “reverence, joy, courage and enthusiasm”.
“The Church does not exist for its own sake,” Bishop Toohey said. “It was founded by Christ to spread the message of salvation to all.”
This meant that the gospel must be proclaimed in the context of the
world’s pain and suffering, he said.
“We must work together to build a just, humane society.”
But, in embracing the future, we are not to worry, he added.
“Everything will be all right. Trust me.”
This was said to much laughter.
Explaining his comment, Bishop Toohey said we had to “trust God a hundred per cent because our own resources are not enough.
“If we do he will help us make the most of what we have.
“It all comes from him anyway … (So) let us put out into the deep for a catch.”
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