Frederick F. Campbell

Styles of Frederick Francis Campbell
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Frederick Francis Campbell (born August 5, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the Bishop of Columbus from 2005 to 2019. He led the Diocese as Apostolic Administrator from his retirement as bishop until his successor was installed on March 29, 2019.^[1][2]

Early life and education[]

The second of six children, Frederick Campbell was born in Elmira, New York, to Edward and Dorothy Campbell.^[3] He studied at St. Lawrence University in Canton, from where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in History and Foreign Language magna cum laude in 1965, and at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, earning a Master's (1967) and later doctorate (1973) in History.^[3]

From 1967 to 1969, Campbell taught at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. He then served as an assistant professor of history at California State University in San Bernardino, California, from 1970 to 1976. Deciding to pursue the priesthood, he entered St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1976.^[3]

Priesthood[]

Campbell was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis by Archbishop John Roach on May 31, 1980.^[4] He then served as an associate pastor at St. Charles Borromeo Church in St. Anthony until 1987, and as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Hopkins from 1987 to 1994.^[3]

From 1991 to 1994, he was also canonical administrator of in Hopkins. He then served as pastor of St. Joseph Church in West St. Paul until 1999.^[3]

Episcopal career[]

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis[]

On March 2, 1999, Campbell was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Titular Bishop of Afufenia by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 14 from Archbishop Harry Flynn, with Archbishop Roach and Bishop Joseph Carron, C.Pp.S., serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Paul.^[4]

In July 2002, Campbell became rector and vice-president of St. Paul Seminary. He served on the seminary's Board of Trustees, and the board of directors for St. Thomas Academy and for St. Bernard School. He also served on the Archdiocesan Bio-Medical Ethics Commission and worked with the Office of Marriage and Family Life, the Respect Life Program, and the Office for the Permanent Diaconate.^[3]

Bishop of Columbus[]

Campbell was named the eleventh Bishop of Columbus, Ohio, on October 14, 2004.^[5] He was installed as Bishop on January 13, 2005.^[4] In 2005, instead of suspending the statute of limitations for one year on lawsuits of alleged child sex abuse, he proposed establishing a civil registry of those who have been "credibly accused" of abuse.^[6]

On March 30, 2009, Campbell had his left leg amputated below the knee after doctors diagnosed him with squamous cell carcinoma.^[7] He also had osteomyelitis, an infection, in multiple bones in his foot, and an open wound that would not heal. A full recovery was expected.^[7]

Pope Francis accepted Campbell's resignation Bishop of Columbus on January 31, 2019.^[8] Campbell was subsequently appointed Apostolic Administrator for the diocese and remained in that role until the installation of Robert J. Brennan as Bishop of Columbus on March 29, 2019.^[2][9]

Controversies[]

Despite expressing anger and offering an apology to victims of clergy sex abuse [1], in 2006, Bishop Campbell struck a blow to victims of child sex abuse when he pressed Republicans in the Ohio Legislature to stop a bill that would allow abuse victims to report abuse that had happened as long as 35 years ago. [2] In his unprecedented appearance before the legislative committee, Campbell claimed that the bill aimed to hold abusers accountable wasn't fair. [3]

Campbell was also named in a 2018 lawsuit in which a student at St. Charles Preparatory School in Columbus, OH claimed that he was sexually molested on at least six separate occasions by Monsignor Thomas Bennett while on school grounds. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants, which included Campbell, became aware of Bennett's alleged molestation of the student, but failed to take any action. [4] [5] [6][7]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus Official Site

Episcopal succession[]