Rembert Weakland

The Most Reverend  Rembert George Weakland O.S.B.
Archbishop Emeritus of Milwaukee
See	Milwaukee
Enthroned	November 8, 1977
Reign ended	May 24, 2002 (&1000000000000002400000024 years, &10000000000000197000000197 days)
Predecessor	William Edward Cousins †
Successor	Timothy Dolan
Other posts	Abbot Primate of Benedictine Confederation (1967–1977)
Orders
Ordination	June 24, 1951
Consecration	November 8, 1977
Personal details
Born	April 2, 1927 (1927-04-02) Patton, Pennsylvania
Nationality	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Basil and Mary (née Kane) Weakland
Alma mater	St. Vincent College St. Vincent Seminary International Benedictine College Juilliard School Columbia University

Rembert George Weakland (born April 2, 1927) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002. He is the author of A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop, which explores Church reform issues, his homosexuality, and the child abuse crisis. In May 2009, Weakland came out as gay. In 2002, shortly before his retirement, Weakland paid $450,000 of diocesan funds to a former lover to prevent a lawsuit.

Life

Weakland was born in Patton, Pennsylvania, to Basil (1897–1932) and Mary (née Kane, 1898–1978) Weakland. One of six children, he has four sisters, Leora, Elizabeth, Barbara, and Marian; and one brother, William. He attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Patton, and then studied at St. Vincent College and St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.

Priesthood

In 1945, he entered the novitiate of the Order of St. Benedict, more commonly known as the Benedictines, at St. Vincent Archabbey. Taking the name Rembert, he made his solemn profession as a Benedictine monk on September 29, 1949, at Solesmes Abbey in France. He studied theology at the International Benedictine College in Rome.

On June 24, 1951, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Simone Salvi, O.S.B., in Subiaco, Italy. He furthered his studies in music in Italy, France, and Germany, as well as at both the Juilliard School and Columbia University in New York. From 1957 to 1963, he taught music at his alma mater of St. Vincent College.

Weakland was elected Coadjutor Archabbot of St. Vincent Archabbey on June 26, 1963, and received the Solemn Blessing of an Archabbot from Bishop William G. Connare of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on August 29, 1963. Following this, he became the Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of St. Vincent College. On May 8, 1964, he received a papal appointment as Consultor to the Commission for Implementing the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council and was appointed a Member of that Commission in 1968.

He was elevated to abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation on September 29, 1967, a position he held until 1977. At this time he became Chancellor of the International Benedictine College of Sant'Anselmo, Rome, Italy. He was reelected to a second term as Abbot Primate in September, 1973. He served as a member of the Council of Superiors General from 1968 until 1977. In 1968, Weakland administered Last Rites to the body of Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton in Thailand, whose body was flown back to Gethsemani monastery in Kentucky, where Merton is buried.

Archbishop of Milwaukee

On September 20, 1977, Pope Paul VI appointed Weakland Archbishop of Milwaukee. He was consecrated bishop on November 8, in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist by Archbishop Jean Jadot.

On December 21, 1999, he defended and received a Ph.D. in Musicology – "with distinction" – from Columbia University, New York, for his research and thesis on "The Office Antiphons of the Ambrosian Chant".

Weakland retired as Archbishop in 2002. In July 2009, he published his memoirs under the title of A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop dealing with the issues of ongoing Church reform, his own sexuality, and the child abuse crisis. In May 2009, Weakland came out as gay – one of the most senior Catholic clergymen to do so.

Public controversies

Handling of priest abuse scandal

In 1984, Weakland responded to teachers in a Catholic school who were reporting sexual abuse by local priests by stating "any libellous material found in your letter will be scrutinized carefully by our lawyers." The Wisconsin Court of Appeals rebuked him for this, calling his remarks "abrupt" and "insensitive." In 1994, Weakland said those reporting sexual abuse were "squealing." He later apologized for the remarks.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a deposition released in 2009 reveals that Weakland shredded reports about sexual abuse by priests.

Liturgical agenda

Weakland served as President of the Church Music Association of America. According to an account by Richard Schuler, a split emerged very quickly, with Weakland taking sharp exception to the "reactionary attitudes in liturgical thinking" that he said were present at the Consociato meeting. He gave interviews to the press in which he regretted the failure of the meetings to include modern music and dancing in its liturgical agenda. His views did not prevail within the CMAA, and so his presidency did not last.

Theological dissent

In 2000, Weakland was a critic of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's document Dominus Iesus on religious relativism.

Cathedral renovation

One of his last major actions as archbishop was effecting a controversial renovation of the historic Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee.

Sex scandal and retirement

Weakland retired on May 24, 2002 at the mandatory retirement age of 75. Weakland's retirement was overshadowed by revelations that he paid $450,000 of diocesan funds to a former lover to prevent a lawsuit. Despite allegations of grand theft/embezzlement of archdiocesan funds, Weakland was never criminally prosecuted for the felony. The "disgraced" Weakland continues to reside in Milwaukee and his living expenses continue to be covered by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

External links

• the Roman Catholic Archdiosese of Milwawkee's web page for Archbishop Weakland
• The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee's biography of Archbishop Weakland
• Works by or about Rembert Weakland in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Preceded by William Edward Cousins

Archbishop of Milwaukee 1977–2002

Succeeded by Timothy Michael Dolan