MINNESOTA
Star Tribune
By Marcus Howard Star Tribune JUNE 17, 2015
ROCHESTER, Minn. – New interim Archbishop Bernard Hebda was in Minnesota Wednesday morning saying mass at an annual meeting of the state’s Catholic priests.
About 200 priests attended the mass at St. John the Evangelist Church. Afterward, one priest who asked not to be named said Hebda’s message was one of healing. It was, he said, “a meeting of brothers.”
Hebda’s appearance comes days after he took over the leadership of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Monday following Archbishop John Nienstedt’s resignation, along with Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piché. Their departures came days after the Vatican announced the creation of a new tribunal to hold bishops accountable for the abuse of minors by priests under their jurisdiction, and little more than a week after the Ramsey County attorney’s office charged the archdiocese for failing to protect children from an abusive priest.
Hebda is assigned to the archdiocese in Newark, N.J., where he is expected to succeed Archbishop John J. Myers.
While Hebda has yet to speak publicly, he issued a statement referring to his experience as bishop in northern Michigan, “where I first came to know the vibrancy of the faith shared by Catholics of the upper Midwest. I am hopeful that there will be opportunities to meet many of you in the weeks ahead.”
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