WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of
Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston.February 28, 2006
By Catholic News Service and staff reports
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of
Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston.
With the resignation, Coadjutor Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo automatically becomes head of the archdiocese.
The announcement was made in Washington on February 28, 2006 by Msgr. Lepoldo Girelli, charge d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature.
Archbishop Fiorenza turned 75 on January 25. Age 75 is when bishops are asked to turn in their resignation.
Archbishop DiNardo, 56, was appointed coadjutor in 2004. He had been the bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, since 1998.
Beaumont Bishop Curtis J. Guillory, SVD, described Archbishop Fiorenza as an advocate and a shepherd.
"The image I like to use of Archbishop Fiorenza is that of the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the one who is lost," Bishop Guillory said.
"He has been a friend, a voice and an advocate of the poor. He will be remembered for his ecumenical work and spirit," he said.
Bishop Guillory described Archbishop Fiorenza as a good pastor and praised his ecumenical work.
"He's been a good pastor, approachable to the priests and the people -- and he genuinely listened," Bishop Guillory said.
"Archbishop Fiorenza was able to get ministers and rabbis in Houston to do a collection to distribute to the poor and marginalized," he said.
Bishop Guillory ministered with then Bishop Fiorenza while Bishop Guillory was an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston for 12 years.
From 1998 to 2001, Archbishop Fiorenza was president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops-U.S. Catholic Conference, now called the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
He was appointed to Galveston-Houston in December 1984 and installed in February 1985. At the time it was a diocese. In 2004, it was elevated to an archdiocese, reflecting the area's rapid population growth. Currently, the archdiocese has a Catholic population of 1.5 million out of a total population of 5.3 million.
After his retirement was announced, Archbishop Fiorenza thanked the pope for accepting his resignation.
"The church has a very wise rule about bishops retiring at 75," he said.
The rule ensures that the local church receives an infusion of "new vigor, new ideas and new leadership," he said at a Feb. 28 news conference in Houston.
At the same news conference, Archbishop DiNardo praised Archbishop Fiorenza for his 21 years of leadership in "this very dynamic archdiocese."
"I call it dynamic because we are the largest diocese in the Southwest made up of a wonderfully diverse Catholic population," Archbishop DiNardo said.
Last September, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Archbishop Fiorenza was appointed chairman of a task force created by the U.S. bishops to coordinate the Catholic response to recovery efforts in the devastated regions hit hard by the hurricane. Some days after it was formed the work of the task force was expanded to address problems created by Hurricane Rita.
In a report to the bishops last November, Archbishop Fiorenza harshly criticized the federal government's response to hurricane victims. He said that church officials got the "run around" from the Federal Emergency Management Agency when they wanted to know what federal aid plans were.
"It was clear to me that not a whole lot of help was coming from FEMA," he said.
During his tenure in Galveston-Houston, the archbishop often spoke out against the death penalty -- in a state with a high number of executions.
At a November workshop on capital punishment, Archbishop Fiorenza said that Texas executed two to three people a month, making it the state most likely to carry out executions.
In a 2001 report at the end of his term as bishops' conference president, Archbishop Fiorenza said he was gratified about the increasing Catholic opposition to the death penalty, especially among young people. He also praised the bishops for approving a document supporting the renewal of the criminal justice system, with a special focus on capital punishment.
At the press conference, the archbishop said he felt "truly blessed to have had the opportunity to have shepherded this wonderful archdiocese," and looked forward to getting back to "the life of a priest," administering the sacraments and celebrating Mass. The archbishop said he was pleased to be leaving the local church in the "capable hands" of his successor.
In his remarks, Archbishop DiNardo said, "Coming from Pittsburgh and Sioux City in the Midwest, I found I had much to experience and learn about the many beautiful cultures that exist here and I look forward to continuing that experience."
"As we begin this new era in the local church, Catholics in the archdiocese will really not notice any major changes in their parishes," he said. "I want to maintain continuity but I will spend the next few weeks and months settling in and continuing to assess our archdiocesan operation."
Bishop Guillory said that Archbishop DiNardo came to the archdiocese well qualified.
"He certainly brings his own vision," Bishop Guillory said of him.
"He will be keeping many of the good works established in the diocese," he said.
Archbishop DiNardo also said he looked forward "to a strong collaboration with the nearly 500 priests, the religious women and men, and the people in the parishes."
"I also look forward to being part of this community at large and to working with other local faith and government leaders," he said.
Archbishop DiNardo, a former Vatican official, was born May 23, 1949, in Steubenville, Ohio. He was ordained a priest for the Pittsburgh Diocese in 1977. From 1984 to 1990 he was a staff member of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops. During 1990-97 he held pastoral posts in the Pittsburgh Diocese.
He was named coadjutor bishop of Sioux City in 1997 and became bishop the following year.
Archbishop DiNardo is on the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism. He is a member of the board of directors of The Catholic University of America in Washington.
Archbishop Fiorenza was born Jan. 25, 1931, in Beaumont, Texas. He was ordained a priest for the Galveston-Houston Diocese in 1954.
In 1979 he was named bishop of San Angelo, Texas, where he served until taking over the Galveston-Houston Diocese.
Contributing to this story was Erik Noriega in Houston.