The bishop-elect of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington says the social needs of his 50 county region call for the church to 'get outside of itself.' The Reverend John Stowe says during his 15 years on the Mexico-U.S. border, he experienced poverty under different kinds of circumstances. "You know they don't take a lot of things for granted that many of us are able to take for granted; they learn to help each other and that's the most powerful thing,” said Stowe. “There's no allusion that they can do it all by themselves, and I think we can all learn from that."
Stowe says the Hispanic presence in the United States is abundant and life giving. "They just celebrate their faith with an enthusiasm that many of our white Anglo-Catholics don't have or have lost over the years,” he said. “So that youth, that energy, that enthusiasm that Hispanics have, and their way of connecting faith to everyday life I think is a valuable lesson for the whole church."
Father Stowe celebrated mass Friday morning at Cathedral of Christ the King and greeted a number of people. Stowe comes to Lexington from Carey, Ohio where he served as pastor and rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation.
The Reverend Stowe takes over for Bishop Ronald Gainer, who moved to Harrisburg Pennsylvania to serve as bishop. He will be officially installed as bishop on May 5.?
