Bishop Joseph Martino, Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton, has asked for and received retirement status from Pope Benedict XVI. The diocese now is under the administration of Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, until a successor is named.
We hope and pray for Bishop Martino’s health, that he may be restored to the zeal he has had in defending the Word against the dictatorship of relativism. He has been one of the leading defenders of the Faith and its teachings in an increasingly secular world.
Deacon Keith Fournier has a beautiful tribute to Bishop Martino at Catholic Online. An excerpt:
I also thought of the painful defense St. Paul was forced to give of his own apostolic office in his second letter to the Corinthians (See, 2 Cor. Chapters 10 – 13). It has happened many times in our 2000 year history. Good Bishops like Bishop Joseph Martino sometimes suffer the effects that can accompany “bearing the burden” of their exercise of their apostolic office and have to take a different role in caring for the flock. He is now doing just that with the kind of fidelity, dignity and extraordinary courage he has always shown. However, he is obviously tired,in fact exhausted, from the burden of his office.
Not only do we need to pray for Bishop Martino, but that all Bishops and priests will find the zeal to bring the Word into all homes, to all people. Still more, we need to pray that the Holy Spirit raises up legions of holy men to the priesthood to help lead our society into a culture of life and Biblical values through the Truth and Light.
