THE
P RTAL
January 2016
Page 7
Bishop-Elect Steven Lopes
Recently the Vatican announced the first Episcopal appointment
of a new Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the
Chair of St Peter in the USA and
Canada, and Ronald Crane had
this exclusive interview with the
Bishop-Elect for The Portal.
B
ishop Elect Steven Lopes is a native of
Fremont, California. He is forty years of age
and the only child of José de Oliveira Lopes and
Barbara Jane Lopes. Educated at Catholic schools,
including the St Ignatius Institute at the University
of San Francisco, he also studied at the University of
Innsbruck in Austria. Preparation for the priesthood
was at St Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California,
and the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
He earned a licentiate at the Pontifical Gregorian
University. He was ordained a priest on June 23,
2001, for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith
As a priest, he served in two parishes in California,
before returning to Rome, where he obtained a
doctorate in sacred theology from the Gregorian
University. Since 2005, he has been an official of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, while also
serving as a professor of theology at the Gregorian.
During this time, Bishop Lopes served as executive
assistant to Cardinal William Levada, who was prefect
for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith from
2005 to 2012. He was named a monsignor in 2010.
them. In that sense it is business as usual. We do
our bit to help placing the Ordinariates in the very
centre of Catholic life. We need to grow individually
and as a group, just like any diocese gathered around
their bishop. Anglicanorum Coetibus is clear that the
Ordinariates are to contribute to the vitality of the
whole Church, which begins by nurturing vibrant,
evangelising communities.
“Appointing a Bishop as Ordinary underscores
this, and the appointment shows a desire to give the
From 2012 until his appointment as Bishop of the Ordinariates permanence and stability. They are
Chair of Saint Peter, he served as the secretary of the important as a permanent part of the Catholic Church
Vatican commission Anglicanae Traditiones, which was and not merely a Way Station.
formed with the goal of developing Divine Worship
for the three Personal Ordinariates.
“The three Ordinariates work closely together.
There are warm relations between them. Both the
I began the interview: “Father, thank you for agreeing other Ordinaries will be here in February, not just for
to this interview, we are most grateful. Tell me, what is my Episcopal ordination, but for one of the regular
your view about the Ordinariates and their place in the meetings between them. There will be no change to
wider Catholic Church?”
that relationship.”
Anglicanae Traditiones
no difference from the local dioceses
future leadership will be episcopal
Speaking on the telephone from Houston, Texas,
I asked if his appointment heralded a change in
he said, “On one level, there is no difference between policy for the Ordinariates.
our Ordinariates and the local dioceses. Our priests,
like all priests, are committed to growing their
Bishop Lopes replied, “No. But it does show that the
congregations and contributing to the Church around future leadership will be episcopal.”
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