Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu: Encyclopedia II - Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu - Diocese

Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu - Diocese

Msgr. Alencastre's premonition that the vicariate would be elevated to diocesan status was fulfilled earlier than expected. Upon his death, Blessed Pius XII decided that the Hawaiian Islands no longer needed a missionary church. Rather, its flourishing Roman Catholic community was mature enough to be administered as a fully independent body of its own. The pope canonically erected the new Diocese of Honolulu on January 25, 1941.

After several months of consideration, the Pope looked outside of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary for a successor to the last vicar apostolic. Pope Pius XII appointed a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, James Joseph Sweeney as the first Bishop of Honolulu on May 20, 1941; Msgr. Sweeney was subsequently ordained to the episcopate on July 25, 1941 in the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Assumption in San Francisco, California.

Msgr. Sweeney's first few months in episcopacy happened in the advent of a most tragic event in Hawaii. On December 7, Japanese imperial forces bombed Pearl Harbor and scraped metropolitan Honolulu. Hundreds of military and civilians died. Explosions were heard around downtown Honolulu and near the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. Msgr. Sweeney shepherded the diocese throughout World War II.

Blessed John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council on October 11, 1962, and Msgr. Sweeney was a council father, one of a many prelates from the United States to attend the sessions. Inspired by the reforms agreed upon in Rome, he enacted major changes to the liturgy in the Diocese of Honolulu. One of his actions was to renovate the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in keeping with the newly promulgated Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Soon all parishes offered Mass primarily in the vernacular in place of Latin and altars were built facing the congregation instead of the sanctuary wall. Slowly, other languages were incorporated into the Mass including the Hawaiian language. Msgr. Sweeney also invited the Marist Fathers and Brothers to staff several parishes on the islands of O‘ahu and Kaua‘i.

Msgr. Sweeney fell ill and could not perform his duties with full vigor. His request for an auxiliary bishop was granted. Years later, Msgr. Sweeney died on his birthday on June 19, 1968. He was buried in Colma near San Francisco, where he spent his early years as a priest.

Pope Paul VI appointed John Joseph Scanlan, the diocese's auxiliary bishop and apostolic administrator as its second ordinary on March 6, 1968. A San Francisco archdiocesan priest from County Cork in Ireland, Msgr. Scanlan witnessed the growth of a young state of Hawai‘i. He was maintained cordial relations with the Roman Catholic Governor of Hawaii, John A. Burns even when the Hawaii legislature passed a bill permitting abortion on demand and Governor Burns allowed the bill to become law without his signature. Scanlan was also remembered for his invitation of several religious orders to establish themselves in the Hawaiian Islands. Among such groups were the Society of Jesus, the Christian Brothers of Ireland, the Religious of the Virgin Mary, and the Dominican Sisters of Iloilo. The Jesuits primarily minister to the students of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

In 1977, Msgr. Scanlan served as the principal consecrator of Father Joseph Ferrario as auxiliary bishop. His age was beginning to affect his work. Feeling the pressures of being 75 years old, Msgr. Scanlan chose to retire on June 30, 1981. He died on January 31, 1997 at Nazareth House in San Rafael, a retirement home for priests and religious. His funeral was held at the metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption and later at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu. Bishop Scanlan, a father of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, had the honor of being buried beside Bishop Maigret, a father of the First Vatican Ecumenical Council, in a crypt under the sanctuary of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.

Pope John Paul II appointed the diocese's auxiliary bishop Joseph Anthony Ferrario, a former Sulpcian educator and diocesan priest, as the third Bishop of Honolulu on May 13, 1982. Bishop Ferrario was known for his proactive ministry to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in the diocese. He also served on a gubernatorial commission to fight AIDS and HIV. He also supported legislation to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Conservative Catholics called for Ferrario's resignation. In 1989, Msgr. Ferrario became the first bishop to be publicly accused of sexual misconduct in the United States. The Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled that a statute of limitation effectively prevented his prosecution. Msgr. Ferrario maintained his innocence for the rest of his life.

Msgr. Ferrario's harshest critics were the ultra-conservative followers of the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's Priestly Society of Saint Pius X. Msgr. Ferrario, through his judicial vicar, Father Joseph Bukoski, J.C.L., issued a canonical decree of excommunication to six individuals in 1991. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith later reversed Msgr. Ferrario's action.

Msgr. Ferrario retired on October 12, 1993, citing poor health. Even in retirement, Bishop Ferrario kept a vigorous schedule to raise money for Roman Catholic education in the Hawaiian Islands through the Augustine Educational Foundation. He was remembered for his compassion for the poor children in the Diocese of Honolulu. Bishop Ferrario died on December 12, 2003 from heart failure. He was buried in Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery.

Upon Msgr. Ferrario's announcement of his retirement, the Vatican had appointed Msgr. Francis DiLorenzo, auxiliary bishop of Scranton as Apostolic Administrator of Honolulu. Later, on November 29, 1994, Pope John Paul II, appointed Msgr. DiLorenzo as the fourth Bishop of Honolulu. Msgr. DiLorenzo spoke forcefully on the Catholic church's positions on birth control, abortion, marriage and homosexuality. He created a zero-tolerance policy in the United States concerning such conduct. The Vatican later appointed Msgr. DiLorenzo as ordinary of the See of Richmond upon the announcement of the retirement of Richmond bishop Walter Francis Sullivan. Msgr. DiLorenzo assumed leadership of the Diocese of Richmond upon installation on May 24, 2004.

With the departure of Msgr. DiLorenzo, the diocesan college of consultors in accordance with the Code of Canon Law, on May 28, 2004, elected from their peers Father Thomas L. Gross as temporary diocesan administrator. He also served on the committee that screened candidates for the post of Bishop of Honolulu.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Clarence Richard Silva, the first native-born person in the episcopacy of the Hawaiian Islands to become a Bishop of Honolulu on May 17, 2005. He also became the first person of Portuguese ancestry in the episcopate since the administration of Bishop Stephen Peter Alencastre. Formerly the Vicar General of the Diocese of Oakland, Silva was ordained to the episcopate and installed as bishop at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena on July 21. Over 3,500 were in attendance, making it one of the largest events held by the Diocese of Honolulu in its history.

The principal consecrator was William Joseph Levada, Archbishop of San Francisco and newly-appointed Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The ordination and installation ceremony was the last official ceremonial function as metropolitan bishop over the Province of San Francisco for Levada; other non-ceremonial functions would continue until his official departure from office. Also in attendance were Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, Archbishop Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and Anthony Apuron, Archbishop of Agana. Although scheduled to attend the episcopal ordination, Roger Cardinal Mahony, the Archbishop of Los Angeles was unable to be present due to unforeseen airplane problems at Los Angeles International Airport.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Diocese", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki