George Hugh Niederauer
George Hugh Niederauer | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of San Francisco | |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Archdiocese | San Francisco |
| Appointed | December 15, 2005 |
| Installed | February 15, 2006 |
| Term ended | July 27, 2012 |
| Predecessor | William Levada |
| Successor | Salvatore J. Cordileone |
| Previous post |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | April 30, 1962 by James Francis Aloysius McIntyre |
| Consecration | January 25, 1995 by Roger Mahony, William Levada, and Tod Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 14, 1936 |
| Died | May 2, 2017 (aged 80) |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Education | Stanford University St. John's Seminary Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Loyola Marymount University University of Southern California |
| Motto | To serve and to give |
| Styles of George Hugh Niederauer | |
|---|---|
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
George Hugh Niederauer (June 14, 1936 – May 2, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the archbishop of San Francisco in California from 2005 to 2012. Before that, Niederauer served as bishop of Salt Lake City in Utah from 1994 to 2005.
Biography
Early life
George Niederauer was born on June 14, 1936 in Los Angeles, California, the only child of George and Elaine Niederauer. He attended St. Catherine's Military School in Anaheim, California, and then St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, California; he was a classmate of future Cardinal William Levada.
After graduating from highs school in 1954, he attended Stanford University in Stanford, California. During his freshman year, Niederauer decided to enter the priesthood. He enrolled at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1959. He further completed his studies with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and a Master of Arts degree in English literature from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in 1962. Niederauer also earned a Ph.D. in English Literature at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Priesthood
Niederauer was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at St. Vibiana Cathedral in Los Angeles on April 30, 1962 by Cardinal James Francis Aloysius McIntyre.[1] The Vatican elevated Niederauer to the rank of honorary prelate of his holiness in 1984. Niederauer served as rector of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo from 1987 to 1992.[2]
Bishop of Salt Lake City
Niederauer was appointed the eighth bishop of Salt Lake City by Pope John Paul II on November 3, 1994. Niederauer received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 25, 1995, from Cardinal Roger Mahony, with Archbishop William Levada and Bishop Tod David Brown serving as co-consecrators. In a 2013 article, Gary Topping described Niederauer as;
"the most approachable of persons and one whose homilies were almost magical in their ability to make potentially difficult Scripture passages and theological concepts comprehensible and applicable – even inspiring – in our daily lives."[3]
Archbishop of San Francisco
On December 15, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI named Niederauer as archbishop of San Francisco. Niederauer was the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Communication, and a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.[4]On 2011, Niederauer underwent emergency double bypass cardiac surgery.[5]
Retirement and death
On July 27, 2012, Niederauer resigned as archbishop of San Francisco.[6] Niederauer died in San Raphael, California, on May 2, 2017, at age 80.[1]
Views
Same sex marriage
In 2008, Niederauer campaigned in favor of California's Proposition 8, a ballot measure to recognize heterosexual marriage as the only valid form of marriage. Niederauer claimed to have been instrumental in forging alliances between Catholics and Mormons to support the measure. Wrote the San Francisco Chronicle,
"Niederauer drew in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and proved to be a critical move in building a multi-religious coalition—the backbone of the fundraising, organizing and voting support for the successful ballot measure. By bringing together Mormons and Catholics, Niederauer would align the two most powerful religious institutions in the Prop. 8 battle."[7]
Films
In 2006, Niederauer said in an interview that he had seen the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, and gave this analysis of it;
"I thought it was very powerful, and I probably had a different take on it than a lot of people did.... It was a story not only about the relationship between the two principal characters, but very much a cluster of relationships... And I think in all of that one of the lessons is the destructiveness of not being honest with yourself, and not being honest with other people – and not being faithful, trying to live a double life, and what that does to each of the lives you try to live."[8]
Abstinence
In 2006, Niederauer spoke about sexual abstinence in an interview,
"Our belief is that we have to hold up the standard of abstinence, and we do that in all of our teaching about sexuality by saying that sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong. Now that's a very high bar to set and I understand that. And I don't regret that – I subscribe to it and I teach it. I understand why people find it difficult and disagree with it. I understand why they do. I don't agree with them.... What I would say is that people who disagree with us can disagree without being disagreeable."[8]
Moral teaching
"Authentic moral teaching is based on objective truth, not polling."[9]
See also
Sources
- "George Hugh Niederauer". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney.
- Salt Lake Diocese press release of Niederauer's appointment as archbishop
References
- ^ a b "Archbishop George Hugh Niederauer [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ "Home". Archived from the original on February 20, 2015.
- ^ Topping, Gary (September 27, 2013). "The Bishops of Salt Lake City: The Scholar – Bishop George H. Niederauer". Intermountain Catholic. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
- ^ Tom Burke (December 21, 2007). "'Hooting and hollering' greet Catholic radio station's 'cut-over' (page 6)" (PDF). Catholic San Francisco. Archdiocese of San Francisco. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
- ^ "Archbishop Niederauer recovering from heart surgery". SF Catholic. August 29, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ^ "Pope names Oakland Bishop Cordileone as Archbishop of San Francisco". USCCB. July 27, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
- ^ Kuruvila, Matthai (November 10, 2008) "To Pass Measure, Catholics and Mormons Allied." San Francisco Chronicle. (Retrieved 11-10-08.)
- ^ a b "An interview with San Francisco's new archbishop". February 8, 2006.
- ^ George Niederauer (September 5, 2008). "Archbishop Addresses Recent Comments Made by House Speaker Pelosi". Catholic San Francisco. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2008.