The archdioceses of Washington, St Paul and Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee celebrated the largest number of new priests in decades.

On 15 June, the Archdiocese of Washington celebrated its largest ordination class in 64 years. Cardinal Wilton D Gregory ordained 16 new priests, the largest number since 1960, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The other three archdioceses also saw notable increases in their ordination classes. The Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis welcomed 13 new priests, Los Angeles ordained 11, and Milwaukee saw nine men take up the priesthood.

Diverse backgrounds

The new priests in Washington range in age from 25 to 64, including a Rwandan genocide survivor, a former emergency room physician, and military veterans.

Cardinal Gregory praised the lifelong development of priestly vocations, supported by family and friends, and urged the new priests to centre their lives on prayer and the sacraments.

In his homily, the cardinal emphasised the importance of unconditional love, urging the new priests to "surrender your lives in imitation of the One who poured out His life for us."

In St Paul, approximately 3,500 people attended the ordination at the Cathedral of St Paul. Archbishop Bernard A Hebda highlighted the varied backgrounds of the 13 new priests, including careers in marketing, the Air Force and social work.

Archbishop Hebda noted that their skills and experience would serve them well in their new roles.

Faithfully serve Jesus

Archbishop José H Gomez ordained 11 new priests in Los Angeles at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The new priests come from varied backgrounds including catering, therapy and sports.

Archbishop Gomez highlighted the importance of love in the priesthood, quoting St John Vianney - "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus".

Milwaukee saw Archbishop Jerome E Listecki ordain nine men at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist.

Archbishop Listecki emphasised the role of priests in shaping and forming communities through the sacraments and acts of charity, encouraging the new priests to "faithfully serve Jesus Christ in his church".

This record number of ordinations signifies a hopeful future for the Catholic Church in the US as it sees an influx of diverse and committed individuals step into the priesthood.

Sources

Our Sunday Visitor

CathNews New Zealand

So are parish leaders in St. Paul, New Hope and across the archdiocese as they cull through their parishioners' responses to the February 2020 Disciple Maker Index, a 75-question tool on the impact a parish has on personal faith growth and developing community.

The Pennsylvania-based Catholic Leadership Institute created the survey and helped guide parishes through it.

Survey questions included: How welcoming is your parish? Do you volunteer in your community? Is your parish teaching you how to share the story of Jesus?

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He told parishioners and reporters that he was told the issue of clergy sex abuse was taken care of when he became archbishop seven years ago.

"Unfortunately I believed that and so my biggest apology today, and I did this last week at two other parishes, is to say I overlooked this. I should have investigated it more than I did," Nienstedt said.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is taking steps to reconcile the issue, Nienstedt said. The steps include releasing the names of priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children. Several parishioners said they were pleased Nienstedt addressed the issue but a few said they wished he would have done it sooner.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, meanwhile, announced on Sunday that it had placed another five priests on administrative leave, including one accused of sexual abuse.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput determined that there was a substantiated case of sexual abuse of a minor against a 58-year-old priest identified as Michael A. Chapman, according to a church statement. It gave no further details on the allegation.

Chapman was not immediately available for comment, a Reuters report said.

The other four suspended priests were determined to have violated standards of behavior and boundaries, the church said without elaborating. A church document defines one of the boundaries as pertaining to appropriate behavior with children.

The church said it had already reported the allegations against the men to the Philadelphia district attorney's office, and an archdiocese spokesman said he was not aware of any criminal charges against the men.

Sources

KARE
UPI
Reuters/Chicago Tribune
Image: Getty Images/Chicago Tribune

The archdiocese also released the names of four other priests who had been included on an earlier list, but Church officials now say those four should not have been included.

Seven of the priests named were not previously known to the public as accused abusers. Five of those seven are still living. Others, such as the Rev. Robert Kapoun, are already well known through lawsuits and media coverage. About one-third of the priests on the list are dead.

The accused priests have served at nearly half — 92, in total — of the 188 parishes in the archdiocese, according to an email sent to priests by vicar general Rev. Charles Lachowitzer, the archbishop's top deputy.

The archdiocese released the names on its website and in the print edition of The Catholic Spirit newspaper, along with each priest's birth year, ordination year, parish assignment history, current status and city of residence. For the deceased priests, it also released the year of death.

The disclosure comes three days after a judge ordered the archdiocese to release the names of all the priests on a sealed list of clergy with credible allegations of child sexual abuse against them. The 33 names had been disclosed to attorneys in a 2009 clergy sexual abuse lawsuit, but a judge ordered they remain private.

The naming of the priests will, however, not end the pressure on the Catholic Church in Minnesota, said a victims' advocates.

"Victims are already asking, ‘Why isn't the cleric who hurt me on the newly disclosed list?' " said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

For some victims and church members, the moment was cathartic, but more wrenching disclosures are coming.

Another list is expected to go public this week, when the Diocese of Winona said it will unseal at least 13 names of accused priests.

"There is increased pressure, and increased permission, for other bishops to follow what has happened here," said Mike Finnegan, an attorney at Anderson Advocates, the St. Paul firm handling abuse cases.

Sources

MPR News
Star Tribune
Image: MPR News