Catholic san Francisco
Bishop Niederauer named new Archbishop of San Francisco
Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
(CNS PHOTO BY GREG TARCZYNSKI)
By Jerry Filteau
Archbishop George H. Niederauer is pictured following a press conference at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco Dec. 15. A native of Los Angeles and a long-time seminary teacher, Archbishop Niederauer served as Bishop of Salt Lake City for nearly 11 years before Pope Benedict XVI appointed him the eighth Archbishop of San Francisco.
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop George H. Niederauer, head of the Diocese of Salt Lake City for the past 11 years, as the new Archbishop of San Francisco. Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, papal nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment in Washington Dec. 15. Archbishop Niederauer, 69, succeeds Archbishop William J. Levada, who headed the San Francisco Archdiocese for 10 years before his appointment this past summer as prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. A priest for more than 43 years, he has spent 27 years in seminary teaching. In his own seminary days he was a classmate of Archbishop Levada and of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony. Cardinal Mahony praised the appointment. He said the new archbishop’s recent book, “Precious as Silver: Imagining Your Life With God,” is “a spiritual gem.” He described Archbishop Niederauer as an avid and discerning reader and a highly effective homilist and teacher. George H. Niederauer was born in Los Angeles June 14, 1936. He graduated from St. Anthony High School in Long beach in 1954 and attended Stanford University for one year before entering the seminary. After studies at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1962. He has a degree in theology from The Catholic University of
America in Washington and a doctorate in English literature from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After several parish assignments he joined the St. John’s Seminary faculty in 1965 and spent most of his priesthood in priestly formation, first as a teacher, then as spiritual director and finally as rector from 1987 to 1992. Widely sought as a speaker on priestly formation and director of priests’ retreats, from 1992 until his appointment to Salt Lake City he was co-director of the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer for Priests in Los Angeles. In Utah he has supported numerous local causes and promoted interfaith efforts through the Alliance for Unity, a coalition of church, business, media and political leaders formed in 2001 to promote cooperation and mutual respect among the state’s diverse religious, ethnic and political groups. Since 2000 he has chaired the Utah Coalition Against Pornography. When a group of miners in rural Emery County went on strike in 2003-04 for better wages, safer working conditions and fair union representation — they were earning about one-third the wages of workers at other mines — he visited the picket line and supported the strikers. The Catholic Church provided food and other financial support to the strikers during the nine-and-a-half-month strike. In 2004 he received the Gandhi Peace Award from Utah’s Gandhi Alliance for Peace. In accepting the NEW ARCHBISHOP, page 3
Archbishop Niederauer looks forward to serving the people of the local church At a news conference at St. Mary’s Cathedral Dec. 15, newly appointed Archbishop of San Francisco George H. Niederauer made the following comments: I want to begin by thanking our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, for the confidence he has expressed in me by appointing me the eighth Archbishop of San Francisco. Conscious of my own limitations, I joyfully commit
myself to serve the people of this Archdiocese as effectively as God’s grace strengthens me to do. The excellent leadership of my predecessor, Archbishop William Levada, now serving as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, certainly inspires and encourages me. He is my lifelong friend and a most gifted and dedicated churchman. The presence here of his predecessor, retired
Archbishop John R. Quinn, with whom I spoke this morning, is a blessing for me. I thank Bishop John Wester, the present Administrator of the Archdiocese, for his fine shepherding here and for the kind and thoughtful welcome he has given me. I look forward to working with him and with Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang. The pastoral center staff in every diocese is indispensable to the bishop, so I know the experience of working with
the people in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center will be most positive and fruitful. My understanding of the office of bishop flows from the root meaning of the word: someone who oversees, or watches over the church, the flock of Christ. The Second Vatican Council tells us that the bishop serves as priest, prophet and shepherd: as priest, he is concerned with Catholic worship and NIEDERAUER, page 14
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION ‘On the Street’. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Litigation update . . . . . . . . . 4 Mosaic TV program . . . . . . . 5 Questions at Christmas . . . . 6 Scripture amd reflection . . . 10 Obituary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Christmas Day
Seton Institute’s relief efforts
Datebook
Classified ads. . . . . . . . . . . 15
December 25th
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NEXT ISSUE JAN. 13
December 23, 2005
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