By John-Henry Westen
WASHINGTON, DC, September 16, 2010 (
LifeSiteNews.com)
– This morning Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Bishop
James Peter Sartain of Joliet in Illinois, as metropolitan archbishop of
Seattle Washington, where nearly one-fifth of the over five million
residents are Catholic. In January, Bishop Sartain was one of the 45
U.S. Bishops in attendance at the March for Life Vigil Mass in
Washington, DC.
Bishop Sartain
told LSN at the time that he was proud that over 225 youth from his diocese had come to the D.C. March for Life.
Asked
about the example Nancy Pelosi gives of being in favor of abortion
while calling herself Catholic, Bishop Sartain replied, “Any Catholic
who is going to understand our faith and live by the faith seriously
must be pro-life.”
The Joliet Bishop explained, “It’s at the very
core of our understanding of living a moral life because all life comes
from God. It’s a message that we have a responsibility to continue to
get out.”
He concluded, “
To be Catholic means to be pro-life.”
Born
in Memphis Tennessee in 1952 and ordained to the priesthood in 1978, he
became a bishop at the age of 47, shepherding the Church in Little
Rock, Arkansas, and Joliet Illinois prior to being called to Seattle.
Bishop
Sartain inspired admiration in his diocese by taking decisive action in
the face of scandal. When the pastor of the second largest parish in
the diocese of Joliet was found to have engaged in homosexual acts,
Bishop Sartain
removed him from priestly duties.
Commenting
on the action at the time, Catholic World News editor Phil Lawler told
LSN that, based on his reporting on the scandal of homosexual priests in
Catholic dioceses, he believed the action taken by Bishop Sartain was
unique and “a hopeful sign.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of
this before,” said Lawler. “There’ve been an awful lot of cases in which
we’ve been told that a priest has engaged in consensual sexual activity
with another male, and isn’t a problem. But it is a problem, and it is
good that it is being taken seriously.”
Catholic News Service notes
that archbishop-elect Sartain’s appointment marks the first in a string
of pending U.S. episcopal appointments under the new leadership of
Canada’s Marc Ouellet, who was recently appointed as head of the
Vatican’s Congregation of Bishops. Ten U.S. bishops are currently
serving past retirement age of 75 and another five dioceses are
currently without a bishop.
Bishop Sartain’s pro-life stance was
backed by action. In addition to attending the March for Life, the
bishop has led his flock in challenging abortion in the diocese of
Joliet. In 2007, when a Planned Parenthood abortion mill was to open
locally he responded with a request for the faithful to join him in
fasting and prayer. He encouraged peaceful, prayerful demonstration,
outreach and political lobbying.
