Cardinal Edmund Szoka, former Detroit archbishop and Vatican official, dies at 86

[UrbScotty]

The Michigan native, who this year celebrated his 60th anniversary as a Catholic priest, was named by Pope John Paul II to lead the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1981. Pope John Paul II named Szoka a cardinal in 1988. And in 1990, Pope John Paul II moved Szoka from Detroit to the Vatican, where Szoka oversaw economic affairs at the Vatican City State, and later served as the top administrator, much like a governor, of the Vatican.

During his tenure as Archbishop of Detroit from 1981 to 1990, Szoka made his mark by helping bring Pope John Paul II to Detroit in 1987. He also streamlined the archdiocese’s methods to make it less expensive and easier for divorced Catholics to receive Catholic annulments, allowing them to remarry in the church.

...

During his time at the Vatican, Szoka’s position and influence on various Vatican commissions helped lead to the promotion of Detroit-based priests to become bishops of other dioceses. Among them is current Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron, who was a former seminary director and parish pastor in Detroit when in 1996 he was named Bishop of Oakland, California, before returning to the top post in Detroit in 2009. Others include Lansing Diocese Bishop Earl Boyea, Newark Archbishop Leonard Blair who previously was bishop of Toledo, and current St. Paul/Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt.

Szoka was born in Grand Rapids and raised in the Muskegon area. His mother was a Polish immigrant and his father hailed from what is now known as Belarus. His parents were divorced when Szoka was about 3. When Szoka sought to enter the priesthood, his parents’ divorce could have stood in his way.

http://www.freep.com/article/20140821/NEWS08/308210139/Detroit-Catholic-Cardinal-Edmund-Szoka-dies-age-86

[hrmjustin]

1. May he rest in peace and rise in glory!

[rug]

2. R.I.P.