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California Bishop Tapped For Role in Spokane

Paige Browning
/
Spokane Public Radio

Catholic officials announced Thursday that Spokane has a new leader. The Pope has appointed Bishop Thomas Anthony Daly as the 7th Bishop of the Spokane diocese.

Bishop Daly has spent most of his life in California. He currently leads the diocese in San Jose, the nation’s 10th largest, with a notably progressive metro area. Daly made a quick trip to Spokane for the announcement.

Daly: “A theme of Pope Francis has been encounter, and that means the personal interaction with people, the people of faith, but also those who perhaps have been moved away from the faith for a while, so I look forward to that opportunity.”

More than 100,000 Catholics live in the diocese, which covers the Okanogan Valley east to Spokane. Daly follows Bishop BlaseCupich, who was appointed last year as the Bishop of Chicago. Daly’s instillation ceremony will be May 20th at the Cathedral.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests has called on Daly to immediately reach out to witnesses of sex crimes by two former priests. The network criticized the handling of past abuse-cases and says people shouldn’t assume Daly will be better.

Copyright 2015 Spokane Public Radio