BishopAccountability.org
	Bishop Promises to Listen, Heal, Rebuild Community By Kathryn Marchocki New Hampshire Union Leader September 20, 2011 http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110920/NEWS08/709209989 MANCHESTER — Bishop Peter Anthony Libasci promised to listen to the challenges facing New Hampshire Catholics and said helping heal those harmed by clergy sexual abuse and rebuilding a diocese scarred by the crisis will be a "very, very important part of my life" as 10th bishop of Manchester. "My eagerness, my hope in these next few days and weeks and months and years, is to come more and more to know the beauty of the church here in New Hampshire. To see the faith that lives. To see the people that make their home and their lives and their future and hand on that great tradition," said Libasci, 59, who has been auxiliary bishop of Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., since 2007. Pope Benedict XVI accepted Manchester Bishop John B. McCormack's resignation Monday and appointed Libasci (pronounced Li-BA-shee) as his successor. ... His appointment as spiritual leader of New Hampshire's estimated 285,000 Catholics drew criticism from watchdog groups and advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse, one of which called it "another example of the Vatican's cronyism and failure to treat the ongoing abuse crisis with the seriousness it deserves." Terence McKiernan, president and founder of BishopAccountability.org, cited Libasci's rise to prominence under Bishop Murphy who — like McCormack — was an auxiliary bishop under Cardinal Bernard F. Law in the Boston archdiocese. "The people of the Manchester diocese desperately needed a new bishop with a clean slate. Instead, Manchester has yet again been treated by the Vatican as a prize to be awarded to someone in Law's network," McKiernan said in a statement, referring to Law, who resigned in disgrace as Boston archbishop in 2002.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.