Robert Nugent Lynch

Robert Nugent Lynch (born May 27, 1941) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and the Bishop Emeritus of St. Petersburg, Florida.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Robert Nugent Lynch
Bishop Emeritus of St. Petersburg
ChurchCatholic Church
ArchdioceseMiami
DioceseSt. Petersburg
AppointedDecember 5, 1995
InstalledJanuary 26, 1996
Term endedNovember 27, 2016
PredecessorJohn Clement Favalora
SuccessorGregory Parkes
Orders
OrdinationMay 13, 1978
ConsecrationJanuary 26, 1996
by John Favalora, Edward A. McCarthy, and Paul Marcinkus
Personal details
Born (1941-05-27) May 27, 1941
Charleston, West Virginia
MottoPRO AMICIS SUIS
Styles of
Robert Nugent Lynch
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Lynch was consecrated as the Bishop of St. Petersburg on January 26, 1996 and retired on November 28, 2016.

Biography

Early life

Robert Lynch was born in 1941 in Charleston, West Virginia in 1941.[1] He grew up in Montgomery, West Virginia, to an Irish-American family that expected him to become a priest. Lynch soon entered the Pontifical College Josephinum. However, he found the College to be a dark, rigid place with strict rules and limited communication with his family. Eventually, Lynch dropped out and started working as an English teacher.[2]

Lynch's next job was as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., representing the Ohio Catholic Conference at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).[2] His roommates were priests; their positive actions inspired him to reconsider the priesthood. Lynch entered the Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in May, 1978. [1][2]

Priesthood

On May 13, 1978, Lynch was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Miami in Charleston.[3]

After his ordination, Lynch served as associate pastor of St. James Parish in North Miami, Florida, and rector and president of St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. His last assignment before coming bishop was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as the second pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Parish.[1]

Episcopacy

On December 5, 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed Lynch as the fourth Bishop of St. Petersburg to fill the vacancy left by Archbishop John Favalora. Lynch was consecrated and installed at the Cathedral of Saint Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg on January 26, 1996. Favalora served as Principal Consecrator with Archbishop Edward McCarthy and Archbishop Paul Casimir Marcinkus serving as Principal Co-Consecrators. [3][1]

Lynch served terms as the General Secretary of the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB).

On June 6, 1998, Lynch was appointed as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Palm Beach, while remaining the Bishop of St. Petersburg. He look over after John Paul II removed the existing bishop, Joseph Keith Symons, for sexual abuse crimes. Lynch remained as administrator in Palm Beach until November 12, 1998, when the Pope appointed Bishop Anthony O'Connell to fill the vacancy.

Lynch continued the reorganization and management of the diocese begun under Favalora. He commissioned the building of the Bishop W. Thomas Larkin Pastoral Center, which was dedicated on March 31, 2000 He also took an active role in planning for the future construction of new Catholic high schools, and improvements to the existing schools.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg during Lynch's tenure spent $4.7 million to settle sexual misconduct cases.[4][5]

In 2001, Bill Urbanski, the diocese spokesman, accused Lynch of inappropriate behavior during a business trip. Urbanski said Lynch bought him lavish gifts, forced to him to share a hotel room, grabbed his thigh, and asked Urbanski to photograph him topless for a gag picture. The Diocese denied any wrongdoing and paid Urbanski $100,000 severance. Lynch apologized for his actions.[2]

Retirement

Pope Francis accepted his resignation on November 28, 2016 and named Gregory Parkes as his successor.

See also

References
  1. "Biography of Bishop Emeritus Robert N. Lynch". Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  2. "Bishop Robert Nugent Lynch, at retirement, reflects on church scandals, lessons learned". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  3. "Bishop Robert Nugent Lynch [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  4. "Diocese of St. Petersburg spends $4.7M to settle sexual misconduct cases". Tampa Bay Business Journal. June 2, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  5. "Sex abuse settlements cost diocese $4.7 million". Tampa Bay Online. June 2, 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.