Biography
Early life
Frank Caggiano was born on March 29, 1959, in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, New York, the younger of two children of Arnaldo and Gennarina Caggiano. His parents were Italian immigrants who came to the United States in 1958 from the town of Caggiano, in the province of Salerno. He has an older sister, Antonia. [1] His parents originally wanted to name him Francesco after his grandfather, however, a nurse mistakenly placed Frank on birth forms, which his parents reluctantly accepted. [2]
Caggiano grew up in southern Brooklyn on Van Sicklen Street. He attended mass each Sunday morning at their parish of Saints Simon and Jude. [2] [3] He attended Saints Simon and Jude Elementary School in Gravesend and graduated from Regis High School in Manhattan in 1977. He then entered Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as a political science major. [1]
While at Yale, Caggiano decided to explore the priesthood. This decision disappointed Arnaldo Caggiano, who opposed his son's priestly inclinations, even though Caggiano himself was still unsure of his vocation. [2] In 1978, Frank Caggiano entered Cathedral College in Douglaston, Queens, graduating with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1981. [1]
After graduating from Cathedral College, Caggiano worked for the Gregg Division of McGraw Hill Publishing Company for 18 months. He then entered the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, earning a Master of Divinity degree. [1]
Auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn
On June 6, 2006, Caggiano was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and titular bishop of Inis Cathaig by Pope Benedict XVI. He received his episcopal consecration on August 22, 2006, from DiMarzio, with Bishops Thomas Daily and Ignatius Catanello serving as co-consecrators. [5]
Caggiano participated in several World Youth Day gatherings, delivering catechetical talks at gatherings in Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011) and Rio de Janeiro (2013). [1] In 2009, the diocese closed fourteen Catholic schools; DiMarzio selected Caggiano to lead the reorganization effort. The diocese conceded that the reorganization would probably result in job cuts. [6] DiMarzio also tasked Caggiano with consolidating 46 parishes and reducing the number of Catholic grade schools from 108 to about 65 or 70 while converting the rest into independent Catholic academies. [2]
Bishop of Bridgeport
On July 31, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Caggiano as bishop of Bridgeport. He was installed there on September 19, 2013. [7] One of Caggiano's first actions as bishop was to announce the financial deficit of the diocese. He also mandated that pastors serve six-year renewable terms at parishes and that they submit their resignations as pastors to the bishop when they turned age 75. [3]
In 2014, Caggiano convoked the fourth diocesan synod, the first in Bridgeport in 32 years (called "Building Bridges to the Future Together"). [4] In a 2014 interview with America Magazine , Caggiano said that he wanted to reach out to the large number of Catholics in the diocese who do not attend mass. [8] The major concerns of the synod included the decline in mass attendance and sacramental reception and the declining enrollment Catholic schools. [9]
In April 2019, the Murphy Center of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, awarded Caggiano the "Bowler Award". [10] In November 2019, Caggiano was elected to the board of Catholic Relief Services and then named to a three-year term as its chair. [11] Caggiano said on November 25, 2019, that it was an honor for him to lead an organization dedicated to people "who don't have enough to eat or a place to sleep because of entrenched poverty". [12]
In 2018, Caggiano announced that the diocese would revise its liturgical norms and regulations over the next four years as a result of discussions from the diocesan synod. He said that these new regulations would "allow us to pray effectively and reverently as a Church" and would be the newest norms implemented since 1983. [13]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Caggiano stopped public masses on a temporary basis to avoid contagion, going to livestream masses. He said that closing churches was "our common moral obligation to protect human life" and reduce transmission in the virus. Additionally, he noted on Facebook that suspending all public masses was important for community safety, and was in accordance to "the central Catholic belief in the sanctity of every human life". However, the diocese also announced that one particular format for the mass in person would be arranged to social distancing norms for only 50 people while others can participate via their car in parking lots, still socially distant in the case of an emergency. [14] As the pandemic eased, Caggiano announced an easing in restrictions on mass attendance. [14]
Caggiano maintains a Facebook and Twitter account that he uses for regular postings. [15] In June 2021, Caggiano announced the formation and development of a national catechetical institute. The initiative is to include Hispanic inculturation. The virtual launch was set for December 2020, with a live conference anticipated in Baltimore by November 2022. [16]
Sexual abuse reporting
Caggiano commissioned a report released in October 2019 from former state Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg into the Diocese's handling of accusations of sexual abuse by its priests. Holzberg found that since 1953 some 71 priests had abused almost 300 people, with most cases dating to the 1960s and 1970s and none since 2008. He detailed how three bishops over forty years had consistently failed to fulfill their moral and legal responsibilities. [17] Caggiano also said on October 3, 2019, that victims "need to remain at the center of all of our efforts because they are our brothers and sisters" which meant that "moving forward does not mean leaving them behind". [18]
Viewpoints
Abortion
In June 1997, Caggiano stated that life must be preserved and defended from the moment of conception since an unborn child was "of infinite value" due to its origins in God's love. [19] Caggiano on January 25, 2019, referred to the legalization of abortion rights for women as disturbing and as a failure on the part of contemporary American society. [20]
Clerical sex abuse scandal
Caggiano told the National Catholic Reporter in 2014 that it was important "to rebuild trust in the Church, among people in the Church", particularly with those younger people who leave due to feeling scandalized by the impact the crisis has. He said that rebuilding trust was dependent upon transparency and authenticity which he hoped to demonstrate consistently in his episcopacy. [3]
Euthanasia
In June 1997, Caggiano stated that "contemporary society continues to undermine all attempts to respect and defend human life", referring to an imminent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on physician-assisted suicide which Caggiano said "represents a subtle form of euthanasia". He said that it contributed to a "culture of death" that would usher in dramatic societal shifts towards life and death. [19]
Interfaith dialogue
On December 22, 2015, Caggiano attended a prayer service with Jewish and Muslim leaders in front of the Margaret E. Morton Government Center in Bridgeport "to alert people to the sin of discrimination and to stand in solidarity with those who are in need". He decried attacks motivated by religious discrimination and hatred, noting the "growing menace of terrorism and violence" in a Facebook post he wrote shortly after the event. [21] He also noted that "unfortunately there are few who, in the name of God, are perpetrating terrible acts of evil". Caggiano pointed out that different religions needed to come together to reject religiously motivated violence in order "to search for peace, understanding and a spirit of tolerance". [21]
Caggiano also condemned the spraying of anti-Semitic graffiti at the diocesan cathedral, referring to "this brazen and disgusting display of anti-Semitism which is morally abhorrent and an affront to our Catholic faith" in a statement issued on January 5, 2019. He further said that "to use a clearly anti-Semitic symbol is participating in unspeakable evil" and that it was a distressing occurrence given that there was a growing need to mutually respect other religions. [22]
Racism
Caggiano issued a statement on Twitter following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May 2020. Caggiano said that "we must once again confront the evil of systematic racism, bigotry, and discrimination in our country". [23]
Same-sex marriage
In 2015, Caggiano condemned the US Supreme Court's decision that same-sex marriages were constitutional. Caggiano joined other Catholic dioceses in opposing the ruling, saying that the decision was indicative of "rapidly shifting attitudes in our secular American society", however, pointing out that this did not deter the church's official magisterium or "its understanding of sacramental marriage". Caggiano further stated that "the Church clearly teaches that the sacrament of marriage is a covenant of love that can be entered into only by a man and a woman", and that a change in civil law proved that the Catholic Church needed "to become a more welcoming Church". [24]
Youth
In an interview with the National Catholic Register on July 10, 2017, Caggiano said that young people "are facing their own unique challenges and want someone to listen to them". He said that pastors need to use technological innovations to reach these youth and draw them closer to the Catholic Church. Caggiano further said that striving for personal holiness and to "proclaim the Good News" were focal points for a youth ministry so that the youth were not forgotten. [25] Having attended several World Youth Day events, Caggiano said that it was exceptional to see millions of young people gathering together from all parts of the world under a common faith. [2]
Caggiano attended the 2018 Synod of Bishops in Rome that was dedicated to the youth. Caggiano said that the Catholic Church needed to act transparently to gain the trust of young people disaffected by the clerical sex scandals. He further said that there was a need to make outreach to young people a crucial pastoral focus for any episcopacy. [1]
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