Pope Francis has appointed Christopher J. Coyne, until now the Bishop of Burlington, as the Coadjutor Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, the Vatican announced today.
He will succeed Archbishop Blair as Archbishop of Hartford when in 2024 the latter submits his resignation at the age of 75 in keeping with church law. The Archbishop of Hartford is responsible for the spiritual shepherding of the half-million Catholics in Hartford, New Haven, and Litchfield counties; Archbishop Blair has served in this role since December of 2013.
Archbishop Coyne has served as Bishop of Burlington since December 2014. During his time as bishop, he has carried out a Diocesan Synod, ministered with his clergy, staff, and parish leaders through the Covid pandemic, and maintained the good works of the Catholic schools of the state. Under his leadership the Vermont Catholic Community Foundation [VCCF] was established to foster and support the good works of the Church throughout the state.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops defines a coadjutor as “a bishop appointed to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist the diocesan bishop. Unlike an auxiliary bishop, the coadjutor (arch)bishop has the right of succession, meaning that he automatically becomes the new bishop when the diocesan bishop retires, resigns, or dies.”
Archbishop Coyne will take up residence in the Archdiocese of Hartford with a Mass of Welcome to be celebrated at St. Joseph Cathedral, Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Hartford, on October 9.
Archbishop Coyne will serve as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Burlington until his welcome in the Archdiocese of Hartford in October at which time the Diocesan College of Consultors will elect an administrator to lead the Diocese of Burlington until a new bishop is appointed by the Holy Father.
Categories: Religion
Burlington has lost a good man.
It would be wonderous if the successor in Vermont would very assertively & proactively & vocally protest the evils that are taking place in this state and also actively encourage Catholics here to return to their roots by directing Parishes to organize and offer activities & groups that encourage/enable participation. But knowing that it is Pope Francis supposedly at the helm, I doubted. Vermont has serious, debilitating spiritual issues to contend with and acquiescing to the powers of the state as opposed to the powers of God benefits merely the evil one.
As DOES repetitively resurrecting (so to speak) the sexual abuse crisis that occurred years ago which many Catholics use as a justification to cease attending Mass.
In fact:
1.) There are both very sick & very evil persons in ALL positions of power & authority including within all organized religious organizations – the infamous BTK serial murderer, as but one example, was a leader in his Episcopal church.
2.) Since Catholics are by far the largest sext of Christianity, it is sadly, but statistically accurate that the Catholic church would harbor the largest number of offenders.
3.) During the era when the vast majority of these abuses occurred, there were, unfortunately, few protocols in place in terms of precisely what actions to take in terms of receiving such reports; this is precisely the reason why it has also been discovered that similar abuses took place within the B.S.A, other religious groups, schools, and particularly within families themselves. Most abuses during this era were swept under the rug, so to speak as our culture was at an abject loss in terms of how to effectively reckon with it.
4.) As aforementioned, the setting wherein child sexual abuse occurs most prolifically is the family, yet no rational person or group (emphasis on the word “rational”) has ever suggested turning their backs upon the family unit as a whole – obviously understanding that the vast majority of relatives & guardians do not engage in such abuses.
5.) In condemning any church group in their entirety for the abuses of a small minority – in terms of the Catholic Church alone it is estimated that less than 1% of priests committed such atrocities – one simply plays directly into the hands of the devil whose sole priority is to turn souls over to himself for eternity, as opposed to having us return to our Creator. Churches provide immense good within their communities and extend help worldwide as well, with Catholic Charities alone collecting and donating monies for the needy around the globe in terms of food, domestic violence shelters, counseling services for mental health services, crisis pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, etc. Throwing out the baby with the bathwater is never a solution and creates more dysfunction & trouble than it ever resolves anything.
6.) Strict protocols have indeed been put in place in all Dioceses and within the acceptance of potential seminarians in particular in order to dissuade such abuses from occurring again. That being said, evil occurs everywhere as we live in a broken world, but severing ties to your faith and to God is again merely joining in ties to evil.
Thank you!
Its a shame Bishop Coyne wont have the opportunity to raze more Vermont churches during his tenure. Perhaps he can fill his quota down in Connecticut.
It would be nice and very Christian if you applied that 1% rule of people being basically good to other groups discussed your commentaries.
Such as……(?)
“There are both very sick & very evil persons in ALL positions of power & authority including within all organized religious organizations…”
Such as… (?)
Replied below. Now, it would be equally as nice for you to prove to everyone how I’m wrong & persons within every other sector of society are faultless & sinless EXCEPT Catholic priests.
Proof of that…such as?
Whoa…..get out much??
How about politics just start off with? How about physicians being arrested for the sexual abuse of patients – primarily seen in specialties such as gynecology, pediatrics, & dentistry. Then there are the teachers who misuse their authority & close rapport with children arrested for rape, & parents/foster parents & guardians who regularly brutally murder, beat, starve, and neglect their charges. These incidents as the FBI/DOJ reports that abuse of children at the hands of family members are statistically, by far, the greatest risk to children.
How about YOU do a little work on the internet and search out the statistics, data, and even the individual cases that document the level of depravity that certain demographics of the population within ALL walks of life inflict upon children — before you infer it doesn’t exist?
I’m not here to relate millions of incidents on a case-by-case basis to you because you prefer to turn a blind eye to the reality & prefer laying the blame for the entire world’s problems at the feet of one singular group.