Bishop Raymond Lahey, centre, flanked by Bishop Emeritus Colin Campbell, left, and Vernon Fougere, Bishop of Charlottetown enter St. Ninian’s Cathedral in Antigonish for the installation of Lahey as Bishop of Antigonish in 2003. Campbell died Tuesday. (PETER PARSONS / Staff / File)
Bishop Colin Campbell, the sometimes controversial retired Bishop of Antigonish, has died.
Rev. Paul Abbass spokesman for the Archdiocese of Antigonish announced Campbell’s passing Wednesday in a statement to the diocese.
“As you are probably aware Bishop Campbell had been experiencing serious health concerns over the past few years, however, his health was in serious decline over the past few months,” Abbass wrote.
Campbell, 80, left his post as Bishop of Antigonish in 2002, retiring to Halifax, where he was first ordained as a priest in the Catholic Church in 1956. He died Tuesday evening with his sister, Therese, a nun, by his side.
The death was noted by Archbishop Terry Prendergast, leader of the Archdiocese of Ottawa and former Archbishop of Halifax. He remembered Campbell in his blog as “good friend and always a source of encouragement for me.”
Campbell was appointed Bishop of Antigonish in1986 and ordained to the Order of Bishops in 1987. He graduated from Saint Mary’s University in 1952 and served on the school’s board of governors for 14 years. He chaired the board from 1978 to 1983.
Last fall, Campbell was given an honorary doctorate of letters by Saint Mary’s. In a release, the school announced it granted the degree to Campbell in recognition of his community service, his part in founding the Atlantic School of Theology and “his role in communicating the new ideas generated by the Vatican II Council.”
According to the biography prepared by Saint Mary’s, Campbell served in a number of parishes in the province and was the first director of social services for the Archdiocese of Halifax. He also served as vicar general of the diocese for 11 years and taught at a number of schools, including the Maritime School of Social Work.
Campbell was a former columnist with The Chronicle Herald and prior to that covered the election of two popes for the paper.
Wednesday evening, former managing editor Ken Foran remembered Campbell as being very active with social issues particularly in the 1960s, which were “controversial times” in the city.
Foran recalled Campbell as a great speaker and “a man of strong views.”
And sometimes, feathers got ruffled, he said.
In particular, some of the bishop’s statements regarding the sexual abuse of children by priests caused a great deal of controversy. Campbell suggested that children could have rebuffed the church leaders molesting them, that they implied they welcomed the sexual advances and that they “wanted it.”
When he retired, Campbell issued a general apology for “any mistakes” that were made under his leadership of the diocese.
“I want to apologize to anyone whom I offended by thought, word, deed or omission,” he said.
Visitation for Campbell will be held at St. Ninian Place in Antigonish from 3-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from 2-3:30 p.m. A vigil service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Ninian Cathedral, where Bishop Brian Nunn, the Bishop of Antigonish, will preside over Campbell’s funeral at 11 a.m. on Monday.
I don’t believe he ever apologized directly to victims for blaming them, did he? Now he has gone to meet and answer to his Maker. That I will never forget. As a Catholic I will pray for the repose of his soul.