OREGON
KOIN
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Archdiocese of Portland has a new auxiliary bishop appointed by Pope Francis.
The Vatican Information Office identified him as Msgr. Peter Leslie Smith, 55. It will be only the third such appointment of an auxiliary bishop in the 168-year history of the Portland Archdiocese.
A news conference was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center.
According to the Vatican Information Office, Smith was born in South Africa and was ordained as a priest in 2001. He was a priest at the St. Rose of Lima parish in Portland and is currently vicar general and moderator of the Curia.
He has a law degree from the University of Natal Law School in South Africa, with a master’ degree in theology from Mount Angel Seminary in Saint Benedict, Ore.
The Survivors Network of the Abused Priests (SNAP) issued a news release Tuesday, calling the choice “disappointing.”
“Smith is a civil and a canon lawyer,” SNAP wrote. “In our view, the church hierarchy needs fewer lawyers, not more lawyers. Kids and victims need prelates who are trained to deal with this horrific, on-going crisis from a pastoral perspective, not a legal perspective.
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