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	Miami Archbishop Favalora to Resign; Orlando Bishop Is Likely Successor By Jacqueline Charles, Diana Moskovitz and Ana Veciana-suarez Palm Beach Post April 19, 2010 http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/miami-archbishop-favalora-to-resign-orlando-bishop-is-586839.html The Archdiocese of Miami is expected to announce Tuesday that Archbishop John Favalora will step down after almost 16 years at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church in South Florida, with Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando the likely candidate to succeed him, sources say. Favalora, now 74, is retiring as required by church rules at age 75. Reached Monday night by The Miami Herald, Wenski said, ``I cannot comment. . . . We'll talk tomorrow.'' Neither Favalora nor archdiocese spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta could be reached for comment Monday night. Persons familiar with Catholic Church procedures said church leaders considered having Wenski work with Favalora for the next few months as what is known as ``coadjutor archbishop'' before Favalora stepped down, but decided to make the change quickly. In July 2003, Wenski, 59 -- who speaks English, Spanish and Creole -- was appointed coadjutor to Bishop Norbert Dorsey of Orlando. Others considered as possible replacements for Favalora included Timothy Broglio, Archbishop of the Military Diocese. Broglio leads America's only diocese without borders: the Archdiocese for Military Services. Based in Washington D.C., Broglio is charged with the spiritual well-being of U.S. military personnel stationed around the world, according to the catholic.mil.org website. However, Wenski may be the local favorite. Born in West Palm Beach to a Polish immigrant father and a Polish-American mother, he grew up in Lake Worth and attended Catholic school at his home parish, Sacred Heart. He studied at St. John Vianney Minor Seminary on Southwest 87th Avenue in Miami-Dade and then at St. Vincent de Paul Major Seminary in Boynton Beach. After being ordained in 1976, he served as associate pastor of the mainly Hispanic parish of Corpus Christi in Miami. Three years later, he was assigned to the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center in Little Haiti, where he served first as associate director and then director. Under his leadership, the center provided social educational and legal services to newly arrived Haitian immigrants in addition to the traditional pastoral ministries. During the 1980s, he also helped establish Haitian Catholic communities as far south as Homestead, north to Fort Pierce and west to Winter Haven and Ruskin. He was also known for celebrating weekly Mass for shut-ins on television. In 1996, he was appointed director of Catholic Charies, helping establish a relationship with Caritas Cuba, the social service arm of the Catholic Church in Cuba, where he has traveled on various occasions. In June 1997, he was appointed auxiliary bishop in a ceremony at Miami Arena. Favalora became the third Archbishop of Miami, which covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, when he took over in December 1994 for retiring Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy. Born the only child of devout Catholic parents in New Orleans, Favalora went on to earn a master's degree in education from Tulane University. In 1958, the archbishop of New Orleans chose him to study theology for four years at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Favalora spent 25 years in his home state, first as an assistant pastor and eventually reaching the position of bishop of Alexandria, La. In 1989, he was named bishop of St. Petersburg. There, he called for the repeal of a gay-rights ordinance in Tampa, but a year later opposed a proposed constitutional amendment that would have gutted state laws protecting homosexuals. Favalora expanded St. Petersburg's AIDS ministry and involved the diocese in providing affordable housing for low-income people. In 1994, he was appointed to head the Archdiocese of Miami. The Miami Herald described him as ``a man with a fondness for opera, gardening and the occasional gin martini, an admired administrator and loyal lieutenant of Pope John Paul II.'' He also had a reputation as a staunch upholder of Catholic orthodoxy. Favalora spoke Latin and Italian but admitted at the time that he had to work on his Spanish. In Miami, Favalora oversaw periods of growth and struggle. By 2000, local seminarians were increasing in number and growing more diverse. All 115 parishes and missions in the archdiocese have a priest. A few years later, Favalora was at the helm as the church faced sex-abuse scandals. In the spring of 2007, a church report said that 49 priests from the Miami Archdiocese had been involved in sexual misconduct allegations. The same report said the archdiocese had paid more than $21 million due to sexual misconduct involving priests. Then, in late 2009, the archdiocese announced plans to close 13 financially struggling congregations. Last year, Favalora had harsh words for the Rev. Alberto Cutie, the celebrity Miami Beach priest nicknamed ``Father Oprah'' who was photographed nuzzling a woman on a Florida beach. Weeks later, amid a media frenzy, Cutie left the Catholic Church to join the Episcopal Church with plans to get married. ``Father Cutie's actions cannot be condoned despite the good works he has done as a priest, `` Favalora said in a statement after the pictures surfaced. ``I ask for everyone's prayers at this time.''On the Sunday of Cutie's return to the pulpit, at an Episcopal church in Biscayne Park, Catholic pastors read aloud at Mass a letter from Favalora, who said Cutie's actions hurt the archdiocese and created a division within the community. After the devastating Haitian earthquake in January, Favalora was part of the efforts of the U.S. Catholic church as it aided in rebuilding church in that country. In March, the archdiocese said it would spend $1.57 million for ongoing relief in the country, including medical support, church rebuilding and assistance to new Haitian immigrants in South Florida. ``We have seen what the needs are in Haiti, not just Port-au-Prince but all of Haiti, and we are working church-to-church,'' Favalora said. Miami Herald Staff Writers Jay Weaver and Michael Sallah contributed to this report.
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