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By MARY THERESE BIEBEL
marytb@leader.net
Thursday, March 20, 2003 Page: 9A
Pittsburgh residents say Auxiliary Bishop David Zubik is the kind of
person who takes the time to memorize the names of all 40 children in a
confirmation class. Or to send a note of congratulations to an acquaintance.
He’ll take his preaching outside, too, when a crowd of worshippers overflows
the church.
The “spiritual, very simple man” might be named the next bishop of
Scranton, if rumors circulating locally and in Pittsburgh are correct.
“Every priest of the diocese is talking about it,” an area clergyman
said. “This guy almost seems too good to be true, with his youthfulness and
pastoral vision.”
But, there is no official announcement as to who might replace Bishop James
C. Timlin, who submitted a letter of resignation to Pope John Paul II, as is
customary, on his 75th birthday in August.
“This rumor has spread like wildfire,” said Scranton Diocesan spokeswoman
Maria Orzel. “To the best of our knowledge, that’s all it is. No one knows,
apart from the pope, who will be the next bishop of Scranton.”
Another name mentioned is Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Martino, who directs the
office of ecumenical affairs for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Neither Martino nor Zubik was available for comment on Wednesday.
Based on information from friends and acquaintances, here are brief
descriptions of the two auxiliary bishops.
Martino is a Philadelphia native who was ordained a priest in 1970 and
became a bishop in 1996. He wrote an account of the life of Katherine Drexel,
founder of an order of nuns, that helped the pope decide to declare her a
saint.
“He’s thoroughly aligned with Rome,” a Philadelphia source said. “That’s
mainstream by current standards.”
Zubik, 53, a Sewickley native, became a priest in 1975 and a bishop in
1997.
“A centrist or a little to the right of center … he has a reputation as
a very good homilist, a very good preacher, and he’s a very spiritual man,”
said religion writer Ann Rodgers-Melnick of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He
talks easily about prayer.”
On a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance after Sept. 11, 2001, thousands
of people tried and failed to fit into a Catholic church in Pittsburgh.
“Bishop Zubik went out and preached in the middle of the street,”
Rodgers-Melnick said.
With smaller groups, Zubik strives to be similarly down to earth.
“He did our confirmation class and learned everybody’s name,” said Linda
Hahner, a secretary at St. Sebastian’s Church in Pittsburgh. “He’s a
wonderful person, very spiritual, a very holy man, and you won’t see him
(always) dressed up like a bishop. He comes simple.”
Zubik also has a reputation as a person who is willing to make hard
decisions, including the possibility of having to merge parishes because of a
lack of pastors.
“We really have to consolidate,” said the Diocese of Scranton priest.
“We have too many parishes and not enough priests. The longer the problem
continues, the worse it gets.”
The priest said, and Orzel confirmed, that the Vatican announces
appointments of new bishops on Tuesdays.
“We thought it would be announced last Tuesday,” the priest source said.
“Now we’ll wait for next Tuesday.”