Greetings! A couple of things I wanted to share with you all. First of all, some of you may have heard, but another priest of our Archdiocese of Dubuque has been selected to become a bishop! This is the third one in the last seven years! Fr. Scott Bullock, who most recently has been serving as pastor of St. Edward’s in Waterloo, has been selected to be the bishop of Rapids City, South Dakota.
It is a bittersweet thing. He is a good man and a good priest, who will greatly be missed from the Archdiocese. On a more personal level, he was the rector of my college seminary, and also has been a good mentor and friend since I’ve been ordained a priest. Thus he has been a formative part of my vocational journey from the beginning. But while he will be greatly missed (by myself, and by the Archdiocese), I think he will make a very good and holy bishop. He will be a blessing to the Church of Rapid City! And I am grateful and inspired to know that it is men like him who are becoming bishops.
On a different subject regarding bishops. The Iowa Bishops recently released a joint statement regarding some recent legislation about abortion in Iowa. Below is their statement
Peace,
-Fr. Kevin
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We celebrate that the Iowa Supreme Court has recognized there is no right to an abortion to be found in the Iowa Constitution and, in so doing, has lifted an injunction against the law that would prohibit abortions after a heartbeat can be detected.
As Pope Francis has said, “Let us respect and love human life, especially vulnerable life in a mother’s womb.” For us, this is a question of the common good and human dignity. Human life is precious and should be protected in our laws to the greatest extent possible. As a state and as a society, we should commit ourselves to working for the protection of all vulnerable populations from violence – wherever individuals and groups are at risk.
We urge people of good will in Iowa both to work for an end to the practice of abortion and to join us in tireless, unremitting and compassionate solidarity with pregnant women in distress, with the men who fathered these children, and with families in need.
Most Rev. Thomas Zinkula, Archbishop of Dubuque
Most Rev. R. Walker Nickless, Bishop of Sioux City
Most Rev. William Joensen, Bishop of Des Moines
Very Rev. Kenneth Kuntz, Diocesan Administrator, Diocese of Davenport
