Edward Weisenburger

Styles of Edward Joseph Weisenburger
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Edward Joseph Weisenburger, J.C.L., is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona since 2017. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Salina in Kansas from 2012 to 2017.

Biography

Early life and education

Weisenburger was born in Alton, Illinois, on December 23, 1960, to Edward John Weisenburger and Asella (Walters) Weisenburger. Weisenburger grew up primarily in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he attended St. Barbara's Parish School and then graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1979.^[1]

Deciding to enter the priesthood, Weisenburger began his studies at Conception Seminary College in Conception, Missouri, graduating with honors in 1983.^[1] He then traveled to Leuven, Belgium, to attend the American College Seminary at the Catholic University of Leuven. He was awarded a Pontifical Bachelor of Theology degree along with a Master of Religious Studies degree in 1986. Weisenburger received a Master of Arts in Religious Studies and a Master of Moral and Religious Sciences degree in Leuven in 1987.^[1]

Priesthood

On December 19, 1987, Weisenburger was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City by Archbishop Charles Salatka.^[2] After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Weisenburger to pastoral duties at St. Mary Parish in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

In 1990, Weisenburger was sent to Ottawa, Ontario, to attend St. Paul University, where he was awarded a Licentiate of Canon Law degree in 1992.^[1][3] After returning to Oklahoma, Weisenburger was appointed as vice chancellor and adjutant judicial vicar for the archdiocese. ^[3]

Weisenburger was appointed pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Okarche, Oklahoma, in 1995. That same year, he began 17 years of service on the council of priests and the archdiocesan college of consultors. After the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, Weisenburger volunteered as an on-site chaplain for rescue workers. In 1996, Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran named Weisenburger as vicar general of the archdiocese.^[3]

In 2002, after seven years at Holy Trinity, Weisenburger was appointed pastor and then rector of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish.^[1][3] He was also promoter of justice for the canonization of Reverend Stanley Rother, an Oklahoma priest murdered in 1981 by a death squad in Guatemala. On October 2, 2009, Weisenburger was appointed a prelate of honor to Pope Benedict XVI with the title monsignor.^[4][1]

Bishop of Salina

Weisenburger was appointed bishop of Salina by Benedict XVI on February 6, 2012. He was consecrated by Archbishop Joseph Naumann on May 1, 2012, in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina, with Beltran and Archbishop Paul Stagg Coakley acting as co-consecrators.^[5]

Bishop of Tucson

On October 3, 2017, Weisenburger was named the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Tucson by Pope Francis. He was installed on November 29, 2017.^[6][2]

On September 19, 2018, Weisenburger reported that the diocese had fired ten employees over the past ten years due to charges of sexual misconduct. He did not provide any details on the firings. Commenting on the August 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report of sexual abuse by priests in that state, Weisenburger linked the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s to these crimes:

“It would be way too simplistic to blame a cultural movement for what individuals have done, but I also think it would be irresponsible to not acknowledge its role.”^[7]

In December 2020, the Diocese of Tucson, along with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, were named in a federal racketeering lawsuit by two individuals alleging sexual abuse as minors by four priests in Arizona. One of the plaintiffs was Diana Almader-Douglas, who said that she was abused when she was five years old by Reverend Charles Knapp at her home in Pirtleville, Arizona, in the 1970s. Weisenburger said the diocese immediately notified police of the allegation, which they declined to investigate. An outside investigation was unable to determine if the allegations were credible. A third individual joined the lawsuit in 2021.^[8]

Viewpoints

Immigration

At a meeting of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops on June 15, 2018, Weisenburger suggested that Catholic federal agents who separate children from undocumented immigrant parents as part of Trump Administration policy should be denied communion.^[9]

See also

References

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson Official Site

Episcopal succession

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Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson

Ordinaries

Bishops

Jean-Baptiste Salpointe

Peter Bourgade

Henry Regis Granjon

Daniel James Gercke

Francis Joseph Green

Manuel Duran Moreno

Gerald Frederick Kicanas

Edward Weisenburger

Auxiliary bishops

Francis Joseph Green

Churches

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Cathedral of Saint Augustine

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