Catholic dioceses spar over sainthood for Archbishop Sheen
In an unusual public spat, the Roman Catholic diocese of Peoria, Illinois, is accusing the Rochester, New York, diocese of trying to “sabotage” the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
Sheen, who before his death in 1979 was famous for his radio and TV preaching, had been scheduled to be beatified — the last step before sainthood — in a ceremony in Peoria on Dec. 21.
However, the Vatican recently took the rare step of indefinitely postponing the ceremony at the request of the Rochester diocese, which said more time was needed for further investigations.
Sheen was Rochester’s bishop from 1966 to 1969, and the diocese there sought the delay “to allow for further review of his role in priests’ assignments.”
A top official of the Peoria diocese, Monsignor James Kruse, says those concerns focus on assignments of priests in Rochester who were accused of sexual misconduct. In a lengthy statement published this week, Kruse said the Peoria diocese thoroughly investigated two of those cases and found no wrongdoing by Sheen.
Kruse complained that the Rochester diocese is now suggesting there are other cases that merit investigation, without providing details about them.
The Rochester Diocese’s statement about “an undisclosed ‘two or more’ cases is both unjust and a regretful smear of Sheen,” Kruse wrote. “This was not really an act of caution, but appears to simply be another act of sabotage.”
Responding to Kruse’s accusation, the Rochester diocese told The Associated Press on Thursday, “This is absolutely a false statement and lacks an appreciation for our diocese’s genuine concern for Archbishop Sheen’s cause.”
The statement noted that the decision to delay the beatification was made by the Vatican, not by the Rochester diocese.