BishopAccountability.org
 
  Diocese's First Bishop Retires
Now Head of the Reno Diocese, He Cites Health, Stamina for the Decision

By Michael Fisher
The Press-Enterprise [California]
June 21, 2005

Bishop Phillip F. Straling

1959; Ordained a priest
1978: Pope Paul VI creates the Diocese of San Bernardino by carving San Bernardino and Riverside counties from the Diocese of San Diego.
1978: Ordained the diocese's first bishop.
1995: Straling appointed to re-establish the Diocese of Reno, Nev.
2005: Pope Benedict XVI accepts Straling's request to retire


Bishop Phillip F. Straling, who led Inland Catholics for 17 years as the Diocese of San Bernardino's first bishop, retired Tuesday.

Reached by phone, Straling said he intended to retire two years ago, but his plan was thwarted by several unfinished projects in the Diocese of Reno, Nev., where he has served as bishop since 1995.

The San Bernardino native said Pope John Paul II's death earlier this year, coupled with the completion of a new diocesan high school, spurred his decision.

"I was (installed) under Pope John Paul II," Straling said of his appointment to lead the fledgling San Bernardino Diocese in 1978. "With his death, all these things came together."

Straling also cited age and decreasing stamina as factors in his decision.

"I'm 72, and at age 70 you just run out of steam," he said. "You just get to the point where you can't do the things you used to do."

Special to The Press-Enterprise
Under Bishop Phillip Straling, center, the Inland diocese swelled from about 235,00 Catholics to more than 800,000, and the number of parishes increased from 85 to 105.

Vatican officials announced Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted Straling's request to resign three years ahead of the typical retirement age for bishops.

Bishop Gerald R. Barnes, who served as Straling's auxiliary bishop before he succeeded him as head of the San Bernardino Diocese, issued a statement Tuesday praising his predecessor's work in the Inland diocese encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

"I am extremely grateful to God for the service that Bishop Straling has given to the people of God both as a priest and a bishop," Barnes wrote.

Ordained a priest in San Diego in 1959, Straling served at churches and schools from Ontario to San Diego State University before he was named pastor of Holy Rosary Church in San Bernardino in 1976. (The church's name was changed to Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral when the diocese was created.)

The 45-year-old priest was visiting missions in Africa in 1978 when the Vatican announced his appointment as bishop of the new San Bernardino Diocese, carved from the Diocese of San Diego.

"I have very fond memories, and joyful memories, of my time as a bishop and priest in San Bernardino and Riverside," Straling said. "The Holy Father entrusted me to start a new diocese. That's not a usual task, and it's not an easy task, but I think we did well."

Under Straling's leadership, the Inland diocese swelled from about 235,00 Catholics to more than 800,000. The number of parishes grew from 85 to 105.

To keep up with growth, the bishop crafted plans for new churches and the Diocesan Pastoral Center in San Bernardino. He launched the Straling Leadership Institute in 1980 to teach ministry skills to lay people to help ease the workload of parish priests. Escuela de Ministerios provided similar education to Spanish speakers.

But his years with the diocese were not without controversy.

Straling's appointment sparked demonstrations by Latino protesters, upset that a Latino cleric had not been named to the post. Within three weeks of his ordination, Straling appointed a Latino priest as co-chancellor for Hispanic affairs and another Latino priest as a vicar for Hispanic affairs, moves that helped ease tensions with activists.

In 1983, the diocese's financial director resigned after he co-signed a promissory note loaning $225,000 in diocesan funds to a man convicted of fraud. The money was never recovered and Straling instituted new financial policies to prevent such incidents.

In the 1990s, a handful of priests resigned or left their posts amid accusations of sexual misconduct, including a San Bernardino cleric who was convicted of molesting a child.

Earlier this year, Riverside County prosecutors filed 58 sexual-abuse charges against Jes?s Armando Dominguez, Straling's onetime personal aide in the Inland diocese. Straling has expressed disappointment about the accusations.

Several former Inland priests stand accused in civil litigation of sexually abusing children during Straling's tenure. But the departing prelate said Tuesday that the ongoing clergy sexual-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church did not influence his decision to retire.

"It's a very sad part of our history," Straling said. "If we have hurt anyone, if we have been guilty of faults and failures, we have tried to correct them and to ask for forgiveness. If I have been the cause of hurt to anyone, I want to say I'm sorry, and I want to correct it."

Straling said he expects to remain as the Reno Diocese's administrator until a new or interim leader is named. Afterward, he intends to remain in Reno and to continue in ministry.