Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg

The Diocese of Greensburg is a Roman Catholic diocese centered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, with 78 parishes in Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana, and Westmoreland counties in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The diocese was founded on March 10, 1951. Edward C. Malesic was named its bishop on April 24, 2015 (and was appointed Bishop of Cleveland on July 16, 2020).

Diocese of Greensburg Dioecesis Greensburgensis
Blessed Sacrament Cathedral
Flag
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana, and Westmoreland counties in Western Pennsylvania
Ecclesiastical province	Philadelphia
Statistics
Area	3,334 sq mi (8,640 km^2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2017) 645,602 141,041 (21.8%)
Parishes	78
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	March 10, 1951
Cathedral	Blessed Sacrament Cathedral
Secular priests	96
Current leadership
Bishop	Edward C. Malesic
Bishops emeritus	Lawrence Eugene Brandt
Map
Website
dioceseofgreensburg.org

Diocesan Pastoral Center in Greensburg

Bishops

Bishops of the diocese and their tenures of service:

Bishops of Greensburg

1. Hugh L. Lamb (1951-1960)
2. William G. Connare (1960-1987)
3. Anthony G. Bosco (1987-2004)
4. Lawrence E. Brandt (2004-2015)
5. Edward C. Malesic (2015–present), appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, eff. September 14, 2020.

Auxiliary Bishops

• Norbert F. Gaughan (1975–1984), appointed Bishop of Gary

Other priests of the diocese who became bishops

• Cyril John Vogel, appointed Bishop of Salina in 1965
• Giuseppe De Andrea, appointed Apostolic Nuncio and Titular Archbishop in 2001 and later Assessor of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
• Lawrence T. Persico, appointed Bishop of Erie in 2012

Parish directory

As of 2017, there are seventy-eight operating parishes within the Diocese of Greensburg; thirty-eight of these operate in a partnered configuration.[1] A diocesan strategic planning process began in 2006, which has resulted in closures of parishes and chapels, as well as partnering of parishes that have remained open, with the last of these changes occurring in 2013.[2]

Parish Name	County	Nearest Town
Ascension	Westmoreland	Jeannette
Blessed Sacrement Cathedral	Westmoreland	Greensburg
Christ the King	Armstrong	Leechburg
Christ, Prince of Peace	Armstrong	Ford City
Church of the Good Sheperd	Indiana	Kent
Church of the Resurrection	Indiana	5 Sites: Clymer Ernest Glen Campbell Heilwood Rossitier
Holy Cross	Westmoreland	Youngwood
Holy Family	Westmoreland	Latrobe
Holy Family	Westmoreland	Seward
Holy Family	Westmoreland	West Newton
Holy Trinity	Westmoreland	Ligonier
Immaculate Conception	Fayette	Connellsville
Immaculate Conception	Westmoreland	Irwin
Mother of Sorrows	Westmoreland	Murrysville
Mount Saint Peter	Westmoreland	New Kensington
Our Lady of Grace	Westmoreland	Greensburg
Our Lady of the Assumption	Indiana	2 Sites Coral Lucernemines
Our Lady, Queen of Peace	Westmoreland	East Vandergrift
Sacred Heart	Westmoreland	Jeannette
Sacred Heart	Westmoreland	Youngstown
Seven Dolors	Westmoreland	Yukon
Saints Cyril and Methodius	Fayette	Fairchance
Saints Simon and Jude	Indiana	Blairsville
Saint Agnes	Westmoreland	North Huntingdon Township
Saint Aloysius	Fayette	Dunbar
Saint Ambrose	Westmoreland	Avonmore
Saint Anne	Westmoreland	Rostraver Township
Saint Barbara	Westmoreland	Harrison City
Saint Bartholomew	Westmoreland	Crabtree
Saint Benedict	Westmoreland	Marguerite
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux	Indiana	Indiana
Saint Bruno	Westmoreland	Greensburg
Saint Cecilia	Fayette	Grindstone
Saint Cecilia	Westmoreland	Whitney
Saint Edward	Westmoreland	Herminie
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton	Westmoreland	North Huntingdon Township
Saint Florian	Westmoreland	United
Saint Francis	Fayette	2 Sites: Masontown Footedale
Saint Gertrude	Westmoreland	Vandergrift
Saint Hubert	Fayette	Point Marion
Saint James	Westmoreland	New Alexandria
Saint James the Greater	Armstrong	Apollo
Saint Joan of Arc	Fayette	Farmington
Saint John the Baptist, de la salle	Westmoreland	Delmont
Saint John the Baptist	Fayette	Perryopolis
Saint John the Baptist	Westmoreland	Scottdale
Saint John the Evangelist	Fayette	Connellsville
Saint John the Evangelist	Westmoreland	Latrobe
Saint John the Evangelist	Fayette	Uniontown
Saint Joseph	Westmoreland	Derry
Saint Joseph	Fayette	Everson
Saint Joseph	Westmoreland	New Kensington
St. Joseph	Fayette	Uniontown
Saint Lawrence	Armstrong	Cadogan
Saint Margret Mary	Westmoreland	Lower Burrell
Saint Martin	Westmoreland	New Derry
Saint Mary (Nativity)	Fayette	Uniontown
Saint Mary of Czestochowa	Westmoreland	New Kensington
Saint Mary	Westmoreland	Freeport
Saint Mary, Mother of God	Armstrong	Yatesboro
Saint Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe	Armstrong	Kittanning
Saint Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes	Westmoreland	Export
Saint Matthew	Indiana	Saltsburg
Saint Patrick	Armstrong	Brady's Bend
Saint Paul	Westmoreland	Greensburg
Saint Peter	Fayette	Brownsville
Saint Pius X	Westmoreland	Mount Pleasant
Saint Raymond of the Mountains	Westmoreland	Donegal
Saint Regis	Westmoreland	Trafford
Saint Rita	Fayette	Connellsville
Saint Rose	Westmoreland	Latrobe
Saint Sebastian	Westmoreland	Belle Vernon
Saint Sylvester	Westmoreland	Slickville
Saint Terese, Little Flower of Jesus	Fayette	Uniontown
Saint Thomas More University Parish	Indiana	Indiana
Saint Vincent Basilica	Westmoreland	Latrobe
The Epiphany of Our Lord	Westmoreland	Monessen
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Westmoreland	Mount Pleasant

[3]

Schools

There are 18 educational facilities spread throughout the geographical terrain of the diocesan limits. There are 2 junior-senior high schools, 12 diocesan elementary schools and 3 non-diocesan Catholic schools[4]

High schools

• Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School is located in Connellsville Township in northern Fayette County and serves the southern half of the diocesan territory. A Middle School concept was added at the beginning of the 2007-08 School Term, bringing the grade levels served at this facility 7-12.
• Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School is located in Hempfield Township in central Westmoreland County and serves the central and northern sections of the diocesan territory. This school serves grades 7-12.

Diocesan elementary schools

School Name	County	Nearest Town
Aquinas Academy	Westmoreland	Greensburg
Christ, the Divine Teacher	Westmoreland	Latrobe
Conn-Area Catholic*	Fayette	Connellsville
Divine Redeemer	Armstrong	Ford City
Mary, Queen of Apostles	Westmoreland	New Kensington
Mother of Sorrows	Westmoreland	Murrysville
Queen of Angels	Westmoreland	North Huntingdon Township
Saint Bernard	Indiana	Indiana
Saint John the Evangelist Regional*	Fayette	Uniontown
Saint Sebastian	Westmoreland	Belle Vernon
The Cardinal Maida Academy	Westmoreland	Vandergrift

* - denotes school only operates up to Grade 6, Grades 7-8 attend Geibel Catholic High School, if they wish.

Non-diocesan facilities

There are three non-diocesan facilities under the Educational Office.

• Clelian Heights School for Exceptional Children is located near Greensburg and is a school/residential complex for children ages 5–21 with intellectual/developmental disabilities. The Clelian Center is also on campus and provides adult services to the developemntally disabled. The school[5] is a ministry of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
• Elizabeth Seton Montessori School is located near Greensburg and offers Montessori-Philosophy Education[6] that is auspiced by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill.
• Verna Montessori School is located near Mount Pleasant and offers Montessori-Philosophy Education[7] that is auspiced by the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception

Grand jury investigation of clergy sex abuse, and diocese's response

Main article: Grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania

In early 2016, a grand jury investigation, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, began an inquiry into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in six Pennsylvania dioceses: Greensburg, Allentown, Scranton, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Erie.[8] The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia were not included, as they had been the subjects of earlier investigations.[8]

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, in 2017 the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Diocese of Greensburg attempted to shut down the grand jury investigation.[9][10]

On July 27, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered that a redacted copy of the grand jury report be released to the public; this release occurred in August 2018.[11][10]

On July 31, 2018, John T. Sweeney, a former priest in the Diocese of Greenburg, pleaded guilty to molesting a 4th grade boy at some point between September 1991 and June 1992.[12] Immediately following Sweeney's plea, the Diocese of Greensburg made a statement pledging future cooperation.[13] In the statement, which was reported by Crux on August 4,[13] the Diocese of Greensburg agreed to continue educating "both children and adults in parishes and schools of the Diocese of Greensburg on how to spot and report suspected abuse."[13] The Diocese also agreed to recommend reporting incidents of sexual abuse to the PA ChildLine and report any alleged incident of sexual abuse to "PA Childline and the appropriate district attorney."[13]

On August 9, 2018, Greensburg Bishop Edward Malesic issued an apology on behalf the Diocese, acknowledged there were numerous reports of sex abuse of children between the 1950s and 1980s, and announced that the Diocese would release the names of the accused clergy when the grand jury report is published.[14][15][14] The grand jury report was published on August 14, 2018 and showed that of the 301 priests accused of sexual abuse in the six dioceses, only 20 clergy were from the Diocese of Greensburg.[16] The report also showed that one of the accused in the Diocese of Greensburg also impregnated a 17 year old girl.[16] The priest then covered up the pregnancy by marrying the girl after forging the head pastor's name on a marriage certificate and then filing for divorce months later.[16] Despite fathering a child with a minor and being married and divorced, the priest still remained in the ministry.[16]

On December 21, 2018, Sweeney was given a 11 1/2 month to 5 year prison sentence, which he immediately began serving.[17]

Roger Sinclair was laicized in 2002 after being accused of sexually abusing children in the Diocese of Greensburg.[18] In 2018, Sinclair was convicted of sexually abusing disabled boys in the state of Oregon.[18]

On August 13, 2020, two sexual misconduct lawsuits were filed against the Diocese of Greensburg.[19] One of the new lawsuits was filed on behalf of a former Blairsville man who claimed at age 11 he was molested by Rev. Giles Nealen, who died in 1996, at the St. Benedict Parish in Marguerite during the summer of 1968. The other lawsuit claimed the Rev. Leonard Bealko molested a 12-year-old altar boy more than 200 times over four years that ended in 1978 at Transfiguration Church in Mt. Pleasant, his home and a church-owned rectory in Clymer.[19]

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Ecclesiastical Province of Philadelphia
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2015-07-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. http://www.dioceseofgreensburg.org/Pages/parishrestructuring.aspx
3. http://www.dioceseofgreensburg.org/parishes/pages/parishinformationdirectory.aspx?id=C01
4. Schools Retrieved 07-23-2015
5. Clelian Heights Retrieved 12-10-2010
6. E.S. Montessori Mission Page Retrieved 12-10-2010
7. Verna Montessori School Mission - Retrieved 12-10-2010
8. Couloumbis, Angela (June 17, 2018). "Pa. report to document child sexual abuse, cover-ups in six Catholic dioceses". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
9. Smith, Peter; Navratil, Liz; Couloumbis, Angela (June 29, 2018). "Two Pa. dioceses tried to block grand jury probe into clergy sex abuse, documents show". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
10. Navratil, Liz; Smith, Peter (August 1, 2018). "Harrisburg Diocese releases names of accused priests, removes bishops' names from buildings". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
11. Couloumbis, Angela; Navratil, Liz (July 27, 2018). "Pa. Supreme Court: Release redacted report that names more than 300 'predator priests'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
12. https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/07/31/retired-greensburg-diocese-priest-pleads-guilty-child-sex-assault/
13. https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/08/04/greensburg-diocese-stands-ready-help-to-abuse-survivors-in-their-healing/
14. https://www.wtae.com/article/catholic-diocese-of-greensburg-releases-report-including-apology-for-past-failures/22685655
15. http://www.post-gazette.com/news/faith-religion/2018/08/09/Greensburg-diocese-Catholic-priests-sexual-abuse-grand-jury-report/stories/201808090121
16. https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/08/greensburg_diocese_grand_jury.html
17. https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/retired-priest-sentenced-to-prison-for-abusing-10-year-old-boy/892423115
18. Press, The Associated (2019-10-05). "Former Pennsylvania priest escapes sex abuse charges, moves to Oregon, preys on disabled young man". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
19. Cholodofsky, Rich (August 13, 2020). "Dozens of clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed in Allegheny, Westmoreland courts as possible deadline looms 2 years after report". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg Official Site