His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua (1923-2012)

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Bishop's Statements

By John Franko

Staff Writer

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua hoped that he would be remembered as someone who, despite his weaknesses, tried to be a good bishop in union with everyone in the Church of Pittsburgh.

"I would like to be remembered as someone who tried to bring Christ to the Diocese of Pittsburgh and the diocese to Christ," he told the Pittsburgh Catholic in January 1988, shortly before he left the diocese to become archbishop of Philadelphia.

Cardinal Bevilacqua, who died Jan. 31 at 88, served as the 10th bishop of Pittsburgh for just over four years, but he was an active figure in the community.

He oversaw reorganization of the diocesan central administration and the initiation of a long-range planning and spiritual renewal program. He also inaugurated a $30 million campaign to endow the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Foundation and established task forces for the unemployed and mentally challenged.

In addition, he initiated a study on spiritual renewal for priests.

Bishop David Zubik recalled the cardinal's deep compassion and dedication to the poor.

"There are many today who are remembering his personal kindness and faithful service -- the twin pillars of his priesthood," the bishop said in a statement.

During his installation Mass Dec. 12, 1983, at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, then-Bishop Bevilacqua invoked the protection of Mary to guide him and the diocese.

"To you, my brothers and sisters in the family of the Church of Pittsburgh -- bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity -- I promise to be your loyal servant and faithful shepherd," he said. "Together, we can and will be Christ expelling the legion of demons of evil, fear, want and illness that stalk our midst.

"Together we can and will be Christ reaching out to others with his healing, loving touch," he continued. "Together, we can and will make this church in Pittsburgh someplace special."

Cardinal Donald Wuerl served under Bishop Bevilacqua as associate general secretary of the diocese and as rector of St. Paul Seminary in Crafton. He was named successor to Bishop Bevilacqua on Feb. 12, 1988.

The Washington, D.C., cardinal pointed out that while Bishop Bevilacqua's service to the Diocese of Pittsburgh was relatively short, he should be appreciated for his efforts to address issues that would bring the diocese into the future.

"He was very interested in priestly formation programs and was a great supporter of our vocation efforts," Cardinal Wuerl said. "He also was very focused on the needs of the parishes to be able to address pastoral issues."

On a personal note, Cardinal Wuerl spoke of the joy Bishop Bevilacqua got from the way he was welcomed in the diocese, adding, "He loved the friendliness of the people of Pittsburgh."

Bishop Bevilacqua pledged to visit as much of the diocese as possible, and he was a frequent visitor to Catholic schools.

Mercy Sister Ignatius Rooney, who was a longtime assistant superintendent of schools, remembered his intense interest in Catholic education. She also recalled his easy-going manner when meeting diocesan employees or visiting schools.

"He knew your name and was always very kind and friendly," she said.

A civil and canon lawyer, Bishop Bevilacqua was a member of a number of legal organizations, including the Canon Law Society of America and the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations.

Father Lawrence DiNardo, director of the Department for Canon and Civil Law Services, was chancellor of the diocese under Bishop Bevilacqua and served as his master of ceremonies. He also lived at the bishop's residence.

"He was a very thoughtful person," Father DiNardo said. "He had a great intellect. He was very pastoral and concerned about the needs of people, especially the poor."

Bishop Bevilacqua ordained some 25 priests, who are still in active ministry, during his time in Pittsburgh. Among them was Father James Chepponis, director of the diocesan Office for Music and pastor of St. John Capistran in Upper St. Clair.

Father Chepponis spoke of Bishop Bevilacqua's friendliness and recalled a chance encounter with him in Rome a few years after he left Pittsburgh.

"I went up to him to reintroduce myself, but he remembered me and even asked me how my music ministry was going," Father Chepponis said. "I was pleasantly surprised that he remembered me."

Bishop Bevilacqua was a recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Variety Club of Pittsburgh and was named the 1984 Man of the Year in Religion by Vectors/Pittsburgh.

His time in the diocese was also marked by a couple of controversial episodes.

In 1986, he drew headlines by refusing to allow women in Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremonies in parishes. While the Vatican found that his decision was in accord with church procedure, he got the U.S. bishop's liturgy committee to study the issue and recognized that a variation that allowed women in the ritual was also legitimate.

"I believe strongly in the teachings of the Catholic Church," he told the Pittsburgh Catholic shortly before leaving the diocese. "I'm faithful to the magisterium of the church. It is the role of the bishop to explain those teachings to the people.

"Some won't accept those teachings and I can't impose those teachings on them," he continued, "but I cannot compromise those teachings either."

While one doesn't set out to create controversy, he noted, it may arise through the explanation of the truth. It is the role of the bishop, he said, to promote unity in teaching, remove confusion surrounding it and apply the teaching in the life of the diocese.

Bishop Bevilacqua appeared to dwell on the issue when celebrating his last public Mass in Pittsburgh on Jan. 24, 1988, at St. Paul Cathedral.

"I ask forgiveness for my faults, my failures and my deficiencies," he said. "To anyone to whom I may have hurt, I can assure you honestly I never intended to hurt you."

According to the Philadelphia Archdiocese, Cardinal Bevilacqua died in his sleep at 9:15 p.m. Jan. 31. The archdiocese said he had been battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer.

He headed the archdiocese from February 1988 to October 2003.

"I was greatly saddened to learn of the death of my predecessor Cardinal Bevilacqua," said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. "I encourage all Catholics in the archdiocese to join me in praying for the repose of his soul and that God will comfort his family as they mourn his loss. Cardinal Bevilacqua has been called home by God; a servant of the Lord who loved Jesus Christ and his people."

Pope Benedict XVI mourned the death of the cardinal, expressing his "heartfelt condolences" in a telegram sent to Archbishop Chaput.

The pope praised the late cardinal's "long-standing commitment to social justice and the pastoral care of immigrants, and his expert contribution to the revision of the church's law in the years following the Second Vatican Council."

Just a day before his death, a Philadelphia judge ruled that Cardinal Bevilacqua was competent and could be a witness in the upcoming trial of a Philadelphia priest, Msgr. William Lynn. The priest is accused of having failed to protect children from two priests who were under his direction when he served as secretary of the clergy.

But Msgr. Lynn's defense lawyers said the cardinal could no longer recognize the priest who had been his longtime aide.

In February 2011, Cardinal Bevilacqua and other archdiocesan officials were named in a civil lawsuit filed anonymously by a 28-year-old man. The man claimed he had been abused and named his alleged abusers in the suit as well as the cardinal and others he said failed to prevent the abuse. They included Cardinal Justin Rigali, who is now retired but succeeded Cardinal Bevilacqua as head of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

The civil suit was filed four days after the Philadelphia district attorney released a new report by a grand jury investigating clergy sex abuse in the archdiocese. In response to the report, which brought criminal indictments and followed a 2005 report, Cardinal Rigali, calling sex abuse of children a crime and "always wrong and always evil," outlined new actions to respond to abuse allegations.

Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., June 17, 1923, and ordained a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn June 11, 1949, after studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, N.Y.

He had a master's degree in political science from Columbia University in New York, a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in civil law from St. John's University in Jamaica, N.Y. Admitted to the New York and Pennsylvania bars and to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1988, he may have been the only cardinal in U.S. history accredited to argue cases before that body.

He was diocesan chancellor and founding director of the Brooklyn Migration and Refugee Office when he was named an auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn in 1980. He was ordained a bishop Nov. 24 of that year. Three years later, he was named bishop of Pittsburgh.

Earlier that year, he was the Vatican-appointed delegate to resolve a dispute between Mercy Sister Agnes Mary Mansour and then-Archbishop Edmund Szoka of Detroit. The dispute arose over the nun's position as state director of social services in Michigan, a post that involved funding abortions.

When then-Bishop Bevilacqua told her she had to leave her job or her order if she would not publicly oppose state-funded abortions, she resigned from the Mercy sisters.

Cardinal Bevilacqua served many years on the bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities and spoke out often to condemn abortion and defend unborn life. He was elected chairman of the committee in 2001.

In his Pittsburgh Catholic column, Msgr. Charles Owen Rice praised Bishop Bevilacqua for acting like a leader and projecting his decisiveness.

"Archbishop Bevilacqua is quite direct, and non-devious," Msgr. Rice wrote. "Many have remarked that in one-on-one situations, he looks the person in the eye and, while talking to him or her, never appears distracted, as some of the rest of us do. Our diocese did well with his hand on the tiller."

In the end, Bishop Bevilacqua spoke of his sorrow at leaving the Diocese of Pittsburgh, but he said his joyous memories of Pittsburgh would remain with him forever.

"I did have a good time here, in a sense, not always but the time was good," he said at the final St. Paul Cathedral liturgy. "I have a lot of good memories."

Catholic News Service contributed to this report. Coverage of Cardinal Bevilacqua's funeral Mass will be published next week.