Bernard Hebda Is Named Coadjutor of Nj's Largest Diocese, Likely Successor to Newark Archbishop
By Mark Mueller
Newark Archbishop John J. Myers this morning welcomed a partner in governing the archdiocese. Bernard A. Hebda, the bishop of Gaylord, Mich., will assist Myers in running New Jersey’s largest diocese, which has more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics in Essex, Union, Hudson and Bergen counties. Myers has been archbishop since 2001. Myers said he requested a coadjutor from the Vatican "some time ago," but he declined to say when. "I don't think I need to talk about my conversations with Rome," Myers said. Myers said Hebda would be active in all parts of the archdiocese's administration. He is expected to succeed Myers upon Myers' retirement at age 75. Hebda said he was surprised but happy about his new placement, and that he looked forward to the challenge. "I'm happy to hear I'm going to be busy," he said. More than two dozen members of the media were on hand for the press conference, and more than 100 other priests, nuns and archdiocese employees attended, giving Myers and Hebda a standing ovation as they entered the room in the Archdiocesan center in Newark. Several questions were directed at Myers and Hebda about priests who have been accused of sexual abuse. Myers said the media has distorted his handling of abusive priests and that the archdiocese has acted aggressively to remove them from ministry and supervise them. Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse suggested the move was almost certainly tied to scandals that have clouded Myers’ stewardship of the archdiocese this year. During that period, one priest was arrested after violating a ban on ministry to children, and another took up residence in a parish despite a credible history of sexual abuse. Myers also was faulted last month for missing or ignoring signs of abuse among priests during his former assignment as bishop of Peoria, Ill. Hebda, who comes from a small diocese in Michigan, said he had little experience with the issue. He said he would reach out to victims of abuse "with a shepherd's heart." Myers rejected a claim that the appointment of Hebda was a rebuke of his administration, saying, " Absolutely not. It was my own request." Myers noted that both he and two of his auxiliary bishops in their 70s, and he said the archdiocese in involved in a number of initiatives that require attention, including a realignment of Catholic elementary schools. Hebda made clear Myers would remain in charge, saying he and the auxiliary bishops would work together to help him achieve his goals. Hebda, 54, was born and raised in Pennsylvania, graduating from high school in Pittsburgh. He attended Harvard University as an undergraduate, then obtained a law degree from Columbia University. He was ordained a priest in 1989. Eight years later, he was named bishop of Gaylord, a diocese so small and rural, he joked, that he was probably the only bishop to have a deer blind in his back yard. Although he hasn't spent much time in New Jersey, Hebda said he's familiar with some of the area's Catholic leaders. "I have been privileged over the years to know many priests from Newark," he said in his prepared remarks. "I have known these men to be great pastors and tireless laborers in the service of the Gospel and I now consider it a great honor to share a new bond with them." In a statement, Trenton Bishop David M. O'Connell welcomed Hebda to New Jersey, calling him a "wonderful addition." "Archbishop Hebda brings with him a wealth of talent and experience, both nationally and internationally, that will be of tremendous support to Archbishop John Myers as he shepherds the Archdiocese of Newark," said O'Connell, who came to know Hebda during a bishops' gathering in Rome in 2010. "He is blessed with a warm and gracious personality and a great sense of humor that the people of Newark will come quickly to enjoy." The welcome Mass for Hebda will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
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