Thomas Vose Daily

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Thomas Vose Daily (September 23, 1927-) was the Roman Catholic bishop of Brooklyn and one of the leaders of the more conservative segment of the Roman Catholic church in America.

Contents

[edit] Early life

He was born to Mary McBride Vose and John F. Daily, a member of an old New England family, in Belmont, Massachusetts in 1927. His family encouraged him to consider becoming a priest as a child. Upon completion of his studies at first Boston College and later St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1952 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Upon ordination, he was assigned as curate for St. Ann's church in the Wollaston neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts. He remained in that post through the rest of that decade.

[edit] Boston

In 1960, he joined the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle, and moved to Minatambo area of Lima, Peru. He later returned to St. Ann's, where he would serve as assistant pastor through 1971. At that time, he was appointed to the position of secretary of Humberto Sousa Cardinal Medeiros, quickly followed by rapid advancement in the church. In 1974, he was appointed as an assistant bishop in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston (with the title of Bishop of Bladia), and vicar general of the archdiocese the following year. Because of his fluency in the Spanish language, he was given special duties regarding the Spanish speaking members of the archdiocese.

[edit] Palm Beach

In 1984, he was made the first bishop of the new Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, an area noted for its extremes of wealth and poverty. His most notable actions of this period were his pro-life demonstrations in front of abortion clinics. Otherwise, he did not overtly actively involve himself in many social issues of the day. He remained in that position through the rest of the decade. In addition, Bishop Daily served as the Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus

[edit] Brooklyn

In 1990, he was named the new bishop of Brooklyn. In keeping with his own previous actions opposing abortion, the first statement he issued as bishop was that the then-Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, would not be welcomed into the parishes under his jurisdiction because of Cuomo's pro-choice position on abortion. Despite some more conciliatory statements later, Cuomo was not present when Daily was formally installed as bishop. Daily also issued an early statement in opposition to the Catholic gay organization Dignity, U.S.A. He thereafter focused the majority of his attention to the affairs of his diocese.

[edit] Scandal and Resignation

In 2002, Daily come under heavy criticism for his handling of sexually abusive priests in the ongoing Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. [1][2] On August 1, 2003, Daily announced his resignation as a bishop [1][2]

Preceded by
Francis J. Mugavero		 Bishop of Brooklyn
1990–2003		 Succeeded by
Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Daniel J. Wakin. "Brooklyn Bishop Ending Tenure Amid Storm Over Scandal", The New York Times, 2003-08-03. Retrieved on 2008-02-12. 
  2. ^ a b Pam Belluck. "In Court Files, How Bishop Handled a Problem Priest", The New York Times, 2002-03-23. Retrieved on 2008-02-12. 
  • Thomas V. Daily," Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed.. Gale Group, 1999.

[edit] See also