Gregory Michael Aymond
Titular Bishop of Acholla (1996-2000) | |
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Education | Notre Dame Seminary Loyola University New Orleans |
Motto | Fidelis autem Deus (God is faithful) |
Styles of Gregory Michael Aymond | ||
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Reference style | ||
Spoken style | Your Excellency | |
Religious style | Archbishop |
Gregory Michael Aymond (born November 12, 1949) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Archbishop of New Orleans since 2009.
Aymond was previously the Bishop of Austin from 2001 to 2009 and coadjutor bishop from 2000 to 2001. He was an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans from 1997 to 2000.
Life and career
Early life and education
The oldest of three children,[1] Gregory Aymond was born on November 12, 1949, in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.[2] He attended St. James Major Elementary School, and evacuated New Orleans with his family by skiff after Hurricane Betsy in 1965.[1] After graduating from Cor Jesu High School in New Orleans in 1967, he studied at St. Joseph Seminary College in Saint Benedict, Louisiana, until 1971.[2] He then attended Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, obtaining his Master of Divinity degree in 1975.[3] He then furthered his studies at the Institute for Ministry at Loyola University New Orleans.[3]
Priesthood
Aymond was
During his priestly ministry, he also served as executive director of the Department of Christian Formation, with responsibility for Catholic schools and religious education.[2] He was director of Society for the Propagation of the Faith and was a member of its national board (1977–2000).[3] During the 1980s, Aymond and other Notre Dame traveled to Mexico to build houses and provide religious training.[2] In 1994 he founded Christ the Healer, a medical mission program of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Granada, Nicaragua.[3]
Auxiliary bishop of New Orleans
On November 19, 1996, Aymond was appointed
Brian Matherne sex abuse case
As an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, one of Aymond's duties included the oversight of Catholic schools in the archdiocese.
Matherne was arrested and pled guilty to molesting 17 children over 15 years. He is serving a 30-year sentence in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Aymond defended the church, but later stated he should have fired Matherne.[6][7] In Austin three years later, Aymond began tightening the diocese's sex abuse policy, based partly on the Matherne case stating: "That painful experience – I will never forget it. It helped me to understand the complexity of pedophilia better."[6]
Coadjutor bishop and Bishop of Austin
Aymond was named coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Austin on June 2, 2000, by John Paul II; he was installed on August 3, 2000. He succeeded John E. McCarthy as the fourth bishop of Austin on January 2, 2001. The diocese grew rapidly (partly as a result of immigration) during Aymond's bishopric and actually had more churchgoers than many archdioceses, including New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.[8]
Archbishop of New Orleans
On June 12, 2009,
Aymond has faced challenges in "the aftermath of years of sex scandals and the unpopular consolidation of parishes and closing of churches for economic reasons" as phrased by Kevin McGill of the Associated Press. Even so, he said, "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would come back here as [arch]bishop."[8] Shortly after his appointment as archbishop, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests issued a statement claiming he only "postures as someone who takes clergy sex crimes seriously".[6]
Aymond's predecessor, Archbishop Alfred Hughes, implemented a controversial post-hurricane Katrina church consolidation program that reduced the diocese from 142 parishes to 108. The storm drove away nearly a quarter of its former membership and left it with nearly $300 million in physical damage.[6] Aymond has allowed several churches to re-open for special occasions.[10] The Diocese of Austin web site states that under his bishopric the number of seminarians increased threefold.[11][12]
Introduction of the Roman Missal, third edition
Aymond, while serving as chair of the
Opinions and attitudes
Leadership style
Bruce Nolan of the
Aymond has a reputation for taking on controversial issues in a direct and vocal way. He has called the confrontations a necessary part of being a bishop. "I don't feel I have a responsibility or an obligation to make people do what the church says", he said in 2008. "In fact, I think that would be wrong. But I do have an obligation to say, 'This is what the church's teaching is.'"[15]
Abortion and contraception
Aymond was one of more than 80 American bishops who wrote to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, to protest its award of an honorary degree to President Barack Obama due to his support of abortion rights for women and embryonic stem cell research.[16]
In October 2007, Aymond objected to the scheduled appearance of a dissident Catholic theologian, the Reverend Charles Curran, at St. Edward's University in South Austin, Texas. Curran is a priest whose Catholic theologian title was stripped by the Vatican because he openly condemned the church's teachings against abortion rights for women, artificial birth control, and human sexuality. St. Edward's ignored Aymond's directive and went ahead with the event.[17]
Gay rights
Aymond believes that homosexuals should remain celibate.[15]
In June 2013, Aymond issued a statement of regret that his predecessor, Archbishop Philip Hannan, and the local church leadership ignored the 1973 arson attack on a gay bar in New Orleans that killed 32 people. Aymond wrote to Time magazine that
In retrospect, if we did not release a statement we should have to be in solidarity with the victims and their families ... The church does not condone violence and hatred. If we did not extend our care and condolences, I deeply apologize.[18]
Honors
Gregory Michael Aymond KC*HS is knight commander with star and grand prior of the Southeastern Lieutenancy of the United States of America of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.[19]
Books
- Aymond, Gregory Michael. Courageous Moral Leadership. Washington, DC: National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), 2004. ISBN 978-1-55833-342-0.
- Sofield, Loughlan; Juliano, Carroll; & Aymond, Gregory Michael. Facing Forgiveness: A Catholic's Guide to Letting Go of Anger and Welcoming Reconciliation. Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59471-122-0.
See also
- Catholic Church hierarchy
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of Catholic bishops of the United States
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References
- ^ The Times-Picayune. Archived from the originalon 2011-06-04.
- ^ a b c d e f "Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.
- ^ a b c d "Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond". Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin. Archived from the original on 2008-02-19.
- ^ a b c "Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ The Augusta Chronicle: "New Orleans native is city's new archbishop" June 13, 2009
- ^ a b c d "New archbishop vows to 'reconcile' with those hurt by parish closures, but says he won't 'second guess' Hughes". The Times-Picayune. June 12, 2009.
- ^ Paul Boudreau & Gregory M. Aymond (interview), "Priest sexual abuse: Where are we now?"[permanent dead link] in Catholic Digest, 2007 April, pp. 28-34.
- ^ a b Kevin McGill, "New Orleans native is city's new archbishop" in Daily Star (Hammond), 2009 June 13, p. 7B.
- ^ Announcement from the Vatican[permanent dead link] on 2009 June 12 at 5:00 AM CDT (New Orleans time).
- ^ "2 closed Catholic churches Uptown will be open on Good Friday". The Times-Picaynue. March 25, 2010.
- ^ "Diocese of Austin: Biography of Bishop Gregory M. Aymond, 2001–2009". Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-06-11.
- ^ Clarion Herald: "Archbishop Aymond: 'Pray for our Seminarians by Name'" Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine November 27, 2010
- ^ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: "USCCB President Authorizes Gradual Introduction of Musical Settings of New Roman Missal Starting In September" Archived 2011-06-22 at the Wayback Machine June 17, 2011
- ^ "Archbishop and native son" in Times-Picayune, 2009 June 16, Saint Tammany Edition, p. B4.
- ^ a b The Austin Statesman: "Aymond: "I want to reconnect with people" in New Orleans" Archived 2011-09-22 at the Wayback Machine June 12, 2009
- ^ "Obama's Notre Dame speech draws protest". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
- ^ "Bishop Chastises Catholic University for Hosting Dissident Theologian". 16 October 2007.
- ^ "The Upstairs Lounge Fire: The Little Known Story of the Largest Killing of Gays in US History". Time. June 21, 2013. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
- ^ Grand Prior (Southeastern Lieutenancy)
External links
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin
- Vargas, Ramon Antonio (18 December 2023). "US archbishop [Gregory Aymond of New Orleans] secretly backed bid to free priest convicted of raping child". The Guardian.