PHOENIX (AZ)
East Valley Tribune
By Lawn Griffiths, Tribune
Out of the shadows of Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien’s troubled tenure in leading the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix came Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted in December 2003.
A year into his job as the Vatican’s top agent in the Valley, Olmsted reflects a buoyant spirit and unassailable confidence that his stern, uncompromising approach — unflagging obedience to Rome — has restored trust across farflung parishes. Olmsted also believes he has put priests on notice that misconduct won’t be tolerated.
"Holiness" and "integrity" were words Olmsted, 57, used often in an interview late last week in his chancery office as he reflected on his first year as the shepherd for an estimated half-million Catholics across central and most of northern Arizona. He was installed Dec. 20, 2003, taking the symbolic crozier, or staff, and calling himself a "steward of hope and a servant of unity."
The Vatican’s choice of the Kansas native and bishop of Wichita came as a surprise. He was largely unknown, and the announcement of his name on Nov. 25, 2003, sent diocesan Catholics to their computer keyboards, searching Internet sites to find out what to expect. They found a man with heartland roots and strong credentials in administrative and teaching work in Rome and Ohio before being tapped as a bishop in 1999.
"The greatest challenge for me is to be faithful every day to Christ and to the mission he gives us," Olmsted said. Not the task of getting to the bottom of the priest sexual abuse scandals, not trying to get nominal Catholics back into the pews, not trying to find more priests so additional parishes can be developed.
Posted by kshaw at December 26, 2004 09:17 AM