William Francis Malooly (born January 18, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Malooly served as the bishop of the
Diocese of Wilmington
The Diocese of Wilmington ( la, Dioecesis Wilmingtoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the eastern United States and comprises the entire state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland (i.e ...
in Delaware from 2008 until 2021. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland from 2000 to 2008.
Biography
Early life and education
Francis Malooly was born in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, on January 18, 1944. He attended St. Ursula School in Parkville, Maryland, then entered St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland, for his secondary and undergraduate education. Malooly received his seminary training at
St. Mary's Seminary
St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic seminary located within the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after the Revolution and has been run since its founding by the ...
in Baltimore
Priesthood
Malooly was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Baltimore by his uncle, Bishop Thomas Murphy, on May 9, 1970, in the parish church of St. Ursula Malooly's first assignment after ordination was as associate pastor in 1970 at St. Joseph Parish in Texas. In 1976, he was posted to St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Baltimore. Malooly in 1981 was appointed associate administrator of the
Catholic Youth Organization
Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...
Retreat House in
Sparks
Sparks may refer to:
Places
*Sparks, Georgia
* Sparks, Kansas
*Sparks, Kentucky
*Sparks, Maryland
* Sparks, Nebraska
*Sparks, Nevada
*Sparks, Oklahoma
*Sparks, Texas
* Sparks, Bell County, Texas
* Sparks, West Virginia
Books
* ''Sparks'' (Raffi ...
, Maryland, later serving as its administrator.
In 1984. Malooly was appointed director of clergy personnel for the archdiocese, then in 1989 was named chancellor and vicar general. Malooly was elevated by the Vatican in 1990 to the rank of an
honorary prelate
A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour.
They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.
archdiocese
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 associate ...
, serving the thirty-eight
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
, and Washington counties in Maryland.
In 2006, Malooly received the Cardinal Shehan Award from the Archdiocesan Youth Office and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Mount Saint Mary's University. He is also a member of the
Knights of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
On July 7, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Malooly as bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington. He was installed on September 8, 2008. In October 2009, Malooly sought
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
protection for his diocese after obtaining financial settlements with victims of sexual abuse by diocese priests.
Malooly was criticized by some Catholic news outlets for refusing to withhold communion from then Vice President Joseph Biden due to his position on abortion rights for women. On September 25, 2008, Malooly made this comment on the issue:
...I do not intend to get drawn into partisan politics nor do I intend to politicize the Eucharist as a way of communicating Catholic Church teaching, It is critical to keep the lines of communication open if the church is going to make her teachings understood and, please God, accepted.
On November 9, 2011, Malooly co-authored a statement opposing legislation in the Delaware General Assembly to legalized same sex marriage, calling it a threat to religious freedom.
In 2017, Netflix released the documentary series '' The Keepers'', an investigation into the 1969 murder of Sister
Catherine Cesnik
Catherine Anne Cesnik (born November 17, 1942; disappeared November 7, 1969) was an American Catholic religious sister who taught English and drama at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. On November 7, 1969, Cesnik disappea ...
in Baltimore. In 1994, Malooly met with Charles Franz and his mother Denise Franz to discuss their allegations of sexual abuse by Joseph Maskell, a diocese priest, against Charles Franz when he was a minor. In that meeting, Denise Franz said that she had reported Maskell to the archdiocese in 1967. The documentary claims that Malooly falsely denied that claim during the meeting. In an official response, Malooly said he told the Franzes that the archdiocese had no record of that 1967 report on Maskell.
''The Keepers'' also charged that the archdiocese, aware of accusations against Maskell, still allowed him to work at Seton Keough Catholic school from 1968 to 1975, where he abused several dozen children In his statement, Malooly said that he first heard allegations against Maskell in 1992, when Malooly was chancellor of the archdiocese. At that time, the archdiocese removed Maskell from ministry, sent him for treatment and started an investigation. He returned to ministry in 1993 after the archdiocese failed to substantiate the charges against him
Retirement
On Friday, April 30, 2021, Pope Francis accepted Malooly's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, which Malooly had submitted on his 75th Birthday. The pope appointed Monsignor William Koenig as Malooly's successor.https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247470/pope-francis-appoints-new-bishop-of-president-bidens-home-diocese
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