Earlier in October, Archbishop of Boston Richard G. Henning sat down with Kevin Nelson of the CatholicTV Network at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross for an interview to be aired on the day of the archbishop's installation, Oct. 31, 2024.



Following is a partial transcript of that interview, edited for length, content, and clarity.



Q: We've had so many significant events that have taken place in this beautiful cathedral over the years. Maybe you could talk about this significant event that is taking place?

A: This archdiocese has quite a history and that's a little overwhelming, actually. But I think the truth is that we all in each generation have to be the ones that live that discipleship here and now. So, we receive the gift of that legacy, but then there's the call for us now to live it. So, I hope that the beauty of this place and all that has happened here will always remind me and all of us of why it's here. Because Jesus Christ is Lord, and he wants to know us, to love us, and to give us the gift of his grace.



Q: For those who are tuning in to the installation here today and might not know you, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Maybe give people a little background about your journey?

A: I guess I don't always feel like I'm all that interesting. I don't really have a dramatic story. I'm the oldest of five children. My parents, who I love very much, taught me the faith. They were really my first evangelizers, and they made sacrifices so that I could go to Catholic school, which was a great joy to me.

It was there in Catholic grammar school that I first felt the stirrings of a priestly call. I also had the gift of attending a Chaminade High School with the Marianist Brothers, and their witness was very impactful on me as a believer. I went from there to St. John's University with the Vincentian priests. I had sisters of St. Joseph in grammar school. So I lived in, I guess, a Catholic world: sort of an urban/suburban parish, a neighborhood where most of the people were Catholic or Jewish, so we knew everybody. It was a great place to grow up. It was a kind of happy childhood.

My family also has gone for years to a small island in the Great South Bay. So, I grew up in the summertimes sailing, kayaking, fishing, and climbing. So that's kind of my happy place, still.

I had wonderful years of priestly life. I taught in the seminary, which was terrific. I was very uplifted by the seminarians and their response to the Lord's call. I had the privilege of doing further studies, which have enriched my life, and I hope others through me.



Q: As you come in, of course, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has been here for many years now. Maybe you could talk about his ministry here and about taking over for him?

A: I think his legacy is remarkable. I know that that will be true for generations to come, and I'm not sure they make them like him anymore -- his linguistic ability, his pastoral charity, his pastoral wisdom. He has done remarkable things here and, in a lot of ways, I think it's not so much the skills as the authenticity of the man who guided his flock through really difficult days and helped them to find healing in the Lord. So, I stand in awe of that legacy. I have no illusions that I will replace him. I will do my best to follow him.



Q: And speaking of linguistic abilities, I know you speak Spanish, and you're trying to learn more Portuguese as well. This archdiocese is a very diverse archdiocese. Maybe you could talk about that aspect of your new position here as Archbishop of Boston and how you would lift up the diverse communities that are part of this archdiocese?

A: Well, I think we lift each other, you know. I studied Spanish in the seminary, but that was not the same as working with people in the parish. When I went to my first parish, my Spanish language skills were pretty terrible. The people there took the time to teach me. It was a group of four women who took turns tutoring me. So, I had tutoring sessions four days a week.

I would go to prayer meetings and sit in the back of the room and listen. It was a sort of crash course, being dumped in the deep end of the pool, as it were, and learning how to swim. But the thing that really touched my heart is that, as I'm trying to learn the language, the language began to open the door to something deeper because I was finding myself in these meetings and prayer gatherings with people of just bedrock faith, many of whom had experienced terrible difficulties in their lives, who were going through poverty, experiencing the transition from one culture to another, and they just welcomed me into their hearts and shared with me that profound faith.

So, I think for me, the language was not so much me learning to help them, as me being drawn into that community and being lifted and converted by it. So, I think if we're a diverse church, there's a gift there for us to witness to each other and find that richness that God would intend for us. I know that cultures and languages create barriers and tensions, but we can get past those; we're the children of God. And when we do, and when that language barrier falls, it's miraculous.



Q: I know, as Bishop of Providence, you've made a point to get to know the priests of the diocese. Could you talk about getting to know the Boston priests here as you come in?

A: I worked as a priest back in Rockville Centre, so I've always felt I am a priest. I always felt close to priests. I like my brothers and enjoy their company. So when I went to Providence, I certainly made them a priority for me and, to some degree, that was strategic. To my experience, the church happens in the parish.

In the Pastoral Center, we certainly do everything we can to sustain parish life, but for most of the people of God, the parish is where you encounter the Eucharist, the Lord, the sacraments, and each other. The priests are critical to that. We cannot be the church without them; I can't be bishop without them. So I knew in Providence that I needed to learn their wisdom; I needed to know their hearts. I knew that all of us together needed to always be renewing ourselves in the call.

This is not an easy time to be a priest. The culture has a kind of toxicity to it, so we have to be ever more faithful to prayer, spiritual direction, and the call of chastity. So, I knew that they were important, and I hope that I communicated that to them, and I would like to do the same here in Boston. To be a priest of Boston, that's a big challenge. This is a big archdiocese with a lot of complexity and a long history, as you said, but also a painful history. So, I really look forward to being partnered with them in the ministry of the Lord.



Q: Could you expand on some of your other priorities as you come in as the new archbishop, maybe some things that you'd like to see?

A: It's a fair question to ask me my priorities, but in a way, it's not one I can answer. The reason I say that is I have a whole lot more learning to do about the Archdiocese of Boston. And I don't think it would be wise of me to walk in the door already knowing what the priorities are when I haven't even really learned the place or listened to people. So, my first instinct is really to visit, to listen, to see. I want to see those communities on the ground. I want to go into those classrooms and meet the students.

Having said that, there are key areas of concern to me that I think are broader than this moment. Certainly, the priests are one. Another is Catholic education and formation in the faith. I think these are really important realities for this moment of the church's life. I do want to get involved on the college campuses. That's a major part, as I understand it, of life in Boston, and I think there are some amazing things happening there post-COVID. There's a kind of revival of faith among young adults, which is quite remarkable.

Obviously, I speak Spanish, so I'm going to want to get to know the Hispanic community. I'm trying to learn Portuguese, though it's going a little more slowly, I guess because I'm older. So, the Brazilian and islander and mainland Portuguese communities will be of interest. But as you indicated, there are so many more. So I have lots to learn before I decide what the program is. And, at the end of the day, I probably shouldn't decide even then. That's something we should do together as a Church.



Q: As you mentioned, there are some painful parts of the history here in the archdiocese with clergy sex abuse crises. Maybe you could offer some words of encouragement for survivors of abuse as we continue to support them?

A: Well, I think the first thing we should always say and do is how committed we are to protecting children in our midst. For people who suffered these sins in the past, I think it's a major concern for them that this would not happen to anyone else. So, I hope it's encouraging when I say that is a central commitment that I've made in my life over many years.

We work hard to make sure that the children who are entrusted to our care are safe, nurtured, and treated with the dignity that God has given to them. I certainly feel, along with the whole church, a sense of grief that there were young people who did not have that kind of protection and who suffered as a result of that.

I can't take that past away, but I can walk with people, listen to people and share faith with people and really say to them that their own witness in the life of the church is key. Because those who have suffered the effects of human sin and who yet still, themselves, practice compassion, and live the faith, that's a pretty powerful gift to the wider community. So, I certainly want to hear their witness of faith.

I think I probably would also like to say to them that I think one of the terrible elements of these sins is that the offenders try to make the child feel complicit. That's the whole grooming idea. So I think we, as a church, need to say to those young people, now adults, who've suffered these crimes, these sins, is that they are innocent. It is not their fault. I think they know that in their minds, but maybe sometimes not so much in their hearts.

I think we have to repeat that they matter to us. They're beloved. That God sees their purity, their goodness, and that healing is possible. Of course, it helps when there's a wider community that wants to participate in that healing. So, my hope and prayer is that we will be that in Boston.



Q: Of course, we're in a major election year. Is there any guidance you could offer to people as we approach the election on how they can proceed as Catholics?

A: That's a tricky question. It's not for me to tell people what to vote for or who to vote for. I would say I hope that we exercise our civic duty to vote.

I think that voting also requires prayer. I'm not sure we all think this way, but before we vote, we should be praying. We should be asking the Lord's wisdom and guidance, and I'm not sure we shouldn't say a prayer in the voting booth. It's not a violation of church and state to say to the Lord, "I'm about to vote. I need your wisdom. Guide me with your spirit." I think our own openness and docility to the Lord is always of value, particularly in that setting.

I think the church's goal is to form people's consciences, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has significant resources for that purpose in "Faithful Citizenship." There are resources through the website. There are all kinds of things that people could consult in order to form their consciences as they go into the voting booth, remembering always that our goal is the common good. Our goal is the dignity and the beauty of human life.

It's not us imposing our faith on the wider society. It is us offering that witness of the importance of civil life, the importance of maintaining a culture of life, a culture where people can make their way in safety and order and security. These are important elements of civic life. So, I hope we engage, but I hope we do so as Catholics. I hope we do it as humble, prayerful people.



Q: We talked about the priests earlier, but as the priests of Boston gather here at the cathedral today, what do you have to say to them, personally, on this historic day?

A: Well, I guess I would say to my brother priests and deacons, I'm happy you're here with me. I look forward to getting to know you. I hope that all of us together will be challenged by the truth of the Gospel. If we're going to proclaim it and minister to others, then we have to start with our own hearts. That's my own perspective: that conversion starts with us.

So, I would say both thank you, and maybe also offer a little bit of a challenge: that in the circumstances we find ourselves, it's time to go deeper, "Put Out Into the Deep," as it were.



Q: For you, personally, on this very special day, a new chapter in the Archdiocese of Boston, what is in your heart?

A: One of the things that has been joyful for me during my time in Rhode Island, has been visiting the college campuses. And one of the fascinating things for me, a thing that has really touched my heart, being among some of the young people, is that they're coming to a deeper sense of faith. They've got the right questions. But I think in our own culture, we tend to think of religion and God as something that is supposed to help us when we need it. He's supposed to be there when we're in trouble. He's supposed to console us when we're sad, right?

And that's all true, and the Gospel is full of examples of Jesus, healing and consoling and strengthening. But what I'm experiencing with these young people is that they want to be challenged. They don't use this language, but what they really want is to know the price of discipleship. They're living in a cultural setting where to be a disciple of Jesus Christ costs you, so it has to be a decision.

I think the thing that's in my heart right now, at this moment, in this great archdiocese, is that we, disciples of the Lord, we have to remember that other side. Certainly, we want to be healed; we want to be strengthened by the Lord. But relationships require both sides, right? There has to be that response on our part, that willingness to trust the Lord, to entrust our lives to the Lord, to live in accord with his law of love, knowing that's going to be difficult and sometimes painful, and even cost us. So, I think the young people are teaching me something, and it's certainly in my heart today.