Bishop Kicanas Statement on Election Loss, by Mindy Blake, KOLD, November 16, 2010

Bishop Kicanas Statement on Election Loss

By Mindy Blake
KOLD
November 16, 2010

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=13512261


New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan smiles after being elected the next president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has elected a new president, and it is not Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas.

Kicanas was one of then bishops up for the honor, but on Tuesday morning, the Conference elected New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

The following is a statement Bishop Kicanas released after the vote:

Nov 16, 2010

"A priest's life is all about service - service to the People of God, service to the Church and its mission. I have been honored these past three years with the opportunity to serve our Church, its mission and the People of God as the vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. I have grown in my regard for the staff of the Conference, especially Msgr. David Malloy and the senior staff, for the untiring work they do on our behalf.

Serving as vice president has been a marvelous experience.

I respect the wisdom of my brother bishops in choosing their new president and vice president. I greatly appreciated their expressions of thanks to me for my service as vice president. Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been a long time friend since our seminary work together. I know of his great wit, jovial spirit, keen ability to relate to people in a deeply personal way and his exceptional leadership qualities. These will certainly serve the Conference well as he begins his term as president.

I look forward to continuing to do whatever I can to further the work of the Conference. I really look forward to being able to focus on the needs of our Diocese - supporting our priests, women and men religious, deacons and lay people in the Diocese of Tucson, whom I have grown to love deeply."