Dear Members of the Diocese,
As perhaps you know the Pope accepted my resignation on September 18, 1998 I would like to explain to you why I asked to resign. I shall do it with the aid of two pairs of sandals. The first pair can be found in the Old Testament and the second in the New Testament.
But before that I would sincerely like to thank all of you who have prayed for me and have given proof of both love and support. It is a great source of wealth to belong to the Church, to be a member of a community in a new way, to experience more deeply that I, through Christ am a member of the family of God as well as a member of the body of the Church. In God we all support one another. I am not alone.
When I heard the diagnosis of my disease I was shocked and sad. I admit that I have also cried, because I love life and my work. But I know, through your good wishes and prayers, that your affinity has helped me to acknowledge that "there is one God. the Father, from whom all being comes, towards whom we move." (1. Cor. 8:6). The pairs of sandals in the Bible have helped me meditate. The first pair has to do with the vision of Moses in the desert. When he saw the burning bush and was going to go to investigate the phenomenon, the voice of God told him to take off his sandals. When approaching the glory and love of God it is necessary to take off ones shoes. I felt that my time had come to make a more determined effort to take off my shoes in order to make myself ready to see the miracle of the burning bush. The sandals must come off before they can replaced by new ones. These are in the New Testament parable of the father and his two sons. When the younger son returns tired and wounded into the arms of the Father, the Father gives orders to bring in a new pair of sandals for the party. I hope I shall be permitted to be like that boy.
I feel I am between old and new sandals. At this stage I must give up the bishopric. This hurts, but it is important and sensible. I do it for the love of the diocese which I am no longer able to serve in the way it demands. I also do it so that I can devote more time and attention to the disease, which is my new assignment, and to death which is the door to eternity for all of us
When I arrived in Helsinki in 1964 I brought with me my books and a few personal possessions. I had no actual wealth. Now that I end my assignment I am fortunate to be in the same position. Like the priests of the diocese and the priests of the brotherhoods I have received everything necessary for life and my duty without a salary. I am grateful for that.
I had intended, at the end of this letter to write about my wishes concerning unfinished projects like the Mass Book, the Prayer Book and the Catechism. I had also intended to write about my wishes concerning the parishes, the development of Stella Maris, different centers and associations. But maybe it is best here too to take off my sandals. I trust my successor. And I trust in Jesus Christ who is the real shepherd of our diocese and who is the same yesterday, today and forever. I shall remember you with love and "pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-glorious Father, may give you the spiritual powers of wisdom and vision, by which there comes the knowledge of him. I pray that your inward eyes may be illumined, so that you may know what is the hope to which he calls you, what the wealth and glory of the share he offers you among his people in their heritage, and how vast the resources of his power open to us who trust in him" (Eph. 1:17-19).
Meilahti Hospital, September 18, 1998
Bishop Paul Verschuren