Fabian Bruskewitz

Fabian Wendelin Bruskewitz (born September 6, 1935 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska. He has held that post since 1992. He is considered one of the most conservative bishops in the church.

He was educated in Milwaukee's St. Wenceslaus parochial school, and pursued sacred studies first at St. Lawrence Seminary, then followed by Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee,, the Pontifical North American College and the Gregorian University in Rome [http://www.dioceseoflincoln.org/brown/Bishop_curriculum.htm] . He was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on July 17, 1960. After a brief period teaching seminary, he spent eleven years in Rome with the Congregation for Catholic Education, a department of the Holy See. March 24, 1992, he was appointed Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln and was consecrated on May 13, 1992. [ [http://catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbrus.html Bishop Fabian Wendelin Bruskewitz] , [http://catholic-hierarchy.org catholic-hierarchy.org] ]

The Catholic News Agency holds up his Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska as a model for all dioceses who are seeking vocations; [ [http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=5252 Priestly shortage? Not in Lincoln] Catholic News Agency] . Msgr Timothy Thorburn attributes the success in vocations to the bishop's fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church and to the Roman Pontiff. [ [http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/1993/sep1993p4_808.html Lincoln, Nebraska - how to fill seminaries with vocations] - Fr T.I. Thorburn, AD2000, Vol 6 No 8 (September 1993), p. 4]

Bishop Bruskewitz has also published a book entitled "Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz: A Shepherd Speaks". [ [http://www.ignatius.com/ViewProduct.aspx?SID=1&Product_ID=41&SKU=BFB-P& Ignatius Press] Description of the book "Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz: A Shepherd Speaks"]

Controversies

Bruskewitz is willing to express himself forcefully, and is occasionally at odds with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, for example, speaking with contempt of the former president of Pace University in rejecting the inquiries concerning his plans to implement national guidelines on sex-abuse programs [http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=43317] by a body recognized by them:

"Some woman named Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, who is the chair of something called 'A National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People,' has said that her board 'calls for strong fraternal correction of the Diocese of Lincoln.' The Diocese of Lincoln has nothing to be corrected for, since the Diocese of Lincoln is and has always been in full compliance with all laws of the Catholic Church and with all civil laws. Furthermore, Ewers and her board have no authority in the Catholic Church and the Diocese of Lincoln does not recognize them as having any significance." [http://www.all.org/article.php?id=10776] .

The issue brought his diocese to national attention. Bruskewitz was the only one out of 195 US Catholic Bishops who met in Dallas in June, 2002, who refused to sign The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. As clergy abuse victim Rob Butler stated: "This guy is a greedy sociopath who could care less if children get raped." [http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/04/25/values/doc444d5a572efb8981944197.txt]

His declaration that he would deny the eucharist to 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry was seen by some as a politicization of a matter of moral theology [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/04/11/a_debate_simmers_over_kerry_and_the_eucharist/]

His is the last dioceseFact|date=August 2008 in the United States to ban female altar servers.

He gained national attention [ [http://sfbayc.org/magazine/html/sfbay__today_show_interview_-_.htm The Televised Today Show Interview Segment] ] in 1996 in the United States for asserting that membership, by Catholics within his diocese, in the groups listed below, which are, "totally incompatible with the Catholic Faith" would incur automatic excommunication. [ [http://sfbayc.org/magazine/html/sfbay_catholic__nebraska_excom.htm SFBay Catholic: Current Issues In Catholicism] Contains the text of the warning of excommunication]

* The reform Catholic group Call to Action and its Nebraska affiliate Call to Action Nebraska [ [http://sfbayc.org/magazine/html/sfbay__call_to_action_press_re.htm Call To Action press release] ]
* The abortion provider Planned Parenthood and its affiliate Catholics for a Free Choice
* The Society of St. Pius X and its chapel in Lincoln (Saint Michael the Archangel Chapel) [ [http://www.sspx.org/diocesan_dialogues.htm#lincoln DIOCESAN DIALOGUES with the SSPX and its adherents in the USA] , SSPX USA website]
* The Freemasons and their affiliate organisations, Job's Daughters, DeMolay, Eastern Star and Rainbow Girls
* The pro-euthanasia Hemlock Society (now renamed Compassion & Choices)

His pronouncement was appealed. However, in 2006, the ruling was upheld on appeal to Rome by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re [ [http://www.cwnews.com/offtherecord/offtherecord.cfm?task=singledisplay&recnum=3974 the call stands: runner is out] , Off The Record, Catholic World News] [ [http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=48072 Vatican confirms excommunication for US dissident group] , Catholic World News]

References