By Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-571026.mp3
Dallas, TX – The Catholic church requires that Bishops resign on their 75th birthday. Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann turned in his resignation last July. Pope Benedict the 16th only now acted on it, even though past Pope John Paul the 2nd , 8 years ago, installed Bishop Joseph Galante here as coadjutor. Presumably, he would've succeeded Grahmann. But the Dallas Bishop wouldn't retire early, and Galante was transferred. Today, Grahmann was no longer reluctant to step down, as he spoke of Bishop Kevin Farrell.
Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann: I greet and welcome him with open arms and a happy heart. I'm happy to surrender to his capable ministry the shepherding that's been mine for the past 17 plus years.
Zeeble: Grahmann greeted Farrell with ballcaps of the Mavericks, Stars, Cowboys and Rangers. Farrell, who spent the past 24 years in Washington D.C., joked his preference might still be with Washington's football team. Then he thanked those he worked with in D.C. and praised Grahmann's service to the Dallas Diocese.
Bishop Kevin Farrell: He has guided it through growing pains of its expansion of a small diocese of 200 thousand Catholics, to over 1 million Catholics today. It is one of the largest Dioceses of the Catholic Church in the United States.
Zeeble: Farrell, born in Ireland, speaks fluent Spanish, & ran the Spanish Catholic Center in Washington. Before that, he was a chaplain in Monterrey Mexico and traveled widely through that country. As for Dallas, he said expect no initial changes under his leadership.
Farrell: Anything I would say now would be predicated on knowledge I would consider superficial knowledge of the city and diocese. It was a great surprise to me when I was informed that I was going to come to Dallas!
Zeeble: Farrell says he must now get to know this diocese and its people. He's aware of issues tied to illegal immigration, says he's an immigrant, and that it's important to respect a nation's immigration laws. But he added
Farrell: We must make sure those laws guarantee rights of every individual and promote human family. And by the human family I mean the bigger human family, not just the small domestic family.
Zeeble: Bishop Farrell's also well informed about the troubling and controversial handling of child molestation by priests here and elsewhere.
Farrell: I believe the Church has done more than any other institution over the last several years to protect children. I believe in my heart and soul that we should reach out to all victims of abuse. They ve been harmed. The first obligation of any one of us is to help these people heal.
Zeeble: Bishop Farrell spoke about abortion.
Farrell: I don't think its just enough to change the law or interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. It's more profound, it's a change of the hearts of a human person. We can change a law, but that doesn't mean we'll change hearts and souls and minds of many people.
Zeeble: Farrell also addressed the death penalty.
Farrell: The Church has always upheld that the death penalty is something that must always be carefully considered and analyzed. I personally don't believe in the death penalty. I understand there may be some situations which may justify, but I find those rare and difficult to find.
Zeeble: Bishop Kevin Farrell for now is the Bishop-elect. He's officially installed May 1st. Outgoing Bishop Charles Grahmann laughs that he'll spend time fishing, but also has been invited to help people in poor areas of the world, and hopes to accept that invitation. For KERA 90.1 I'm Bill Zeeble.
bzeeble@kera.org