Appointment inspires hope in beset diocese

Would that the rest of us had a bishop who would dialogue with "his" people, not lord it over them...

Bambera is not just the right Bishop at the right time for Scranton. He seems to be the exemplar and model of what ALL our Bishops should be. Sadly, there are too many Martino types around.

Scranton has a good chance to move forward with a great appointment in Msgr. Bambera. He knows the territory and is a pastor. Would that more ecclesial appointments made this kind of good sense rather than taking people in a direction that turns a diocese upside down.

It's wonderful to see a priest who's actually from Scranton appointed bishop of that diocese. The practice of transferring priests/bishops from across the country to lead dioceses they have no history with and have to "get to know" is an unfortunate innovation in the history of the Church, and should be discontinued. Meanwhile, I am interested to see if Rome will make the wise choice and appoint a local to succeed Roger Cardinal Mahony in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The LA Archdiocese has SIX auxiliary bishops and, I believe, around 2,000 priests. With so many local clergy to select from, there is certainly no reason for a bishop to be imported from elsewhere to govern the Archdiocese.

Perhaps this could start a trend long needed in the American church, the appointment of someone who actually knows the diocese to which he is appointed and who appears to have no ambitions for more important appointments. It would be nice if potential episcopal appointees would be asked if they would commit to their diocese, since a bishop is supposed to be "wed" to his diocese but that might be asking too much of an American hierarchy with too many careerist bishops.

Perhaps this is a step in the correct direction and not an anecdotal anomaly. I do believe that Rome is not as wrapped around its axle on single-issue politics as is Catholicism's rabid neo-con Right Wing that is often Wrong about Jesus' commands regarding love, peace and non-violence!

Perhaps this is a step in the

Submitted by Joe Walker (not verified) on Mar. 01, 2010.
Perhaps this is a step in the correct direction and not an anecdotal anomaly. I do believe that Rome is not as wrapped around its axle on single-issue politics as is Catholicism's rabid neo-con Right Wing that is often Wrong about Jesus' commands regarding love, peace and non-violence!

A brief review of Bishop Martino's outbursts indicates that he is bi-polar. He might benefit from medication and talk therapy.

This is encouraging, as is the appointment of William F. Medley as the new Bishop in Owensboro, Kentucky. He was installed on February 10, 2010. He previously served in the Archdiocese of Louisville and is very well thought of here. I am hopeful that the Church is getting some new pastoral bishops who are validated by the people they have served.

I sincerely hope the best for Msgr. Bambara as he assumes his role as Bishop of the Scranton Diocese. From family members who live in the Diocese, I have learned that he is a genuinely pastoral person with a respect for the dignity and faith of all people, regardless of whether they are lay, religious or clerical. At the same time, he is faithful to the teachings of the Church and is a staunch defender of faith and morals.

I am relatively convervative with respect to the Church. Having said that, I firmly believe that Bishop Martino's problems had nothing to do with being liberal or conservative, but resided in his strident arrogance and condescension with respect to his dealings with others, as if he and he alone had the direct hot-line to the Holy Spirit. His pharisaical approach to church governance placed him at odds with the essentials of Catholic Christianity.

I lived in Scranton for 8 years and left before the Martino administration. The bishop back then was Timlin, a gentleman I found to be very pastoral. I am happy for the Diocese that Msgr. Bambera is being elevated to the role now. Scranton is a city made up of neighborhoods, many with ethnic flavor because of the immigration of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It needs a bishop with a pastor's heart, a heart for people of diverse backgrounds. I will pray for his success.

I am very pleased to hear that such a respected, pastoral, and local priest has been appointed to Scranton. I hope and pray that when inevitable difficulties arrive that the People of God in Scranton continue to support each other.

My only fear is that all the praise he is now receiving does not ignite reaction from the right wing to agitate for the withdrawal of his appointment by Rome. I remember the situation with Bishop Kenny Untener (who was four years ahead of me in the sem). After his appointment was announced but before he was ordained bishop, the right wing tried to get the appointment withdrawn. It took Cardinal Dearden and other bishops to ward off the right wing attack.

I doubt this will happen in Scranton but that the people will breathe easier after he is ordained bishop. Then the bishop and his people will need mutual support and prayer lest the very many conservative bishops put pressure on him to conform to their ways.

Anyway congratulations to all the People of God in Scranton !!!! :)

Thank God for Bishop Bambera!
And Rome came through on this one. Will the other US Bishops who look to Rome for "vibes" please take this seriously?

God bless the people of the diocese of Scranton! Finally a bishop who doesn't feel that dialogue is a sign of weakness or watering down the truth. Bishop Marino's either/or approach -- my way or the highway -- certainly was not working in Scranton.

There will just as certainly be opposition to a both/and approach however. There are two ways to look at the proposition "both/and." One way is to see it as the worst of both and the best of neither. The other way is to see "both/and" as the best of both and the worst of neither. It's time to reconcile the polarizations within our church, to ignore the easy temptation to set up straw winners and losers, and to work together toward becoming one in the Spirit of God. If we can suspend judgment about people's motives and intentions and judge instead whether or not the action or position is in accord with gospel values and the teachings of the Church -- a difficult challenge at best becauses the truth in so much of the church's teachings on contemporary issues is gray area and not either black or white.

As quoted in another NCR article I read in a recent issue, until we come together on these issues we can't claim to be listening to the Spirit.

But what about the allegation that Msgr. Bambera testified under oath that he had known about a case of child molestation and refused to report it to the civil authorities? Does John Allen know anything about this?

Perhaps more than any other argument, this is the best example of why a bishop should be chosen and elected by his own local region of lay people and clergy, as was the case in the Church for many centuries. The Bishop of Rome should not be the person who hand selects which people are eventually appointed a bishop. Lay people should ALWAYS have a strong voice and vote on who their shepherd should be.

While he is not a local to our Diocese, many of us in the Diocese of Saginaw (Michigan) are very pleased with the recent appointment of our new Bishop, Bishop Joseph Cistone. He too is a very pastoral man- who seeks the opportunity to be with his people and from all appearances- takes great joy in his faith and in his priesthood. He is a real breath of fresh air. Gee, must be some of those Italian Catholic moms (families) in Pennsylvania sure know how to instill the joy of the Gospel in their sons?!

I believe that Bishop Accountability.com has documented that earlier in his career, when he was in charge of priests in the Scranton diocese, Msgr. Bambera admitted under oath that he was aware of sexual abuse charges against one of the priests and that, even though it was diocesan policy (and common sense)to report such incidents to civil authorities, he did not do so. And that on that occasion, or perhaps another, he accepted one of his priest's denial of a similar charge and did not pursue the matter further.

Does John Allen have any information or comment on this?

The replacement of one bishop does not make up for all the damage the American bishops have done to the church through their protection of child obusers for decades.

We can only take comfort and feel supported when the rest of them are replaced and, then, only if lay people have a say in the process. After the damage done, and the number of children abused, we should not be satisfied with "party line" any longer.

There are benefits and downfalls in appointing a priest from the same diocese. Someone from a different diocese has a better third person outlook on the situations, and can also often bring something new. Obviously the downfall is that he doesn't know the people as well. I think that there are benefits to BOTH.

It's nice to see that Scranton has a bishop that knows when to pick his battles, and yet still (hopefully) will uphold the doctrines of the Church.

That's great news. The problem will be in his dealing with the hangers-on and appointees from the last administration. He won't be able to just get rid of them, and he has to be careful as they may undercut him if given the chance.

Good luck to Bishop Bambera!

Cardinal Rigali deserves the kudos for this one. B16 has actually done quite well in his 5 years of appointments in the USA. Dolan, Carlson, Lucas, Medley, Bambera, the other appointee last week, all get high marks for people skills as well as pastoral skills. Yes, they are generally more traditional than many of us, but they are men with pastors' souls, unlike some of their predecessors. Maybe we can all get along in this unwieldy church! Let's hope Rockford, Il gets a pastoral bishop next year when Tom Doran hits 75!

Are we seeing a ray of hope? St Louis now has an Archbishop that is pastoral, cunsultative and from what I hear, a healer. Owensboro KY diocese has a newly appointed bishop who has a long history of being true to the title Pastor who is also consultative, and listens. Now, the new appointment in Scranton PA offers lots of hope to the people in that diocese. I pray that the Holy Spirit has finally broken through the hardness in Rome.

Now if this spirit would only permeate the whole institutuion--all dioceses, all institutions, all departments--starting with Rome. Then we'd have a church again. As it is, all we have is a children's camp.

The difference between Martino and Bambera was immediately evident. The bishop-designate spoke of the “great value in dialogue
....

To be fair to Bp Martino, who took the long, long overdue steps to consolidate the Diocese, Bp Bambera will not be revisiting those decisions.

In other words: Case Closed.

So glad to see your comment Vince G......... how sad but true!!

I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate Msgr. Bambera on his elevation to the office of Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton. It sounds to me like Scranton finally has the type of bishop that they so badly needed after the disasterously divisive Bishopric of Bishop Martino.

Bishop Martino's problems began when he busted the Catholic schools teachers' union. This poisoned his relationship with thousands of Catholic union members in an historic pro-union area. Things will not be any different for Bishop Bambera until he repairs the Church's relationship with not only the teachers' union but with all of organized labor in northeast Pennsylvania.