Joseph Anthony Ferrario

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Joseph Anthony Ferrario was best known for his work with the youth, poor and his controversial ministry in service to gays and lesbians.

[edit] Early life and priestly ministry

Msgr. Joseph Anthony Ferrario (March 3, 1926 – December 12, 2003) was the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and served from 1982 to 1993.

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Ferrario was ordained to the priesthood on May 19, 1951 at the age of 25. Part of a religious order of educators, Ferrario taught at various schools and seminaries.

[edit] Episcopal appointment and consecration

On staff at the Saint Stephen Diocesan Seminary, Honolulu on the island of O`ahu, Ferrario was appointed auxiliary bishop of Honolulu on November 8, 1977. On January 13, 1978, he was ordained to the episcopate as titular bishop of Cusae and auxiliary to the Bishop of Honolulu.

Msgr. Charles Kekumano, Hawai‘i's first native-born priest named a domestic prelate by Blessed John XXIII, left the diocese to work in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau in Alaska when Ferrario was elevated to the episcopate.

[edit] Installation as Honolulu Ordinary and Episcopal ministry

With his predecessor's retirement, Msgr. Ferrario was appointed bishop of Honolulu on May 13, 1982. One of his first actions as the ordinary of Honolulu was the removal of Msgr. Francis A. Marzen as editor of the diocesan newspaper, the Hawai‘i Catholic Herald. Msgr. Marzen had served as editor of the newspaper for approximately twenty years under the two previous bishops and publicly complained of his dismissal in an acerbic parting editorial published in the Hawai‘i Catholic Herald.

Msgr. Ferrario revamped major diocesan offices and appointed pastors to parishes that were supportive of his vision of implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. Ferrario's work in renewing the Honolulu See earned him the respect of a large part of the church in Hawai‘i; it also alienated a vocal minority of traditionalist Catholics supportive of the Tridentine Rite liturgies who scrutinized him for the remainder of his episcopate.

[edit] Sexual Scandals

Msgr. Ferrario rose to national prominence in 1989 becoming the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be publicly accused of sexual assault. The Hawai‘i Supreme Court dismissed the case after having passed the statute of limitations for trial. Bishop Ferrario maintained his innocence.

In 1992, a member of his presbyterium, Father Arthur O’Brien, whom he had earlier incardinated into the diocese, was convicted of the sexual assault of a young boy on the island of Maui.

[edit] Decree of Excommunication

In 1991, Msgr. Ferrario became newsworthy for his decree of excommunication, issued through the judicial vicar of his tribunal, Father Joseph Bukoski, III, for six of his critics and their supporters affiliated with the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X. The action was later overruled by the Vatican.

[edit] Retirement and Death

In 1993, Msgr. Ferrario retired from active ministry. The Vatican appointed Msgr. Francis Xavier DiLorenzo, S.T.D., Titular Bishop of Tigia and Auxiliary of Scranton, as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Honolulu, after accepting Msgr. Ferrario's resignation from the See of Honolulu, for health reasons.

The simultaneous notice of the Vatican's acceptance of the retirement of Msgr. Ferrario for health reasons, and the appointment of Msgr. DiLorenzo as Apostolic Administrator was read at solemn vespers at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, on October 12, 1993. Msgr. DiLorenzo would serve as Apostolic Administrator until his permanent appointment as Bishop of Honolulu in 1994.

Also a native of Pennsylvania, Msgr. Francis DiLorenzo was noted for having instituted stringent reforms of the Hawaii Catholic Church he inherited from Ferrario and quickly removed priests accused of sexual abuse even before the scandals erupted elsewhere in the country.

After retirement, Msgr. Ferrario resided near Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua, and continued his charitable work with the Augustine Educational Foundation.

He died of cardiac arrest on December 12, 2003, aged 77, and was buried at Hawaiian Memorial Park in Kane‘ohe. He was remembered for his work with youth, poor, as well as his ministry in service to gays and lesbians in Hawai‘i.