Dale Joseph Melczek
Dale Joseph Melczek | |
|---|---|
| Bishop Emeritus of Gary | |
| Archdiocese | Indianapolis |
| Diocese | Gary |
| Appointed | October 28, 1995 (Coadjutor) |
| Installed | June 1, 1996 |
| Term ended | November 24, 2014 |
| Predecessor | Norbert Felix Gaughan |
| Successor | Donald J. Hying |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 6, 1964 by John Francis Dearden |
| Consecration | January 27, 1983 by Edmund Szoka, Harold Robert Perry, and Arthur Henry Krawczak |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 9, 1938 Detroit, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Previous post(s) | Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit and Titular Bishop of Tragurium (1983 -1992), Apostolic Administrator of Gary (1992 - 1995), Coadjutor Bishop, Gary (1995 - 1996) |
| Alma mater | St. Mary's College (undergraduate), (post graduate), University of Detroit (masters), University of Notre Dame (doctorate work) |
| Motto | To Know Christ |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of Dale Joseph Melczek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Dale Joseph Melczek (born November 9, 1938) is an American retired prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.
Melczek first served as an Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit before becoming the third Bishop of Gary, a post he held from June 1, 1996 until his retirement on November 24, 2014.
Biography[]
Early years[]
Dale Melczek was born in Detroit, Michigan, and studied at St. Mary's College. He then attended St. John's Provincial Seminary, where he was awarded a Master's degree in Divinity.[1] Melczek earned a Master's in Education from the University of Detroit, and did his postgraduate work at the University of Notre Dame.[1]
Melczek was ordained to the priesthood on June 6, 1964,[2] and then served as associate pastor at St. Sylvester Church in Warren, Michigan, until 1970. He served as co-pastor (1970-1972) and later pastor (1972-1975) of St. Christine Church in Detroit, and concurrently vicar of the West Detroit Vicariate (1973-1975).[1] He served as assistant vicar for parishes from 1975 to 1977, when he became secretary to John Cardinal Dearden and vicar general of the Archdiocese.[1]
Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit[]
On December 3, 1982, Pope John Paul II appointed Melczek as Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit and Titular Bishop of Tragurium.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on January 27, 1983 from Archbishop Edmund Szoka, with Bishops Harold Perry, and Arthur Krawczak serving as co-consecrators.[2] [3]
As an auxiliary bishop, Melczek served as episcopal vicar of the Detroit Northwest Region.[1] In 1987, he coordinated John Paul II’s visit to Detroit.[3]
Bishop of Gary[]
On August 19, 1992. Melczek was named Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Gary and on October 28, 1995 the Coadjutor Bishop of Gary.[2] John Paul II appointed Melczek as the third Bishop of Gary on June 1, 1996.[2]
In November 1996, Melczek was elected to the Board of Catholic Relief Services. In 1997 Melczek visited the Philippines and in 1998 Myanmar and Cambodia. In the summer of 1999, he went to Indonesia and East Timor. Melczek visted the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of the Congo in 2001, then Angola, and Tanzania in 2003.[4] [3]
Melczek also served as chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on the Laity (2002-2005), co-chairman of the Race Relations Council of Northwest Indiana (2002-2007), and episcopal liaison to the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (2002-2007).[4][3]
In 2003, Melczek petitioned Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to remove Richard Emerson from the priesthood. Emerson first served in the diocese of Gary starting in 1978, then moved in 1986 to the diocese of Orlando as a temporary assignment to be near his parents. In 1991, Orlando Bishop Norbert Dorsey requested Emerson's transfer back to Gary, where Emerson resume ministry. Multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior were generated from all of Emerson's assignments.[5][6]
On December 22, 2003, Melczek removed Monsignor Don Grass from ministry after he admitted guilt to sexually abusing a minor. It happened while Grass was assigned to Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary during the late 1960's.[7]
On January 15, 2005, Melczek and the diocese of Gary were named in a lawsuit by an Orlando man. The plaintiff stated that Emerson had sexually abused him as a minor by Emerson during the late 1980s and early 1990s when Emerson was posted at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Orland. The lawsuit claimed that the diocese of Gary and Melczek ignored earlier sexual abuse allegation against Emerson during his first stay in Indiana.[8] At his request, Emerson was removed from the priesthood in 2006.[5]
On July 7, 2010, Melczek and the diocese of Gary were sued again, based of allegations by a different man in Orlando against Richard Emerson.[9]
Retirement[]
On November 9, 2013, Melczek turned 75, the age at which Catholic bishops must submit their resignations to the Pope. On November 24, 2014, Pope Francis accepted Melczek's resignation, replacing him with Auxiliary Bishop Donald J. Hying. [3]
Melczek served as apostolic administrator until Hying's installation in January 2015. He also serves as administrator of St. Mary of the Lake parish in Gary.[3]
Melczek is the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Gary.
See also[]
- Catholic Church hierarchy
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of Catholic bishops of the United States
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References[]
- ^ a b c d e "Dale Joseph Melczek". Who's Who in America.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e "Bishop Dale Joseph Melczek". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.[self-published source]
- ^ a b c d e f "Bishop Emeritus Dale Melczek, D.D." Diocese of Gary. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Bishop's Office". Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary.
- ^ a b Smith, Kelley (August 31, 2018). "Ex-La Porte County priests on list of child abusers". AP. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Writer, Christopher Sherman, Sentinel Staff. "Priest accused of abusing Central Florida boy resigns". nydailynews.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "Gary Bishop Removes Monsignor over Sex Abuse during the 1960s Priest Has Admitted Committing Misconduct with Minor, Statement from Diocese Says". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "ORLANDO MAN SUES PRIEST, BISHOPS, CHARGING NEGLIGENCE, SEX ABUSE". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ P.A, Mermelstein & Horowitz. "New Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Diocese of Orlando and Indiana Bishop". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
External links[]
Episcopal succession[]
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- 1938 births
- Living people
- Clergy from Detroit
- Roman Catholic bishops of Gary
- 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
- 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
- University of Detroit Mercy alumni
- American people of Polish descent
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
- Religious leaders from Michigan