[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 62 (Thursday, April 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING MOST REV. JOSEPH BAMBERA UPON HIS ORDINATION AS BISHOP 
        OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA

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                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 29, 2010

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to Most Rev. 
Joseph Bambera, the newly ordained Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese 
of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
  On Monday, April 26, 2010, Bishop Bambera became the 10th Bishop of 
the Scranton Diocese. A native son of the 11-county Catholic diocese, 
Bishop Bambera spent nearly 20 of his 27 years as a priest ministering 
in the diocese's parishes.
  He brings to his new post enthusiasm, humility and a unique 
understanding of his Catholic flock.
  ``With deep humility, I offer thanks to Almighty God, through whose 
providence and grace I've been called to serve as the 10th Bishop of 
the Diocese of Scranton,'' Bishop Bambera stated during his 
installation at St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton before a large 
audience of priests, bishops, Cardinal Justin Rigali, head of the 
Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Apostolic Nuncio Pietro Sambi, Pope 
Benedict XVI's top diplomatic and spiritual representative in the 
United States as well as hundreds of the faithful.
  Bishop Bambera has received the endorsement of many of his fellow 
priests in the Diocese who know him as a consensus builder and a man 
who appreciates the power of humor. ``In God's wisdom and providence, 
he has given you one of your own as bishop,'' he said referring to the 
fact that he is only the second bishop to be a native of the diocese. 
``For you, perhaps God's wisdom may be confounding,'' he added to 
laughter from his church audience.
  Then, he offered, ``For me, your example, your dedication to prayer 
and service and your support have been a great source of inspiration 
and great consolation.''
  Again, Bishop Bambera called upon his gift of humor to express his 
deep emotion about his family roots. He recalled that his father died 
in 2004 and that his mother, when told that her son had been appointed 
as bishop, she was not ``ecstatic.'' He recalled that she said, ``Well, 
you've got quite a job to do.'' Then, when told that the public 
announcement of his appointment would occur on a Tuesday at 10 a.m., 
she responded, ``That works out just fine. I have a hair appointment at 
noon.'' Choking back tears, Bishop Bambera thanked his parents for 
raising him well.
  ``My mother and father taught us by their example powerful lessons of 
faith and hope, peppered with healthy doses of commonsense. As parents 
go, I could not ask for more,'' he observed.
  Bishop Bambera called attention to the chalice he uses during Mass, 
noting that it was a gift from his Great Aunt Marie, who died in her 
80s, after outliving three children. ``One day my mother asked her, 
`How do you remain so upbeat given all the loss you've experienced in 
your life?' Here's what she said, `No one knows the tears that I shed 
for those I've lost. But I am convinced that there is nothing that we 
cannot bear in life if we have faith.' ''
  Bishop Bambera called upon the faithful of the diocese to work 
together with him to ``. . . meet the challenges.''
  In his remarks, Cardinal Rigali, speaking about Bishop Bambera, noted 
that, ``. . . the faithful bishop is a good shepherd who knows that 
despite his own human limitations and his many faults and shortcomings 
which he recognizes and strives with God's help to overcome, he must 
still challenge the flock.''
  Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating Bishop Bambera on 
this most joyous and inspiring occasion. His faithful service to the 
spiritual well-being of his parishioners; the respect that he enjoys 
among his peers and superiors; his leadership and his unyielding 
devotion to God and the Catholic congregation of northeastern 
Pennsylvania will serve him well as he moves forward in this new and 
demanding position. In that regard, we all wish him well.

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