When Pope Benedict XVI speaks, Catholic bishops listen.
In the case of Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, of the Diocese of Harrisburg, he heard the call to move west.
The diocese announced Saturday that Bishop Rhoades has been appointed to be the new bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne and South Bend in Indiana. Rhoades had been bishop of the Harrisburg diocese since his 2004 appointment by Pope John Paul II.
Rhoades starts his new job in Indiana on Jan. 13.
The move came as something as a shock for Rhoades. The bishop, a native of Mahanoy City, currently serves the diocese in which he grew up, and in which he expected to stay.
“No one was more surprised than me,” Rhoades said at a press conference in Harrisburg on Sunday. “I had no idea I was being considered (for the Fort Wayne post) until I got a phone call from the pope’s representative.”
Rhoades said he will miss his family and friends in Harrisburg, where he had also been a priest for 26 years. But Rhoades also looks forward to getting to know his new diocese.
“Jesus said to the apostles, ‘As the father has sent me, so I send you.’” Rhoades wrote to his parishioners. “I am conscious of ‘being sent’ from Harrisburg to Fort Wayne/South Bend. As I accept this appointment from our Holy Father, I do so with the faith and trust in the Lord.”
Rhoades will replace Fort Wayne Bishop John D’Arcy, who is retiring. D’Arcy welcomed the announcement as he urged his diocese to welcome Rhoades.
“(Rhoades’) appointment shows the great importance Pope Benedict XVI places on this diocese,” D’Arcy said in a written statement. “He has sent us a well-prepared bishop, who has served five years as bishop of a diocese larger than ours. I know from other sources how beloved he is there, and this will be painful for them. A gift for us. A loss for them.”
The Harrisburg diocese covers 15 counties in central Pennsylvania, including Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. The diocese serves a total population of more than 2 million and a Catholic population of 240,000 in those counties.
The Fort Wayne/South Bend diocese covers 14 counties in northeastern Indiana and serves about 160,000 Catholics.
While Fort Wayne is a smaller diocese, the move may be good for Rhoades in terms of sports.
Rhoades said had only been to the Fort Wayne/South Bend diocese once before, to watch his “favorite college football teams, Notre Dame and Penn State” play in 2006.
Notre Dame is located in South Bend, giving new bishop an opportunity secure favorable seats for the next Penn State-Notre Dame game. Choosing sides will not be that difficult either. Rhoades said he rooted for Notre Dame to beat PSU.
Other, more pressing, difficulties, however, may arise from being bishop to a high-profile Catholic university.
D’Arcy became embroiled in controversy last year when Notre Dame offered an honorary degree to President Barack Obama. D’Arcy sided with pro-life student demonstrators who felt a pro-choice politician should not have been honored at a Catholic institution. The university, which is not strictly affiliated with the diocese, defended its decision by claiming intellectual freedom.
Meanwhile, the Harrisburg diocese will need a new leader.
“The Vatican will start a process,” diocese spokesman Joe Aponick said on Sunday. “It could take seven or eight months — or longer — to find a new bishop.”
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