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WASHINGTON (February 24, 2004)
WHAT: News conference to respond to the findings of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice report on the Nature and Scope of abuse (1950-2002) and the National Review Board's Causes and Context report. Media credentials required. The reports are scheduled to be released by the National Review Board at 9:30 AM ET.
WHEN: Friday, February 27, 2004
11:30 AM ET
WHERE: National Press Club, Washington, DC
WHO: *Bishop D. Wilton Gregory, Diocese of Belleville
President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
*Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Chairman, USCCB Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry
*Archbishop Michael Sheehan, Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
*Archbishop Harry Flynn, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Chairman, USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse
*Sulpician Father Ronald Witherup, President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men
WEBCAST: The National Review Board's release of the reports and the response of the panel above will be available LIVE on the Web at www.usccb.org
CONTACT: Meghan Dotter, 917-371-2202 or 212-994-7552
David Early, 202-541-3200
Lisa Paradis, 914-588-4733 or 212-994-7545
NOTE: USCCB Staff will be available to assist reporters on Saturday, February 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact Msgr. Francis J. Maniscalco at 202-541-3320; Bill Ryan at 202-541-3206; Sister Mary Ann Walsh at 202-541-3201; or David Early at 202-541-3200.
PANELISTS
Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, 56, is the Bishop of Belleville (IL) and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A native of Chicago, he attended Niles College (now St. Joseph's Seminary) of Loyola University in Chicago, and Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 9, 1973. In 1976, he began graduate studies at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome, where he earned a doctorate in Sacred Liturgy in 1980.
From 1980 to 1983, he served as an associate pastor, a faculty member at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary, and as a Master of Ceremonies to Cardinals Cody and Bernardin.
He was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago on December 13, 1983. He was installed as the Seventh Bishop of Belleville on February 10, 1994.
Bishop Gregory was elected President of the USCCB on November 13, 2001. He also chairs the USCCB Executive and Administrative Committees.
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, 54, is the Archbishop of Milwaukee and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry. A native of St. Louis, he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Cardinal Glennon College (St. Louis) in 1972, and completed his seminary training at the North American College in Rome where he earned a license in sacred theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He earned a doctorate in American Church History at the Catholic University of America in 1983.
He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Louis on June 19, 1976.
Archbishop Dolan served in parish ministry from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1987. From 1987 to 1992, he served as the secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington. In 1992, he was appointed vice rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.
From 1997 to 2001, he served as the rector of the North American College. While in Rome, he also served as a visiting professor at the Gregorian University and as a faculty member of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
He was appointed an auxiliary bishop of St. Louis on June 19, 2001. He was named archbishop of Milwaukee on June 25, 2002 and installed on August 28, 2002.
Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, 70, is the Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse. A native of Schenectady, New York, he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Siena College, Loudonville, NY, and later attended Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Albany on May 28, 1960. He served as an associate pastor, pastor, high school teacher, retreat master, and spiritual leader in several assignments in the Diocese of Albany. He also served as the Dean, Vice Rector and Rector of Mount Saint Mary's Seminary from 1965-1979.
He was ordained Coadjutor Bishop of Lafayette (LA) on June 24, 1986 and succeeded Bishop Gerard Frey as head of the diocese on May 13, 1989. He was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in February of 1994, and succeeded Archbishop John Roach as head of the archdiocese on October 1, 1995.
Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, 64, is the Archbishop of Santa Fe and Secretary of the USCCB. A native of Wichita, Kansas, he studied for the priesthood at St. John's and Assumption Seminaries in San Antonio, and completed his studies at the North American College in Rome. He earned a licentiate in sacred theology from Gregorian University, Rome, and a doctorate in canon law from the Lateran University, Rome.
He was ordained to the priesthood for the then Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth on July 12, 1964. He served as a pastor for several years and from 1971 to 1976 was assistant general secretary at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/U.S. Catholic Conference (the pre-cursors to the current USCCB). From 1976 to 1982, he served as rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, before returning to parish work. On June 17, 1983, he was named the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Lubbock, where he served until 1993. He was installed as the Archbishop of Santa Fe on August 17, 1993.
Sulpician Father Ronald D. Witherup, 53, is currently the Provincial Superior of the U.S. Province of Sulpicians and President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. A native of Franklin, Pennsylvania, he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. Bonaventure University; master's degrees in scripture and theology from St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore; a master's degree in spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA; and a doctorate in biblical studies from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA.
He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Erie (PA) on May 14, 1976. He entered the Society of St. Sulpice (the Sulpicians) on May 20, 1981.
In 1997, Fr. Witherup was elected the Provincial Superior of the U.S. Province of the Sulpicians; his term ends in 2009. He was elected President-elect of the CMSM in 2002, and assumed his two-year term as President in 2003.