Cardinal Tells Grads Watch Out For The Little Guy
Archbishop of Washington D.C. Undergraduate Commencement Speaker
Cardinal McCarrick, who served as the late Pope John Paul II’s emissary on international issues, told the more than 600 Canisius undergraduates about a trip he took to Sarajevo when it was under siege by Bosnian Serb forces. As he traveled through the ruins to the home of the city’s Archbishop, he recalled meeting a group of teenagers that were distributing food and medicine to senior citizens trapped in a high-rise apartment building. The teens, who risked their own safety, told the Cardinal that they thought that this is what God would want them to do.
Like the teens in Sarajevo, Cardinal McCarrick told students to watch out for “the little guy,” who can take many forms including people in their own communities facing poverty, drug abuse and prostitution. “They are all around us and they need us,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to say ‘Here I am,’ because that is what God wants you to say.”
Cardinal McCarrick announced last week that he will step down as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. Pope John Paul II installed McCarrick as Washington’s Archbishop in January 2001 and seven weeks later elevated him to the College of Cardinals.
During the ceremony, honorary degrees were conferred upon Cardinal McCarrick, Luiz F. Kahl (posthumously), chair of the NFTA and president of The Vector Group, and philanthropists Sebastian J. ’48 and Lenore M. (McGowan) Rosica.
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Date released: 5/22/2006
