By Patty Machelor
Arizona Daily Star
November 16, 2010
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_fd1a3c64-6974-5574-964d-b7f2de5e6524.html
 |
| Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas |
Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas - poised to become the next president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week - is being scrutinized nationally by both conservatives and victims'-rights advocates.
Some are accusing him of being too soft on abortion issues, while others accuse him of mishandling the case of a pedophile priest.
Kicanas' purported silence when President Obama spoke at Notre Dame is one of the topics of criticism. In contrast, Chicago Cardinal Francis George, current conference president, urged Catholics to call and e-mail about the "extreme embarrassment" of having an abortion-rights president speak at the Catholic university's 2009 commencement ceremony.
During a telephone interview Monday from the conference meeting in Baltimore, Kicanas addressed the criticism.
"I participate in the Walk for Life each year and have stood and prayed in front of (abortion) clinics. All human life, from conception to natural death, is to be respected and treated with dignity," said Kicanas, 69. "People who would think I am soft on the right to life wouldn't understand my beliefs."
However, he said, there are different approaches one can take on the topic.
"One is finding alternatives to abortion so women who are in a desperate situation are not left alone," Kicanas said. "I think there is a place to speak up, and speaking up takes many forms. I think one has to pick where one will speak up and where one will listen, and I think both are necessary."
Kicanas' handling of the case of the Rev. Daniel McCormack - a priest charged with molesting nearly two dozen boys - has also been scrutinized. Kicanas was rector of Mundelein Seminary in Illinois, where McCormack studied and was ordained.
McCormack abused alcohol, Kicanas said Monday, and admitted to having two consensual encounters with fellow seminarians while drunk.
Kicanas also discussed seminarian McCormack's actions during a language-immersion trip to Mexico with some minors. During the trip, and again intoxicated, McCormack "patted someone on the behind," Kicanas said. "He was called in to explain what had taken place. He did not appear to us to be in any way unfit (for priesthood)."
McCormack was later ordained and molested boys as a priest. He was sentenced to prison.
A group committed to reforming the Catholic Church, including optional celibacy for priests and changes in the status of women, gays and lesbians, is concerned about Kicanas' history with McCormack.
Nicole Sotelo, media coordinator for Call to Action, said Kicanas "has been responsible for the mishandling of sexual-abuse allegations, and so, if he is elected, we would continue to make our voices clear."
"At the same time, while he has not been good on sexual-abuse issues, he has been a much-needed voice on comprehensive immigration reform, both locally and nationally," Sotelo said. "I assume he is going to be elected, based on the bishops' tradition, and so we will pray that he continues to open his heart to make sure that the church is a church that welcomes all people and is a church that is accountable to the people."
If elected, Kicanas said, becoming president will not alter his commitment to the church locally.
"I'm certainly grateful," he said. "As bishop of Tucson, it's like your own family, as it were, and this family has taught me a great deal."
Contact reporter Patty Machelor at 806-7754 or pmachelor@azstarnet.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.