Michael David Pfeifer (born May 18, 1937) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of San Angelo The Diocese of San Angelo ( la, Dioecesis Angeliana, es, Diócesis de San Angelo) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering 29 counties throughout Central and West Texas. It was founded on October 16, ...

in Texas from 1985 to 2012.

Biography

Early life

Michael Pfeifer was born on May 18, 1937, in Alamo, Texas, the son of Maund Pfeifer and Alice Clausney Savage. He grew up on a family farm, dealing with periods of poverty. Pfeifer entered St. Anthony’s Junior Seminary at age 13. He took his first vows with the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

on May 31,1958 On December 21, 1964, Pfeifer was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

into the priesthood by Bishop Stephen Leven for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. After his ordination, Pfeifer served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

for several years.

Bishop of San Angelo

On May 31, 1985,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named Pfeifer as bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo. He was consecrated by Archbishop

Patrick Flores Patricio Fernández Flores (July 26, 1929 – January 9, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served from 1979 to 2004 as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas, bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texa ...

at the San Angelo Coliseum on July 26, 1985. Pfeifer has spoken against medical research using

embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre- implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consi ...

s, instead promoting the use of

adult stem cell Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς, ...

s. On December 17, 2008, Pfeifer and the Diocese of San Angelo were sued by a San Angelo man. The plaintiff claimed that David Espitia, pastor of St. Ann's Parish in

Colorado City, Texas Colorado City ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Mitchell County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,991 at the 2020 census. History Colorado City originated as a ranger camp in 1877. It grew into a cattlemen's center and has b ...

, had

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

him from 1994, when he was age eight, to 2002 and that the diocese covered up the crimes. In response, Pfeifer said that Espita told him on June 13, 2003, about the allegations and denied all of them. At that time, Pfeifer initiated an investigation. A week after his meeting with Pfeifer, Espita committed suicide. On November 21, 2011, the diocese reached an

out-of-court settlement In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...

with the plaintiff. The 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report on sexual abuse by clergy included a section on the transfer of Thomas C. Kelley, a priest from the Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania, to the Diocese of San Angelo, despite a record of sexual abuse of young men. Five men aged 28 to 25 accused Kelley of sexual advances either at a high school or in the seminary; one man received a financial settlement from the Diocese of Erie. Kelley was sent to for psychological treatment twice; both facilities released him with recommendations that the have no contact with young parishioners. In 1995, Kelley requested a transfer to the Diocese of San Angelo. Pfeifer had a conversation in 1995 with Erie Bishop

Donald Trautman Donald Walter Trautman (June 24, 1936 – February 26, 2022) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Erie in Western Pennsylvania from 1990 to 2011. He previously served as an auxiliary bish ...

in which they discussed Kelley's record and his transfer. Pfeiffer eventually agreed to Kelley's transfer without any restrictions. There were no allegations of abuse filed against Kelley during his ten years in the Diocese of San Angelo; he died in 2005 Pfeifer has refused to comment on the story. Bishop

Michael Sis Michael James Sis (born January 9, 1960) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the Bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo in Texas since 2013. Early life and education Michael James Sis was born on January ...

, the current bishop of San Angelo, said he felt hurt and angry about the Kelley allegations. Pfeifer submitted his resignation letter as bishop of San Angelo to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on his 75th birthday on May 18, 2012.Bishop Pfeifer announces retirement
mywesttexas.com, May 12, 2012

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted Pfeifer's resignation on December 12, 2013.

References

External links

The Diocese of San Angelo Official Site

Bishop Michael Pfeifer: 25 years of compassion

Episcopal succession