James Weisgerber

Vernon James Weisgerber, OC SOM (born May 1, 1938) is a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the retired sixth Archbishop of Winnipeg, serving from August 2000 until October 2013.

Early life and education

Weisgerber was born in Vibank, Saskatchewan, to Jack and Catherine Weisgerber. Following his schooling at Vibank, he attended St. Peter's College at Muenster and then St. Paul's University in Ottawa, where he obtained licence degrees in Philosophy and Theology.

Priesthood

He was ordained a priest at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Regina on June 1, 1963, and named a Prelate of Honour on October 16, 1991.

Weisgerber was Dean of Arts at Notre Dame College in Wilcox, where he taught philosophy, religious studies, and French. He worked several years in the Archbishop of Regina's office serving as the director of the pastoral and social justice offices. He served as Rector of Holy Rosary Cathedral and Pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, both in Regina, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows Parish at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 2009) in Fort Qu'Appelle, which included pastoral ministry with neighboring aboriginal communities.

In 1990 he was elected General Secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Episcopal career

On March 7, 1996, Weisgerber was appointed the fifth Bishop of Saskatoon by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 3 from Archbishop Peter Mallon, with Archbishop Joseph MacNeil and Bishop Joseph MacDonald serving as co-consecrators.

Weisgerber was later named the sixth Archbishop of Winnipeg on June 7, 2000. He succeeded Leonard James Wall, and was installed at St. Mary’s Cathedral on August 24, 2000. In 2005, he received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. In 2013, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his work as a champion of reconciliation and social justice, promoting deeper understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people".^[1]

In addition to his duties as Archbishop, he currently serves as the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Views

Development and Peace

Bishop Weisgerber has said that there is no evidence of abortion involvement on the part of groups funded by the bishops’ official development arm, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.^[2][3]

Euthanasia

Bishop Weisgerber has spoken against plans to legalize euthanasia in Canada, saying that it was the antithesis of what should be at the heart of human civilization: trust, respect, concern and solidarity, based on reverence for all human life.^[4]

References

• Catholic-Hierarchy.org
• Archdiocese of Winnipeg