Richmond has had a long association with the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Before 1820 when the Richmond Diocese was established, Richmond was a part of Baltimore which took in most of the southern states. The first bishop of Richmond, Patrick Kelly, came from Ireland in 1820 but remained for only a year due to trusteeism in Norfolk. For the next twenty years, Richmond was without a bishop and came once again under the direct charge of Baltimore. Our relationship with the See of Baltimore is more recently pronounced by the fact that our previous two bishops, Peter L. Ireton, who ordained me a priest in 1953, and John J. Russell, who ordained me a bishop in 1970, were both from St. Anne's parish in Baltimore and priests of that Archdiocese.

The bishops of the Baltimore Province get together twice a year, once in August for a formal meeting, and then early in January for the annual retreat. The retreat also includes the bishops of the Provinces of Washington, Atlanta, Miami and the Military Archdiocese. Our provincial meeting is a good opportunity to renew friendships, share ideas on agenda items and prayer together.

Each bishop of the province presents agenda items. We discussed dividing our region in the Bishop's Conference into two separate regions. Ours, which is Region 4, is the largest in our country, stretching from Wilmington, Delaware to Miami, Florida. I favor the split of our region because it is so unwieldy in size. My only stipulation is that we can still all make our annual retreat together in early January at our Lady of Florida Retreat Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

One of our bishops wanted to share his own experience of Diocesan Pastoral Councils since his is undergoing reorganization. I was happy to say that here in the Richmond Diocese we have had a good experience. Our council has met consistently since it was established by my predecessor Bishop John Russell in 1966. Members of the Council are not elected as such but two are appointed by me from each of the 12 regions of our diocese. Our own Pastoral Council has given invaluable service by bringing insights from each region and recommending new directions for the diocese. The DPC had a major role in organizing the Jubilee Convocation in May and the Lay Recognition Program for this fall.

Vocations, with the growing priest shortage, are certainly uppermost in the minds of the bishops. Thankfully, our own diocese will have 7 new candidates entering the seminary this fall. This week I was able to interview each one at Sandbridge. Our people are becoming more vocation conscious as parishes are more and more facing the possibility of not having the full time services of a priest. Many of our priests are nearing retirement age. Each year has become more difficult for the Priest Assignment Committee to recommend changes. I recently went through our clergy list and was surprised to discover that 40 of our active priests were not ordained in the Richmond Cathedral but came to us, thank God, from other dioceses or religious communities.

Cardinal Keeler shared with us a report on the International Dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholics which took place at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg this past July 10-19. Present were 23 Catholic representatives, including Cardinal Edward Cassidy of the Vatican, and 13 Orthodox delegates representing 10 Orthodox Churches from around the world. While there was no major breakthrough for bringing the Orthodox Churches into communion with the Pope, those who were present dialogued and prayed together. They confessed their sins of division and mended bridges of separation. Hopefully the day will come when full communion becomes a reality after a separation of almost 1000 years.

The bishops had high praise for Encuentro 2000 which took place recently in Los Angeles. Our diocese had 30 delegates present. For all of us, the gathering of 5,000 people representing various ethnic and cultural groups was a wonderful experience of the unity and diversity of the church. People came together to celebrate their history of faith and solidarity but also to recognize the pain caused by exclusion and discrimination. If we are truly Catholic and universal, as we claim to be, then we must consider the Church in all its diversity and recognize the many faces in God's house.

We had a discussion on home schooling, which to my surprise is prominent in Baltimore and in northern Virginia. Today, there is a National Association of Home Educators made up of many Catholic families who seek the recognition and acceptance of the Church. Families who home school want to impart the truths of faith and family values to their children. In many instances, Catholic schools are not available to these families.

Finally, we discussed the treatment of priests with dysfunctional and impaired behavior. We realize that most all priests are working hard and have a good ministry. Priests are also ordinary men and are subject to human shortcomings. All behavior is a manifestation of personal need. Like in all other professions, priests can become overwhelmed when working under great stress. It is then that symptoms of impaired behavior appear. I was pleased that bishops are now more open in acknowledging problems of priests and the need for counseling of one kind or another so that priests will live healthy lives and be more effective in ministry.

Our provincial meeting in Baltimore was a rewarding experience and I'm grateful to Cardinal Keeler for his leadership and friendship with his 4 suffragant bishops.