R. Walker Nickless

Last updated
His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Ralph Walker Nickless

D.D.
Bishop of Sioux City
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
See Diocese of Sioux City
AppointedNovember 10, 2005
InstalledJanuary 20, 2006
Predecessor Daniel DiNardo
Orders
OrdinationAugust 4, 1973
by  James Vincent Casey
ConsecrationJanuary 20, 2006
by  Jerome Hanus, Charles J. Chaput, and Thomas Joseph Tobin
Personal details
Born (1947-05-28) May 28, 1947 (age 76)
Denver, Colorado, US
ParentsR. Walker Nickless (Father)
E. Margaret McGovern Nickless (Mother)
Education University of Denver
Pontifical Gregorian University
MottoSpeak the truth in love
Styles of
Ralph Walker Nickless
Coat of arms of Ralph Walker Nickless.svg
Reference style
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Bishop

Ralph Walker Nickless (born May 28, 1947) is an American prelate in the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City in Iowa since 2005.

Contents

Biography

Ralph Nickless was born on May 28, 1947, in Denver, Colorado, one of ten children born to R. Walker Nickless, Sr. and E. Margaret (McGovern) Nickless. He graduated from Bishop Machebeuf High School in Denver in 1965. He then attended St. Thomas Seminary in Denver and the University of Denver. Nickless eventually went to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. [1]

Priesthood

Nickless was ordained a priest by Archbishop James Casey for the Archdiocese of Denver on August 4, 1973. [2] Nickless then served as pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Lakewood, Colorado and as vicar general of the archdiocese. [1]

Bishop of Sioux City

Nickless was appointed as the seventh bishop of Sioux City on November 10, 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI. [3] He was consecrated on January 20, 2006, at the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Sioux City. Archbishop Jerome Hanus was the principal consecrator, with Archbishop Charles Chaput and Bishop Thomas Tobin as the co-consecrators. [1]

On February 27, 2019, Nickless released a list of 28 priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors, going back to the founding of the diocese in 1902. [4]

In October 2013, it was reported that the diocese had withheld information from parishioners regarding the arrest of Reverend John Wind five years earlier. During that incident, Wind was meeting with a female parishioner at a bakery. While there, he threatened to drop his pants and sexually assault the woman. After she called the police, they found Wind on a street corner half-naked. During his arrest, Wind punched an officer and was subdued with a taser. Wind later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct, was sent away for mental health treatment, and then returned to parish work. His parish was not notified of the incident. [5]

In May 2022, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops, Nickless submitted his resignation as bishop of Sioux City to Pope Francis. [6]

Viewpoints

Health Care

In August 2009, Nickless stated that "the Catholic Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care." [7] Rather, he wrote,

"[t]he proper role of the government is to regulate the private sector, in order to foster healthy competition and to curtail abuses. Therefore any legislation that undermines the viability of the private sector is suspect." [7]

Contraception

In February, 2012, Nickless spoke during a webcast sponsored by the Family Research Council of Washington, D.C. In it, he characterized an Obama Administration initiative to require health insurers to provide birth control coverage as having been sponsored by "the power of evil," and called for "followers of the light" to "stand up and vehemently oppose this." [8]

White Nationalism

On January 16, 2019, Nickless reacted to comments made by then US Congressman Steven King, calling them "totally inappropriate". King had defended white nationalism and white supremacy in public statements. [9]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bishop R. Walker Nickless". Diocese of Sioux City. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Bishop Ralph Walker Nickless". Catholic-Hierarchy.org . Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ Hytrek, Nick (January 22, 2016). "Bishop Nickless Celebrates 10th Anniversary". Sioux City Journal .
  4. ↑ Fox, Joanne (February 27, 2019). "Iowa bishop issues list on abuse 'with heavy heart,' says transparency is key". National Catholic Reporter . Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  5. ↑ Mahoney, Mark (December 1, 2018). "Ex-Sioux Center priest threatened to rape". The N'West Iowa Review. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  6. ↑ News, Siouxland (2022-05-27). "Bishop R. Walker Nickless submits resignation to Pope after serving Sioux City since 2006". KMEG. Retrieved 2023-01-07.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. 1 2 Fournier, Keith (August 21, 2009). "Bishop R. Walker Nickless on Health Care Reform". Catholic Online.
  8. ↑ RWW Blog (February 14, 2012). "Nickless: Contraception Mandate A Plot By The Devil That Must Be Violently Opposed". YouTube . Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ White, Christopher (January 16, 2019). "Iowa bishop calls King's racist rhetoric 'totally inappropriate'". Cruxnow.com. Retrieved December 27, 2021.

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Sioux City
2006-Present		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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