By Tom McGuire, M.Div, M.R.E., USCCA Director Emeritus
Bishop John S. Cummins was laid to rest on December 21, 2024, at the Cathedral, Christ the Light, in Oakland, California. He is remembered as a friend and a caring pastor of the People of God. In his homily at the funeral mass, Fr Vassar captures my memory of Bishop Cummins. He said,
When we leave this holy ground, this lakeside beach to which we have been called by him, whose body we lay to rest today, rejoice in being who you have become because you have known him: spirit-powered people empowered to do Jesus’ work incarnating God’s love. That would please Bishop John greatly.
All of us who have known him over the years are grateful for who we are because we have known him.
Bishop John Cummins, an Episcopal Member of the Board since 2009, contributed his pastoral wisdom to the mission and vision of the U.S. China Catholic Association. Despite the historical difficulties, he was committed to building bridges of friendship and dialogue with the Church in China. In 1997, he wrote in an America Magazine article in light of the tension between the Vatican and Beijing, “Earlier we tended to take sides in assessing the faithfulness of church groups as they made difficult and sometimes ambiguous choices in the complex religious and political situation of the 1950s and 1960s,” he wrote of the church in China. “One bit of sound advice for us comes from the Hippocratic Oath. ‘First, do no harm.’ We should favor neither the open church group nor the underground group. Indeed, we need to speak out for human rights, but we should avoid strident language and confrontational politics.”
For our friend, Bishop Cummins, we pray confidently: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Tom McGuire, M.Div, M.R.E. is a Director Emeritus of the USCCA. Tom has served as a Maryknoll Missionary in Hong Kong and as Director of Campus Ministry at University of Detroit Mercy. He is now retired, living in Chicago with his family.
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