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March 31, 2004
New Richmond Bishop
To be announced today by Cardinal Keeler
If anyone hears before I do, post it in the comments!
Oh, and in other Richmond news, Fr. John Leonard gets probation.
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» The new Richmond bishop from Bettnet.com - Musings From Domenico Bettinelli
The commenters at Amy Welborn's blog give their impressions of the new bishop of Richmond, Virginia: Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of Honolulu. If what they say is accurate, it appears that [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 31, 2004 12:42:32 PM
» New bishop for Richmond from Catholic Light
Richmond's new ordinary, Bp. Francis DiLorenzo, is being transferred in from Honolulu. Before his service there, he was an auxiliary in Scranton, and if the rumor mill is right, he was, alas, not very sympathetic to the traditionalist movements in... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 1, 2004 1:29:29 AM
Comments
It's Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of Honolulu. (The Vatican website is down now, at least for me, but I caught this earlier this morning.)
From Philadelphia; Auxiliary of Scranton 1988-93; Administrator of Honolulu 1993-94; Bishop of Honolulu 1994-present. 62 years old next month.
Posted by: Don Boyle at Mar 31, 2004 9:57:07 AM
Check out my blog for the answer....
Posted by: Michael at Mar 31, 2004 9:57:42 AM
Check out my blog for the answer....
Posted by: Michael at Mar 31, 2004 9:58:18 AM
Does anybody know anything about him? I lived in the Richmond Diocese for six years, and it is a real mixed bag. Bishop Sullivan, while a nice man, was a liberal in a literal sense, allowing individual priests and parishes to do as they pleased. This was for the good insofar as he allowed Latin Masses and Eucharistic Adoration where those devotions were wanted, but for the bad because he turned a blind eye to aberrations such as standing during Communion and use of illicit matter for the Host.
I hope and pray Bishop DiLorenzo will make the Richmond diocese more consistently orthodox.
Posted by: Becky at Mar 31, 2004 10:43:29 AM
This is from a pro-gay site:
"Bishop Francis DiLorenzo, representing the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and David Hannemann, president of the Hawaii Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were also among the hundreds of people present at the anti-gay fund-raiser in Waikiki."
Sounds good so far.
Posted by: WRY at Mar 31, 2004 11:09:00 AM
and this:
Hawaii Catholic Bishop Francis DiLorenzo and his predecessor have forbidden diocesan priests to officiate at a Mass that is specifically for Dignity Honolulu.
Posted by: WRY at Mar 31, 2004 11:10:44 AM
"Franciszek, I am moving you from Honolulu to Richmond. Just in time for summer."
"Gee, thanks, Pope."
Posted by: Tom at Mar 31, 2004 11:13:10 AM
from First Things:
"The Roman Catholic Bishop of Honolulu, Francis X. DiLorenzo, had a pastoral letter read from every pulpit in Hawaii in January: "Some of our state legislators, especially in the Senate, would rather not deal with the issue. They believe that either we don't care or that we are not enlightened enough. We, the citizens of Hawaii, must therefore make it absolutely clear to them that we want true marriage protected and supported." He concluded, "Unless we demonstrate courage and power now, another shameful page of Hawaii history may very well be written. I, for one, cannot remain silent."
Posted by: WRY at Mar 31, 2004 11:14:32 AM
Some of the things I've picked up about D'Lorenzo on my multiple visits to Hawaii. (We were there on 9/11 and had visited the Pearl Harbor memorial only three days before)
He's Philadelphia Italian, big guy (over 300 lbs when I last I saw him) with a history of heart troubles (so maybe he's lost some weight recently). Word on the street was that he had gone to considerable lengths (and this was before the scandal) to eliminate the dead-wood/bad business clergy which had crept in over the years.
I know that its hard to belive but Honolulu is a lot like San Diego - they don't have an official priest shortages because half the diocesan clergy in the US want to retire there. Some of them were manifestly unfit and D'Lorenzo got rid of them.
He also instituted an exhaustive review of parish life that had been going on for five years - part of which I got to witness once.
In a not very relevant side-note, if you ever have a chance to attend a function at the Honolulu diocesan center (St. Stephens) do so, It's truly enchanted - a former estate, perched dramatically on the side of a tropical mountain complete with massive banyon trees, grounds filled with bananas, avacados, coconut trees, etc. and a stunning, far off view of the beaches and ocean. Conducting a training session on the soft green grass under those banyon trees was one of the most delightful experiences I've had on the road.
Oh, and they have the world's least penintential Carmelite monastery on the grounds. During Mass, I was constantly being distracted by the canopy of flowers and palm leaves waving through the open windows and the light gleaming on a most graceful statue of Our Lady made of local koa wood.
Moving to Richmond is going to be penance for D'Lorenzo, if for no one else.
Posted by: Sherry Weddell at Mar 31, 2004 11:49:42 AM
You wonder why particular men are chosen for particular dioceses. There are some interesting correspondences between Honolulu and Richmond.
Roughly the same number of Catholics (Honolulu has about 250,000; Richmond has about 200,000). Both are spread out over a large area, making communications a challenge (there was talk of splitting Richmond for this reason).
BUT the Catholic population in Va. is a much smaller proportion of the total than in Hawaii.
Fewer beaches in Virginia, though; but maybe Bishop-emeritus Sullivan will let +DiLorenzo stay at his Sandbridge place once in a while.
Posted by: Don Boyle at Mar 31, 2004 11:53:29 AM
I live in the Richmond diocese and we have been waiting with baited breath to see who we get and if he will clean up the mess here. Bishop DiLorenzo sounds good so far. Already, my very liberal pastor is alarmed because of his association with St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where they **horror of horrors** wear CASSOCKS! I think our new Bishop will need lots of prayer because the spirit-of-Vatican-II bureaucratic apparatchiks who infest the Chancery will no doubt fight any attempts at reform. God love him!
Posted by: Marty at Mar 31, 2004 2:01:07 PM
It will also be interesting to see how he interacts with the two dedicated Indult traditional Mass-only parishes (and, yes, they are canonically "parishes") in this diocese, the one of which is in the south suburbs of Richmond (St. Joseph's), and the other in the south Hampton Roads city of Chesapeake (whose name escapes me, and I've never been to see it).
Posted by: Charles M. de Nunzio at Apr 1, 2004 12:14:24 AM
The parish in Chesapeake is St. Benedict Chapel, it is actually a mission of the parish of St. Gregory the Great in Va. Beach which is run by Benedictines. I think St. Joseph's is actually in North Richmond but I could be wrong. Bishop Sullivan has said mass in Latin there a number of times. It is interesting that he allows the Tridentine Mass and the Bishop of Arlington does not, Arlington being of course, a much more orthodox diocese. Anybody from Arlington know why this is???
Posted by: Marty at Apr 2, 2004 9:05:14 AM
Interesting...I was actually confirmed by Bishop DiLirenzo in the Scranton Diocese, but I don't really know much about him. And as I was having an acute asthma attack during the entire Mass (my mother was convinced the devil did NOT want me confirmed) I don't remember much. Whatever the case, he's not likely to make the Richmond diocese much worse.
Marty - your question about the Arlington diocese is an interesting one, to be sure. I've been in the Arlington diocese since 2002, and I have yet to figure it out. My impression is that we have a liberal bishop in a conservative diocese. Many of his priests have refused his attempts to introduce altar girls, and when coalitions of priests were writing letters in support of married clergy, our clergy wrote a letter commending celibacy - and then stating that it didn't really matter what they think, because its not up for discussion.
I attend St. Catherine of Sienna Parish in Great Falls, VA. Our pastor, Fr. Franklyn McAfee, is incredible. We have a Latin (Novus Ordo) Mass every Sunday, accompanied by an astonishingly talented choir which is undaunted by Mozart, Palestrina, Bach, Haydn, and a number of other composers. Fr. McAfee faces the altar. His altar boys wear cassock and surplus. His homilies are like those of saints (some are available online in RealAudio at http://www.petersvoice.com/pulpit/ ). He has 24-hours of adoration every week, from Wednesday to Thursday, and a holy hour with benediction on Wed. nights, accompanied by confessions. He has attracted high profile Catholics to the parish like Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Sen. Rick Santorum. He's even managed to take the horrific architecture of the Church, built like a spaceship, and transform it - tabernacle is front and center (and beautiful!), icons of Jesus and Mary on either side of the sanctuary, beautiful marble altar, gorgeous statues, and now new stained glass windows imported from Rome!
It is, bar none, the BEST parish I have ever been a part of. (You can find it at www.stcatherineva.org)
Posted by: Steve Skojec at Apr 2, 2004 5:01:02 PM
Marty,
St. Joseph in Richmond moved from Northside to Southside a year or so ago, after they bought a building down there and fixed it up.
I pray that Bp. DiLorenzo will be the bishop we need -- a leader and not a manager.
Mio
Posted by: Mio at Apr 7, 2004 9:56:15 AM
Let's pray that this new bishop does lead the Richmond Diocese back to the true Roman Rite!
I think we should all send him welcoming cards and letters with that suggestion.
Let's pray he does not ignore the GIRM like Sullivan did.
And a new papal document addressing liturgical abuses is due out soon too. Let's pray that he does his best to put these changes into effect.
We have been missing the Unity of the ONE, holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church for quite awhile!
Posted by: Lucille at Apr 8, 2004 12:24:21 PM
Bishop Sulliva confirmed me, but that was before I was Catholic:) recently, I've actually figured out what I'm supposed to be doing. It was due in no part to the diocese's efforts to educate me and those my age. I've also started attending Tridentine Mass at St. Benedict's fairly regularly. It's makes such a difference. Bishop DiLorenzo, in my view, is a moderate. The Church operates in terms of centuries, not years, months or days. If we were to go from an Arch-liberal to an arch-conservative overnight, it would damage a lot of people, and hurt the diocese. Transitional Bishop for a transitional time. Probably in about 50 to 100 years the Diocese of Richmond will be better. God Willing!
Posted by: Neal Dewing at Apr 17, 2004 11:16:36 AM
Hi,I'm in the Hawaii Diocese. I previously did a bit of research on the Diocese. I think the late Bishop Ferrario of Honolulu was a bit further right than the Pope (there was a whole shebang about a bunch of traditionalists being excommunicated by Bishop Ferrario and that being overturned by the Rome, plus the late Bishop wanted to sell off some Diocesan property, but Rome overturned that as well). Ferrario even sold up the Bishop's Palace. Though Bishop Ferrario was a bit more lenient on the gay issues than DiLorenzo (do a bit of research on this -- I don't want to mention why here for the sake of Bishop Ferrario's memory, but an Internet search will show you what I mean). Bishop DiLorenzo has been referred to one who is never too much to the left or the right of the Pope. Perhaps that's why they got him to replace Bishop Ferrario. Since I am such a fan of Bishop DiLorenzo, I wanted to learn more about where he's going. Perhaps they got him to replace the emeritus Richmond Bishop to cause contraflow to his liberalism.
Anyway, I got a couple things to add. Liturgically, the Bishop is a bit off. For example, I keep on noticing that Bishop DiLorenzo uses a red zucchetto rather than a purple (as you probably know, only Cardinals are entitled to wear the red, and as of yet, the Bishop has not been named a Cardinal). In our Honolulu Cathedral, the Gloria is even ommitted from the Sunday Masses. I don't know if we have the Bishop to blame or the Rector. My money's on the latter, because the Rector seems to want to speed through everything. Still, the Bishop has done Mass for the Cathedral (of course) and the Glorias were ommitted from there too.
So, I did some talking to the Diocese workers. I talked to a friend of mine who's been around for years, and he says that the Bishop is a nice, humble guy, but the people he hires to work around him are bad and rather corrupt. For example, a bunch of computers that were to go to some Catholic schools just ended going to the Bishop's assistants.
Pay attention to where the Bishop will place his priests. I am told that he will keep the priests that he doesn't feel are totally good around the Cathedral and Chancery for the sake of keeping an eye on them. But that's just word of mouth and suspicion.
We did have one rather bad priest, Father Roland Pacaduan (or something like that) was his name, and he was rector of the Cathedral. He used the Cathedral's money to live out of the rectory in an apartment across the street. The word I hear is that Father Roland gets women visitors (take this ambiguously -- it doesn't mean he did something, though it certainly could have happened). He was also abusive of money, and I was there in the Rectory when they found out that he embezzeled money (not the first time, too). On that occassion, over $3000 was swindled out of the Diocese by this Father Roland. Father Roland was a huge guy who had a membership at 24-hour Fitness and after his workout, would be seen coming back home with a bucket of chicken. The Bishop wouldn't tolerate Father Roland's doings so he had to rent that apartment. Eventually, the Bishop asked him to resign, because he saw how Father Roland handled the finances. So finally, Father Roland was booted out. This shows that it may be ascertained that the Bishop keeps those on whom he wishes to keep an eye near him. But it also shows his intolerance for these sorts of priests.
Lastly, back on the gay issue, he asked those priests who are known to be gay to leave the islands. Can't blame him on that, though I think it was rather drastic and discriminatory. I think also that he acted too late on the Father Roland problem. The current Administrator (and sole resident priest) at the Cathedral is also a priest who I don't like particularly. He's not bad in the same way as Father Roland, but he has many improvements he must work on. Frankly, I can't wait till he gets transfered. But it goes to show the Bishop's style.
I've known other priests around the island, and none of them literally are as bad as those two of the Cathedral. I travel a long way every Sunday just to go to Mass. I like how it is celebrated because the music is really great and the Cathedral is so beautiful. One can really feel the Mass there. I wish the Bishop would have given us better priests. As we only have one residing priest at the Cathedral, other priests come in to help out on the Sunday Masses, and those priests are great guys. I wish they would take hold of the Cathedral instead of those two priests.
Posted by: Jesus B Bustamante at Apr 23, 2004 10:26:15 AM
Tomorrow afternoon, May 24th, Bishop DiLorenzo is to be installed at the cathedral in Richmond. I was not invited and they only had a few tickets in our parish. Those apparently went to staff people.
DiLorenzo is going to have a tough job. His predecessor Sullivan was in my opinion an ultra liberal who spoke with a forked tongue. He was known to come down hard on his priests in response to parishioner complaints of liturgical abuses. But at the same time he supposedly would give out Holy Communion to Protestant ministers who he would invite to concelebrate at special events like dedications of new parishes. Very hard to comprehend. He is the bishop who tolerated the likes of Rev. Tom Quinlan whose liturgical antics are legendary, and were reported in national news weekly magazines.
Back in the mid eighties Sullivan was sent a special auxiliary, one David Foley from the Washington Archdiocese. Foley's (not well kept) secret was that he was given a special mandate by Rome to clean up Sullivan's mess like liturgical abuses and questions of clergy morals (or lack thereof). He was eventually sent off to become the Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama after the news got out. Apparently Sullivan never told his priests that Rome had lost confidence in him and therefore sent him an special auxilliary bishop. Not surprising since he was known as a control freak. It's all there in a book entitled "Archbishop".
Bishop DiLorenzo will also have to deal with the fact that many priests do not wear the mandated clerical attire that the Holy Father has insisted upon. Churches in the Richmond Diocese continue to have bizzare Penance Services around the holidays. I have witnessed priests instructing the people to "just mention your most serious sin." Hard to believe. I went away feeling I was just coerced into committing yet another sin: omitting the confession of other serious sins. Crazy!
Sullivan set the incoming bishop up by allowing the so called lay pastoral coordinators (often nuns who do not live in their religious communities....I wonder why)! These nuns preach at Sunday Masses as the priest sits there in silence. Were priests not the ones Ordained to preach the Gospel? He'll have to sort that one out.
Our pastor did tell us that the new bishop has already deposed the female chancellor they have had there for years. No doubt he will replace her with a priest who has training in Cannon Law, as should be the case. He will of course allow her to save face by promoting her to be his secretary or office manager no doubt. Good move.
Sullivan was used to barking orders and had many living in fear of his wrath. He has an elephant's memory and would often bring up past misdeeds both of laity and clergy as a means of controlling them. The old phrase "knowledge is power" was likely authored by him.
Time will tell whether the new bishop will be truly orthodox. He dismissed several priests who had done bad deeds back in Hawaii. That's in the plus column. He is 300+ lbs. and a previous posting here says he's had heart problems. At 62 he will not be around forever, which is a blessing. Almost three decades of Sullivan's reign was just a bit much for many of us to take. DiLorenzo is older than Sullivan was at his appointment. He's fatter and does not look like he gets much exercise. I hope that is not a sign of serious health problems. Was it Macadamia nuts or Philly cheese-steak sandwiches?
I join with fellow Richmonders in welcoming our new bishop. Unless he turns out to be the devil in disguise, at this point anyone has to be better than Sullivan was.
Deo Gratias!
Posted by: Vera Tass at May 23, 2004 8:47:37 PM
I thought te following story found on a simple google search would be interesting for those who wanted to know more about the new Richmond bishop.
Apparently back in 2001 at age 59 he was hospitalized for a blood clot and back pain, and according to the story, "Doctors said his condition did not warrant surgery, but they advised an exercise regimen, strict diet and medication".
If he is 300+ lbs. as we speak, then what did he weigh back in 2001 when these recommendations was made? Or was he 300 lbs. back then and just ignored the doctors' advice?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
Local bishop
treated for blood clot
Back pain forces Francis DiLorenzo
into a Philadelphia hospital for 5 days
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com
Honolulu Catholic Bishop Francis DiLorenzo was released from a Philadelphia hospital Saturday after five days of treatment for a pulmonary embolism.
DiLorenzo flew to Philadelphia on Sept. 10 from Washington, D.C., where he had attended meetings of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The bishop had just arrived for a visit with his parents in Philadelphia when he entered the hospital complaining of back pain. It was determined that he had a blood clot in his lungs, and he was kept in the hospital while a blood thinner was administered to dissolve it, said Honolulu diocesan spokesman Patrick Downes. Doctors advised that long spells of sitting on airplanes is probably what caused the blood clot, he said.
It was the second hospital treatment in a month for DiLorenzo, 59. In August doctors at St. Francis Medical Center performed a heart catheterization to check possible blockage of arteries. Doctors said his condition did not warrant surgery, but they advised an exercise regimen, strict diet and medication, Downes said.
The bishop is visiting his parents and will return to Hawaii on Sept. 25.
While in Washington, he attended meetings of the Catholic bishops' committees on science and human values and on doctrine and pastoral practice.
Downes said the bishop will resume his schedule on his return. Events include a Sept. 27 banquet of the Augustine Educational Foundation honoring retired Bishop Joseph Ferrario. DiLorenzo will preside at a 10 a.m. Mass Sept. 29 celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, 712 N. School St. He and Episcopal Bishop Richard Chang will preside at an ecumenical vespers service Sept. 30 at Holy Trinity Church, 5919 Kalanianaole Highway in Kuliouou.
Posted by: Vera Tass at May 23, 2004 8:58:33 PM
Interesting point mentioned by a priest who is supposedly a canon lawyer. At the reception for Bishop DiLorenzo he stated that as far as he knew, the new bishop had never been a pastor in his many years of church service. He also stated that bishop Sullivan was in the same boat.
Sounds like they pick men who are noticed early on as talented for certain things. By process of deduction it would seem that at least in the case of the Richmond Diocese, they are not picked for their expertise at being pastors of parishes! That is, if the comments made by the priest in question are true.
Posted by: Monument Avenue at May 26, 2004 9:57:37 AM
I'm going to be in Mechanicsville for a craft show at The Showplace (stop by, mention this blog, and I'll give you a free bag of toffee!).
I went to Church of the Redeemer (http://www.churchredeemer.org/) this spring and it was the poster child for liturgical abuses. Does anyone know of a parish near there that is licit and orthodox? Or should I just close my eyes, grin and bear it for the 45 excruciating minutes that I would have to suffer through again.
I know, I know, it's Our Lord in the Eucharist no matter what. But for me, knowing how they're butchering OUR Mass, it's tough to focus.
Thanks and God bless,
Don
Posted by: Don at Oct 31, 2004 9:04:11 AM
DiLo as he is often referred to, has administered a giant enema to the diocese. In the stream that exploded out, priests, lay employees, parishioners and others were all flushed away.
Carol-Loser, the Godfather, has fallen from his throne. Nevertheless, he made sure to get in comments in the Catholic Virginian recently about the fact that he knows the newly elected Virginia Attorney General. Whoop-dee-doo! Poor guy just desperately needs attention and to be in the forefront all the time. But it's over for him. The parade has long since passed him, and now there's just confetti and horse poop at his feet. But you gotta give him credit for trying. He is the Energiser Rabbit of priests. But like Sullivan, he will probably die a lonely and friendless man. The price to pay for living without respect for others and thinking it's all about you. Well done thou good and faithful mirror gazer. Now enter the Hall of Mirrors for eternity.
DiLo retired (read fired) several other priests. He banished some for wrongdoing, whether proven or not. There is in reality no due process for anyone and since he is judge, jury and executioner, it seems to be his style to simply give them a pink slip and say ta-ta.
Dennis Murphy disappeared off the radar screen. The folks in Charlottesville still have not been told the truth. DiLo has sent several priests off for evaluations and or treatment at the infamous St. Luke's Institute in DC. The founder of SLI. Rev. Michael Peterson died of AIDS many year ago. How interesting. DiLo knows quite well that he is not allowed to "force" clergy menbers to undergo a psych evaluation following an accusation, outburst, scrap with a parishioner or whatever. But that does not stop His Immensity from violating the law himself and demanding that these priests submit. He has no fear of Rome because he knows full well he will not be going in the upward direction any time soon. He was banished to Richmond from beautiful Hawaii and it's in Richmond where he'll remain till he retires or dies off. And from the looks of him he may not make it to 75.
DiLo banished a priest who is HIV+. Very little pastoral love and care for this poor individual. He is fending for himself basically. Yet this guy preaches a Gospel of love and charity. Ironic to say the least.
Most recently the infamous Rev. Quinlan... TQ to his fans, has not only been given the boot, but publicly censured. An amazing step taken by DiLo. Quinlan was known for his liturgical abuses, alcoholic antics at Mass, and bi-polar ravings in his sermons. DiLo apparently had just a tad too much of him and decided to play Emporer. After showing the thumbs-down, he went so far as to print in the catholic newspaper an official statement that Quinlan can no longer say Mass in public. Shame, shame. Quinlan has finally met his match.
It won't be easy to BS his way out of this one.
Posted by: Caritasinomnia at Feb 4, 2006 12:53:27 PM
