PETERBOROUGH, Ontario, April 10, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vatican announced this week that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Peterborough Bishop Nicola De Angelis, a prelate known for his vigorous promotion of Catholic teachings on life and family.
De Angelis, who served the diocese for 12 years, had offered his resignation upon reaching the age of 75, as required by the Code of Canon Law. The Vatican has announced that he will be replaced by the Most Reverend William Terrence McGrattan, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto.
A regular attendee at the National March for Life in Ottawa, De Angelis celebrated one of the Masses at the march in 2012, and encouraged pro-lifers to don their God-given “courage,” a courage, he said, which stands for life, “not counting the cost or the dangers of being arrested, ridiculed or mocked.”
He recounted that he was confronted at a previous March for Life by pro-abortion activists. He explained that he was “walking too slow” to keep up with the crowd of pro-life youth and was eventually approached by other young people who began shouting and yelling at him from the sidewalk. A few came right up to him saying, “Bishop, what authority do you, the Bishops of the Church have to tell us what to do with our bodies?”
Quoting Pope John Paul II, the bishop responded that, “to be Catholic is to be unconditionally pro-life,” and peacefully told the group confronting him, “My friends, we cannot be neutral or remain as mere spectators. Every crime against life is an attack on Peace. Let’s respect and defend life and we will have peace.”
Bishop De Angelis has also encouraged the faithful to be aware of the importance of supporting candidates who declare themselves to be pro-life and in favor of the traditional family when voting in elections, and to support these candidates not only with their votes but by actively participating in campaigns and the electoral process.
During his tenure in Peterborough, the bishop was no stranger to controversy and has consistently upheld the teachings and moral authority of the Catholic Church.
In 2005 he defended the Church’s constant on the male-only priesthood when he had to sanction a Catholic priest who publicly praised a mock “ordination” of women that took place on a boat on the St. Lawrence River and afterward refused to withdraw his support for women's ordination.
In an official statement at the time, Bishop De Angelis said that Father Edward Cachia was given over two months to reconsider his position but “sadly,” said the release, “has chosen to remain attached to positions contrary to the teachings of the church.”
The priest's refusal “now renders him unfit to serve the Catholic people in the leadership role of priest,” stated Bishop De Angelis.
Click “like” to support Catholics Restoring the Culture!
More recently Bishop De Angelis faced a human rights complaint after barring an open homosexual from acting as an altar server.
The complaint was filed with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal by Jim Corcoran, owner of a health spa in Grafton, Ontario, on June 17th, 2009 following the bishop's decision that April. Alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation, Corcoran was seeking $25,000 in damages from the bishop, and $20,000 each from 12 of his fellow parishioners at St. Michael's Parish in Cobourg.
The parishioners had written a letter to the bishop about Corcoran's service on the altar, citing a risk of public scandal because it was known that Corcoran lived with his same-sex partner.
The bishop and the parishioners were required to explain themselves to the Tribunal in written responses, which they did.
However, after Bishop De Angelis invited Corcoran to a meeting “in the spirit of peace and reconciliation,” in the bishop’s chancery office, the complainant withdrew his complaint “with no terms or conditions being requested or imposed on anyone.”
“Following their meeting Bishop De Angelis and Mr. Corcoran prayed together and thanked God for his blessings,” reported the diocesan bulletin when the situation was resolved.
The case was believed to be the first in Canada to be accepted by a human rights tribunal that related to the internal governance of the Church.
Following LifeSiteNews' investigative reports which found the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P), the official development arm of the Canadian bishops conference, to be funding pro-abortion groups, Bishop De Angelis was one of only a few of bishops who announced restrictions on funding D&P from his diocese until investigations by the CCCB were complete.
In a letter to pastors and parishioners that followed the revelations about D&P almost immediately, Bishop De Angelis said that while the Lenten collection would go ahead as planned, “money will not be sent on to Development and Peace until the investigation is complete and allegations are found to have no substance.”
Moreover, the bishop said that, “If allegations are found to be true, money collected will be sent to another charity operating in the Third World that is faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Bishop De Angelis was born January 23, 1939 in Pozzaglia Sabina, Italy. He came to Canada at the end of the 1960s and was ordained a priest in 1970.
After serving in two Toronto parishes, he served as Vice Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Toronto from 1980 to 1984. From 1984 to 1992, he served in Rome as general treasurer and then general superior of his religious community, the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1992 he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, and then appointed Bishop of Peterborough on December 28, 2002.
In his letter to the faithful announcing both his retirement and the appointment of his successor, Bishop De Angelis said, “On behalf of the faithful and the clergy of this diocese I welcome the new shepherd, Bishop McGrattan and assure him of the prayers and loving support of those who wonderfully make up this diocese.”
Letters of thanks and best wishes may be sent to Bishop De Angelis at the Chancery office of the Diocese of Peterborough:
350 Hunter Street West – Box 175
Peterborough, ON, K9J 6Y8
[email protected]