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	Embattled Joliet Bishop Retires By Cathleen Falsani Chicago Sun-Times [Joliet IL] May 17, 2006 http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bishop17.html Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Imesch -- the embattled, longtime head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet -- and will replace him with the bishop of Little Rock, Ark., the Vatican announced Tuesday. Imesch, who has led the Joliet diocese since 1979, will turn 75 next month, the mandatory retirement age for bishops under church law. Bishops must tender their resignations to the pope, who may choose to accept them (which he most often does) or not. Imesch has been under fire for the past few years for his handling of clergy sex abuse cases in the Joliet diocese, and he has made no secret of his desire to retire. He wrote to Benedict XVI in November 2004 reminding the pope that his 75th birthday was approaching and that he'd very much like to retire, Imesch said. "This has nothing to do with the sex abuse crisis," he said. In a statement thanking Imesch for his years of service, Chicago's Cardinal Francis George said his neighbor bishop "has been looking forward to relinquishing his responsibilities and can do so now with the assurance that the diocese he loves will be well cared for in the years to come." The man Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to succeed Imesch as shepherd to the Joliet diocese's 600,000-plus Catholics is 53-year-old Bishop James Peter Sartain. Sartain (pronounced "sar-tin"), who goes by his middle name, Peter, has been bishop of the Little Rock diocese since 2000. It encompasses all of Arkansas, representing about 107,000 registered Catholics. Sartain is set to be installed as Joliet's bishop on June 27. Born and raised in Tennessee, Sartain -- a personable man who joked with reporters as he fielded questions during a press conference in Romeoville -- has never lived north of the Mason-Dixon line. 'I hope to continue the healing' When a reporter threw him a fastball -- "OK, bishop: Cubs fan or Sox fan?"-- Sartain, who bears a resemblance in countenance and in voice to a fellow Southern gentleman, the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, quickly replied, "Yes." (Sartain eventually admitted to a few reporters: "I did get to go to my first Cubs game last summer, which was a thrill for me.") News of the pope's decision to appoint him bishop of Joliet "came as a complete surprise," Sartain said. "In my heart of hearts, I am and will always be a parish priest . . . but through the years I have learned God's blessings often come as surprises. "Do I come here with a mission, an agenda? No, not at all. I have much to learn and that process will take some time. My first task is to try to be a good bishop. . . . I want to pray with and for you, to celebrate the sacraments, preach God's word, teach the faith and strengthen the church," he said. "I hope to continue in earnest the healing already begun here and needed so badly throughout our country following the scourge of abuse by some clergy and others acting in the name of Christ." In 2004, the Little Rock diocese reported that, in a review of 54 years, it had found 11 priests (out of more than 500 who had served in the diocese during that time) with allegations of sexual abuse of minors against them, Sartain said. Two years ago, the Joliet diocese reported that 27 diocesan priests since 1950 have had "credible allegations of abuse" against them. Activist: Imesch's tenure 'sordid' "The clerical culture of cover-up went deep in the diocese of Joliet," Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement. "Bishop Imesch's retirement alone will not guarantee reform." Describing Imesch's tenure in Joliet as "sordid," Blaine said the bishop chose to shield priests instead of protect children, turned his lawyers on victims and their families, and treated them as enemies of the church. "In the next few weeks, until his successor takes over, we hope Bishop Imesch will find the courage to finally come clean and reach out to victims still suffering," she said. During the press conference with Sartain, Imesch declined to defend himself or his record. He says he will remain in the Joliet diocese and fill in for parish priests when he's needed. "I think there was much more to my ministry than the last two years. I think the diocese has grown tremendously," Imesch said, turning to Sartain and adding: "Bishop, you're getting a plum." BISHOP JAMES PETER SARTAIN Born: June 6, 1952, in Memphis, Tenn. Family: The youngest of five children, Sartain has four sisters. His father, Martin, a pharmacist, died in 1972. His mother, Catherine, a Catholic school secretary, died last fall. Ordained: A priest on July 15, 1978, in Memphis, Tenn.; as bishop of Little Rock, Ark., on March 6, 2000. Education: Memphis State University, St. Meinrad College, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome), Pontifical Athenaeum San Anselmo (Rome). Other assignments: Vicar for Clergy in the Memphis diocese (1984-2000); Vicar General of the Memphis diocese (1993-2000). Fun facts: In 2004, he banned bingo in the Little Rock diocese. And he hasn't read The Da Vinci Code. cfalsani@suntimes.com
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