Brooklyn: Bishop and Priests' Group Clash

By Daniel J. Wakin
New York Times
March 6, 2003

A Brooklyn Roman Catholic bishop has barred a priest group from meeting on church property. Separately, the group, Voice of the Ordained, said it had proposed to the Vatican five candidates to succeed the bishop, who has reached the retirement age of 75. The priests' group, formed last year in the wake of the abuse scandal, had wanted to hold a meeting at the Catholic Center in Douglaston, Queens. Instead, Thomas V. Daily, the bishop of Brooklyn, who believes the group is not representative, barred them from meeting anywhere on church property in the diocese, which includes Queens, a diocesan spokesman said. The group also said yesterday that it had surveyed 41 diocese priests about Bishop Daily's retirement. The priests named five candidates from within the diocese, and the papal nuncio in Washington agreed to pass the list to Rome, the group said.

Compiled by Anthony Ramirez.