Zubik named bishop of Diocese of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | July 18, 2007 | Ann Rodgers

[Cavalcabo]

Bishop David Zubik of Green Bay, Wis., a popular former auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh, has been named bishop of his hometown Diocese of Pittsburgh.

His Mass of installation will be held Sept. 28 in St. Paul Cathedral, Oakland. Today's announcement was made at 6 a.m. in Washington, D.C., by Msgr. Martin Krebs of the Vatican nunciature. A press conference to introduce the new bishop will be held at 10 a.m. in the chancery office, Downtown.

Bishop David Zubik

The new bishop is being hailed as a holy man who knows the diocese inside and out. The Ambridge native spent most of his ministry here and held top posts under former Bishop Donald Wuerl, who became archbishop of Washington, D.C., in May 2006. His selection is considered a vote for administrative continuity in a diocese that is viewed as one of the best run in the nation...

[Cavalcabo]

Click link for full article.

[maryz]

Bishop Zubik fits a pattern of Pope Benedict choosing intellectually savvy men with diplomatic personalities, said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center, who studies the Catholic hierarchy.
Pope Benedict is "not looking for people who are aggressive or confrontational," he said.

Is this the same Reese who used to be head of the Jesuit magazine America? His comment is pretty noncommittal.

My real question is where he stands on the motu proprio -- which I realize makes me sound like that old Jewish joke: A lion escapes from the zoo, and an old Jewish man asks, "Tell me, is this good for the Jews?" Oh, well! ;-)

[Cavalcabo]

From the Diocese of Green Bay’s website:

07/08/07 Bishop comments on use of the Roman Liturgy
Editor’s Note: On Saturday, July 7, the Holy See released Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Letter on the use of the Roman Liturgy (Latin Mass) prior to the reform of 1970. The following letter from Bishop David A. Zubik, which was sent to all parishes and the media this weekend, states emphatically that the Mass is not changing and that the Bishop will meet with the priests within the next several weeks to discuss the Pope’s Letter and its implementation in our Diocese.

July 7, 2007

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

This weekend, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI released his much anticipated Apostolic Letter entitled Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970. While the Holy Father does in fact give permission for the broader use of the Roman Missal published by Pope Blessed John XXIII in 1962, he makes clear that the continued use of the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970 is the ordinary and normative order of celebration throughout the world.

Most importantly, I wish to state emphatically that the Mass is not changing. The normal way that we have been celebrating the Mass for the past 40 years remains. What you and I are asked to do is to open our hearts and be more aware of and attentive to those who have a spiritual need for the extraordinary form of celebrating the Mass.

In his important role as Shepherd of the Universal Church, Pope Benedict XVI expresses his concerns about the centrality and sacrality of the liturgy and makes provisions additionally to support the spiritual life of people who have left the church following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council as well as those who desire “to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them.”

In my own read of the Holy Father’s letter, it appears that his letter is in response to serious concerns that have been expressed in countries other than our own. Nevertheless, it is imperative that we as a Church in the United States and especially we in the Church of Green Bay be particularly attentive to our Holy Father’s letter.

As you are well aware, in 1998, at the invitation of Bishop Banks, priests from the Institute for Christ the King began to serve in our diocese. I have graciously extended that invitation. Those who have a particular appreciation of the Missal of 1962 have been given and have found a place to worship suitably in our own diocese. As you also are aware, splinter groups, not united with our church, have also arisen. It is those people whom the Holy Father and myself wish to have rejoined to the Church.

Given that the Holy Father’s letter was released and that its provisions become effective on Friday, September 14, 2007, the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, it is important that we be careful not to arrive at early and false conclusions. In the next two and a half months before the Holy Father’s letter becomes effective, I ask that you work with me so that we can have a respectful understanding of its contents. Very shortly I will be inviting the priests of the diocese to a meeting where we can come to discuss the Pope’s Letter and its implementation in our local church.

In the meantime, I ask you to both pray for and to secure that unity which is one of the four marks of the Church.

Finally, I also direct your attention to the USCCB website www.usccb.org for access to the entire letter and additional materials.

Grateful for our belief that “Nothing is Impossible with God,” I am

Your brother in Christ,
Most Reverend David A. Zubik
Bishop of Green Bay

[maryz]

Thanks! Could be better, but not awful!

[netmilsmom]

>>I have graciously extended that invitation.<<

How gracious of him to point out how gracious he is.

*sigh*

[sneakers]

At least Bishop Zubik is open to the TLM. Our bishop is not at all. :-(
I daresay that will influence the decisions of some of our parish priests who are considering the TLM.

[sneakers]

Ha! That thought crossed my mind as well.

[Cheverus]

The way I read this is that while not an overwhelming fan, he has had a very positive relationship with the Institute of Christ the King and will therefore be open to the TLM and the Orders like the Institue and the FSSP

[maryz]

Hey, I say let him take his bows -- at least he extended the invitation! Card. O'Malley in Boston has turned down several requests and considers himself "generous."

I'm getter myself at just tuning out "bishopspeak" words like that -- though there's room for improvement! :)

[netmilsmom]

>>O’Malley in Boston has turned down several requests and considers himself “generous.” <<

Too true.
But really in the long run, the TLM is out of their hands.

Let’s see what happens with the NO in this diocese. If daisy chaining, Lite Rock music and dancing girls are around, all his “gracious” goes by the wayside. To me, the whole TLM is a moot point. I don’t attend and probably won’t more than once or twice when it comes to my parish (and it will in September according to our Pastor).

People had big hopes in Cleveland. Now they stand for communion.

[netmilsmom]

I just have to ask, you don’t have to answer.
Altoona Diocese?

I’ve heard it’s bad there.

[GCC Catholic]

I think that 'cross-pollination" will do us well. Not only that, but Bp. Zubik will now be in the PA Bishops Conference.

I'm curious to see what sort of response we will get on Friday (there should be an Accent this week). I'd like to discuss it with you after we hear something 'official'. I'll FReepmail you with some thoughts once we do hear something.

[NYer]

From Rocco Palmo .......

---

As a young priest, David Zubik was personal secretary to the tenth bishop of Pittsburgh.

After a decade in the official ranks, the eleventh bishop tapped him as vicar-general, ordaining him to the episcopacy and seeing him off to a diocese of his own.

And now, a decade later, the native son is heading home as the twelfth bishop.

This morning, Pope Benedict appointed Zubik, 57, to the Steel City after a charged 14-month vacancy created by the promotion of his mentor, Donald Wuerl, to the archdiocese of Washington in May 2006.

The fulfillment of his now-predecessor's much-desired -- and much-advocated -- outcome, Zubik's return to his hometown's top ecclesiastical post indicates Rome's firm placet in the administration whose day-to-day operations he ran for seven years before heading to Green Bay in 2003, besides further evidencing the kingmaking clout the DC prelate, a Vatican veteran, wields in its halls.

Born in the working-class steel town of Ambridge, near Sewickley, Zubik attended Pittsburgh's St Paul (College) Seminary and Duquesne University before heading to Baltimore's St Mary's Seminary, from which he was ordained in 1975. After serving in parishes, Catholic education and picking up a Master's in Educational Administration from Duquesne, he became administrative secretary to then-Bishop Anthony Bevilacqua in 1987, continuing in the post when then-Bishop Donald Wuerl arrived the following year.

In 1991, the eleventh bishop gave his eventual successor the Clergy Personnel brief; five years later, after a brief period as chancellor, he became vicar-general and General Secretary, rising to the top administrative post of the diocese of 820,000.

Described as a "workhorse" in Wuerl's scrupulously organized, detail-rich mould, Pope John Paul II appointed Zubik auxiliary bishop in 1997; until his episcopal elevation, he served as a spiritual director at St Vincent's Seminary in Latrobe alongside his diocesan duties. In 2003, the late pontiff promoted him to Green Bay to succeed the retiring Bishop Robert Banks.

In the Wisconsin diocese, Zubik honed in characteristic style on its pressing challenges, working particularly toward ensuring a sound future in the areas of Catholic education and priestly vocations. As with other prelates nationwide who've been successful in recruiting more men for formation, the bishop's intense personal investment in the latter has resulted in an increase of seminary candidates for Green Bay's flock of 350,000. The vocation question is particularly crucial to Pittsburgh's outlook -- a declining number of priests has resulted in pastors now being split between multiple parishes, and a religious sister was installed as the diocese's first "parish life collaborator" last weekend.

Of the eight names floated for the vacant bishopric by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette a year ago this week, four (including Zubik) have since gone on to new assignments.

While strong pushes by influential parties were made to advance others among the listed for the Western Pennsylvania post, then-Bishop John Niendstedt was instead sent to the archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis and then-Bishop Joseph Kurtz to the archdiocese of Louisville. In an indicator of the maneuvering of the process over the months leading to this morning's appointment, what the casual observer could've viewed as unrelated moves on the national chessboard were not insignificant contributions toward clearing Zubik's path back home. The appointment also adds further burnish to the longstanding reports that, especially in cases of prominent posts, Benedict XVI is significantly more inclined to give near-decisive weight to the leanings of the office's prior occupant.

On the recent release of Pope Benedict's motu proprio on the pre-Conciliar celebration of the liturgy, Zubik told his Green Bay fold that while he "wish[ed] to state emphatically that the Mass is not changing," adherents of the newly-termed "extraordinary" use of the Roman rite "have been given and have found a place to worship suitably in our own diocese," specifically through the ministry there of the 1962-exclusive Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest. Earlier this year, Zubik administered Confirmation to the group's parishioners according to the pontifical of Bl John XXIII.

According to the provisions of Canon Law, Zubik's installation as bishop of Pittsburgh must take place within two months of this morning's appointment. Along these lines, a late September installation date has already been foreseen.

Founded in 1843, when it encompassed the western half of Pennsylvania, the diocese of Pittsburgh's recent history has proven it a training-ground for senior leadership in the church both in the States and beyond. Since 1950, when then-Bishop John Dearden became its eighth ordinary, four of St Paul's Cathedral's five occupants have gone on to receive the cardinal's red hat -- or, in the case of Wuerl, are primed to maintain the precedent within a short space of time. Also uniquely, since the 1969 appointment of Bishop Vincent Leonard (the last ordinary to not leave the post by promotion), Zubik's appointment makes three of four Pittsburgh ordinaries who have been native sons of the diocese.

Elsewhere on the map, another Pittsburgh priest who, like Zubik, went on to become bishop of Green Bay currently has a red hat of his own. Others may be expecting his successor quickly, but word from those close to Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit says "enjoy your summer -- and don't hold your breath."

Then again, these days -- as the rapidly-collapsed timetable on today's appointment proves -- anything is possible... and at any time.

SVILUPPO: Homecoming/installation date announced for 28 September in St Paul's Cathedral; press conference confirmed for 10am at Chancery, noon Mass at adjoining St Mary of Mercy church.

And now, the statements....

Zubik: “I was truly honored to serve the wonderful people of Green Bay. Green Bay became my new home. Now Pittsburgh is my home again. I love the Church of Pittsburgh. I love being a part of the presbyterate of Pittsburgh once again. I love the people of Pittsburgh. It is a wonderful church – very much alive in Christ."

Wuerl: "Personally, I rejoice with the news of this appointment. I am very pleased for what it will mean to the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Bishop Zubik knows, loves and has served the Church of Pittsburgh, and has walked with it through all of its many moments of challenge and development for the past 20 years. My prayer is that God will bless him and his ministry and of course the Church of Pittsburgh."

Constant updates on the P-G's morning piece.

[tioga]

-they picked him.

[sneakers]

No, Greensburg. I heard the same thing about Altoona as well.
They have Bishop Admec.

Greensburg is between Pittsburgh and Altoona Dioceses. We’ve been going to mass, when we can, in Pittsburgh, at the Indult TLM at St. Boniface. Our Bishop Bishop Brandt hasn’t said anything, yet, about the Motu Proprio - at least not to my knowledge.

[maryz]

the TLM is out of their hands.

I don't know about that -- I would imagine there's a lot a bishop can do to make a priest's life miserable. Anyway, O'Malley doesn't seem to understand it's out of his hands -- he says he will expand the TLM should he see a need. The way things are shaping up here, it looks like O'Malley would rather go through another round of parish closings and/or installing lay administrators than, say, save even one parish (and a few of those already closed are suing) by inviting in one of the TLM orders to take it over.

During the last round of closings, a letter from the administrator of our area of the diocese was actually read in church that gave the order in which the rest of the parishes in our section would be closed as it became necessary! (Naturally, the last to be left standing is so close to the water and the edge of our neighborhood that to be any less central it would have to be in the bay!) So I guess they have a game plan in place for shutting down the archdiocese altogether -- just what you like to see in your church leaders -- NOT!

[netmilsmom]

We used to go to the Boyer factory in Altoona.
Now I heard Mallow Cups are used as matter in that diocese.

(only kidding!)

[sneakers]

HAHA!! Good one!

[AliVeritas]

Reese... don’t get me started, my confession list is long enough. OT: So when will Mahony be replaced?

[Varda]

I hope this is a good assignment. In looking at the Green Bay Diocesan newspaper I can’t help but notice that they have regular columns from George Weigel and Fr. Richard McBrien. Has McBrien become orthodox in his later years?