The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas installed a new bishop Thursday in a special mass where he promised to be a good shepherd to the faithful.
The Installation Mass of the Bishop Edward J. Burns took place at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas.
Outside the mass he said the Catholic Church must also serve non-believers and newcomers to America.
"We will not call them Catholic or Protestant. We will not call them Jewish or Muslim. We will not call them rich or poor. We will call them our brothers and our sisters," Bishop Burns said.
Burns, 59, whose most recent post was in Juneau, Alaska, said he has much to learn about Texas but knows undocumented immigrants are a big part of the population, many of them Catholic.
Burns said he will immerse himself in Spanish with study in Mexico to learn the language.
He recalled how the Bible teaches that Jesus and his parents were refugees in Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod.
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"It's important to know that someone in Egypt had to welcome the Holy family," Burns said. "We are called to welcome the immigrants and refugees, as we would welcome Christ."
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Burns's predecessor as Dallas bishop, attended the installation mass, along with two fellow cardinals and more than 50 bishops from across the country, and several hundred priests and deacons.
Farrell – who left Dallas for Rome Oct. 1 after Pope Francis appointed him the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life – spoke at Thursday's mass against insults and the current state of politics in America.
"I would hope that in this period that we're living through and we're going through at the moment, that we would all learn the basic fundamental principal of Christianity. We're all brothers and sisters, and we need to care for each other. And we can have all kinds of disagreements between us, but that doesn't mean that we can't be friends," Farrell said.
Burns said he will spend a great deal of his time as Dallas bishop getting to know the churches and communities of North Texas better, as Farrell did when he first arrived in Dallas.
Burns may find Texans who do not share Catholic views on immigration and refugees, but visitors at the mass were on his side.
People lined up early to get seats at the downtown Dallas cathedral Thursday.
"We're real excited," said visitor Roseanna Baw. "We've heard so much about him, so we're really looking forward to what he can do for the Diocese of Dallas."
Members of an organization called Neocatechumenal Way performed music for people entering the cathedral to help welcome Burns.
"We are saying, 'Hey, we are in communion with you. We back you. We're in support of you. We're here for you,'" said member Guillermo Rodriguez.
The group of devout Catholics works as adults to reconfirm the Baptism they received as infants.
"He will be inspired by the Holy Spirit to do whatever he needs to do," Rodriguez said about his new bishop.
Burns is a native of Pittsburgh and had served as bishop in Juneau since 1999.
