Leo Aloysius Pursley (March 12, 1902 – November 15, 1998) was an American clergyman 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 Fort Wayne-South Bend 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 ...

in Indiana from 1956 to 1976.

Biography

Early life

Leo Pursley was born on March 12, 1902, in Hartford City,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, to Alexander Nelson and Mary Jeanette (née Sloan) Pursley. His father was a local Democratic politician and delegate to the

1940 Democratic National Convention The 1940 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 15 to July 18, 1940. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term. Secretary o ...

. He studied at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Priesthood

Pursley 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 ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Fort Wayne on June 11, 1927 by Bishop John Noll. After his ordination, Pursley served in the following assignments in Indiana parishes: * Curate at St. Mary in

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

* Curate at St. Lawrence in

Muncie Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf It is located in ...

* Curate at St. Patrick in Fort Wayne * Pastor of Sacred Heart in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

* Pastor of St. John the Baptist in Fort Wayne

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend

On July 22, 1950, Pursley was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of ''Hadrianopolis in Pisidia'' by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on September 19, 1950, from Archbishop

Amleto Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. C ...

, with Bishops Noll and Joseph M. Marling serving as co-consecrators. Following the death of Bishop Noll, Pursley was named bishop of what was now the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend on December 29, 1956. His installation took place at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne on February 26, 1957. Pursley attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

in Rome from 1962 to 1965.

Retirement and legacy

On August 24, 1976,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

accepted Pursley's resignation as bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Leo Pursley died in Fort Wayne on November 15, 1998, at age 96. In 2008, it was revealed in court papers that Pursley in 1972 wrote to Bishop John Marshall of the

Diocese of Burlington The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington ( la, Dioecesis Burlingtonensis) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States, comprising the entire state of Vermont. The Diocese of Burlington was canonically e ...

about Edward Paquette, a priest of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Paquette wanted to transfer to

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. Pursley warned Marshall that Paquette had been accused of molesting boys and should, if accepted in Vermont, be kept away from children. Marshall allowed Paquette to transfer, but ignored Pursley's advice. In 2008, the Diocese of Burlington paid out a $8.7 million settlement to a Vermont

sexual abuse 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 assa ...

victim of Paquette.

References