Name of Bishop Who Mishandled Clergy Abuse Removed from Green Bay Cathedral Building

By Haley BeMiller
Press-Gazette
March 1, 2019

https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/2019/03/01/clergy-abuse-green-bay-diocese-removes-bishop-name-church/3032413002/

The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay has removed a former bishop's name from a cathedral center because of the bishop's reported mishandling of clergy abuse complaints.

The Bishop Wycislo Center, an addition to the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, will now be called the Cathedral Center.

In a Feb. 23 letter that the Press-Gazette obtained, Bishop David Ricken explained to parishioners of St. Francis why former Bishop Aloysius Wycislo's name would no longer be on the cathedral center.

Ricken said Wycislo was never accused of sexual misconduct. Still, he said, removing Wycislo's name allows community members with concerns about how he handled complaints to "move forward on a path to healing."

"With the release of the disclosure list it is clear that a majority of the problems and challenges in the Diocese of Green Bay occurred during the 1960s and '70s," Ricken wrote.

Wycislo was bishop from 1968 to 1983.

The diocese last month released a list of 46 priests with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors against them, 15 of whom are still alive. Ten of those priests were accused after they died.

Green Bay followed Catholic institutions across the country that, amid a nationwide reckoning of clergy abuse, have disclosed names of abusive priests as survivor advocates call for greater transparency. An independent firm reviewed the Green Bay diocese after retired Bishop Robert Morneau admitted he failed to report the sexual activities of former Rev. David Boyea, who was convicted of molesting a boy in 1985.

Green Bay Bishop David Ricken, Diocesan Chancellor Tammy Basten, and Rev. John Girotti, vicar for canonical services, discuss the diocese's release of the names of clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors. (Photo: Jim Matthews/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

According to the diocese's newspaper, The Compass, former Green Bay Bishop David Zubik in 2004 dedicated the cathedral center, which also houses a diocesan museum.

The dedication of the building by Zubik is noteworthy because in 2004 he refused to disclose the names of 35 priests and deacons with allegations against them. And since his transfer to Pittsburgh in 2007, he's had to face an investigation into abuse allegations throughout the eight Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement Friday that though the gesture is welcome, it also raises questions. The organization again called on the attorney general to investigate clergy abuse in Wisconsin.

"What exactly did Bishop Wycislo do that his name is being removed?" the organization said. "What specific cases did he cover up or mismanage? Where is the documentation and evidence?"

Ricken said he continues to respond to the abuse allegations.

"I know this may come as a shock, and for that I apologize," Ricken said. "Removal of Bishop Wycislo’s name from the center will help the healing process begin for so many who have suffered for so long."