John Brendan McCormack (August 12, 1935 – September 21, 2021) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Manchester from 1998 until 2011.
John Brendan McCormack | |
|---|---|
| Bishop Emeritus of Manchester | |
 Bishop McCormack in 2001 | |
| Archdiocese | Boston |
| Diocese | Manchester |
| Appointed | July 21, 1998 |
| Installed | September 22, 1998 |
| Term ended | September 19, 2011 |
| Predecessor | Leo Edward O'Neil |
| Successor | Peter Anthony Libasci |
| Previous post(s) | Auxiliary Bishop of Boston |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | February 2, 1960 by Richard Cushing |
| Consecration | December 27, 1995 by Bernard Francis Law, William Wakefield Baum, and Alfred Clifton Hughes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 12, 1935 Winthrop, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | September 21, 2021 (aged 86) Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Motto | In all things, Christ |
| Styles of John Brendan McCormick | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Biography
editEarly life and education
editJohn McCormack was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, to Cornelius and Eleanor (née Noonan) McCormack. Raised in Cambridge, he attended Boston College High School and St. John's Seminary.
Ordination and ministry
editMcCormack was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Richard Cushing on February 2, 1960, and then served as an associate pastor at St. James Parish in Salem.
He was the executive director of North Shore Catholic Charities Center in Peabody from 1967 to 1981. During this time, he also pursued his graduate studies at Boston College, from where he obtained a Master's degree in social work in 1969. In 1981 he was appointed pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Malden.
In 1984 he became Secretary for Ministerial Personnel in the Archdiocese of Boston. In this position, McCormack was Cardinal Bernard Francis Law's point person on hearing complaints against priests accused of sexual misconduct and removing some of them from active duty.[1] He was made pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Weymouth in 1994.
Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, Massachusetts
editOn November 21, 1995, McCormack was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Boston and Titular Bishop of Cerbali by Pope John Paul II.[citation needed] He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 27 from Cardinal Law, with Cardinal William Wakefield Baum and Bishop Alfred Clifton Hughes serving as co-consecrators. He chose for his episcopal motto: "Christ in all things."
As an auxiliary, he served as regional bishop for the South Region of the Archdiocese.
Bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire
edit
McCormack was later named the ninth Bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 21, 1998, succeeding the late Leo O'Neil. He was formally installed on September 22, 1998.[2]
In early 2002, McCormack publicly announced the names of 14 priests in the diocese who had been accused of sexually abusing children (cf Sexual abuse scandal in Manchester diocese).[1] In 2003, the diocese reached a settlement with the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, which was investigating the child sex abuse scandal. The settlement spared the diocese from being criminally charged. In all, in the period of 2002-03, the diocese agreed to a $15.5 million settlement involving 176 claims of sex abuse.[3][4]
The May 2003 settlement of 61 abuse claims for $6.5 million handled by Manchester attorney Ovide M. Lamontagne as counsel for the Manchester Diocese prevented the diocese from being criminally prosecuted. In December 2002, the diocese had admitted that its failure to protect children from sexual abuse may have been a violation of criminal law, becoming the first diocese in the United States to do so. Under threat of indictment by the New Hampshire Attorney General, McCormack signed an agreement acknowledging that the Attorney General office possessed evidence sufficient to win convictions as part of the settlement.[5]
Lamontagne claimed that McCormack and other prominent church members wanted a speedy settlement and, in an example of behaving "pastorally" rather than as a litigant, instructed their attorneys to take a moderate stance and eschew hardline legal tactics. Lamontagne said of the diocese's legal strategy, "That is not typical in terms of client requests."
Retirement and death
editOn August 10, 2010, in accordance with canon 401 §1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law,[6] Bishop McCormack submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester. His resignation was accepted on Monday, September 19, 2011, when Pope Benedict XVI appointed then-Auxiliary Bishop Peter Anthony Libasci of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, as his successor.[7]
McCormack died in Manchester, New Hampshire on September 21, 2021, at the age of 86.[8]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b Belluck, Pam (2002-02-16). "New Hampshire Diocese Names 14 Priests Accused of Abuse". The New York Times.
- ^ "Bishop Emeritus". Diocese of Manchester. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ Timmins, Annmarie. "CHURCH SETTLES WITH ALLEGED ABUSE VICTIMS; Diocese of Manchester to pay $5 million". Concord Monitor. Bishop Accountability. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ "Diocese of Manchester". Lucas, Greene & Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Ranalli, Ralph. "Church, victims reach deal in N.H. $6.5m agreement ends 61 more abuse claims". Boston Globe.
- ^ CIC 1983, c. 401.
- ^ "Pope Names New Bishop Of Manchester, New Hampshire; Accepts Resignation Of Bishop McCormack". usccb.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ Retired Diocese of Manchester Bishop John McCormack dies
Works cited
edit- Code of Canon Law (CIC). Vatican Publishing House. 1983.