|
July 8, 2008
Bishop Malooly earns favorable
impressions, old and new
By Gary Morton
Staff reporter
WILMINGTON -- In the tumultuous days following Vatican Council II, as the church implemented the council's reforms, seminary classmates noticed something special about Fran Malooly.
"He was imperturbable -- very steady," recalled Father Michael Roark, who was in the 1970 ordination class at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore with now-Bishop W. Francis Malooly.
"He was the one among us that we thought would surely become a bishop," said Father Roark, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Marydel on Maryland's Eastern Shore. "Any of us would have been happy to have him as a bishop. I consider myself a lucky man today."
Father Roark's comments came just before Bishop Malooly, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was introduced Monday as the ninth bishop of Wilmington.
While Bishop Malooly, 64, has worked in the Archdiocese of Baltimore since he was ordained a priest in 1970, he is no stranger to the Diocese of Wilmington. He has vacationed in Ocean City, Md., and Bethany Beach. A deceased uncle, Thomas Malooly, lived in Berlin, Md., and was an usher at St. John Neumann Parish.
Through Bishop Malooly's connection to St. Mary's Seminary, where he is on the board of trustees, he knows many of the priests of the Wilmington diocese, which sends many of its seminarians there to study. And the bishop is familiar with the concerns of Catholics in the Eastern Shore's nine counties through his work on the administrative board of the Maryland Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of Maryland's bishops.
Bishops Malooly and Saltarelli became good friends through their work on the conference's board of governors, said Dick Dowling, executive director of the MCC. "The bishops are similar in important ways. Each is devoted to his priesthood and the welfare of his brother priests. Both are good listeners. While each is a careful decision-maker, neither is afraid to make a decision or to stick by his guns once a decision is made."
They also share another important trait, Dowling said. "Each of the two has a great sense of humor, and humor, given the challenges a diocesan bishop faces these days, can only help weather the storms."
Bishop Malooly displayed his humor during Monday's press conference when he was asked what challenges he will face as bishop of Wilmington. "The bishop [Saltarelli] is going to take care of all that before Sept. 8," he said, "and I expect 12 years of a fairly easy ride."
Bishop Malooly brings with him "a good sense of the history of the diocese," said Msgr. John Barres, chancellor of the diocese. "He's had a lot of experience that he brings from Baltimore and from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, both pastorally and administratively. Bishop Malooly is a priest's priest, with a wonderful love for the church in a pastoral sense."
At the same time, "he's the type of guy who will sit down at the table with you and have lunch, and ask how you are doing," said David MacLeod of Salisbury,
who is in his second term on the administrative board of the Maryland Catholic Conference.
Last week while in Rome, Bishop Malooly shot hoops with seminarians at North American College; he had played competitive basketball until 19 years ago, when knee problems sidelined him. During a walk-through of the diocesan offices, Bishop Malooly said he plays some tennis during the summer but usually is too busy to play the rest of the year.
Youth and joy
Bishop Malooly listed evangelization -- reaching out and welcoming people to the church -- as his top priority but also stressed ministry to youth and setting a joyful tone for those involved in church ministry.
Maureen Gross, director of meetings and events for the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry, worked with Bishop Malooly in youth ministry in Baltimore. "I was always impressed by his willingness to make time in his schedule, whenever possible, to meet with young people," said Gross, wife of Patrick Donovan, who directs youth ministry for the Diocese of Wilmington. "He's willing to converse with them in a language that is comfortable to them. It's youth-friendly but at the same time it's deep."
Schools superintendent Cathy Weaver was encouraged by Bishop Malooly's focus on the joy of ministry. "Part of experiencing our faith is taking on that joy and living it in service and mission," she said.
She also relished hearing of Bishop Malooly's support of Catholic schools. "To hear his interest in and affirmation of Catholic schools put a big smile on my face. What I heard today gives me great confidence that support of Catholic schools will be as strong in the future as it has been under the leadership of Bishop Saltarelli."
Father Thomas J. Protack, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Berlin, Md., recalled Bishop Malooly as "a good overseer" who "delegated well," when they worked together to plan Pope John Paul II's 1995 visit to Baltimore, which included a visit to St. Mary's Seminary. Father Protack, then a student at St. Mary's, was the seminarian representative to the planning committee.
"He was very well organized and obviously a very good planner and user of time and resources," Father Protack said. "He was very expedient in getting things done and getting them done well." Listening to him Monday, Father Protack said, "You could see his sense of energy and enthusiasm. His passion for ministry pleased me most."
Bishop Malooly said part of his excitement in coming to Wilmington comes from the fact that he has never been a parish pastor. "Now I get to pastor a little bit larger than a parish. If after 12 years you can say he was very pastoral, he was concerned about people, I'll be very happy."
Dialog staff member Mike Lang contributed to this story.
July 7, 2008
From The Dialog
After making his prepared statement at Monday's press conference at St. Ann's social hall, Bishop Malooly, with Bishop Saltarelli seated next to him, entertained questions from the media. Excerpts:
Bishop Malooly: I guess I'll simply ask if you have questions and ask Bishop Saltarelli if I can answer them or not [laughs].
Q: When did you hear you were named Bishop of Wilmington?
Bishop Malooly: I had a call from the nuncio, Archbishop Sambi, exactly four weeks ago today. He called and asked if I would accept. I would need to send a letter to the Holy Father, and I was supposed to keep my mouth shut.
Q. How did being auxiliary bishop since 2001 prepare you for this appointment?
Bishop Malooly: Actually, I've been an administrator for 25 years. I ran clergy personnel from '84 to '89. Then from '89 until the present, I've been the vicar general for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and moderator of the curia [the archdiocese's central administrative office].
What actually happened when I became an auxiliary bishop is I was able to get back into ministry. I was helping out at the parish on weekends, but being able to do confirmations and dedicating new churches and installing pastors got me back - a little bit away from management stuff - back into what I truly love to do, being a priest. A bishop's life is very much like that of a priest.
I was telling Bishop Saltarelli last night, I've only had three opportunities to ordain priests to ministry because the cardinal carefully held on to that himself, as he should have -- Cardinal Keeler. Ordaining priests is such a moving experience for a bishop. There are lots of experiences. I love the young people. My ministry in parish work and running a youth retreat house was always centered around youth. ... So I look forward to confirmations and having a chance to be so encouraged by the greatness of our young people. They're not only the hope for the future, but right now, the present.
Q. What is the area of expertise that you're going to bring to Wilmington?
Bishop Malooly: What areas of expertise or talents do I bring? I don't think I bring very many at all. I'm actually kind of a generalist.
I've always considered myself the bandleader. I had a great CFO, the other two auxiliaries were great, a good superintendent of schools. I just felt like I kept the band moving with a little bit of music here and there.
I think the best thing I will bring, in seriousness, is I love being a priest, always have. I love ministering with and to people. I'm happy about what I do. If I can encourage those who are working with me to be joyful in ministry ... we don't draw people to church work or to church attendance if we're not happy about what we do. I think just my happiness and joy about ministry will probably be the best gift.
Q. What challenges do you expect as the bishop of Wilmington?
Bishop Malooly: The bishop [Saltarelli] is going to take care of all that before Sept. 8, and I expect 12 years of a fairly easy ride [laughs].
I think we have challenges everywhere. We need to reach out to people who have kind of slipped away from the church. The bishop wrote a beautiful pastoral letter on St. Paul, the year of St. Paul, and a good bit of that is how we as a diocese are going to reach out and try to invite others back.
Many people have been hurt through different things and we need to make them feel at home again as best we can.
Certainly Catholic schools, we want to keep them strong. I know where I come from the cost is high and the generosity of our teachers is great. It's a hard combination to keep in balance, so certainly, I know the bishop is working toward getting help for tuition assistance for the many families who want their children to attend Catholic schools.
I'm very anxious to get to know the youth of the diocese. As those of you in Baltimore know, I've been very active through our youth office, through confirmations. I want to encourage them, not only because I think I might have a good shot at encouraging a vocation there, but just to let them know I think they are a significant part of the church.
I'll probably have a lot more things to say by Sept. 8.
Q: You mentioned there are people hurt.
Bishop Malooly: Of course with the abuse crisis, many have been hurt by things that have happened within the church, in our schools, in our parishes and we continue to try to respond. I've been involved with that for 25 years now, not happily. You never make up for something like this happening. You're constantly trying to respond to the needs as best you can. I'll be willing to listen and try to help as best I can.
Q. Do you have a short-term game plan for how you intend to get oriented to the Diocese of Wilmington?
Bishop Malooly: I was talking about the possibility of visiting the parishes, having some events in the parishes. I certainly would like to visit the schools. Maybe especially say Mass in our high schools, have an opportunity to get to meet the young people.
I've met a number of those who will work directly with me in the pastoral center already.
I went through the directory to see how many people I knew. Bob Krebs [communications director] I knew as a young man in the parish where I served. So we have a lot of connections in Wilmington, to the diocese, and to the Maryland part. ... I thought about relocating the residence to Bethany, but they told me that doesn't fly [smiles]. Maybe the next bishop.
Q: Is there a No. 1 priority?
Bishop Malooly: I would say evangelization, reaching out, trying to welcome people to the church, telling them how important faith is. Life without it is pretty empty. ... So I think I'm going to build on the pastoral letter that Bishop Saltarelli wrote. There's a lot packed into that and you're already doing it here. Once you do that [evangelize], actually, you strengthen the church. You shore up all the other areas that we were talking about - Catholic schools, tuition help, etc.
Q. People have spoken about you having strong pastoral gifts and you've spoken modestly about not being a specialist, but do you feel that is one of your strengths?
Bishop Malooly: Yes. In honesty I've always been flattered when people say that. I only spent 11 years in parish work. I was never a pastor because I ran a youth retreat house, but I've had over 1,000 weddings in my life, probably more funerals. Those moments, baptisms, where I can be with families and celebrate the special moments and be part of their lives and bring God's spirit there, they're just very moving.
I've always felt, even during my administration years, I've always made time to do that.
I was ordained a priest because I wanted to be a parish priest. I wanted to be a pastor eventually. Now I get to pastor a little bit bigger than a parish. If after 12 years you can say he was very pastoral, he was concerned about people, I'll be very happy.
July 7, 2008
Biographical sketch of
Bishop W. Francis Malooly
Born: Jan. 18, 1944, in Baltimore
Education: Attended elementary school at St. Ursula in nearby Parkville. Responding early to a call to the priesthood, he attended secondary and undergraduate school at St. Charles in Catonsville (now closed), followed by seminary training at St. Mary (Paca Street, now closed) and St. Mary, Roland Park (now St. Mary's Seminary & University).
Ordination as priest: He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore by his uncle, the late Bishop T. Austin Murphy, at the St. Ursula parish church on May 9, 1970.
Assignments as priest: Parish assignments included appointments as associate pastor at St. Joseph, Texas, in 1970 and St. Anthony of Padua, Baltimore, in 1976. He was associate administrator, then administrator, at the CYO Retreat House (now Monsignor O'Dwyer Retreat House) in Sparks, Md., from 1981-1984. In 1984, Bishop Malooly became director of clergy personnel for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He was appointed chancellor and vicar General in 1989. In 1990 he was named Prelate of Honor to the Holy Father, with title of monsignor. He is a member of the Knights of Malta.
Ordination, assignments as bishop: Ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Baltimore at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on March 1, 2001. Cardinal William H. Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, appointed him at that time to the concurrent position of Western Vicar for the 38 parishes and six missions in Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, and Washington counties in Maryland. He remains moderator of the curia (the central administrative office) and vicar general.
Other positions, honors: In April of 1999 Bishop Malooly was awarded the President's Medal by St. Mary's Seminary & University for his long service to the school and to the people, priests, and bishops of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In 2006 he received the Cardinal Shehan Award given by the Archdiocesan Youth Office. Also that year he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Mount Saint Mary's University, Emmitsburg, Md. He currently serves on the board of trustees of Good Samaritan Hospital, St. Mary's Seminary and University, and Mount St. Mary's University.
Motto: Rejoice in the Lord
July 7, 2008
Statement of Bishop W. Francis Malooly
at press conference Monday morning announcing his appointment as ninth bishop of Wilmington
It's good to be here this morning. I want to thank you for coming. I want to thank you especially for the affirmation of your bishop. That's always very touching, so I'm very grateful for that.
I'm delighted to be here in the diocese. Though not a native son, this in many ways feels like a homecoming. I've often considered Wilmington my home diocese during countless summers vacationing at the Delaware and Maryland beaches. With the Holy Father's announcement today, this will be my home diocese year-round, and for that I am very grateful.
It will be nice to pray for myself during Mass (laughs). I spent years praying for Bishop Michael Hyle, whom I knew from my grade-school years -- he was best friends with my home pastor; Bishop Thomas Mardaga, whom I also knew, he would vacation with us in my second assignment. But it will be nice to pray for myself and my brother bishop, Michael [Saltarelli].
I expressed my gratitude to Pope Benedict at last week's general audience in Rome. I thanked him for appointing me the ninth Bishop of Wilmington and expressed my prayerful desire to serve God's people and this great diocese, which has been blessed with such fine leadership through the years, many of whom I just mentioned.
I want to publicly acknowledge how happy I am to come to a diocese where my good friend Bishop Saltarelli has served as bishop - not because it will be easy to follow but it will be great to be able to share with him. He'll be here; I'll have that great resource. They'll be two bishops who’ll be very much active in the Diocese of Wilmington.
Our friendship dates back to 1994 when we worked together preparing for the papal visit: he in Newark, New Jersey, I in Baltimore. I’ve continued to work with him through our Maryland Catholic Conference and our bishops' conference. So, it's a real honor to be able to minister with and serve with him in a diocese where he has done such remarkable work in 12 years.
To the people and priests of the diocese, I'm very much looking forward to meeting you and discussing how we can best work together in service to our church and our God.
I already know many of the priests. I actually know all of the priest consultors from my contacts through the seminary or different committees, and almost all the priests here today I have known for a good number of years.
I also look forward to getting to know the religious women and men, our deacons, our seminarians. I met two of our wonderful sisters who will be working directly with me. So I'm very grateful for that.
Finally, I have to admit there's a little sadness as I prepare to take leave of my responsibilities in Baltimore. I’ve been a priest for 38 years and have lots of friends there, a lot of fond memories but I'm sure I'm going to have a lot of fond memories here, too.
July 7, 2008
Bishop Malooly’s friends and family say he will be missed
From The (Baltimore) Catholic Review
BALTIMORE — During a July 4 family get-together, Bishop W. Francis Malooly gathered his family around him. There was big news to share, and he wanted to tell them before it reached the ears of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The affable western vicar had received word he would be formally installed as the Bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., on Sept. 8.
Upon hearing the news, Bishop Malooly’s brother Gerard Malooly thought about how fortunate the people of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland are to be getting such a strong spiritual leader.
“The people will love him there,” said the youngest of the three Malooly brothers. “He’s very low-key and very giving to everybody. It’s a great honor for my brother and well-deserved, too.”
The oldest of four siblings, Bishop Malooly has always been a leader for Austin, Gerard and Martha. It is a trait they will miss as he moves to Wilmington.
“My whole family is extremely proud of him,” said Bishop Malooly’s sister, Martha Hackman, “because of his strong faith and his excellent administrative skills. Fran will make a wonderful bishop of Wilmington. Wilmington will love him.”
Friends around Baltimore said Bishop Malooly provided outstanding leadership for the western vicariate, which extends from Howard County to Garrett County.
Harold A. Smith, executive director of Catholic Charities, has worked with Bishop Malooly for more than 25 years.
“As the archbishop noted in his memo, it’s sad for us but we’re pleased for him,” he said. “He’s a wonderful friend and a great leader in our archdiocese.”
Smith thinks the bishop’s No. 1 strength is his personality. “He has a warmth and genuineness which just radiates from the man. That in turn allows him to build strong relationships and also gets problems solved well.”
One of those problems was addressing clergy sexual abuse. Bishop Malooly reached out to victims and was often the person that spoke to accused clergy members about their futures.
“For the benefit of the church, he did what was necessary, not what was popular,” said Rick Berndt, a longtime friend of Bishop Malooly’s and a general counsel for the archdiocese. “He took on some of the most difficult responsibilities that any priest can undertake and did them fairly and with complete persistence.”
Smith envisions Bishop Malooly tackling his new responsibilities in Wilmington “with the same fervor, gusto and spirit that he brought to Baltimore.”
Bishop Malooly, friends said, is a man of his word.
Chris Weber, director of Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland, said Bishop Malooly made an appearance at every one of the office’s annual formation days during the last 10 years.
“One thing I’ve always appreciated about him is his gift of presence,” Weber said. “He is always willing to come out and be in any situation at any time. He has a gift for remembering faces and names and for making people feel important. He has consistently supported our office, and for that I’m especially grateful.”
Michael J. Batza has worked with Bishop Malooly for more than 20 years, on the board of financial advisors for the archdiocese and on many special projects.
“He’s a terrific guy, and the appointment couldn’t come for a more deserving priest,” said Batza, who also served with Wilmington’s Bishop Michael Saltarelli on the board of St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Roland Park. “This will be a great loss for Baltimore and a great gain for Delaware.”
Batza said Bishop Malooly has held every major leadership position for the archdiocese, which will make him an effective leader in Wilmington. “I think he’s a terrific priest, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Suzanne Molino Singleton, Matt Palmer and Jennifer Williams contributed to this story. The Catholic Review is the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
July 7, 2008
Press conference, St. Ann’s in Wilmington
Bishop Saltarelli's statement
on Bishop Malooly’s appointment
This is a momentous time in the history of the church in Wilmington, the beautiful Diocese of Wilmington.
I just have a few words to say. They are filled with gratitude to God, gratitude to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and gratitude to Bishop Malooly for saying yes to the will of God to come to be our shepherd.
Dear people, we have been blessed; the diocese has been blessed. I couldn't be happier. I'm just so grateful to God for this wonderful gift that he's given us this morning.
So as I remind you, I'm still going to be around. I'm going to be the elder statesman. Now I'm going to be free to say what I want to say (laughs) -- especially to the priests, whom I love dearly. I intend to remain here -- with the permission of Bishop Malooly -- and to continue to be available as I'm needed.
That's all I have to say this morning. As I said, thanks to God, thanks to our Holy Father and thanks to Bishop Malooly.
July 7, 2008
Baltimore bishop named new bishop of Wilmington
Pope Benedict XVI accepts resignation of Bishop Saltarelli, appoints Bishop W. Francis Malooly as ninth bishop of Diocese of Wilmington
Bishop Malooly will be introduced at a press conference at 10 this morning at St. Ann's Social Hall, Union Street between Gilpin and Shallcross avenues in Wilmington.
A Maryland native, Bishop Malooly is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where he is Moderator of the Curia, Vicar General and Western Vicar (for Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick, Carroll and Howard counties). He was born on January 18, 1944, in Parkville, Md., was ordained to the priesthood on May 9, 1970, and was ordained a bishop on March 1, 2001.
|
|
