Two out of Three, California Catholic Daily, November 14, 2008

Two out of Three

California Catholic Daily

November 14, 2008

http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=a5af1d67-147b-4f99-946f-e805388078f1

For the second year in a row, Stockton Bishop Stephen Blair has failed to get the nod from his fellow American bishops for a leadership position with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, although two other California bishops were elected to USCCB committee chairmanships.

Bishop Blair, currently chairman of the California Catholic Conference, had been nominated as conference secretary, along with Bishop George V. Murry, a Jesuit who heads the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio. On Nov. 11, the bishops, meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, voted 150-69 in favor of Bishop Murry.

At a similar meeting in the same city on Nov. 20, 2007, Bishop Blair had been nominated to chair the USCCB’s Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, a committee on which he had served for several years. But he lost on a 130-101 vote to Bishop Blaise Cupich of Rapid City, South Dakota. Bishop Blaire’s candidacy to head that committee, which is tasked with developing policies dealing with clergy abuse of minors, was opposed by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which describes itself as a “volunteer self-help organization of survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters.” Snap opposed the Stockton bishop in part because he had wanted a California law that removed the statute of limitations of one year in cases of sexual abuse of minors to be overturned, according to the Stockton Daily Record.

Two other California bishops fared better with their episcopal colleagues. Sacramento Coadjutor Bishop Jaime Soto, who will become bishop of the diocese on Nov. 30 upon the retirement of current Bishop William K. Weigand, was elected to chair the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity. Bishop Soto defeated Bishop Terry Steib of Memphis, Tennessee by a vote of 134 to 92.

And Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was elected chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Communications, defeating Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Missouri, on a vote of 129 to 97. Bishop Finn has distinguished himself as a vocal opponent of abortion and politicians who vote for pro-abortion laws. Bishop Zavala is better known for his association with Pax Christi, where he currently serves as president of the group’s executive committee. Pax Christi’s web site says the group, “rejects war, preparations for war, and every form of violence and domination. It advocates primacy of conscience, economic and social justice, and respect for creation.”

Other bishops elected to committee chairmanships at the Baltimore meeting include Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell, Committee on National Collections; Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., Committee on Doctrine; and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Committee on Pro-Life Activities.