BishopAccountability.org

Coyne named bishop for Vermont's Catholic Diocese

By Mike Donoghue
BurlingtFree Press
December 22, 2014

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2014/12/22/coyne-new-bishop-vermont-roman-catholic-diocese/20751505/

Bishop Christopher J. Coyne

Bishop Christopher Coyne.

Auxiliary Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Indianapolis has been named the new bishop for the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese in Vermont.

The 56-year-old Massachusetts native has been serving in Indiana for four years. Coyne, who was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in June 1986, served in Massachusetts for much of his religious life.

In Vermont, Coyne will oversee the state's largest religion — about 120,000 Catholics spread among some 120 churches. There are 13 Catholic schools, including high schools in South Burlington and Rutland. The diocesan headquarters are on Joy Drive in South Burlington.

"I am grateful to Pope Francis for his confidence in me in appointing me to Burlington. Personally, I could not be happier to be assigned here and look forward to returning to my native New England," Coyne said in a statement released by the Diocese of Burlington.

Vermont is seeking a permanent replacement for Bishop Salvatore Matano, who was transferred to Rochester, N.Y., a year ago. Matano, who served from 2005 to 2013, was the ninth bishop since 1853, when the Burlington diocese was officially recognized.

According to a news release, Coyne will be introduced today in South Burlington at a 10:30 a.m. news conference. He is scheduled to be formally installed Jan. 29.

Pope Francis, at the Vatican in Rome, made announcement this morning, but Coyne's name began to filter out through the Roman Catholic hierarchy over the weekend.

An international news website, "Whispers in the Loggia," quoted two unnamed insiders as saying the Boston-born priest will be returning to New England to fill the Vermont vacancy.

The 10-year-old website is operated by Rocco Palmo of Pennsylvania, a longtime internationally known journalist who has covered the Catholic Church and closely monitors the comings and goings of Bishops.

Coyne is tech-savvy with his own Facebook and Twitter accounts. He maintains a blog: "Let Us Walk Together: Thoughts of a Catholic Bishop."

The remarks he planned to deliver at the South Burlington introductory news conference were posted on his blog before 9 a.m. Monday.

He thanked everyone associated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis before speaking about his delight in taking the helm of Vermont's diocese.

"I would be remiss if I did not mention how pleased I am to be back in New England, closer to my family," he said in the prepared remarks. "Christmas is a time when all of us look forward to being with our families. With this appointment, this Christmas brings the special gift and joy of being closer to mine."

He spoke of his work in Indiana meeting with people throughout the diocese and listening. Coyne said he plans to continue that approach in Vermont.

"I am not coming here with any answers outside those our Faith already gives us. I come with no pre-established plans, or any agenda other than to serve my brothers and sisters as a faithful disciple and believer in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in the family of the Catholic Church," he said in the remarks.

"In order to do that well, I need to get to know my fellow Catholics, whose pastor I now prepare in hope to become. After my installation on January 29th, I plan on reaching out to as many parishes and places as I can, to visit and to listen to what people, lay and religious, have to say about our Faith, and to begin a process of discernment about how this local church of Vermont announces Jesus and spreads His Gospel, His Good News.

"I also plan on spending a good deal of time listening to my brother clergy, the priests and deacons who serve in our parishes, and I commit myself to fostering their physical and spiritual well-being," Coyne said.

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He earlier served on the faculty of St. John Seminary in Brighton Mass. as the professor of sacred liturgy and homiletics, according to his biography.

Coyne became well-known in Massachusetts when the Boston archdiocese in 2002 appointed him the primary spokesman in the wake of numerous priest sex abuse cases and the resulting lawsuits and trials. He held that post for three years.

Coming to Vermont

Vermont has had its share of priest sex abuse cases. When Matano arrived in 2005, he inherited many of the legal problems that stemmed from lack of action by his predecessors, primarily Bishop John A. Marshall, who served Vermont from 1971 to 1991.

Matano initially did not want to settle many of the sex abuse cases. After losing some costly civil trials, the diocese eventually agreed to a $17.65 million out-of-court payout in May 2010 to settle lawsuits with 26 victims alleging long-ago child molestation. The diocese also agreed to pay undisclosed amounts to settle three other cases that were on appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Matano always said the money would not come from parish members, and eventually the Burlington Diocese began to sell property in an effort to pay the settlement. The diocesan headquarters on North Avenue eventually was sold for $10 million in January 2011 to Burlington College. Camp Holy Cross in Colchester, a 26-acre parcel on Lake Champlain, was sold for $4 million in January 2012. Camp Tara, a short distance away, had sold for $2.2 million in 2004.

Coyne also will have to address a decrease in vocations to the religious life. The decrease has forced some Catholic churches to close, while others have been "yoked" with nearby parishes, prompting priests to do double-duty. The 120 churches are spread among 73 parishes.

The vacancy in Burlington has been the longest pending in the United States as Pope Francis has filled others first. Matano has remained in contact with the Burlington Diocese, which has been under the command of Monsignor John J. McDermott as apostolic administrator.

McDermott's name had been mentioned as a possible bishop candidate, but church leaders have said any appointment likely would send him out of state — much like when Monsignor Louis Gelineau, a Burlington native, was named as Bishop in Providence, R.I., a post he held from 1972 to 1997.

Without a bishop in Vermont for more than 12 months, the Burlington Diocese had to import Bishop Terry R. LaValley from the diocese of Ogdensburg in Northern New York last Thursday to preside at the ordination of the Rev. Lino Oropeza as a priest at St. Michael's College.

Vermont's Catholics have been waiting for the much-anticipated announcement of a new bishop since November 2013, when Matano, then 67, was named to head the Rochester Diocese.

The anticipation was increased partly because Pope Francis, who was appointed in March 2013, has shown greater openness on church and world issues.

The conservative Matano replaced Bishop Matthew Clark, who served for 33 years as head of the Rochester Diocese, which has more than 100 parishes stretching to the Pennsylvania border.

Coyne's background

Coyne's biography from the diocesan webpage traces his travels over his 28 years as a priest. It notes the following:

He was one of seven children born to a Woburn, Mass., couple, William and Rita Coyne. He graduated from Woburn High School in 1976 and the University of Lowell, now UMass-Lowell, with a degree in business administration in 1980.

He entered St. John Seminary in Brighton, Mass., in 1981 and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston five years later.

His parish work included stops in Milton, Medfield, Newton and Westwood, Mass. He did additional language training at Harvard University and Boston College.

Coyne later entered the Pontifical Liturgical Institute at St. Anselmo in Rome, obtaining a license in Sacred Liturgy in 1992 and a doctorate in 1994.

Coyne wrote and hosted four television series for Boston Catholic Television. One show, "Sacred Space," was nominated for a regional Emmy award. In 2001, he was appointed director of the Office for Worship for the Archdiocese of Boston while remaining on the faculty of St. John's Seminary.

His three-year appointment as cabinet secretary and media spokesperson ended in May 2005.

It was while serving as pastor of St. Margaret Parish in Westwood, Mass., from May 2006 to February 2011 that Coyne created his blog.

He was named auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis in January 2011 and ordained a bishop on March 2, 2011.

Coyne considers himself a huge football fan of the New England Patriots — even going back to when they were the Boston Patriots.

He also calls himself a "voracious reader. I love my Kindle. I read all types of books — thrillers, science fiction, biographies."

 

 




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