Skylstad to lead bishops

WASHINGTON – Despite criticism of his decision to declare bankruptcy for the Diocese of Spokane, Bishop William Skylstad was elected by his peers Monday as the next president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The 70-year-old Skylstad, who has served as Spokane’s bishop since 1990, will oversee the organization for three years. Among the key issues facing the influential group is how it will handle the aftermath of the sexual abuse of minors by priests – something Skylstad has pledged to deal with openly, both locally and nationally.

“Thank you for this opportunity to serve as the president of the USCCB,” Skylstad told his fellow bishops during the annual meeting of national church leaders. “I am deeply honored and deeply humbled by this election.”

Fifty-two percent of the 252 bishops eligible to vote cast their ballots for Skylstad, who has served as vice president of the group for the past three years. Traditionally, the vice president assumes the group’s leadership, but Skylstad’s bankruptcy announcement last week cast some doubt on his election.

Skylstad’s fellow bishops praised his vision, leadership skills and ability to bring people together. Critics, however, said that by choosing Skylstad, the bishops conference essentially has endorsed bankruptcy as a way of dealing with the sex abuse crisis.

When Skylstad announced the decision to file for bankruptcy, he said it is the fairest way for the Spokane Diocese to deal with victims of abuse. The diocese knows of 125 people who say they were abused by priests.

“We are extremely disappointed in the results of the election,” said Barbara Blaine of Chicago, one of a dozen members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests who traveled from all over the country to protest Skylstad’s election. “Why did they choose someone who has filed for bankruptcy? Bankruptcy obscures the truth and delays healing.”

Before the meeting this week, victims and their supporters nationwide had called on Skylstad to withdraw his name from the pool of 10 candidates for the bishops conference leadership. Some in Spokane even demanded his resignation.

In the past two years, the bishop has been accused of a cover-up by members of Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic lay group formed in response to the abuse. Along with the victims, they say that Skylstad failed to supervise Patrick O’Donnell, a priest who has admitted molesting boys and who lived with Skylstad when the bishop was pastor of Assumption of the Virgin Mary in north Spokane.

Skylstad declined to be interviewed until later this week, saying he wanted to abide by the conference’s wishes and also out of respect to Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., who will serve as president until the meeting concludes Thursday.

‘Challenging time’

Marked by the rise of the sex-abuse scandal, the last three years have been “the most challenging time we have experienced as a conference,” Skylstad told his fellow bishops Monday afternoon. But despite the heartache and controversy, it has been “a time of learning, a time of growth,” he said.

He acknowledged that the crisis is far from over and that the coming years will present more blessings and challenges. In the same way that Jesus told his disciples to love one another as he had loved them, the bishops must support each other, their priests and their ministry, he said. As a conference, the leaders of the church should follow Christ’s commandment by fostering reconciliation wherever there is division, said Skylstad, acknowledging the pain suffered by victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“Thank you in advance for your wisdom and support in the days to come,” he told the bishops. “May God bless us with wisdom, peace and joy.”

Many in the Spokane Diocese were delighted to learn of Skylstad’s good news Monday. “We’re very pleased that he was elected,” said the Rev. Steve Dublinski, the diocese’s vicar general. “He is up to the task and he’s the right person for the job.”

Dublinski emphasized that Skylstad’s first priority will be to his diocese, despite the additional work required as president of the USCCB.

Now that he’s elected, Skylstad and the Diocese of Spokane have been catapulted into the spotlight. With its roughly 50 priests in 81 parishes, the Spokane diocese doesn’t have the wealth or size of Chicago, Los Angeles or other archdioceses in the country. But by becoming the USCCB president, Skylstad has put Spokane on the map not just for Catholics, but for people of all faiths.

When this week is over, the Spokane bishop will become the spokesman for this influential group of men that some view as a moral compass for the more than 67 million Catholics in the United States. The nation will focus on his work in Spokane, especially as the diocese and others in the country grapple with the effects of clergy sexual abuse.

Northwest roots

Skylstad, 70, grew up in the Diocese of Spokane, on an apple orchard along the Methow River. He was born in Omak, Wash., delivered on a table at home by his father, an apple farmer originally from Norway. During birth, his twin brother died. When he was 14, Skylstad left home for the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio and was ordained 12 years later.

Throughout his years in Spokane, where he served as a priest for 16 years before he became the chancellor and eventually a bishop, Skylstad was known for his efforts to improve conditions for migrant workers and his passion for social justice.

When Skylstad celebrated his 25th anniversary as a bishop in 2002, the Bible readings and prayers were delivered in Spanish, Vietnamese and English – which reflected Skylstad’s desire to be inclusive of all cultures.

Cardinal Francis George, the former bishop of Yakima and now the archbishop of Chicago, was elected vice president of the conference. When George took over the Yakima Diocese in 1990, after Skylstad became bishop of Spokane, Skylstad told him that in addition to his duties to the diocese, he also has an obligation to the bishops’ conference, George said. “There has not been a bishop who has given so much time to the conference than Bishop William Skylstad,” he said.

Gregory, in his opening remarks, praised Skylstad with these words: “Bishop William S. Skylstad has been a source of such constant support and wisdom that I cannot think of these three years without simultaneously hearing his always gently and compassionate voice urging me always forward – even in the midst of great challenges.”

Victims and their supporters, however, continued to protest Skylstad’s election and his decision to file for bankruptcy. Mike Ross, who traveled to Washington, D.C. from Spokane, said the bishop is spending the diocese’s money on attorney fees and bankruptcy instead of allowing the truth to be told in court.

“Bankruptcy sets up yet another arbitrary deadline, by which victims must come forward or be left out in the cold again,” said David Clohessy, executive director of the national Survivors’ Network.

Skylstad and others have said that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a way for the diocese to equally address all claims of abuse while allowing the diocese to continue its ministry and mission in Eastern Washington. But in addition to opening itself up to unprecedented financial scrutiny, the diocese is also putting on hold 19 lawsuits representing 58 victims.

The diocese had planned to file for bankruptcy by Nov. 29, which is when the first lawsuit alleging abuse by Patrick O’Donnell, was scheduled to go to trial. But last Friday, attorneys for both sides agreed to move that date to Jan. 3. The diocese, however, won’t wait an extra month before filing for bankruptcy.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have required the Spokane Diocese to declare bankruptcy by Dec. 6 or else pay $214,000 for the time it takes them to prepare for trial. Dublinski said the diocese plans to file by that deadline.