Alfred Andrew Schlert | |
---|---|
Bishop of Allentown | |
Archdiocese | Philadelphia |
Diocese | Allentown |
Appointed | June 27, 2017 |
Installed | August 31, 2017 |
Predecessor | John Barres |
Orders | |
Ordination | September 19, 1987 by Thomas Jerome Welsh |
Consecration | August 31, 2017 by Charles J. Chaput, Edward Cullen, and John Oliver Barres |
Personal details | |
Born | Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | July 24, 1961
Motto | Pasce oves meas (Feed my sheep) |
Styles of Alfred Andrew Schlert | |
---|---|
Reference style | |
Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Religious style | Bishop |
Alfred Andrew Schlert (born July 24, 1961) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania since 2017.
Alfred Schlert was born on July 24, 1961, in Easton, Pennsylvania, the son of Alfred and Marylou Schlert. He attended St. Jane Frances de Chantal Elementary School and Notre Dame High School, both in Easton. [1] [2]
After deciding to become a priest, Schlert entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. After finishing at St. Charles, he went to Rome to reside at the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary while studying at the Pontifical Lateran University. [2]
Schlert was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown on September 19, 1987, at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown by Bishop Thomas J. Welsh. [3] After his 1987 ordination, the diocese assigned Schlert served as an assistant pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Allentown. He was also placed on the faculty at Notre Dame High School and as a chaplain at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. [1]
A few years later, Schlert returned to Rome to complete his graduate studies at the Lateran University, where he received a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1992. [3] In 1997, Welsh appointed Schlert as his priest-secretary and as vice chancellor of the diocese. In 1998, Bishop Edward P. Cullen named Schlert as vicar general. Pope John Paul II named him chaplain to his holiness in 1999. [1]
Pope Benedict XVI named Schlert a prelate of honor in 2005. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, the diocese in 2008 assigned Schlert as pastor of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. [3]
Pope Francis appointed Schlert as bishop of Allentown on June 27, 2017. [1] [3] His consecration by Archbishop Charles Chaput took place at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena on August 31, 2017, with Bishops Edward Cullen, and John Barres serving as co-consecrators. [4]
In a grand jury report released by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on August 14, 2018. Lehigh Valley Live noted:
Excerpts from the report depict Schlert as someone quick to confront priests who were the subject of abuse complaints. He, along with a fellow monsignor, helped facilitate several resignations and retirements from priests suspected of sexually abusing children. His inquiry with one accused priest triggered the process of that priest being laicized, or defrocked. [5]
According to the grand jury report, Monsignor William Jones was accused of sexually abusing a boy. Two days after the boy reported the abuse, Schlert and Monsignor John B. McCann confronted Jones who "offered his resignation and was advised he could not exercise any public ministry in the diocese or elsewhere." The report also stated that in 2007 the diocese heard about a boy who was allegedly given alcohol and inappropriately touched by Reverend Joseph Galko. Monsignor Gerald Gobitas and Schlert confronted Galko, who admitted the allegation. "The diocese laicized Galko and he was eventually dismissed from the priesthood,". [5]
In August 2018, Schlert issued a public apology "for the past sins and crimes committed by some members of the clergy." [6] Schlert and the diocese were sued in November 2018 by a man who claimed to have been sexually abused when an altar boy by Reverend Bruno Tucci. He allegedly groped the boy on different occasions at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, between 1999 and 2001. [7]
The Diocese of Wilmington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory – or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the eastern United States. The diocese comprises the entire state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore Region of Maryland.
The Diocese of Rockville Centre is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Long Island region of New York State in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of New York.
The Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in central Indiana in the United States. The current bishop is Timothy L. Doherty. The Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
The Diocese of Greensburg is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The Diocese of Scranton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868.
The Diocese of Lansing is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory – or diocese – of the Catholic Church located in the south-central portion of Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit.
The Diocese of Harrisburg is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in south central Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The Diocese of Salina is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northern Kansas in the United States.
The Diocese of Knoxville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Tennessee in the United States. It was founded on May 27, 1988, from the eastern counties of what was then the Diocese of Nashville. The diocese is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Louisville.
The Diocese of Tulsa also called the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the eastern part of Oklahoma in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
The Diocese of Allentown is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in central Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The mother church of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona.
The Diocese of Erie is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The Diocese of Rapid City is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western South Dakota in the United States It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Thomas Jerome Welsh was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania (1970-1974), as bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia (1974–1983) and as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania (1983–1997).
Edward Peter Cullen was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania from 1998 to 2009 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1994 to 1998.
The Diocese of Portland is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church for the entire state of Maine in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston.
Ronald William Gainer is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania from 2014 to 2023. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky from 2002 to 2014.
John Oliver Barres is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York State since January 2017. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania from 2009 to 2017.
James Francis Checchio is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic church. Checchio served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2005 until 2016. On March 8, 2016, Pope Francis named Checchio as bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey.