Bishop reflects on tenure as head of Greensburg Diocese
Fifteen years ago, Auxiliary Bishop Anthony G. Bosco of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg received an important phone call from Archbishop Pio Laghi, the apostolic pronuncio in the United States. The pronuncio, who is the pope’s representative, was succinct: “The Holy Father would like you to be the third bishop of Greensburg, and you will, of course, say yes.’
Bishop Bosco doesn’t actually remember there being a question, but he noted of his generation at the seminary, “When someone asked you to do something, you said, ‘Yes, sir.’ It wasn’t a bad way to live. I would have never written the scenario of my life as God did.’
And now a new chapter may soon begin.
On Aug. 1, his 75th birthday, Bishop Bosco submitted a letter of resignation to Pope John Paul II, in compliance with canon law. He now awaits the pope’s decision on whether to accept it and, if so, news of whom the next bishop might be.
“I have no advice to give,’ Bishop Bosco said of his possible successor. “I don’t know who he is. If he wants advice, he’ll ask me for it. I haven’t any idea who it will be.’
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg found out about Bishop Bosco in April 1987, when Bishop William G. Connare announced Bishop Bosco’s new appointment during a press conference in Greensburg, while the pronuncio made a similar announcement in Washington, D.C.
Bishop Bosco was installed that June as spiritual leader of about a quarter-million Catholics in the Greensburg diocese, which covers Fayette, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Indiana counties.
Through 15 years, he’s led the diocese through some difficult times: mergers of schools and parishes, a continuing priest shortage and the clergy sexual misconduct scandal that has affected the nation.
“It’s been difficult for the church, difficult for priests, difficult for the people, and, certainly, difficult for me,’ said Bishop Bosco. “What keeps you at the task is faith in the promise of Christ that the church would be here until the end of time, and also a knowledge of history. The church has been persecuted from without and within from the first century. The church has had scandals from the first century.’
There also have been significant spiritual changes: children receiving the sacraments of confirmation and Communion at the same time; girls and women now able to be altar servers and laity now taking a more active role in their religion.
And there have been joyful occasions: the 50th anniversary of the diocese, a successful capital campaign, advances in technology that include an Internet site for the diocese, as well as celebrating the ordinations of new priests.
“I couldn’t be happier, despite the recent turmoil,’ Bishop Bosco said. “My life has been enriched.’
The eldest of three sons, Bishop Bosco was born in New Castle on Aug. 1, 1927, to Joseph M. and Theresa Pezone Bosco.
When he was still an infant, the family moved to Pittsburgh, where his father worked as a tailor.
Bishop Bosco attended Pittsburgh public grade schools and graduated from North Catholic High School in the city. He went on to St. Fidelis Seminary in Herman, Pa., before receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe. He also holds a licentiate in canon law from Lateran University in Rome.
He was ordained to the priesthood June 7, 1952, at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh and assigned to St. Patrick’s Church in Canonsburg. In 1955, he began serving on the administrative staff of the Pittsburgh diocese and was made general secretary in March 1985. He was named a monsignor in 1968 and an auxiliary bishop in 1970.
In 1987, Bishop Bosco became the third bishop of the Greensburg Diocese, which was established March 10, 1951, by Pope Pius XII from a portion of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The Most Rev. Hugh L. Lamb of Philadelphia was the first bishop. Appointed May 28, 1951, Bishop Lamb served until his death Dec. 8, 1959. Pope John XXIII appointed Bishop Connare the second bishop of the diocese in 1960.
In a recent interview in his Greensburg office, Bishop Bosco talked about his time as bishop, beginning with the current year, which has been marked by the clergy sexual misconduct scandal.
“There are so many good priests who are viewed with suspicion, which is unfair. But I think the people who have real or imagined complaints, most of them have surfaced. I believe in the credible complaints. We have reviewed them. We have acted expeditiously. We, of course, have this court case coming up.’
He was referring to a civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Pittsburgh, against the bishop as trustee of the diocese and the Catholic Foundation Trust, as well as the Rev. Gregory F. Premoshis, former president of Geibel Catholic High School in Connellsville.
The suit, filed on behalf of Charles Hartz Jr. of Michigan and formerly of Connellsville, alleges that Rev. Premoshis sexually abused Hartz while he was a student at Geibel.
The suit also alleges that the diocese concealed allegations of child abuse against clergy.
Diocesean officials have denied this allegation, noting they were first informed of the complaint March 15 and placed Rev. Premoshis on leave March 19. Rev. Premoshis was barred from public ministry in July.
Asked about the court case, Bishop Bosco said, “I can’t comment on it. It’s in civil forum now, in the hands of an attorney and judge.’
This past year also proved a difficult year with the institution of a new tuition policy for the Catholic elementary schools that aims to alleviate the financial burden of operating a school on the home parish and will significantly raise teacher salaries.
As a result, parents will now pay the cost of educating a child in tuition; however, they will be eligible for financial aid that is distributed in the same way that parents apply for financial aid for college. Formerly, parents paid 50 percent of the costs of educating a child, regardless of their income.
With the policy change, the church also hopes to prevent more Catholic schools from closing, as all parishes will contribute funding to Catholic elementary schools. Since 1990, 13 schools have closed in the diocese, and eight schools have merged into three, a loss of nearly one-half the diocese’s elementary schools in a little more than a decade.
Furthermore, salaries are being raised to prevent Catholic school teachers from leaving for better-paying jobs in public schools.
“That was a rough ride. I guess what upset me most about it was the fact we had to close so many schools, specifically because of diminishing attendance and increasing costs. I don’t want to see all schools closed,” he said. “One doesn’t have to be a financier to see the problem. It’s simple. It costs this many dollars to educate a child. That includes teachers’ salaries, administrators’ salaries, utilities, supplies, so it’s a fixed dollar figure. When compared to exclusive private schools and public schools, it’s a very low figure. In fact, for what the costs are, you probably couldn’t get a baby sitter.
“Under the old system,’ he continued, “if I had a family with two very comfortable salaries coming in, and I had, in the same parish, a widow with a fixed income, she was subsidizing the education of that couple’s children. We said, ‘If you can pay full tuition, in justice, you should.’ And we can take from the endowment and give it to people who can’t afford it.’
The bishop noted that tuition costs were much lower in the past, even free at one time. One reason was the schools were operated by religious women who worked for “pathetic” salaries, he said, noting that “they were doing the same thing: subsidizing the education of the rich.
“I had some people tell me they know teacher salaries are inadequate, but why do you have to address it now? Why don’t they tell the teachers that?” he said. “Our teachers are dedicated. I still think Catholic education is one of the biggest bargains. The schools perform superbly, offer a wonderful education, plus values. I didn’t pull that out of the sky. We researched this. I get letters that there must be a better way, but nobody’s told me what that is.’
Catholic schools and parishes also have had to deal with a drop in population, as people have left the area for jobs. This trend also has had an effect on mergers and closings.
Bishop Bosco said, “The merging of parishes can be a difficult thing and yet, in the areas we do it, we now have a stronger parish.’
The bishop added that ethnic traditions can still be shared in the merged parishes, such as the blessing of Easter baskets which started as an Eastern European tradition but is now enjoyed by a number of churches.
Bishop Bosco lists many highlights of his term: the emergence of lay leadership through training programs, the diocesan pastoral council, regionalism, sharing resources and the acceptance by the clergy of additional responsibilities in more than one parish.
Financially, he noted the success of the recent capital campaign as well as the building of endowments.
“The diocese is strong financially,’ he said.
He also talked about the ability to communicate better through electronic media as well as the continued success of the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Accent. The diocese also operates its own Internet site.
“What I can’t evaluate, except by a hunch, is many areas, including the liturgy, which have brought people closer to God,’ he said.
He also remarked about the faith of people in Diocese of Greensburg?
“I think it’s very strong,’ Bishop Bosco said. “I’m impressed by it. We have very beautiful people here, and I get letters from them, letters of support and understanding.’
And he gives credit to the people for the continued success of the diocese, which, he said, could not be accomplished without his staff and the cooperation of the people.
Sometimes the changes have been difficult, but the bishop noted, “I’m not prepared to watch the church die in these four counties. Everything from the merger of schools and parishes to the formation of leadership in the laity has been to ensure that when this generation is done, the church will still be here.”