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Outspokenly Orthodox, Pro-life Archbishop Takes Over in Vancouver Diocese

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

VANCOUVER, January 6, 2008 (LifeSIteNews.com) - The Archdiocese of Vancouver has announced that Coadjutor Archbishop J. Michael Miller will assume pastoral responsibility for the archdiocese following the retirement of Archbishop Raymond Roussin.

Archbishop Miller is well-known for his orthodoxy, including on the life and family issues, and is a specialist on the Papacy and on Catholic higher education, having served as the Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, which oversees norms for seminaries, Catholic universities and colleges, and Catholic schools. He served in this position from 2003 until being appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Vancouver in 2007.

During his tenure as the Vatican's number two education official, Archbishop Miller spoke fervently on the need to keep Catholic universities, especially those in the US, faithful to Church teaching.

Addressing officials and faculty at the University of Notre Dame in 2005, Archbishop Miller expressed his support for Pope Benedict XVI's thoughts on "evangelical pruning" of secularized Catholic colleges and universities, declaring them no longer Catholic if they no longer adhere to the Magisterium.

In a 1997 article published in Our Sunday Visitor, the archbishop, who was not yet elevated to the episcopate, wrote a strongly worded defense of Humanae Vitae, in which he denounced abortion, artificial reproductive technologies, euthanasia and infanticide.

“This ‘truly alarming spectacle’ of assaults on life is lent support by broad strata of public opinion which now justify violence against life,” he wrote. “Human beings are attacked at the dawn and dusk of life. Often such actions are no longer held to be ‘crimes,’ but are claimed as ‘rights.’ Many demand not only exemption from punishment for these offenses but also state authorization and financing.”
 
He concluded, saying, “Cain’s murderous act is repeated daily. The ill, handicapped, or ‘burdensome’ pose a threat to a comfortable way of life. These unwanted individuals, born and unborn, are regarded as ‘enemies’ to be defended against, and even destroyed.”

Archbishop Miller is a prolific writer, having published seven books and more than 100 scholarly, popular and journalistic articles, and has received honorary doctorates from St. Michael’s College (Vermont), University of Dallas (Texas), University of St. Thomas (Texas), University of Steubenville (Ohio) and the Australian Catholic University (Sydney).

His books include The Shepherd and the Rock: Origins, Development, and Mission of the Papacy (1995), and the Encyclicals of John Paul II (2nd ed., 2001).

Archbishop Miller has chosen the motto Veritati Servire (To Serve the Truth) for his Coat of Arms.

See related LifeSiteNews.com articles:

Vatican Education Official Warns Dissenting Catholic Colleges May Lose 'Catholic' Status
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/nov/05110302.html

Pope Benedict Insists Catholic Universities Remain Faithful to Church Teaching
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/nov/05112504.html

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