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(OSV News) — Change looms on the horizon for the American hierarchy. And the anticipation continues to build as the appointment of Latin Church bishops in the United States has seriously stalled out over the last year or so.
With Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki turning 75 on March 12, there are now 19 dioceses — 12 with bishops serving past retirement age and seven vacancies — in the U.S. Latin Church awaiting the appointment of a diocesan bishop, also called an “ordinary” in the Church’s law.
Only one Latin Church ordinary has been appointed in the last six months, in addition to the appointment of five auxiliary bishops in the same time — one of whom was Bishop Jeffrey M. Montforton, a Detroit Archdiocese auxiliary bishop who headed the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, from 2012 to 2023.
Bishop Peter M. Muhich, 62, bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, since 2020, died of cancer Feb. 17. Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, 63, bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, for just under a year, died Jan. 19 of an unspecified liver disease diagnosed not long before his death.
In addition to Bishop Monforton, there also have been premature departures for a few other diocesan bishops within the last year.
Bishop Richard F. Stika retired from leading the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, in June 2023 at 65 owing to health complications. He also faced two lawsuits accusing him of mishandling sexual abuseaccusations in his diocese — one lodged against a former seminarian in his charge and the other against a priest — where the victims claimed some form of retaliation for coming forward.
Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, 65, bishop of Tyler, Texas, since 2012, was removed from office Nov. 11, 2023, after an apostolic visitation following the bishop’s social media posts in May accusing Pope Francis of “undermining the deposit of faith.”
The sole appointment of a Latin diocesan ordinary in the past six months was announced in Portland, Maine, on Feb. 13, where Bishop-designate James T. Ruggieri, a pastor in the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, will be ordained a bishop this May.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
With Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki turning 75 on March 12, there are now 19 dioceses — 12 with bishops serving past retirement age and seven vacancies — in the U.S. Latin Church awaiting the appointment of a diocesan bishop, also called an “ordinary” in the Church’s law.
Only one Latin Church ordinary has been appointed in the last six months, in addition to the appointment of five auxiliary bishops in the same time — one of whom was Bishop Jeffrey M. Montforton, a Detroit Archdiocese auxiliary bishop who headed the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, from 2012 to 2023.
Premature deaths and sudden retirements
The last year has seen an early end to a number of episcopal tenures in the U.S., as several active diocesan bishops retired early or died prematurely.Bishop Peter M. Muhich, 62, bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, since 2020, died of cancer Feb. 17. Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, 63, bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, for just under a year, died Jan. 19 of an unspecified liver disease diagnosed not long before his death.
In addition to Bishop Monforton, there also have been premature departures for a few other diocesan bishops within the last year.
Bishop Richard F. Stika retired from leading the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, in June 2023 at 65 owing to health complications. He also faced two lawsuits accusing him of mishandling sexual abuseaccusations in his diocese — one lodged against a former seminarian in his charge and the other against a priest — where the victims claimed some form of retaliation for coming forward.
Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, 65, bishop of Tyler, Texas, since 2012, was removed from office Nov. 11, 2023, after an apostolic visitation following the bishop’s social media posts in May accusing Pope Francis of “undermining the deposit of faith.”
The sole appointment of a Latin diocesan ordinary in the past six months was announced in Portland, Maine, on Feb. 13, where Bishop-designate James T. Ruggieri, a pastor in the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, will be ordained a bishop this May.
Presiding over decline
Continued below.
The looming bishop crisis in the US Church
With Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki turning 75 on March 12, there are now 19 dioceses -- 12 with bishops serving past retirement age and seven vacancies -- in the U.S. Latin Church awaiting the appointment of a diocesan bishop, also called an "ordinary" in the church's law.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
