George Hugh Niederauer | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of San Francisco | |
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| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Archdiocese | San Francisco |
| Appointed | December 15, 2005 |
| Installed | February 15, 2006 |
| Term ended | July 27, 2012 |
| Predecessor | William Levada |
| Successor | Salvatore J. Cordileone |
| Previous post |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | April 30, 1962 by James Francis Aloysius McIntyre |
| Consecration | January 25, 1995 by Roger Mahony,William Levada, andTod Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1936-06-14)June 14, 1936 |
| Died | May 2, 2017(2017-05-02) (aged 80) |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Education | Stanford University St. John's Seminary Catholic University of America inWashington, D.C. Loyola Marymount University University of Southern California |
| Motto | To serve and to give |
| Styles of George Hugh Niederauer | |
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| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
George Hugh Niederauer (June 14, 1936 – May 2, 2017) was an American prelate of theRoman Catholic Church. He served as thearchbishop of San Francisco in California from 2005 to 2012. Before that, Niederauer served asbishop of Salt Lake City in Utah from 1994 to 2005.
George Niederauer was born on June 14, 1936 inLos Angeles, California, the only child of George and Elaine Niederauer. He attendedSt. Catherine's Military School in Anaheim, California, and thenSt. Anthony High School in Long Beach, California; he was a classmate of future CardinalWilliam Levada.
After graduating from highs school in 1954, he attendedStanford University in Stanford, California. During his freshman year, Niederauer decided to enter the priesthood. He enrolled atSt. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1959. He further completed his studies with aBachelor of Sacred Theology degree from theCatholic University of America inWashington, D.C., and aMaster of Arts degree in English literature fromLoyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in 1962. Niederauer also earned a Ph.D. inEnglish Literature at theUniversity of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Niederauer wasordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at St. Vibiana Cathedral in Los Angeles on April 30, 1962 by CardinalJames Francis Aloysius McIntyre.[1] The Vatican elevated Niederauer to the rank ofhonorary prelate of his holiness in 1984. Niederauer served as rector of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo from 1987 to 1992.[2]
Niederauer was appointed the eighth bishop of Salt Lake City byPope John Paul II on November 3, 1994. Niederauer received hisepiscopal consecration at theCathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 25, 1995, from CardinalRoger Mahony, with ArchbishopWilliam Levada and BishopTod David Brown serving asco-consecrators. In a 2013 article, Gary Topping described Niederauer as;
"the most approachable of persons and one whose homilies were almost magical in their ability to make potentially difficult Scripture passages and theological concepts comprehensible and applicable – even inspiring – in our daily lives."[3]
On December 15, 2005,Pope Benedict XVI named Niederauer as archbishop of San Francisco. Niederauer was the chairman of theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Communication, and a member of thePontifical Council for Social Communications.[4]On 2011, Niederauer underwent emergency double bypass cardiac surgery.[5]
On July 27, 2012, Niederauer resigned as archbishop of San Francisco.[6] Niederauer died in San Raphael, California, on May 2, 2017, at age 80.[1]
In 2008, Niederauer campaigned in favor of California'sProposition 8, a ballot measure to recognize heterosexual marriage as the only valid form of marriage. Niederauer claimed to have been instrumental in forging alliances between Catholics andMormons to support the measure. Wrote theSan Francisco Chronicle,
"Niederauer drew inthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and proved to be a critical move in building a multi-religious coalition—the backbone of the fundraising, organizing and voting support for the successful ballot measure. By bringing together Mormons and Catholics, Niederauer would align the two most powerful religious institutions in the Prop. 8 battle."[7]
In 2006, Niederauer said in an interview that he had seen the 2005 filmBrokeback Mountain, and gave this analysis of it;
"I thought it was very powerful, and I probably had a different take on it than a lot of people did.... It was a story not only about the relationship between the two principal characters, but very much a cluster of relationships... And I think in all of that one of the lessons is the destructiveness of not being honest with yourself, and not being honest with other people – and not being faithful, trying to live a double life, and what that does to each of the lives you try to live."[8]
In 2006, Niederauer spoke aboutsexual abstinence in an interview,
"Our belief is that we have to hold up the standard ofabstinence, and we do that in all of our teaching about sexuality by saying that sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong. Now that's a very high bar to set and I understand that. And I don't regret that – I subscribe to it and I teach it. I understand why people find it difficult and disagree with it. I understand why they do. I don't agree with them.... What I would say is that people who disagree with us can disagree without being disagreeable."[8]
"Authentic moral teaching is based on objective truth, not polling."[9]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Archbishop of San Francisco 2006–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Salt Lake City 1995–2005 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
