Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 25, 2013 12:06 am
By Michael A. Fuoco / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bishop Bernard Hebda, currently of Gaylord, Mich., speaks Tuesday in Newark, N.J., after it was announced that the pope has named Bishop Hebda coadjutor bishop to help out and eventually take over for the archbishop of Newark when Archbishop John Myers retires in mid-2016. Mel Evans/Associated Press
Bernard A. Hebda, bishop of the rural Diocese of Gaylord, Mich., since 2009, on Tuesday became coadjutor archbishop of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., making him the latest former Pittsburgher to rise to a level of national prominence in the Catholic Church.
The appointment by Pope Francis means that Archbishop Hebda, 54, leaves a diocese of 65,000 Catholics to assist in administering New Jersey’s largest diocese of 1.5 million Catholics in four counties. As coadjutor, he will automatically become archbishop upon the retirement, transfer or death of the current archbishop, John J. Myers, who at 72 is about three years from mandatory retirement.
At a news conference Tuesday in Newark, Archbishop Myers said “some time ago” he had requested a coadjutor (Latin for co-assister) to help with some strategic plans because he d two auxiliary bishops are in their 70s.
Archbishop Hebda said he was “humbled” by the pope’s confidence and grateful for “providing me with the ‘coadjutor’s cushion,’ an opportunity to experience the vitality of this local church and its challenges before ever being placed at the helm. I hope to take advantage of this blessing to the fullest extent possible,” by getting to know the priests, laity, parish, schools and institutions that make up the archdiocese.
Some observers said Archbishop Hebda was chosen by the pope because he has all the qualities to restore confidence and stability in the archdiocese at a time that Archbishop Myers has come under intense fire by critics who have clamored for his resignation, claiming he has not done enough to stem sexual abuse of children by priests.
Last month, the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., settled a case of childhood abuse by a priest in the mid-1990s for $1.35 million. Archbishop Myers was the bishop there from 1990 to 2001, when he was assigned to the Newark archdiocese.
Additionally, the National Catholic Reporter said, Archbishop Myers was criticized for his lack of oversight when media outlets in the spring reported that one priest from the Newark archdiocese was arrested after violating a court-ordered ban on ministry to children.
Archbishop Myers ramped up the controversy in a letter to archdiocesan priests that was distributed to parishioners in which he lambasted the media and his critics for targeting him with “deceitful and misleading” information, adding that “God will surely address them in due time.”
Those who know Archbishop Hebda, whom they regularly called “Bernie,” say he has exactly the right qualities of intelligence, empathy and humility to face the challenges and possibilities in Newark. While he is an Ivy League-educated lawyer with a quicksilver mind, he has not lost the touch of the common man, they say.
In a statement, Bishop David A. Zubik, who served with him when both were aides to then-Bishop Donald Wuerl, said “Archbishop Bernie is an outstanding servant of God’s people. Brilliant, yet humble; focused, yet humorous; popular, yet pious are but a few of the adjectives anyone who knows our Bernard would describe him.”
Nicholas Cafardi — a canon lawyer, law professor and dean emeritus at Duquesne University School of Law — said the Newark archdiocese was “lucky” to receive the talents of his long-time friend. Mr. Cafardi described Archbishop Hebda as exactly the kind of bishop that Pope Francis is seeking — “a shepherd who smells of his sheep. I think that describes him very well.
“He is a very grounded person. He is not a careerist. He will devote all of his talents to the priests and people of the Newark archdiocese. This is a wonderful appointment by the holy father.”
The Rev. Lou Vallone, pastor of St. John of God in McKees Rocks and St. Catherine of Siena in Crescent, said Archbishop Hebda will “foster unity and healing” because he is “a pastoral man and one of the best minds of the American church.”
“He is very, very lovable, with a sense of humor and is self-effacing. He goes out of his way in terms of generosity and is a very amenable person. And behind that is a razor-sharp mind and a first-class education. In a way, he is not unlike Pope Francis himself.
“This is what’s needed in Newark, and is needed in the whole church itself. Today, Newark is blessed with that.”
Archbishop Hebda attended Resurrection Elementary in Brookline and South Hills Catholic High School, a predecessor of Seton-LaSalle in Mt. Lebanon. He earned a political science degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Columbia University before joining the prestigious Reed Smith law firm in 1983. But he soon entered seminary, earned a canon law degree in Rome and was ordained in 1989 by Bishop Wuerl, now a cardinal in Washington, D.C.
He served as an aide to Bishop Wuerl from 1990 to 1992, then joined the pastoral team at Prince of Peace, South Side, which had just been created from a painful merger of seven parishes.
He spent one year as a chaplain at Slippery Rock University and in 1996 he was drafted by the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, the rough equivalent of a Vatican attorney general’s office. It reviews decrees by Vatican offices and bishops worldwide, to make sure they conform to canon law. In 2003 he was promoted to under-secretary of the council, an important post.
Father Vallone said Archbishop Hebda’s appointment by the pope is the latest example of what a unique position Pittsburgh area priests hold in Catholic culture.
“We’re neither hard East Coast, which is the establishment church, nor like the Midwest or West, which is the newer church. We’re right in the middle,” he said. “Priests in Pittsburgh have a unique perspective on the universal church, and the Vatican knows that.”
In addition to Archbishop Hebda, Cardinal Wuerl and Bishop Zubik, other Pittsburgh-area priests who are in the Catholic hierarchy nationally include Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas; Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston; Bishop Paul Bradley of Kalamazoo, Mich.; Bishop Edward Burns of Juneau, Alaska; and Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I. Retired are Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit and Bishop William Winter of Pittsburgh.
Michael A. Fuoco: mfuoco@post-gazette.com.
First Published September 25, 2013 12:00 am
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Bernard Hebda is named coadjutor of NJ’s largest diocese, likely successor to Newark archbishop
NJ.com
on September 24, 2013 at 12:18 PM, updated September 25, 2013 at 3:46 PM
By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
Newark Archbishop Myers and his newly named coadjutor discuss issue of sexual abuse
NEWARK — Newark Archbishop John J. Myers this morning welcomed a partner in governing the archdiocese.
Bernard A. Hebda, the bishop of Gaylord, Mich., will assist Myers in running New Jersey’s largest diocese, which has more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics in Essex, Union, Hudson and Bergen counties. Myers has been archbishop since 2001.
Myers said he requested a coadjutor from the Vatican “some time ago,” but he declined to say when. “I don’t think I need to talk about my conversations with Rome,” Myers said.
Myers said Hebda would be active in all parts of the archdiocese’s administration. He is expected to succeed Myers upon Myers’ retirement at age 75.
Hebda said he was surprised but happy about his new placement, and that he looked forward to the challenge.
“I’m happy to hear I’m going to be busy,” he said.
Newark Archdiocese names coadjutor, likely successor to Archbishop Myers On Tuesday, the Newark Archdiocese named Bernard A. Hebda coadjutor, assisting current Archbishop John Myers in running the church. Hebda was previously bishop of Gaylord, Mich. Newark is New Jersey’s largest diocese, which has more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics in Essex, Union, Hudson and Bergen counties. Myers has been archbishop since 2001. (Video by Michael Monday/The Star-Ledger)
More than two dozen members of the media were on hand for the press conference, and more than 100 other priests, nuns and archdiocese employees attended, giving Myers and Hebda a standing ovation as they entered the room in the Archdiocesan center in Newark.
Several questions were directed at Myers and Hebda about priests who have been accused of sexual abuse. Myers said the media has distorted his handling of abusive priests and that the archdiocese has acted aggressively to remove them from ministry and supervise them.
Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse suggested the move was almost certainly tied to scandals that have clouded Myers’ stewardship of the archdiocese this year. During that period, one priest was arrested after violating a ban on ministry to children, and another took up residence in a parish despite a credible history of sexual abuse.
Myers also was faulted last month for missing or ignoring signs of abuse among priests during his former assignment as bishop of Peoria, Ill.
Hebda, who comes from a small diocese in Michigan, said he had little experience with the issue. He said he would reach out to victims of abuse “with a shepherd’s heart.”
Myers rejected a claim that the appointment of Hebda was a rebuke of his administration, saying, ” Absolutely not. It was my own request.”
On Tuesday, the Newark Archdiocese named Bernard A. Hebda coadjutor, assisting current Archbishop John Myers in running the church. During a question and answer session with the media following the announcement, both Hebda and Myers responded to several questions dealing with the subject of the handling of sexual abuse inside the church. (Video by Michael Monday/The Star-Ledger)
Myers noted that both he and two of his auxiliary bishops in their 70s, and he said the archdiocese in involved in a number of initiatives that require attention, including a realignment of Catholic elementary schools.
Hebda made clear Myers would remain in charge, saying he and the auxiliary bishops would work together to help him achieve his goals.
Hebda, 54, was born and raised in Pennsylvania, graduating from high school in Pittsburgh. He attended Harvard University as an undergraduate, then obtained a law degree from Columbia University. He was ordained a priest in 1989. Eight years later, he was named bishop of Gaylord, a diocese so small and rural, he joked, that he was probably the only bishop to have a deer blind in his back yard.
Although he hasn’t spent much time in New Jersey, Hebda said he’s familiar with some of the area’s Catholic leaders.
“I have been privileged over the years to know many priests from Newark,” he said in his prepared remarks. “I have known these men to be great pastors and tireless laborers in the service of the Gospel and I now consider it a great honor to share a new bond with them.”
In a statement, Trenton Bishop David M. O’Connell welcomed Hebda to New Jersey, calling him a “wonderful addition.”
“Archbishop Hebda brings with him a wealth of talent and experience, both nationally and internationally, that will be of tremendous support to Archbishop John Myers as he shepherds the Archdiocese of Newark,” said O’Connell, who came to know Hebda during a bishops’ gathering in Rome in 2010. “He is blessed with a warm and gracious personality and a great sense of humor that the people of Newark will come quickly to enjoy.”
The welcome Mass for Hebda will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
“Those who know Archbishop Hebda, whom they regularly called ‘Bernie,’ say he has exactly the right qualities of intelligence, empathy and humility to face the challenges and possibilities in Newark. While he is an Ivy League-educated lawyer with a quicksilver mind, he has not lost the touch of the common man”
A lawyer!
Anyway, watch the video posted in the second article. Have you ever sen so much tap dancing?
I haven’t seen that much dancing since, Tim tip toed through the tulips.
They talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. I don’t mean all of them. There are many more decent priests than there are bad. Their hands are tied. They’re just the bottom of the ladder. It’s up to the Pope and the Cardinals to step up to the plate and do what they know is right. A lot of the Bishops know who the bad apples are. They care more about face and what it might cost, than they do about the ruined lives of victims. I wonder why so many are falling away. What would Christ do in a situation like this. He would do nothing right. He would care more about what people would say about him than to do what is right. Does that sound like Christ or someone else we know. And please don’t tell me that it’s not that easy.