Thursday, September 26, 2013

Bishop Fabre readying for his new assignment in Houma Thibodaux

New bishop ready to lead: Personal motto is: 'Comfort my people'                          
        

Posted: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 1:57 pm | Updated: 3:10 pm, Wed Sep 25, 2013.
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s new spiritual shepherd is a Louisiana-born cleric with a reputation for approachability, who has handled difficult assignments in the past and says he is ready to take on the task of tending to the needs of the region’s estimated 126,000 Catholics. Bishop Shelton Fabre will officially take charge Oct. 30, succeeding Bishop Sam Jacobs, who is retiring after serving in the post for decade. Fabre’s last assignment was as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
The Houma-Thibodaux diocese includes the civil parishes of Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary.
“I rejoice in the opportunity to become a part of this local church and this unique area of our state of Louisiana,” Fabre said. “The varied natural beauty that abounds in this diocese is reflective of the beauty of the rich cultural diversity of our church, and of the glory of the Lord God who created it all.”
The statement was made as part of the Monday announcement that Fabre was appointed by Pope Francis, following notification of pending retirement from Jacobs that was sent to the Vatican in March. Jacobs had reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops of 75 years, mandating a search for a successor.
Local priests said they were not aware of the appointment – or the imminent departure of Jacobs – until Monday morning, when both he and Fabre made their joint announcement at the diocesan headquarters on La. Highway 311 in Schriever.
Fabre himself is a living example of the diversity he mentioned in his statement. He is the first black bishop to serve in the diocese.
“I believe that he is the right person at this time of the life of this great diocese,” Jacobs said of Fabre. “At this point in my lifetime, I know it is time for me to pass the torch of administration and embrace more fully the priestly ministry I was ordained for. My plans are to live in Houma and continue to serve the church until the Lord calls me to Him.”
Jacobs said he has known Fabre since his ordination to the bishopric in New Orleans, and that what he knows of Fabre leaves no doubt that the diocese is being left in good hands.
As Bishop Emeritus, Jacobs will perform all priestly functions including celebration of mass.
He will no longer be responsible for administrative functions – duties he said he is not sad to leave behind – including overseeing the organization’s budget.
Last year, according to its financial report, the total revenues of the diocese topped $15 million.
Its assets include more than $58 million in cash and investments and more than $21 million in property and equipment.
The focus Monday was not on balance sheets or other temporal matters, however, but the passing of leadership from one prelate to another, in an announcement witnessed by priests and nuns, ending with a con-celebrated mass in the simple conference room at the headquarters.
During a question-and-answer session, Fabre was asked how he views recent statements by Pope Francis regarding the manner in which the church handles issues such as homosexuality and legalized abortion. Some local Catholics have been openly critical of what they see as a pope who has gone soft on the abortion issue in particular. Globally, the pontiff’s statements have given rise to some ire among conservative Catholics.
“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible,” the pope was quoted as saying in a Catholic publication. “The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”
The Vatican has since clarified the pope’s remarks, and the pontiff himself has restated his opposition to abortion itself.
There has been no apparent confusion in the mind of Houma-Thibodaux’s new bishop, however, who answered the question put to him with no hesitation.
“The Holy Father has not changed the church teaching,” Fabre said. “The church teaching remains the same. The tone has changed. The Holy Father is telling us we must always speak the truth and that resonates very well with me.”
The crux of the pontiff’s statements, Fabre said, can be summed up in aspects of a personally-adopted motto he drew from Isaiah: “Comfort my people.”
As auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, Fabre was called on to do some difficult comforting, which initially resulted in some mixed reviews.
In 2009, the Archdiocese and Catholic Charities together agreed to pay more than $5 million in settlements to adults who were plaintiffs in 20 lawsuits. The adults claimed that years ago they were beaten, sexually molested and otherwise abused as children at the Madonna Manor and Hope Haven orphanages during the 1950s and 1960s.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond drew some public fire for not naming the eight priests and nuns accused in the cases that resulted in settlements; Bishop Fabre was appointed by Aymond to meet with each victim individually, to be the ears and voice of the archdiocese in extending love and comfort.
Some of the victims gave Fabre good marks.
Others said they were less impressed.
Roger Stetter, a New Orleans attorney who represented some of the victims, said he initially was told that Fabre’s words amounted to apologies in a framework that did not affirm the veracity of the claims.
“It was more of a cautious thing that ‘if these things happened’ the archdiocese was sorry about it,” Stetter said Monday, when asked to recall Fabre’s role.
Stetter acknowledged that the opinion was not held by all the claimants, and said that when another round of complainants came forward and Fabre was again required to offer comfort and aid, there was an improvement in how things were handled.
“Obviously, he learned from his experience,” Stetter said. “He was able to use what was said initially to do a better job.”
The abuse at the homes occurred before Fabre was born. The bishop did not flinch when asked about the Madonna Manor cases Monday, and the task he was given.
“Some people were very unhappy,” he acknowledged, when asked about the statements by Stetter and others. “But I wanted to be there to hear their stories. I wanted to be able to say we heard their stories and I accepted that responsibility. My role, I felt, was to be there to let them know the church apologizes and that we are still here.”
The experience, Fabre acknowledged, marked a heavy burden for him as a priest, but of greater importance, he said, was recognition of the burden victims had to carry for years. Fabre made his statements toward that end in response to a direct question about the enormity of the task and its effect on him as a priest and as a man.
“I did pray a lot, I did speak with my spiritual director a lot,” he said. “It was the grace of those people who, at that time, were able to say ‘thank you’ that helped. The ones who were not ready to say that I am not disparaging at all, but those who were grateful that I was there that strengthened me.”
Fabre’s predecessor is no stranger to controversies arising out of abuse cases either.
Jacobs – although not accused of sexual abuse – was named as a defendant in a suit against the Diocese of Alexandria. According to that suit, which has not been resolved, Jacobs allegedly had knowledge that a priest who was later criminally prosecuted for sexually abusing a teen while the priest stayed as a house guest at the home of the parents had a history of abusing youngsters.
Jacobs has never directly addressed the suit.
He was deposed – by Stetter – in a case brought against the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese and later settled, because of abuse against an altar boy allegedly committed by a parish priest, Etienne LeBlanc.
The alleged abuse far pre-dated Jacobs’ appointment as bishop, however. Alleged complacency by Diocesan officials involving alleged bad acts by LeBlanc would have occurred during the tenure of Bishop Warren Boudreaux, the first bishop of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese.
Jacobs has been praised for work he has done as an advocate for children in the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese, and it was under his stewardship that a greatly expanded directive on protection of youth was put into place.
Some local priests indicated that their new bishop is not a stranger.
Monsignor Frederic Brunet of St. Joseph’s Church in Chauvin said his own brother – also a priest – knew Fabre during his time serving in Baton Rouge.
“He is a good man. I know him and my brother, Jules, he is retired now, he knew him as a priest, I think he is a wonderful man with great talent, great ability and likable,” Brunet said. “He also knows the Cajun people and will get along well with them.”
Fabre’s formal installation will take place Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Frances de Sales in Houma.
Jacobs, who was born in Greenwood, Miss., grew up in Lake Charles.
He was ordained to the priesthood in Lafayette in 1964 and became the 10th bishop of Alexandria in 1989, before his appointment in Houma-Thibodaux.
Fabre was the fifth of six children born to Luke and Theresa Fabre. He was ordained a transitional deacon in 1988 in Belgium; his ordination as a priest was in Baton Rouge. His first appointment as a bishop – to New Orleans – was in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. His elevation to Auxiliary Bishop in New Orleans was held at St. Louis Cathedral in 2007.
He holds a master’s degree in religious studies from the Katholiek Universiteit in Belgium as well as a bachelor’s in religion from there. He earned a bachelor’s in history from St. Joseph Seminary in St. Benedict in 1985.
Fabre attended Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee in New Roads.
“In God we place our hope and our trust,” Fabre told the gathered religious at the formal announcement. “And we can be confident that God will never leave us to endure anything alone. I look forward to this faith journey with all of you. As I pledge my prayers for all in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, I ask your prayers for me as well.”

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