By:Angela Marshall
The sea of white-robbed priests seemed to flow forever as several hundred entered the sanctuary of St. Agnes Cathedral. And it is that holy and powerful image that William F. Murphy, the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, wants to embrace with his whole heart.
In front of more than 1,300 well-wishers, Murphy was installed Wednesday, Sept. 5. He accepted with gratitude as those crowding the Cathedral greeted him with thunderous applause.
In his homily, Murphy stressed his dedication to the encouragement of vocations. He has already approached a Benedictine community of contemplative nuns from Nigeria to consider moving to the diocese specifically to pray for vocations.
Murphy said that although the call to the religious life comes from God, it can be stimulated and supported both by the family and his "brother priests."
The bishop called on families to help young people embrace vocations to "the consecrated life." He said, "I am asking all families to encourage their own children to consider a vocation."
While continuing the pledge to devote his energies to vocations, he also showed his sense of humor. Murphy said that any young person "interested in religious life may always write directly to me by e-mail or snail mail."
The new bishop left no doubt that he believes in strict conformity to the social doctrine of the Church when he said, "To be a faithful Catholic means to be unambiguously pro-life at all times and for every human being from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. To be a faithful Catholic means to be uncompromisingly pro-family, the basic unit of every society and the only ultimate guarantor of a good society. To be a faithful Catholic means to be unalterable pro-poor, seeing in the poor the face of Christ and embracing them as our noble brothers and sisters."
Murphy was appointed by Pope John Paul II in June, six months after the death of Bishop James T. McHugh from cancer.
The diocese's second bishop, John R. McGann, received a standing ovation during the installation service when Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop of the Diocese of New York, thanked him for his dedication. Murphy has called McGann the "living history of the diocese," and said he prays that God will continue to bless him for many years so that the diocese can continue to take advantage of his wisdom.
Egan was one of nine cardinals and more than 70 bishops who participated.
Several representatives of Rockville Centre were invited to greet Murphy, including Mayor Eugene Murray, Sen. Dean Skelos and Rabbi Barry Dov Schwartz, spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Sholom.
Murphy was firm in his commitment to harmony between the different Christian religions as well as those of other faiths, including Judaism. "May we come to know each other in mutual respect and love each other so that our lives will teach the children of the oneness of the God we all worship," he said.
The bishop embraced the many cultures on Long Island by offering greetings in Spanish, Haitian, Korean and Italian.
Proving that he is ready to get down to work, Murphy said that he is already getting ready for the diocese's 50th anniversary in 2007. "We are young but we have much to build upon."
