Bishop Brom / PQ Village

This morning I participated in the funeral Mass of our late Bishop, Robert Brom. He shepherded the Church in San Diego for twenty three years. As I was waiting with other priests for the procession to begin, I realized the alb I was wearing was a gift from Bishop Brom. He gave it to me when I served as his Master of Ceremonies. The Gospel read at the Mass was the Resurrection appearance of Jesus by the Sea of Tiberius, when Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and when Peter says yes, Jesus entrusts the care of the flock to him. I vividly remember discussing this passage with Bishop Brom right after I was admitted to priestly formation. Msgr. Steve Callahan, a good friend to and collaborator with Bishop Brom, gave a wonderful homily. He talked about some of the favorite sayings of Bishop Brom. I remembered a couple more. “Jesus will never be arrested for forced entry.” This was meant to convey the need for us to accept Jesus and cooperate with His grace. “Only dead bodies float downstream.” This meant that if we are alive in Christ, we need to fight against the current of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Please remember Bishop Brom, and those who miss him the most, in your prayers.

I encourage all parishioners to attend the screening of a documentary, PQ Village, this Saturday, May 21st, at 10am in the parish hall. For those of you who are new to our parish, PQ Village is the name of a 332-unit residential complex for low-income tenants which used to be just down the hill from our parish. In the Spring of 2017, we became aware of a plan to demolish these units and replace them with market-rate units. A large number of parishioners worked with PQ Village residents to oppose this redevelopment. Our advocacy included a petition that garnered 1,149 signatures, rallies and prayer services, speaking at PQ Community Planning Board and San Diego Planning Commission meetings, attracting favorable media coverage on all local news stations, allying with other organizations, contacting and meeting with City Council members and their staff, and much more. Our efforts motivated the owners and developers to make significant concessions. While we were not able to stop the project, we ensured that every tenant had a roof over their head that they could afford and that the new development had much more affordable housing than was originally planned. The documentary film tells some of the stories of the residents.