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  San Mateo Pastor McElroy Named Auxiliary Bishop

Daily Journal
July 7, 2010

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=135329&title=San%20Mateo%20pastor%20McElroy%20named%20auxiliary%20bishop

San Mateo Pastor Robert W. McElroy was named the new auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, a move that has angered a group of survivors of abusive priests.

On Tuesday, the Vatican and, concurrently, in Washington, D.C. by Papal nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sami announced 56-year-old Msgr. McElroy, current pastor of St. Gregory Church in San Mateo, as an auxiliary bishop. David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, issued a statement shortly after condemning the decision to promote an individual he claimed is corrupt.

"I am most grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, for appointing Monsignor Robert McElroy as auxiliary bishop of San Francisco," Archbishop George H. Niederauer, leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, which encompasses the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin, wrote in a prepared statement. "We in this Archdiocese are delighted that Monsignor McElroy's gifts and zeal will be given even broader scope in serving the life of the Catholic Church and the community here."

In a prepared statement, Clohessy expressed concerned about McElroy's appointment and called for a more open-minded, sensitive bishop whose first concern is for the vulnerable kids and wounded victims, not the world's most dominant religious figure."

McElroy was ordained April 12, 1980. He served as priest-secretary to then-San Francisco Archbishop John R. Quinn from 1982 through 1985. He has also served as a parochial vicar at St. Cecilia Parish in San Francisco and St. Pius Parish in Redwood City and, in years preceding his appointment to St. Gregory's, as vicar for administration, a post often compared to that of chief operating officer, of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. McElroy has served at St. Gregory's since 1996.

The ordination rites for Bishop-elect McElroy are planned for Tuesday, Sept. 7 in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco.

 
 

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