By Nancy Haught
The Oregonian
July 1, 2011
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2011/07/religion_notebook_santa_rosa_b.html
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| Bishop Daniel Walsh in a 2006 photo. |
Two Catholic stories and one on faith and party affiliation crossed the religion desk this week. The Vatican accepted the resignation of the bishop of the Diocese of Santa Rosa (which has implications for the Most Rev. Robert F. Vasa, formerly the Bishop of Baker in eastern Oregon). The pope sent a tweet on Twitter, and a study shows a link between very religious white Americans and the Republican Party.
The Boston Globe reported that Bishop Daniel Walsh of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa has resigned a year before turning 75, the mandatory age for bishops to retire. The paper quoted Deirdre Frontczak, a spokeswoman for the diocese, which has been hit hard by clergy abuse lawsuits.
"It's been a difficult decade,'' she said. "He walked into miserable situation and has done a heroic job of restoring the diocese financially and restoring the dignity of the priesthood.''
Vasa, who's known as a staunch defender of orthodox Catholic teaching, was appointed coadjutor bishop of Santa Rosa in January 2011. He sent an e-mail comparing the Baker and Santa Rosa dioceses:
"There I traveled through 66,000 square miles of territory and here it is reduced to just over 11,000 square miles. At the same time the number of Catholic people here is several times more than the number served in the Diocese of Baker. The challenges of being a Bishop are not necessarily different. There is a relative shortage of available priests, the need to foster stronger catechetical programs, the need for continued vigilance to help protect children in society as a whole, the need to reach out more effectively to Hispanic residents, the need to promote more engaging programs for youth and young adults, the need for increased financial stability at the diocesan and parochial levels, the need to help all people achieve a deeper, more personal relationship with God."
On a lighter note, Britain's Catholic Herald posted a video of Pope Benedict XVI sending out his first official tweet.
Finally, a Gallup Poll released today suggests that "very religious white Americans are more than twice as likely to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, while nonreligious whites are significantly more likely to identify with the Democratic Party."
The survey also looks at Asians, Hispanics and African Americans.
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