PITTSBURGH (PA)
Post-Gazette
September 14, 2020
By Peter Smith
Former Greensburg Bishop Edward Malesic was formally installed Monday as the new Catholic bishop of Cleveland at a worship service whose typical grandeur was trimmed by the social distancing and other exigencies of the pandemic.
Bishop Malesic, who led the Greensburg diocese from 2015 to 2020, was formally installed in his new role at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland. He entered in a procession with fellow bishops — wearing red masks due to the pandemic, matching the red chasubles worn in commemoration of the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — followed by priests and acolytes.
Attendance was limited due to the pandemic, with priests and others attendees sitting at socially distant intervals on the pews in the large sanctuary.
Bishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio or diplomatic representative to the United States, read aloud Pope Francis’ formal letter appointing Bishop Malesic as leader of the Cleveland diocese.
His installation completes a Keystone-Buckeye state exchange, with Bishop Malesic filling the seat left vacant when former Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez was installed earlier this year as archbishop of Philadelphia.
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“We also have the cross of abuse in our church,” he said, apologizing to victims of sexual abuse by clergy. “We will carry that cross of shame by helping our victims.” Bishop Malesic led the Diocese of Greensburg when a grand jury reported in 2018 on its history of abuse and that of five other Pennsylvania dioceses.
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