Gawker: Miami Vice

On Thursday, July 28th, Gawker, a gossip website, published an ‘investigative’ piece on the Archdiocese of Miami, its past archbishop, priests, and seminary entitled “The Catholic Church’s Secret Gay Cabal.” The very opening lines of the article get the blood boilin’, which is what it was intended to do, I suspect. However, as I read the article, it became apparent that there were several inaccuracies contained within. The article at times even contradicted itself.

The investigative report begins with this statement: “Favalora, who was the most powerful Catholic official in South Florida from 1994 until last year, stands accused of cultivating what one group of pissed-off Catholics described as a corrupt ‘homosexual superculture’.” Whenever you start off an article quoting a group of pissed-off Catholics, there is an extremely high probability that most of the information contained within the article is fabricated and biased. Nonetheless, I think we need to examine all of the assertions being made and determine their validity.

The report makes several other claims about Archbishop John Favalora. The author tends to believe that Favalora, whom I have met on several occasions throughout the last couple of years, liked to have seminarians sit on his lap during parties and that he was co-owner in a company that produced an “all natural” sex drink.

“Come sit on Papa’s lap”

Being a former seminarian who studied at Miami’s minor seminary, I can bear witness to that fact that the archbishop was only around the seminarians once every couple of months, for an hour or two at the most. To my knowledge, there was never any inappropriate behavior exhibited.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami released the following statement upon the announcement of Bishop Felipe Estevez as tenth bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine:

I congratulate Bishop Estevez on his appointment as the new Bishop of St. Augustine. He brings many gifts to Northeast Florida – as a priest, he has served as a pastor, spiritual director, seminary rector, and as a very effective preacher of retreats and missions in three languages: English, Spanish and French; as an auxiliary bishop, he has ably assisted my predecessor and now me in the governance of the See of Miami, especially providing wisdom and direction in the coordination of the rich expression of ecclesial groups and apostolic movements active in the Archdiocese.

St. Augustine, the city where the Servant of God, Padre Felix Varela, died in exile from his native Cuba, is not unknown to Bishop Estevez – he has had occasion to visit there many times; and not a few of the clergy of St. Augustine also know Bishop Estevez as a former rector and spiritual director of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.

While the People of God here in South Florida rejoice over Northeast Florida’s good fortune in having Bishop Estevez as their new shepherd, we will certainly miss him. Bishop Estevez has not only been a brother priest and bishop to me, he has, for more than 35 years, been and still is my good friend. I look forward to continue working with him as one of the six suffragan bishops of the Ecclesiastic Province of Miami.

Source: Archdiocese of Miami

From Right to Left: Bishop Felipe Estevez, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Bishop John Noonan

This morning, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Miami Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Estevez, 65, as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, succeeding Bishop Victor Galeone whose resignation was submitted in September.

Bishop Estevez was born on February 5, 1946 in Betancourt, Cuba to Adriano and Estrella Estevez. Leaving Cuba at the age of 15, Estevez came to the United States and began studying for the priesthood. On May 30, 1970, Estevez was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Matanzas (Cuba) after receiving a Licentiate in Theology from Montreal University.

Throughout his priesthood, Bishop Estevez has mostly been involved with educating men for the priesthood. His first seminary assignment came shortly after being ordained, when he was sent to Honduras to teach and direct young men studying for the priesthood. In 1975 Estevez came back to the United States, serving on the faculty of Florida’s St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.  During this time, he was attending Miami’s Barry University, receiving a Master in Arts degree in 1977.

Bishop John Noonan in front of St. James Cathedral | Credit: Ann Rodriguez-Soto/The Florida Catholic

It’s been a little less than a month since Bishop John Noonan officially became the bishop of the Diocese of Orlando. Over the last few weeks, Bishop Noonan has been getting acquainted with his new diocese and is beginning to make the changes he believes are necessary for the local church. In the last couple of weeks, Noonan has appointed new heads of deaneries and appointed some familiar faces to positions that have opened up since Archbishop Thomas Wenski was appointed as shepherd of his native Miami.

On Friday, January 7, 2011, Bishop Noonan made the following Deanery appointments:

• Dean of the Northern Deanery: Very Rev. John Giel — Marion, Lake and Sumter Counties
• Dean of the Central Deanery North: Very Rev. Stephen Parkes — Seminole and Orange Counties
• Dean of the Western Deanery: Very Rev. Peter Puntal — Polk County
• Dean of the Central Deanery South: Very Rev. Esaú Garcia — Orange and Osceola Counties
• Dean of the Eastern Deanery: Very Rev. Esaú Garcia — Volusia County
• Dean of the Southern Deanery: Very Rev. Sean Heslin — Brevard County

On Friday, January 14, 2011, Bishop Noonan made the following appointments to the Diocesan Administration:

When Archbishop Thomas Wenski took the reigns of the Archdiocese of Miami on June 1st of this year, all of us expected that some changes would be made in the administration. Well, we now have another piece that has been added to the puzzle of shifts. This morning, the Diocese of Orlando released the following statement:

Sr. Elizabeth Worley, SSJ | Source: Diocese of Orlando

Archbishop Thomas Wenski announced the appointment of Sr. Elizabeth Worley, SSJ as chancellor and chief operating officer for the Archdiocese of Miami. She has served as chancellor of administration and chief operating officer for the Diocese of Orlando since February 15, 2007. Very Reverend Richard Walsh, Diocese of Orlando Administrator, accepted Sr. Elizabeth Worley’s resignation, effective September 30.

In her position with the Diocese of Orlando, Sister Elizabeth served as the bishop’s chief administrative and business officer, assisting him on strategic business development and key planning issues, as well as offering recommendations on major business decisions.

“I am grateful to Sr. Elizabeth Worley for her service to our Diocese and its people during these last three and one-half years. Many have benefitted from her guidance and steadfast efforts,” said Father Richard Walsh. “I also appreciate her continued leadership role with the Sisters of St. Joseph.”

Sister Elizabeth Worley, S.S.J. holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Miami and a Master of Arts in Chemistry from Villanova University. She has a Bachelor of Science with a specialty in Chemistry from Barry University. She was awarded the Papal Cross by Pope John Paul II in recognition of a lifetime of faithful service to the Catholic Church. Sister Elizabeth Worley is a Sister of St. Joseph.