MAINE
Kennebec Journal
By Bill Nemitz bnemitz@mainetoday.com
Columnist
The year was 1853. Anti-Catholic violence ran so rampant throughout Maine that the Rev. Henry B. Coskery, vicar general of Baltimore, said thanks but no thanks to his appointment as the first Roman Catholic bishop of Portland.
Two years later, the job finally went to Bishop David Bacon, brave man. But even Bacon made sure to arrive here from Brooklyn, N.Y., in the dead of night to lessen the chance of riots.
Which brings us to last week’s announcement that Bishop Richard Malone soon will leave Maine for Buffalo — only the 11th time in more than 150 years that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has changed leaders.
And this time — thank God for small blessings — it’s not the flaming torches that Malone’s successor will have to worry about as he moves into the new, 2,918-square-foot bishop’s residence in Falmouth.
It’s the yawns.
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