Your Eminence Cardinal O'Brien, My brother Bishops in Scotland, Priests, Deacons and Religious, My brothers and sisters in Christ,

Dear Bishop Tartaglia,

I cannot tell you how much I regret that I am not able to be with you today on the occasion of the Episcopal ordination of the new bishop of Paisley, His Excellency Philip Tartaglia. Unfortunately, I had made a commitment to make a pastoral visit to the Archdiocese of Liverpool several months ago and therefore must be there on this day.

However, through this message I wish to send my sincerest greetings to all of you present at today's ceremony. I also wish to thank publicly Archbishop Conti for guiding and caring for the Church in paisley as Apostolic Administrator during this period. The same sentiments go to your delegate Mgr. Thomas Monaghan. Through your care and efforts the Church here did not go unattended.

To the new Bishop my congratulations and best wishes as you take up your ministry as chief pastor of the Church in Paisley. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in appointing you to care for that Church has expressed trust not only in your good human qualities but also in the priestly qualities that have thus far characterised the daily fulfilment of your priestly ministry.

Now, you have been called to provide the care of a shepherd for this particular Church. In fact, that is precisely the image that Pope Benedict used in describing all pastors in the Church when he began his own ministry as Pastor of the universal Church. During his homily he said that like a shepherd, "the pastor must be inspired by Christ's holy zeal: for him it is not a matter of indifference that so many people are living in the desert...The Church as a whole, and all her pastors, like Christ must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives life, and life in abundance."

Dear Bishop Tartaglia, I know that you will care for the priests, deacons, the religious and all the people of your diocese with that fervour and passion of tending the flock. It is my prayer that through your efforts they will come to know "the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ" (Ephesians 3,18-19). May the Lord then bring to completion the good work that he has begun in you!