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James Timlin

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

James Clifford Timlin
Bishop Emeritus of Scranton
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
DioceseScranton
AppointedApril 24, 1984
InstalledJune 7, 1984
Term endedJuly 25, 2003
PredecessorJohn Joseph O'Connor
SuccessorJoseph Francis Martino
Previous post(s)
Orders
OrdinationJuly 16, 1951
by Martin John O'Connor
ConsecrationSeptember 21, 1976
by J. Carroll McCormick, John R. Quinn, and Stanley Joseph Ott
Personal details
Born (1927-08-05) August 5, 1927 (age 97)
Scranton, Pennsylvania

James Clifford Timlin (born August 5, 1927) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Scranton from 1984 to 2003. Timlin was accused in a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report of covering up sexual abuse crimes by priests in his diocese while bishop.

Career

Early years

Timlin was born in 1927 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to James and Helen (née Norton) Timlin.[1] He received his elementary education at St. John the Evangelist Grade School in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Holy Rosary Grade School in Scranton. He then attended Holy Rosary High School. After high school, Timlin attended St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland and St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore He then studied at the Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Priesthood

On July 16, 1951, Timlin was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Martin J. O'Connor.[2] After earning his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the Gregorian University,[3] Timlin was appointed as assistant pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pittston, Pennsylvania, in 1952.

Timlin then served as assistant pastor of St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton from 1953 to 1966, when he was named assistant chancellor of the diocese and private secretary to Bishop J. Carroll McCormick.[1] Timlin was raised to the rank of chaplain to his holiness on August 3, 1967, and became chancellor of the diocese on December 15, 1971. Timlin was honored as a prelate of honor of his holiness on April 23, 1972.[1] He also served as chairman of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and the Priests' Education Committee, as well as librarian and secretary of St. Pius X Seminary in Dalton, Pennsylvania. Timlin became a member of the Diocesan Board of Consultors in 1972, and president of the board of directors of The Catholic Light in 1975.[1]

Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton

On July 26, 1976, Pope Paul VI appointed Timlin as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Scranton and titular bishop of Gunugus.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on September 21, 1976, from Bishop McCormick, with Archbishop John R. Quinn and Bishop Stanley J. Ott serving as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.[2] Serving a five-year term as episcopal moderator of the National Association of Holy Name Societies, Timlin became vicar general of the diocese in 1976 and pastor of the Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Scranton in 1979.[1] In 1983, Timlin was named chairman of the board of advisors of St. Pius X Seminary and of the Preparatory Commission for the Diocesan Synod.

Bishop of Scranton

On April 24, 1984, Pope John Paul II appointed Timlin as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Scranton.[2] Installed on June 7, 1984, he was the first native of Scranton to become its diocesan bishop.[4] During his tenure, Timlin held the Second Diocesan Synod, established the "Bishop's Annual Appeal", presided over a major restructuring of parishes due to the priest shortage, and introduced a new policy for Catholic schools consisting of regional mergers, construction of modern facilities, new fund-raising efforts, and a more equitable sharing of operational costs between parents, pastors, and the diocese.[4]

On March 14, 1985, Timlin announced that he would not attend two events honoring Catholic congressmen because he did not agree with their stands on abortion rights for women. The first event was honoring Democratic House Representative Peter W. Rodino Jr. at a St. Patrick's Day dinner in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The second event was the awarding of an honorary degree to Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill Jr. at a commencement ceremony at the University of Scranton.[5] In 2003, Timlin refused to attend the commencement ceremonies for the University of Scranton, because of what he viewed as the pro-choice stands of honorary degree-recipient Chris Matthews.[6][7]

Retirement

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2002, Timlin sent his letter of resignation as bishop of Scranton to Pope Benedict XVI; the pope accepted it on July 25, 2003.[2] Timlin then served as administrator of St. Joseph's Parish in Wilkes-Barre from February to July 2004, when he became rector of Villa St. Joseph in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, the diocesan residence for retired priests.[1]

Main article: Grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania

On August 14, 2018, a Pennsylvania grand Jury investigation criticized Timlin's handling of sexual abuse allegations against Thomas Skotek, a priest at St Casimir Parish in Freeland, Pennsylvania. Between 1980 and 1985, Skotek had raped and eventually impregnated a teenage girl in the parish. In October 1986, after Timlin learned about the crime, he sent Skotek to Saint Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, for psychological evaluation. Timlin wrote to Skotek at Saint Luke on October 9, 1986:

"This is a very difficult time in your life, and I realize how upset you are. I share your grief. (...) With the help of God, who never abandons us and who is always near, when we need him, this too will pass away, and all will be able to pick up and go on living. Please be assured that I am most willing to do whatever I can do to help."[8]

In 1987, after Skotek returned to the diocese, Timlin reassigned him to St. Aloysius Parish in Wilkes-Barre. Timlin never notified parishioners in St. Aloysius or civil authorities about Skotek's rape of the girl. On December 13, 1989, the diocese sent a payment of $75,000 to the family of the rape victim. As part of the settlement, the family had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and liability waiver for both the diocese and Skotek.[8] The 2018 grand jury investigation also indicated that Timlin sent a request to the judge sentencing Robert Caparelli, another priest convicted of sexual abuse, asking that he be sent to a church treatment center instead of prison.[9] On June 11, 2020, the University of Scranton removed Timlin's name from all of its facilities, renaming its plaza Romero Plaza, after Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero.[10]

On August 31, 2018, Scranton Bishop Joseph Bambera forbade Timlin from representing the diocese at any public events, liturgical or otherwise. This was the strongest action that Bambera could take against Timlin. Bambera also referred the Timlin case to the Vatican Congregation for Bishops.[11] Bambera had served as the vicar for priests for the diocese from 1995 to 1998, and he later admitted helping Timlin reassign a priest who had abused a minor, although Timlin made the decision.[11]

On November 12, 2018, Timlin defied Bambera's order by attending the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) general assembly in Baltimore.[12] On February 25, 2020, Timlin again defied Bambera by attending the installation mass of Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, dressed in bishop's regalia. A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia confirmed that they had invited Timlin to the mass.[13]

Timlin, Bambera and the Diocese of Scranton were sued in July 2020 by three men claiming sexual abuse when they were minors by diocese priests. Two plaintiffs alleged abuse by Michael J. Pulicare, a priest in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the 1970's. The third plaintiff said he was abused by Ralph N. Ferraldo, an assistant pastor at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, from 1982 to 1983.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Learn About the Bishop". Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton. Archived from the original on 2009-08-21.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Bishop James Clifford Timlin". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.[self-published source]
  3. ^ "Bishop James Timlin's Resignation Accepted, Bishop Joseph Martino Named to Scranton". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2003-07-25.
  4. ^ a b "Bishop James C. Timlin: 1984–2003". Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton. Archived from the original on 2009-09-05.
  5. ^ "CATHOLIC BISHOP WON'T JOIN SCRANTON HONORS FOR O'NEILL". The New York Times. 1985-03-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  6. ^ "Catholic Bishops and Sex Abuse". Dallas News.
  7. ^ "Letters to Bishop Timlin". College of Saint Justin Martyr. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11.
  8. ^ a b 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, REPORT 1 Interim --Redacted (PDF), p. 286, retrieved 2018-08-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, REPORT 1 Interim --Redacted (PDF), pp. 277–78, retrieved 2018-08-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "University of Scranton stripping Scranton bishops' names from buildings", from The Scranton Times-Tribune
  11. ^ a b Michael Rubinkam (September 5, 2018). "As bishop looks on, abusive Father Ned gets a new assignment". Crux. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Leader, Times (2018-11-12). "Embattled ex-bishop Timlin defies diocese, attends national conference". Times Leader. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  13. ^ Kohut, Joseph. "Barred from representing Scranton diocese, Timlin attends new archbishop installation". Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  14. ^ "Three claim abuse by priests in lawsuits filed in Lackawanna County". wnep.com. July 10, 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-16.

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Scranton
1984–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
–
 Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton
1976–1984 		Succeeded by
–
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