January 20, 2006

Sioux City ordains bishop today

SIOUX CITY (IA)
Des Moines Register

By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR

January 20, 2006

Catholics in northwestern Iowa today end a two-year wait for a new bishop, a Denver man described as young, energetic and accomplished.

R. Walker Nickless , 58, is to be ordained today as the seventh bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. He is the first U.S. bishop to be appointed by Pope Benedict XVI and he fills a vacancy open longer than any other bishop's job in the country. ...

In both positions, he was intensely involved in dealing with clergy sexual abuse in the archdiocese, and the new Sioux City bishop said he wants Iowa Catholics to take seriously his motto "Speak the Truth in Love."

"By speaking truth in love, the people can help me grow and understand," Nickless said in an interview with The Des Moines Register. "It is difficult to speak truth sometimes, but it is the right thing. We need never be afraid of the truth."

Posted by kshaw at January 20, 2006 06:30 AM