With the appointment of Brooklyn Auxiliary Most Reverend Frank Caggiano as the Fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the DoR is number 2 on the American list of Episcopal vacancies behind Portland Maine who has been vacant since May, 2012 (14 months). We have been vacant since September, 2012 (10 months).
Francis has been very active; averaging about 3 appointments per day, even in the summer.
|
If we can’t get Bishop Perry from Chicago, I hope we get Bishop Walterscheid from Pittsburgh.
That’s pretty encouraging news, Dan!
The link doesn’t work fyi.
thanks – fixed.
Many priests serve at our embassy in D.C., five at a time, I believe (as secretaries to the nuncio). Those are priests whose administrative skills are well honed over their five-year term and obviously become well known to the nuncio and are usually granted monsignor status. All I’m saying is that there are some wonderful priests certainly worthy of becoming bishop and we just might get one who comes up through the ranks that way and is a newly installed bishop, as Bishop Clark was when he came here. In any case, we all probably have our favorite candidate in mind but know it’s all in God’s hands anyway as we anxiously await our new bishop. +JMJ
Cue mindless new-bishop-won’t-be-orthodox-enough-for-CF comment in 3…2…1…
Alas, Scott, so as to not disappoint, but I’m willing to wager that the new bishop won’t be orthodox enough for many here. I don’t know if anyone’s publicly said it here yet, but I’m willing to wager that if I were to offer a few pennies for folks’ thoughts, many here would say that Francis isn’t orthodox enough, either.
The bishop is the shepherd. We are the sheep. Let us pray for a good, holy, strong and faithful shepherd.
*sigh*
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will happen soon. I’m also hopeful about changes, but they may come slowly. We’ll have to be patient.
I would direct the interested reader to “Whispers in the Loggia” an excellent and very well connected blog on Vatican activity and Episcopal appoints. Rocco (the author of the blog) outlines the circumstance of Bridgeport, CT which seemed to me to be pretty grave. I hesitate to compare Bridgeport to DoR because my suffering and experience is not comparable to my conferees here (both staff and commentators). But, even to the casual observer, the circumstance in Bridgeport is very, very bad – two priests in jail bad.
In reading Rocco’s reportage on this topic, one sees the care in the appointment of this bishop to Bridgeport; matching his skills to their needs. I found great comfort in Rocco’s essay – beware he is an interesting writer but long winded – in that for certain, they did not send the first miter they could find to simply fill a vacancy.
See – http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/ Please scroll down one story. There is not a direct link to the Bridgeport story. But at this time it is the second one dated July 31.
… but I’m willing to wager that the new bishop won’t be orthodox enough for many here.
Please put a sock in it.
We will have to wait ’til September at the earliest – no announcements from the Vatican for the month of August.
Please help me. I am an Evangelical who has been listening to Catholic Radio for over a year. I have reached a point where I would like to join an RCIA class and am looking for a parish that aligns itself with the Magisterium. I have attended masses – mostly on the East side, but the one priest I liked was moved out of the diocese. Do you have any recommendations? Thank you.
@IvelisseR:
depends on how “East” you are. While I haven’t gone through RCIA (being a cradle revert Catholic) I believe the priest at St. Jerome’s in East Rochester would be good, and of course Our Lady of Victory downtown Rochester, and I understand that St. Mary’s in Canandaigua will have a revamped program this year which should be deeper than in the past, with more priest involvement. St. Paul’s in Webster is good, and if you are as far east as Auburn, Holy Family is a definite “yes.” I would say NO to any Fairport church, no to the 3 Route 65 churches (St.Louis, Transfiguration and St. Catherine), no to St. Mary downtown, and no to Our Lady of Lourdes in Brighton and no to St. Patrick’s in Victor. Just a couple thoughts and opinions, unless you can be more specific. It is a shame that we can’t’ say “Oh, all the parishes are fine.”
Going East – The Parish of St. Francis & St. Clare (Seneca Falls & Waterloo) has a sound RCIA program that is very well led. It attracts about a dozen non-Catholics per year. I teach two of the lessons – Catholic Moral Thought & Conscience and Life in the Church (which is about how one fits into the Church and how the Church fits into the society). Notwithstanding my own bias as an instructor, I have been consistently pleased with the formation offered and the directness that the disputed points of our era – contraception, same sex marriage, divorce, etc. are managed in a pastoral yet doctrinally sound fashion.
Thank you so much. I live in the city of Rochester. I know that ideally you bring your questions and worship to the nearest parish, but I think it is asking a lot of someone who is just getting to know the Catholic church. Furthermore, although I fight the feelings, I find it offensive to listen to dissenting Catholics (at least Luther had the decency to get out and start his own church). Thank you again for your feedback.