US Synod Fathers

Snapshots of the bishops who will represent the United States at the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, to be held Oct. 4-25 at the Vatican.

)

Editor's Note: This story has been updated since it was first posted and is updated from the print version.

 

Here are snapshots of the bishops who will represent the United States at the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, to be held Oct. 4-25 at the Vatican:

***Bishop Kurt Burnette of the Eparchy of Passaic-Byzantine Rite

About: Born in 1955 in Fakenham, England; ordained to the priesthood for the Eparchy of Van Nuys, Calif, in 1989; ordained bishop of the Eparchy of Passaic in 2013

Episcopal Motto: "Praise Him With the Sound of Trumpet."

 

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia

About: Born in 1944, Concordia, Kan.; ordained to the priesthood for the Orderr of Friars Minor-Capuchin, in 1970; ordained bishop of Rapid City, S.D., in 1988; named archbishop of Denver in 1997; appointed archbishop of Philadelphia in 2011.

Episcopal motto: “As Christ Loved the Church”

Quotable: “In mother, father and child, we find the sign of God’s own nature — a community of love; three in one; distinct persons within a unity. And it’s in the domestic church that the baptized individual learns his place in the larger story of God’s people, learns who God is, learns his responsibility to others and matures into a disciple and missionary. Strong, prayerful families make a strong, zealous Church. Weak families do the opposite.”

 

**Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco

About: Born in 1956 in San Diego; ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Diego in 1982; appointed an auxiliary bishop of San Diego in 2002; named bishop of Oakland, Calif., in 2009; appointed archbishop of San Francisco in 2012.

Episcopal motto:In Verbo Tuo” (At Thy Word)

Quotable: “What we look at and call marriage in the human sense is really an image, a lesson, of the great cosmic marriage of God and his people.”

 

Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago

About: Born in 1949 in Omaha, Neb; ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Omaha in 1975; ordained bishop of Rapid City, S.D., in 1998; appointed the bishop of Spokane, Wash., in 2010; appointed archbishop of Chicago in 2014.

Episcopal motto: “Peace Be With You”

Quotable: “God is doing great things not only in every age, but in every place around the world today.”

 

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston

About: Born in 1949 in Steubenville, Ohio; ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1977; named co-adjutor bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, in 1997; named co-adjutor bishop of Galveston-Houston in 2004 and succeeded his predecessor in 2006; elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2007; current vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Episcopal motto:Ave Crux Spes Unica” (Hail, O Cross, Our Only Hope)

Quotable: “There are many strong families today who live positively and also fight against the tide of distortions of marriage and family life quite vigorously. I must salute them and thank them for the great hope they bring to the Church and the world.” 

 

*Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York

About: Born in 1950 in St. Louis; ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1976; named auxiliary bishop of St. Louis in 2001; appointed archbishop of Milwaukee in 2002; named archbishop of New York in 2009; elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2012.

Episcopal motto:Ad Quem Ibimus” (To Whom Shall We Go?)

Quotable: “The starting point is what God has revealed to us, what the Church has boldly proclaimed about marriage and family so clear since Genesis and how faithful, loving husbands and wives, who become dads and moms, are called to be ‘lights to the world.’ And the goal is to support them, increase their number, stand with them and serve them well by an exuberant reclaiming of the Church’s rich and beautiful heritage of married love.”

 

Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles

About: Born in 1951 in Monterrey, Mexico; ordained a priest of Opus Dei in 1978; ordained auxiliary bishop of Denver in 2001; named archbishop of San Antonio in 2005; appointed co-adjutor bishop of Los Angeles in 2010 and was named archbishop of Los Angeles in 2011.

Episcopal motto:Adeamus cum Fiducia ad Thronum Gratia” (Let Us Go Forth With Confidence to the Throne of Grace)

Quotable: “Our families are meant to be natural schools of love and virtue, places where Jesus is at the center and his example and teachings are lived and passed on in the simple rhythms of everyday life. In our families, we learn how to love and how to laugh and how to share and sacrifice.”

 

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville

About: Born in 1946 in Mahanoy City, Pa.; ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., in 1972; named bishop of Knoxville, Tenn., in 1999; appointed archbishop of Louisville in 2007; current president of the U.S. bishops’ conference.

Episcopal motto: “Hope in the Lord”

Quotable: “How do we accompany people who are in irregular situations — separation and divorce, failed marriages — and have sought to marry outside the Church? In those cases, it will be the task of the synod to look at many opportunities to provide pastoral care.”

 

Bishop George Murry of Youngstown, Ohio

About: Born in 1948 in Camden, N.J.; ordained to the priesthood for the Society of Jesus in 1979; appointed auxiliary bishop of Chicago in 1995; named co-adjutor of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, in 1998 and succeeded his predecessor in 1999; named bishop of Youngstown in 2007.

Episcopal motto: “Christ, My Light”

Quotable: “Within the Judeo-Christian tradition, marriage is a permanent commitment between one man and one woman. As Catholics, we believe that to be God’s design for humanity. In keeping with the Scriptures, therefore, the Church will continue to encourage traditional marriage and support all families that want to grow in God’s grace.”

 

*Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington

About: Born in 1940 in Pittsburgh; ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1966; appointed auxiliary bishop of Seattle in 1985; appointed bishop of Pittsburgh in 1988; named archbishop of Washington in 2006; elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2010.

Episcopal motto: “Thy Kingdom Come”

Quotable: “Jesus did not change his message just because some who heard it felt it was a ‘hard saying.’ No one should be surprised that the Church continues to be faithful to Jesus’ Gospel — his teaching. After all, it is his message, his Church. We are not free to change either.”

*Papal delegate, also a member of the advisory council of the Synod of Bishops.

**Alternate

***Replaces Archbishop William Skurka of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, who is unable to attend.