San Diego's new bishop takes charge

By Peter Rowe
U-T San Diego
April 14, 2015

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/apr/14/san-diego-new-bishop/

During a 1 p.m. Mass at St. Thérèse of Carmel Catholic Church Wednesday, a large and leaderless flock will acquire a new shepherd.

Robert W. McElroy, 61, will become the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego’s new bishop. The diocese, embracing nearly 1 million people across San Diego and Imperial counties, had been without a bishop for seven months. McElroy’s predecessor, Bishop Cirilo Flores, succumbed to cancer last September, less than two years after assuming the post.

When his appointment was announced in March, McElroy counseled patience. As a young pastor, he said, he had been advised to “do nothing for a year. Learn about parish and your people and come to love them.”

A San Francisco native, McElroy echoes the views of Pope Francis. The prelate supports comprehensive immigration reform and has said he will be an advocate for the poor and homeless.

Calling the sexual abuse scandal “the great tragedy of the church in the last 50 years,” he said he would remove from ministry or diocesan office anyone who has abused minors.

A published author, McElroy has degrees from Harvard and Stanford.

“He’s got solid credentials as an academic intellectual,” said Mary Lyons, the University of San Diego’s president, “but also great pastoral experience and tremendous compassion for the underserved.”