Following is the letter Bishop Garcia and I sent to the Holy Father on behalf of the Diocese of Sacramento on Oct. 3.

Your Holiness,

On behalf of the faithful, clergy, and religious of the Diocese of Sacramento, we write to congratulate you on your 25th anniversary as the Vicar of Christ and the successor of St. Peter. As we near this important milestone in your pontificate, we express our immense appreciation for your courageous and steady leadership over the last 25 years. You have truly been a remarkable leader for the Catholic Church, as also for the world. You have ceaselessly promoted the full implementation of the Second Vatican Council, within the context of an authentic interpretation of the Council documents. You have been an admirable and tireless teacher of the faith through a great number of very substantive encyclicals and other papal documents.

You have launched a needed catechetical renewal by commissioning and promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Your insights into the “theology of the body” and human sexuality have been invaluable. Your teaching of social justice and insistence on peaceful means of conflict resolution has been greatly needed. Your pursuit of ecumenism has been a continuing witness to the Christian churches.

Your attention to the youth of the world and the inauguration of World Youth Day has given much encouragement to the young people and has also promoted vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Your leadership in having us observe the Great Jubilee of Jesus Christ in the year 2000, with the many years of preparation, was a wonderful gift to the Church.

As a world leader, you have brought Christ’s message of peace, truth and moral values to all parts of the world through many means, including through your more than 100 pastoral visits. You were instrumental in bringing down communism in Poland and behind the “iron curtain,” as well as bringing about peace in many other places of unrest.

As we give thanks for the immensely fruitful 25 years of your pontificate, we extend to you our heartfelt prayers and best wishes. May the heavenly Father continue to bless, strengthen and inspire you in your important service to the Church and to the world.

With sentiments of esteem, we remain
Yours sincerely in Christ,

Let us pray for Pope John Paul II as he deals with waning health yet faithfully continues his important service to the Church and to the world, as the Vicar of Christ and the successor of St. Peter.

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