WOODLAND PARK (NJ)
NorthJersey.com
April 15, 2020
By Abbott Koloff and Alex Nussbaum
A Brooklyn priest set to become the Diocese of Paterson’s new bishop said Wednesday that he wants to reach out to people who feel estranged from the church and that he is eager to get started in his new job — though the coronavirus pandemic has pushed back his installation indefinitely.
Bishop-elect Kevin Sweeney was introduced during a video press conference Wednesday morning after the Vatican announced that it had accepted the resignation of the current bishop, Arthur J. Serratelli, who at 75 had reached the age of retirement.
Pope Francis has been promoting priests who reflect his views to positions of power in the church. Asked for his own thoughts on reaching out to gay Catholics and allowing Communion for people who have been divorced or don’t accept all of the church’s teachings, Sweeney, 51, didn’t offer specifics. But he laid out a broad desire for a welcoming church.
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Serratelli took over the diocese after Bishop Frank Rodimer’s retirement in 2004 — a time of turmoil for the church in the aftermath of a child sex abuse scandal related to allegations of some church leaders covering up wrongdoing by priests.
Serratelli gained a reputation for upholding traditional Catholic values and called on those who didn’t believe in all of the church’s teachings to refrain from receiving Communion. That mirrored the leadership of former Archbishop John Myers in the Newark Archdiocese, where Serratelli served before moving to Paterson.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who was selected by Francis to take over from Myers in Newark, has made a point to reach out to people who have been on the margins of the church community, holding a meeting with gay Catholics shortly after he was installed.
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