The Diocese of Harrisburg is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

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 ...

that covers 15 counties of

South Central Pennsylvania South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of west ...

: Adams, Columbia,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Dauphin,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, Juniata, Lancaster,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, Mifflin, Montour,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

, Snyder,

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. The seat of the bishop is in St. Patrick's Cathedral (built 1907), which stands one block away from the

Pennsylvania State Capitol The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg which was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative ...

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

erected the diocese on March 3, 1868. The Diocese of Harrisburg is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

of the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

Bishops

Bishops of Harrisburg

Jeremiah F. Shanahan Jeremiah Francis Shanahan (July 17, 1834 – September 24, 1886) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania from 1868 until his death in1886. Biography Early life ...

(1868-1886) # Thomas McGovern (1888-1898) # John W. Shanahan (1899-1916), brother of first bishop # Philip R. McDevitt (1916-1935) #

George L. Leech George Leo Leech (May 21, 1890 – March 12, 1985) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, from 1935 to 1971. Biography Early life George Leech was born on May 21, 1890, in ...

(1935-1971) # Joseph T. Daley (1971-1983;

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

1967-1971) #

William Henry Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 4, 1931 – March 23, 2017) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1989 to 2007 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 1994. He previously serv ...

(1983-1989), appointed

Archbishop of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of Mar ...

(Cardinal in 1994) #

Nicholas C. Dattilo Nicholas Carmen Dattilo (March 8, 1932 – March 5, 2004) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania from 1990 until his death in 200 ...

(1990-2004) #

Kevin C. Rhoades Kevin Carl Rhoades (born November 26, 1957) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in Indiana since 2009. Rhoades previously served as the bishop of the Dioce ...

(2004-2010), appointed Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend #

Joseph P. McFadden Joseph Patrick McFadden (May 22, 1947 – May 2, 2013) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Formerly an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, he was installed as Roma ...

(2010-2013) #

Ronald William Gainer Ronald William Gainer (born August 24, 1947) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania since 2014. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Lexing ...

(2014–present)

Former auxiliary bishops

* Lawrence F. Schott (1956-1963) *

Joseph Thomas Daley Joseph Thomas Daley (December 21, 1915 – September 2, 1983) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania from 1971 until his death in 1983. Biography Early life J ...

(1963-1967), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Harrisburg *

(1979-1983), appointed Bishop of Harrisburg

Other priests of the diocese who became bishops

David M. O'Connell David Michael O'Connell (born April 21, 1955) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Trenton in New Jersey since 2010. He is a member of the Congregation of the Mission and a past presi ...

, C.M., appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Trenton in 2010 and subsequently succeeded to that diocese * William J. Waltersheid, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh in 2011 *

Edward C. Malesic Edward Charles Malesic (born August 14, 1960) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio since 2020. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg in Pennsylva ...

, appointed Bishop of Greensburg in 2015

High schools

* Bishop McDevitt High School *

Delone Catholic High School Delone Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. History Delone Catholic High School is a regional high school named for ...

Lancaster Catholic High School Lancaster Catholic High School is a Catholic co-educational high school located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg secondary schools. Academics Timothy Hamer has been the school's pre ...

Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School, formerly Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School, is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Edgewood Gardens, Coal Township, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. Backgr ...

Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England *Trini ...

York Catholic High School York Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic, Catholic high school located in York, Pennsylvania, U.S., and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg for boys and girls in the 7th through 12th grades. References

{{authority ...

Ban on participation of females in certain sports

On October 1, 2014, Bishop Ronald Gainer introduced a new policy prohibiting girls at Catholic schools in the diocese from participating in wrestling, football, and rugby whether or not they desire to compete in girls-only or co-ed matches. The policy goes on to require male wrestlers to forfeit matches against female opponents, but does not bar football or rugby teams from playing against teams which may have a girl on their team. According to the policy, the ban applies to sports "... that involve substantial and potentially immodest physical contact." In 2016, public high school J.P. McCaskey exploited the policy to win a dual wrestling match against Delone Catholic.

Special churches

The

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ( pl, Bazylika Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa w Krakowie) is a Roman Catholic church of the Jesuits in Kraków. Architecture This monumental Jesuit Church erected from 1909 to 1921 to a design by Franci ...

in Conewago Township and the Basilica of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Danville are under the purview of the diocese.

Sexual abuse cases

In early 2016, a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

investigation, led by

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Attorney General

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...

, began an inquiry into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in six Pennsylvania dioceses: Harrisburg,

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Greensburg, and

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. The

Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

and the

were not included, as they had been the subjects of earlier investigations. According to officials in the Diocese of Harrisburg, the diocese had intended to release a list of accused priests in September 2016, but were ordered by the Attorney General Shapiro not to do so, lest it compromise his investigation. According to ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', in 2017 the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Diocese of Greensburg attempted to shut down the grand jury investigation. On July 27, 2018, the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme J ...

ordered that a redacted copy of the grand jury report be released to the public; this release is anticipated to occur in early August 2018. On August 1, 2018, the Diocese of Harrisburg released the names of 71 clergy members accused of engaging in sexual abuse of children. The list included priests, deacons, and seminarians of the diocese, as well as clergy from other dioceses or from religious orders who had served in the Diocese of Harrisburg. Following the disclosure, Bishop Gainer announced the name of every man who had served as a bishop in the Diocese of Harrisburg since 1947 would be removed from any building or room named in their honor, due to their failure to protect victims from abuse. The grand jury report was released on August 14, 2018 and revealed that the Diocese of Harrisburg had secretly been settling cases with survivors of sex abuse in the Diocese since 2002. Some of the agreements in the settlements also included confidentiality provisions. Gainer afterwards apologized on behalf of the Diocese and set up a new website title
Youth Protection Home Page
which contains information on how to report sex abuse, contact information for the Victim Assistance Office, and how the Diocese confronted the issue of sex abuse. A total of 301 priests were accused of sexually abusing children, with 45 coming from the Diocese of Harrisburg. The grand jury report also accused former Bishop and future Baltimore Cardinal

William Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 4, 1931 – March 23, 2017) was an American Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1989 to 2007 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals ...

of committing criminal inaction during his time as Bishop of Harrisburg. It was announced on August 15, 2018 that a Baltimore pre K-8 Catholic school that would open in 2020 and be named for former Harrisburg Bishop William Keeler would no longer bear his name after the report explained how he allowed abusive Harrisburg priest Arthur Long to transfer to the Archdiocese of Baltimore after he (Keeler) was appointed to that see. Keeler had been notified of accusations of sexual abuse against Long in 1987. In August 2019, Diocese officials issued a written statement acknowledging that the Diocese of Harrisburg had secretly paid $12.1 million to victims of clergy who sexually abused them while serving in the Diocese.

Bankruptcy

On February 19, 2020, the Diocese of Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy in light of the sex abuse lawsuits. The Diocese is the first in the state of Pennsylvania to do so. In its bankruptcy filing, the Diocese, which is also facing new sex abuse lawsuits, stated that it was struggling financially and had only $1 to $10 million in assets and $50 million in liabilities.

John G. Allen

On November 5, 2020, former York County Catholic priest John G. Allen, who was

laicized In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The t ...

by 2019 amid claims of molesting children, pled guilty to six misdemeanors — two counts each of indecent assault against a child under 13, indecent assault of a child under 16 and corruption of minors between 1997 and 2002.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg Official Site
{{Coord, 40.28116, -76.80130, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Religion in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Religious organizations established in 1868

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

1868 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020