Fairbanks Bishop to Lead Minnesota Diocese
By Weston Morrow
FAIRBANKS—The Catholic Church announced Friday that Pope Francis had appointed Fairbanks Bishop Donald J. Kettler to lead the diocese of St. Cloud, Minn. The announcement came 15 months after St. Cloud Bishop John Kinney submitted a letter of retirement to the Vatican. Catholic law requires bishops retirement at age 75. Kettler has been bishop of the diocese of Fairbanks for 11 years, first arriving in 2002, two years after the death of the prior bishop, Rev. Michael J. Kaniecki. Kaniecki had held the post since 1984. Kettler presided over the diocese when more than a dozen men sued the Fairbanks branch of the Catholic church, accusing one of its priests of sexual abuse. The diocese’s own announcement Friday about Kettler’s departure noted he “oversaw the darkest period in the diocese’s history.” Though he has lived in Fairbanks for more than a decade, Kettler hails from Sioux Falls, S.D., and was born in Minneapolis, both of which lie within the boundaries of the St. Cloud diocese. Kettler spoke to the News-Miner Friday in a phone interview from St. Cloud, where the announcement was made. “It’s hard to move, and I had no reason to want to leave Fairbanks,” Kettler said. “But on the other hand, they asked me to go to Fairbanks, and so they asked me to go to St. Cloud, so I said yes.” Kettler said he first found out the pope planned to appoint him to St. Cloud more than two weeks ago, on Sept. 3, when he received a call from the apostolic nuncio of the United States. The nuncio is the Vatican’s representative to the United States. “Usually they don’t wait that long ... but I asked for a little extra time because I was going out into the bush,” Kettler said. “I asked them if they could possibly give me the week.” The St. Cloud diocese encompasses an area about 33 times smaller than that of the Fairbanks diocese but has a population about eight times larger. The Fairbanks diocese has some 17,000 Catholics, while the St. Cloud diocese has 136,000. Kettler said that while the St. Cloud diocese has many more people, it is still not “a huge diocese by any means” and that the move is more of a lateral one than a promotion. He thanked his congregation in Fairbanks and said he was sure they would benefit greatly from whoever replaces him. “I would thank them for their support and their care. I would commend them for their deep faith that they have, and know that they’re going to receive well the transition work and receive well a new bishop, and he’ll enjoy very much being there.” Robert Hannon, chancellor for the Fairbanks diocese, said Kettler has a unique ability to listen and help others heal. “When I heard the pope’s remarks about engaging people one on one, I think that was Bishop Don’s great gift, being able to engage those who have been harmed one on one,” Hannon said. Kettler was the first diocesan bishop to serve in Fairbanks. The prior four bishops had come from the missionary order of the Jesuits. He first visited Fairbanks in the 1990s, about a decade before receiving his appointment as its bishop. After his visit, he continued to receive the diocesan newsletter, “Alaska Shepherd” up until he was appointed bishop. Kettler spent much of his tenure in Fairbanks dealing with the sex abuse lawsuit brought against the diocese. He presided over the $9.8 million bankruptcy settlement and reorganization by the Fairbanks diocese. As part of the settlements, Kettler was ordered to visit abuse survivors and their communities throughout the diocese, which encompasses the northern half of Alaska. “I really think his handling of the sexual abuse crisis and the reorganization deserve merit,” Hannon said. “That could have been a merely mechanical effort, but he is really genuinely at his best when he’s meeting with people one on one. “People don’t feel intimidated by him,” he said. “They feel they can talk to him, and he really has a gift that way.” Kettler will officially take over as bishop of the St. Cloud diocese on Nov. 7. Archbishop Roger Schwietz of Anchorage will take over the leadership role in the Fairbanks diocese while the church looks to appoint a new bishop to the vacated post. The search and selection process routinely takes seven or eight months, according to Hannon, though it often takes longer, as was the case in both of Kettler’s appointments, which took 22 months and 15 months. There are 151 diocesan bishops in the United States. Contact: wmorrow@newsminer.com
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