Cardinal, religious leaders pray for Mayor Nutter
By
Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Michael A. Nutter was sworn in as Philadelphia’s
98th mayor on Monday, Jan. 7 at the Academy of Music, in an inauguration
ceremony at which Cardinal Justin Rigali delivered the invocation.
The Cardinal asked God to guide and inspire Nutter, a graduate of Transfiguration
of Our Lord School and St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, and to
make “profound respect for the dignity of every person”
a hallmark of his administration.
“Bless our Mayor, Michael Nutter, the members of City Council
and all elected officials in the City of Philadelphia,” Cardinal
Rigali said in the opening prayer. “Grant them the wisdom and
strength to strive to do Your will in all things for the greater honor
and glory of Your name, and for the good of all the citizens of this
city.
“May this administration be marked by a profound respect for the
dignity of every person. Sustain its efforts to bring about justice
for every man, woman and child,” the Cardinal said in his prayer.
“May it continually work towards an end to the violence that plagues
the streets of our city.
“Amidst the challenges and trials that we face each day, help
us with Your grace to be people of hope, to persevere with confidence
in the task You have entrusted to us, so that one day we may enjoy the
gift of Your presence in the joy of heaven,” the Cardinal prayed.
Early in his inaugural speech, Nutter received a standing ovation when
he spoke of the tragically high level of crime in Philadelphia. “To
the law-abiding citizens of Philadelphia, I say we are the great majority
— and to the lawbreakers, you are in the small minority,”
the new mayor said. “This is our city, and we’re taking
it back. … And I’m not playing around about it. …
“The Renaissance period of Philadelphia got started about a half-hour
ago,” Nutter said as he concluded his inaugural address.
Nutter, who now attends Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia,
acknowledged his Catholic schooling at Transfiguration and the Prep
in his inaugural address as well as in an interview prior to an interfaith
prayer service four days earlier.
“I received a tremendous education — an incredible foundation
of … faith,” he said, describing that foundation as “appreciation
for learning and a disciplined education, both at my grade school, Transfiguration
of Our Lord, and … St. Joe’s Prep high school.”
On Jan. 3, the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia hosted
an Interfaith Inaugural Service for Nutter at the Cathedral Basilica
of SS. Peter and Paul. Numerous religious leaders attended, including
the co-conveners of the council: Cardinal Rigali; Imam Anwar Muhaimin
of the International Muslim Brotherhood, Inc., and Rabbi David Straus,
immediate past president of the VAAD: Board of Rabbis. [Read the Cardinal’s
welcome and opening prayer from the interfaith service on page 2.]
At the service, Nutter’s pastor, Rev. Albert Campbell, delivered
a reading from sacred Scripture, as did Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell and Imam
Muhammad Abdur-Razzaq Miller.
A highlight of the service was a pledge to end violence in the region,
written by the Religious Leaders Council and recited by Nutter and the
assembly.
Nutter was buoyed by the prayer service.
“Philadelphia is a city that celebrates its diversity —
of race and of culture, but also of religion. …,” he said.
“Our differences are miniscule in comparison to the way we are
united in our faith, in our hope, in our commitment to a great future
for this city.”
The new mayor said he is confident that “the great chapters of
the history of this city are still to be written,” and that he
looks forward to working with the Philadelphia Archdiocese in addressing
violence and crime in the city.
After the prayer service, Cardinal Rigali also emphasized that the gathering
“signifies working together for the betterment of all our citizens,
working together so that everyone will have life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness, working together so that we can build a civilization of
love, of peace, of justice, where everybody counts and everybody is
respected, and where there is no place in any way for violence in our
society.”
Combatting crime is a challenge, the Cardinal continued. “But
we are not discouraged because we have placed our hope in the living
God,” he said.
Imam Muhaimin described the prayer service as powerful. “It’s
a good commencement for a new era of leadership in our city,”
he added.
Rabbi Straus said he was struck by the way the various faiths convened
to “stand together for justice, for peace, for compassion and
passion.”
The Archdiocese’s Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs,
under the direction of Father Gregory J. Fairbanks, assisted in planning
the prayer service.
The Religious Leaders Council is coordinated by the Interfaith Center
of Greater Philadelphia, 3723 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. For more information,
visit: interfaithcenterpa.org or call (215) 222-1012.
Excerpts of the interfaith prayer service may be viewed on the archdiocesan
Web site: www.archphila.org.
For more information about the archdiocesan Office for Ecumenical and
Interreligious Affairs, call (215) 587-3624, e-mail: ecumen@adphila.org
or access the Web site: www.archphila.org/evangelization/ecum/ecum.htm.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.
A call from people of faith to stop violence
The Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia prays fervently
for an end to violence in our region. The Council calls on all to work
for peace as it leads its constituencies into the ways of peace. The
Council allies itself with all who work to eliminate today’s culture
of violence: its causes, incidents, and tragic consequences. Those who
commit acts of violence and their victims need us to be peace-makers.
Let us listen to their cries, their hopes and their dreams; and let
each of us say:
I pledge as an individual: To promote peace in my home and community.
I pledge to work with others: To eliminate the causes of hatred, to
honor the dignity of all people, to lay down our weapons, and to find
non-violent solutions when tempted to hurt another.
I pledge to be an instrument of God’s peace: To make my home and
neighborhood zones of peace, free from fear, filled with respect, and
marked by deeds of kindness.
This pledge is an initiative of the Religious Leaders Council of Greater
Philadelphia, formed in 2006 to unite religious leaders, to build relationships
of mutual support, to offer a moral and spiritual voice and to take
action on issues of critical concern in our region.