His Eminence

Kevin Joseph Farrell

KGCHS
Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
Bishop Farrell in 2007
ChurchCatholic
AppointedAugust 15, 2016
Other post(s)
Orders
OrdinationDecember 24, 1978
by Eduardo Francisco Pironio
ConsecrationFebruary 11, 2002
by Theodore Edgar McCarrick
Created cardinalNovember 19, 2016
by Pope Francis
RankCardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Born
Kevin Joseph Farrell

(1947-09-02) September 2, 1947
Dublin, Ireland
Previous post(s)
MottoState in fide
(Latin for 'Stand firm in the faith')
Ordination history of
Kevin Farrell
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained byEduardo Francisco Pironio
DateDecember 24, 1978
PlaceRome, Italy
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorTheodore Edgar McCarrick
Co-consecrators
DateFebruary 11, 2002
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope Francis
DateNovember 19, 2016
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Kevin Farrell as principal consecrator
J. Douglas DeshotelApril 27, 2010
Mark J. SeitzApril 27, 2010
John Gregory KellyFebruary 11, 2016
Styles of
Kevin Joseph Farrell
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal

Kevin Joseph Farrell KGCHS (born September 2, 1947) is an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal and has served as prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life since 2016. In 2019, he was appointed Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church as well.

After his ordination in 1978, Farrell served as a chaplain and university teacher for several years in Mexico and worked in the United States from 1984 to 2016. He was an auxiliary bishop of Archdiocese of Washington in Washington D.C. from 2002 to 2007 and bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 2007 to 2017.

Biography

Early life

Farrell was born on September 2, 1947, in Dublin, Ireland and grew up speaking Irish.[1] He is the second of four sons. His older brother is Brian Farrell, who was appointed secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in the Roman Curia in 2002.

Farrell obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Salamanca in Spain. He then entered the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a Master of Philosophy degree and Licentiate in Theology. He also attended the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, receiving a Master of Theology degree in dogmatic theology (1976) and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in pastoral theology (1977).[2] He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame.[3] Notre Dame also granted Farrell an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2017.[4]

Priesthood

Farrell was ordained to the priesthood for the Legionaries of Christ by Cardinal Eduardo Pironio in Rome at Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica on December 24, 1978.[5] After his ordination, Farrell served as a chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, where he also conducted seminars in bioethics and social ethics.

In the early 1980s, Farrell left the Legionaries to be incardinated in the Archdiocese of Washington. In 1984, Farrell was assigned as an associate pastor at St. Peter's Parish in Olney, Maryland. He also served at St. Bartholomew Parish in Bethesda, Maryland, and at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Washington, D.C. In 1985, Farrell was appointed director of the archdiocesan Spanish Catholic Center.[6]

Farrell became acting director of Catholic Charities in the archdiocese in 1988, and served as secretary of finance from 1989 to 2001. The Vatican raised him to the rank of monsignor in 1995. In 2001, Farrell was named vicar general for the archdiocese and pastor of Annunciation Parish in Washington.[6]

Auxiliary Bishop of Washington

On December 28, 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Farrell as an auxiliary bishop of Washington with the titular see of Rusuccuru. He was consecrated on February 11, 2002, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. His co-consecrators were Cardinal James Hickey and Bishop Leonard Olivier.[5]

Farrell served until 2007 as Washington's moderator of the curia and chief vicar general.[7]

Bishop of Dallas

Farrell was appointed bishop of Dallas by Pope Benedict XVI on March 6, 2007, replacing Bishop Charles Grahmann. Farrell was installed on May 1, 2007.[8]

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Farrell was a consultant to the Committee on Migration, which oversaw the Migration and Refugee Services department.[9]

Farrell was the 2009 chair of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. His brother Brian Farrell is the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Kevin Farrell commented on his brother in 2015: "I'm younger, but I became bishop first, 12 months earlier. And we still have a little sibling rivalry."[10]

Cardinal

On August 17, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Farrell prefect of the newly established Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in Rome.[11]

On October 9, 2016, Francis announced he would raise Farrell to the rank of cardinal in a consistory on November 19, 2016.[12] He was created a cardinal-deacon on that day and assigned to San Giuliano Martire Parish in Rome.[13] On June 10, 2017, Francis named Farrell a member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See,[14] and on December 23, 2017, a member of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.[15] In July 2018, the University of Dallas named an administration building after Farrell, a former chancellor.[16][17] On February 14, 2019, Francis named Farrell as camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.[18][7]

In June 2019, Farrell admitted receiving a $29,000 gift from Bishop Michael J. Bransfield to refurbish his Rome apartment. A 2018 apostolic visitation to the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia revealed that he had been using diocesan funds for these gifts and his own personal spending. Farrell returned the $29,000 to the diocese; Bransfield was removed from office in July 2019.[19]

On April 20, 2020, Farrell persuaded Francis to postpone both the 2021 World Meeting of Families and 2022 World Youth Day to June 2022 and August 2023 respectively due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20][21][22]

On September 29, 2020, Francis appointed Farrell as president of the Commission for Confidential Matters, a new office in the Roman Curia.[23] According to the church's apostolic constitution, Praedicate Evangelium, the commission is responsible "1. to authorize any legal, economic or financial act that for the greater good of the Church or of persons must be kept confidential and removed from the examination and supervision of the competent entities; 2. to monitor contracts of the Holy See which by law demand confidentiality and to exercise vigilance over them."[24]

On June 7, 2022, Francis appointed Farrell as chair of the Pontifical Committee for Investments.[25] According to Praedicate Evangelium, the committee is responsible for "guaranteeing the ethical nature of the Holy See’s equity investments in accordance with the Church’s social doctrine and, at the same time, monitoring their profitability, propriety and degree of risk.[26]

Controversies

Association with former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

After McCarrick was laicized in 2018 for credible allegations of sexual abuse against a minor, further reports of accusations and legal settlements emerged, dating back years. These revelations led to public questions about whether bishops and clerics closely associated with McCarrick, including Farrell, had been aware of these accusations and settlements.

  • McCarrick had asked the Vatican to appoint Farrell as auxiliary bishop in Washington. Over the next six years, Farrell served as vicar general there. During this time, he shared a four-bedroom apartment with McCarrick and two priest secretaries.[27][28][29][30]
  • Journalist Michael Winters termed McCarrick as Farrell's "mentor in the episcopacy."[31]
  • According Farrell's website when he was bishop of Dallas, the lion rampant on his coat of arms "honors" McCarrick and the yellow and red coloring at the top right of his coat of arms is also derived from that of McCarrick.[32]

World Meeting of Families 2018

In September 2015, the Vatican announced that the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) would be held in Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, in 2018.[33] In August 2016, Francis appointed Farrell as head of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. As a result, Farrell took charge of the 2018 WMOF. Farrell said that Francis' visit to Ireland would be "inspirational" and "counter negativity" towards the Irish church.[34] On August 18, 2018, former Irish President Mary McAleese, a critic of the WMOF, said that meeting organizers had not invited her or her family to any of the WMOF events, saying:

It's always been essentially a right wing rally... and it was designed for that purpose, to rally people to get them motivated to fight against the tide of same sex marriage, rights for gays, abortion rights, contraceptive rights."[35]

On August 16, 2018, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, scheduled to lead a "pioneering session on child safeguarding", withdrew from the WMOF.[36] On August 18, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, due to address the conference, also pulled out.[37] Although organizers claimed to have sold over 500,000 tickets to WMOF, the Office of Public Works in Ireland confirmed that the attendence was only 152,000.[38][39]

Views

Women and LGBTQ people

In February 2018, Farrell banned McAleese, a supporter of women's ordination and same-sex marriage, from speaking at a Vatican conference on Women in the Catholic Church.[40] McAleese sought an explanation for her exclusion from Francis through a canon law process, but received no response.

On March 18, 2021, Farrell defended a ban by Francis on the blessing of same-sex unions by priests. Farrell stated that a priestly blessing was a sacramental action related to marriage, which could only be between a man and a woman.[41]

Gun control

Farrell is a supporter of gun control initiatives and opposes "deference to the gun lobby" by the United States Congress.[42]

References

  1. ↑ Hodges, Sam. "Bishop Kevin Farrell has whirlwind first year as Dallas' Catholic Diocese leader". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on June 29, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Bio". www.officialcatholicdirectory.com.
  3. ↑ "Appointed Prefect of the New Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life". Pontifical Council for the Laity. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  4. ↑ Brown, Denis (March 30, 2017). "Seven to receive Notre Dame honorary degrees". Notre Dame News. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Kevin Joseph Cardinal Farrell [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "The Short Biography of Bishop Kevin J. Farrell". Sacred Heart of Jesus Chinese Parish. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Pope Francis names Cardinal Kevin Farrell camerlengo". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Diocese of Dallas, United States". GCatholic.org. October 18, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Committee Membership". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  10. ↑ Gaetan, Victor (March 26, 2015). "The Bishops Farrell: An Answer to an Irish Mother's Prayers". National Catholic Register. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Rinunce e nomine" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. August 17, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Annuncio di Concistoro per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. October 9, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Titular churches and diaconates of the new cardinals" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. November 19, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Resignations and Appointments" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. June 10, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Resignations and Appointments" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. December 23, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  16. ↑ "University Names New Building Cardinal Farrell Hall". University of Dallas. October 6, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  17. ↑ "University of Dallas Celebrates Completion of Cardinal Farrell Hall - Hill & Wilkinson". Hill & Wilkinson. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Resignations and Appointments" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. February 14, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  19. ↑ Boburg, Sean et al., "Vatican cardinal, other priests to return cash gifts from ousted West Virginia bishop Michael Bransfield", The Washington Post, June 7, 2019
  20. ↑ "Declaration of the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni". The Vatican. April 20, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Pope postpones two mega-events by a year because of coronavirus". Reuters. April 20, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Pope postpones World Meeting of Families, World Youth Day". April 20, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Resignations and Appointments". press.vatican.va. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  24. ↑ ""Praedicate Evangelium" on the Roman Curia and its service to the Church and to the World (Commission for Confidential Matters, Art. 225))". Vatican. March 19, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Resignations and Appointments, 07.06.2022" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. June 7, 2022.
  26. ↑ ""Praedicate Evangelium" on the Roman Curia and its service to the Church and to the World (Committee for Investments, Art. 227)". Vatican. March 19, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  27. ↑ Conconi, Chuck (October 2004). "The Man in the Red Hat". The Washingtonian. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  28. ↑ DOUGHERTY, MICHAEL BRENDAN (July 26, 2018). "Catholic Bishops Beg for a Clear Policy against Evil | National Review". National Review. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  29. ↑ Dreher, Rod (July 23, 2018). "What Did The Cardinals Know?". The American Conservative. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  30. ↑ "McCarrick, the Bishops and Unanswered Questions". National Catholic Register. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  31. ↑ Winters, Michael Sean (August 17, 2016). "Bishop Farrell heads to Rome: What it means". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  32. ↑ "About the Bishop". Bishop Kevin Farrell. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  33. ↑ O'Shea, James (September 28, 2015). "Pope Francis for Ireland in 2018 as Dublin hosts World Family Meeting". Irish Central. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  34. ↑ "'Papal visit to Ireland will inspire us and turn around negativity towards Church'". December 26, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Mary McAleese slams World Meeting of Families as 'right wing rally' to fight against LGBT and women's rights". August 18, 2018.
  36. ↑ MacDonald, Sarah (August 16, 2018). "Prominent Cardinal cancels attendance at World Meeting of Families". Irish Independent. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  37. ↑ O'Callaghan, Gavin (August 19, 2018). "Cardinal cancels Dublin visit days after US abuse report". Dublin Live. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  38. ↑ "OPW reveals final headcount for papal Mass in Phoenix Park". The Irish Times.
  39. ↑ Walsh, Oisín (July 9, 2018). "All 500,000 tickets now booked out for WMOF Papal Mass in Phoenix Park". Catholic News. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Vatican blocks McAleese from speaking at conference". RTÉ.ie. February 2, 2018.
  41. ↑ "Vatican cardinals defend gay union blessing ban amid dissent". AP NEWS. April 20, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Horror in Las Vegas polarises the world of religion". The Economist. October 3, 2017.
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