Bishop Olmsted continues bold leadership in Phoenix

Some 4 1/2 months into his tenure, Bishop Thomas Olmsted has left no doubt that he is what the Vatican ordered when he was named to head the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

A rapid series of recent diocesan actions underscores that Olmsted is a loyal and ardently faithful servant to Pope John Paul Il, with whom the bishop once regularly worked during assignments with the Curia in the early 1980s.

Some, however, are not too pleased with Bishop Olmsted. It should not be difficult to determine who those might be...

(Mary Jane) Benton, who serves on the national and Arizona boards of the Catholic reform group Called to Action, said Olmsted’s stance on such issues as the priests’ names on the gaysensitive declaration show more emphasis on legalism and rules than respect for the men’s freedom of conscience and the treatments of gays by society.

In a private "personal and confidential letter," Olmsted recently ordered nine priests — five from the East Valley — to remove their names from an interfaith clergy letter, the "Phoenix Declaration," which urges full acceptance of homosexuals in religious and community life.

On Thursday, the bishop suspended a popular longtime Gilbert priest, the Rev. John "Jack" Cunningham, for allegedly allowing a non-Catholic priest to participate in a Eucharist Mass during a recent wedding, in violation of Catholic teaching. The incident is under investigation by a diocesan team.

After years of turmoil and allegations of financial mismanagement in two Mesa parishes, Holy Cross and St. Bridget, Olmsted has looked into complaints there. He ordered the Holy Cross priest removed.

"I have never been so upset with a bishop" in a lifetime of being Catholic, said Ray Rafford of Mesa.

"What you are seeing is a move by the ultra-conservative branch of the Catholic Church to bring the parish priests in line to the bishop’s thinking," he said. "Father John has a history of reaching out to all religions in a spirit of the overall love of God."
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Olmsted released a statement Friday in response to inquiries as to where he is taking the diocese.

Pray for Bishop Olmsted as he continues to fulfill his role as shepherd of the Phoenix diocese.

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