Cardinal ordains first Catholic bishop for troubled Uzbekistan

Published: 2005-05-17

ROME (CNS) -- As civil unrest continued in Uzbekistan, the Vatican secretary of state ordained the first Catholic bishop for the former Soviet republic. Bishop Jerzy Maculewicz, apostolic administrator of Uzbekistan, told Catholic News Service May 17, "As a Franciscan, my first task is to seek ways for us to live together, to increase peace and goodness in Uzbekistan." The new bishop was ordained May 14 at Rome's Basilica of the Holy Apostles, next to the headquarters of the Conventual Franciscan Friars, where he had served as assistant general for Eastern Europe. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, presided at the ordination liturgy on the eve of Pentecost, praying that the new bishop "would never lack the grace of Christ and the abundance of the gifts of the Spirit."

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