Bishop Olmsted Has Made Some New Appointments

April 2004

Press Release
April 30, 2004

The Celebration of the Tridentine liturgy will begin with a 1:00 p.m. Solemn High Mass on Holy Trinity Sunday, June 6, 2004, at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. From Holy Trinity Sunday onward, the Tridentine Mass will be celebrated at 1:00 p.m. every Sunday at St. Thomas the Apostle.

Initially this will be a “low Mass” until a choir can be formed.

Fr. Ray Greco, OSB, has agreed to coordinate the weekly rotation of priests who have been given the faculties to celebrate the Tridentine Mass.

I have granted faculties to celebrate the Traditional Latin, “Tridentine” Mass according to the 1962 typical edition of the Roman Missal to the following men:

Msgr. John McMahon
Msgr. Edward Ryle
Fr. Ray Greco, O.S.B.
Fr. Gregory Kotnis
Fr. Edgar Schaeffer
Fr. Robert Skagen

Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted
Bishop, Diocese of Phoenix

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office
Sponsor SUMMIT ON SEXUAL ABUSE

The Diocese of Phoenix together with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office is co-hosting a Summit on Sexual Abuse next month.

The Summit is scheduled for May 20, 2004 and will be held in the Black Canyon Conference Center, 9440 North 25th Avenue in Phoenix from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. A challenging and informative program with expert speakers in the field of sexual abuse is planned.

Welcome and opening remarks will be made by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and Richard Romley, Maricopa County Attorney.

The keynote address will be presented by Kathleen McChesney, Executive Director, Office of Child and Youth Protection, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Plenary session speaker will be Dr. Ann Burgess, Boston College School of Nursing who will discuss "Child Sexual Abuse Issues and Trends".

The day will consist of numerous afternoon breakout sessions presented by well-known local and national professionals. Topics will range from Arizona's Mandatory Reporting Law, Understanding the Offender's Offense Cycle, Victim Trauma and Healing, Immorality vs. Deviance, Computer Assisted Child Sexual Exploitation, Protecting Our Children, Offenders - Pastoral Sexual Misconduct, Multidisciplinary Response to Child Abuse, and Culture - Its Role in the Investigative Process.

For information regarding the Summit, follow this link, or call Caryn Meron at 602-354-2484.

For media, call Mary Jo West, 602-354-2121.

Catholic Priest Suspended

(April 29)-Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted has announced the suspension of Rev. John Cunningham, founding pastor of St Mary Magdalene parish in Gilbert. Father Cunningham is suspended upon further investigation for allegations of celebrating Mass in a manner that is
inconsistent with Catholic teaching.

In the language of the Church, Father Cunningham allegedly engaged in the forbidden concelebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice with a non-Catholic minister. The minister belongs to an Ecclesial Community which does not have the apostolic succession.

Bishop Olmsted has appointed Father Timothy Davem, Judicial Vicar to lead the investigation.

For more information: Please call Father Tim Davem at 480-838-0207 in the evening or 602-354-2276 during normal working hours

For further information, contact Mary Jo West on her cell phone at 602-478-2006.

Bishop Olmsted Has Made Some New Appointments

(April 20)- Effective July 1, 2004, Bishop Olmsted has made the following appointments:

The Reverend Fred Adamson to serve as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia;
The Reverend David S. Sanfilippo to serve as Vicar General, while continuing to serve as Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Phoenix;
Sister Jean Steffes, C.S.A. to serve as Chancellor;
The Reverend Carlos Gomez to serve as Associate Vocation Director, while continuing to serve as Associate Pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Mesa;
The Reverend Stephen Kunkel to serve as Associate Vocation Director and to serve as Pastor of Resurrection Parish in Tempe;
The Reverend Christopher J. Fraser to study canon law at the Catholic University of America;
Monsignor Dale Fushek to serve as Assistant to the Bishop's Office for Special Projects, including the question of a future Catholic University in the Diocese of Phoenix, while continuing to serve as Pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Mesa.

Msgr. Richard Moyer and Msgr. Dale Fushek will continue to serve as Vicars General until June 30, 2004. Sister Mary Ann Winters will continue to serve as Chancellor until the same date.

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April 2004