Editor's note: Cardinal Roger Mahony made the following remarks to Pope John Paul II May 14 at the conclusion of the "ad limina" visits of the bishops of California, Nevada and Hawaii.

Your Holiness:

The Bishops who serve the Church on the Pacific Coast of the United States are pleased to have this opportunity to gather with you, and to reconfirm our bonds of collegiality, fraternity, and fidelity.

Since our last Ad Limina Apostolorum meeting with you in 1998 we have experienced many challenges as Bishops of our Particular Churches. We continue to witness increased ethnic diversity among our Catholic Faithful since our Churches serve as the point of entry to the United States for both the Asia-Pacific Region as well as Latin America. Newly arrived immigrants constitute a greater majority among our parishioners.

The rapid growth of our Catholic Communities is heartening for the Church in our Region, but the increase in our Catholic population far outdistances the number of priests we have available to serve them. Providing adequate numbers of priests to celebrate Sunday Eucharist and to serve as Pastors of parishes remains a daunting challenge for us. We are all deeply concerned about this imbalance, and we welcome your wisdom and guidance in meeting this challenge for our Particular Churches.

We have all felt the shame, sorrow, and disillusionment realizing that some priests in past years sexually abused children and young people. This betrayal of their priestly commitments has embarrassed and saddened our Catholic people, our faithful and devoted priests, and each of us Bishops. We continue to reach out to victims of such sinful behavior with pastoral and spiritual care. These efforts will demand our prayers and efforts for years to come.

You have given us great encouragement in "Pastores Gregis" as you told us: "If we must say that a Bishop is never alone, inasmuch as he is always united to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, we must also add that he is also never alone because he is always and continuously united with his brothers in the episcopate and with the one whom the Lord has chosen as Successor of Peter" (par.8).

Holy Father, we come to you, the Vicar of Christ to hear those same words spoken by Jesus to Peter: "I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32).

In turn, we promise you our prayerful support, and we reaffirm our filial obedience. May we also extend to Your Holiness our best wishes as you celebrate your birthday next week. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of the Apostles, "obtain for us the grace never to fail in the task of love which Christ has entrusted to us" (PS, par. 74).

His Eminence
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony
Archbishop of Los Angeles