By Ana Veciana
Palm Beach Post
April 20, 2010
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/west-palm-beach-native-to-succeed-miami-archbishop-588517.html
The Archdiocese of Miami has announced 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 succeeding him.
The two bishops will make the announcement at a news conference at the Archdiocese of Miami's pastoral center in Miami Shores at 10 a.m. Tuesday. After the news conference they will celebrate Mass at St. Martha's church in Miami Shores.
Favalora is 74 years old. Church rules require retirement at age 75, although the rule can be waived at the pope's discretion.
People 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 instead to make the change quickly.
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| Bishop Anthony O\'Connell makes some last-minute adjustments with the Archbishop John Favalora of Miami (right) in Palm Beach County in Jan. 1999. |
The expected change was first noted Monday evening by the Whispers in the Loggia blog, which covers Catholic issues in South Florida and around the world.
In July 2003, Wenski, 59 -- who speaks English, Spanish and Creole -- was appointed coadjutor to Orlando Bishop Norbert Dorsey. He took over the Orlando diocese in November 2004.
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.
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 in Miami-Dade and then at St. Vincent de Paul Major Seminary in Boynton Beach.
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| Born in West Palm Beach to a Polish immigrant father and a Polish-American mother, Thomas Wenski grew up in Lake Worth and attended Catholic school at his home parish, Sacred Heart. He studied at St. John Vianney Minor Seminary in Miami-Dade and then at St. Vincent de Paul Major Seminary in Boynton Beach. Photo by Richard Graulich |
After his ordination 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 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.
In 1996, Wenski was appointed director of Catholic Charities, helping establish a relationship with Caritas Cuba, the social service arm of the Catholic Church in Cuba, where he has traveled on several occasions. In June 1997, Wenski was named auxiliary bishop of Miami.
Favalora became the third archbishop of Miami, which covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, in December 1994, taking over from retiring Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy.
Born the only child of devout Catholic parents in New Orleans, Favalora earned a master's degree in education from Tulane University.
After studying theology in Rome, he served as an assistant pastor in Louisiana and eventually became bishop of Alexandria, La. In 1989, he was named bishop of St. Petersburg.
There, Favalora called for 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.
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| Wenski, 59, who speaks English, Spanish and Creole, took over the Orlando diocese in Nov. 2004. |
In 1994, when he was appointed to lead 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 all 115 parishes and missions in the archdiocese had a priest.
But in late 2009, the archdiocese announced plans to close 13 financially struggling congregations.
Favalora was at the helm as the church faced a string of 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's insurance program had paid out more than $21 million due to sexual misconduct involving priests.
Last year, Favalora had harsh words for the Rev. Alberto Cutié, the celebrity Miami Beach priest nicknamed "Father Oprah' who was photographed nuzzling a woman on a Florida beach. Weeks later, amid a media frenzy, Cutié joined the Episcopal Church and married.
"Father Cutié'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.'
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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