Джастин Фрэнсис Ригали: Биография американского кардинала

American Catholic cardinal

Justin Francis Rigali (born April 19, 1935) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003. Following a sex abuse probe into the Catholic Church, Cardinal Rigali resigned in 2011. Rigali previously served as the Committee for Pro Life Activities chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The youngest of seven children, Justin Rigali was born on April 19, 1935, in Los Angeles, California, to Henry Alphonsus and Frances Irene (née White) Rigali. His sister Charlotte joined the Sisters of St. Joseph and his brother Norbert the Society of Jesus. Rigali attended Holy Cross School before entering the preparatory seminary in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, in 1949. Rigali studied at one of the Los Angeles College campuses, at Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary in San Fernando, California, and at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California.

Rigali was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Cardinal James McIntyre on April 25, 1961. After his ordination, Rigali received pastoral assignments at parishes in Los Angeles and Downey, California. Rigali returned to California in the summer of 1964 and was briefly assigned as an associate pastor at a parish in Pomona. Back to Rome, he studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy from 1964 to 1966 in preparation for his diplomatic work for the Vatican. He received his episcopal consecration on September 14, 1985, from John Paul II, with Cardinals Eduardo Somalo and Achille Silvestrini as co consecrators, at Albano Cathedral in Lazio, Italy. Rigali selected as his episcopal motto: Verbum Caro Factum Est, meaning, "The Word Became Flesh" He was named a member of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre on October 13, 1986. However, Rigali opposed collective bargaining by teachers, and opposed any efforts they made to unionize. Rigali was widely credited as an able administrator and effective fundraiser, although observers said that his popularity dimmed as his tenure continued.

Rigali was appointed the eighth archbishop of Philadelphia by John Paul II on July 15, 2003.

On July 19, 2011, Benedict XVI accepted Rigali's resignation as archbishop of Philadelphia and named Archbishop Charles J. Chaput to succeed him. Chaput was installed as archbishop on September 8, 2011. Rigali then retired in residence at the Diocese of Knoxville. He was invited there by Bishop Richard Stika, with whom he shares living quarters. Rigali participated in the 2013 conclave that selected Pope Francis. Rigali remained eligible to vote in conclaves until he reached 80 on April 19, 2015. In December 2013, Rigali retired from the Congregation for Bishops. During this period, Rigali participated in some activities in the Diocese of Nashville. In January 2023, Rigali was hospitalized in Knoxville, Tennessee, for a few days for an undisclosed medical condition.

In October 2005, a grand jury empaneled in 2003 by Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham released a report on the cover ups of sexual abuse by clergy in the archdiocese. In response to the report, Rigali stated that “no priests in ministry today who have an admitted or established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against them.” However, some groups disputed the accuracy of that statement. In 2007, a former Catholic high school student reported that he had been repeatedly molested by Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling Charleston. The alleged abuse took place when Bransfield was priest teaching Lansdale Catholic High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, during the 1970s. Rigali, then archbishop of Philadelphia, announced in October 2009 that the allegations could not be substantiated and took no action against Bransfield.

In June 2006, Rigali traveled to the White House along with Archbishop John J. Myers and Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley to attend a press conference by US President George W. Bush. The purpose was to support passage of the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment to the US Constitution in the United States Senate, which would ban civil unions and marriages by same sex couples. The amendment did not pass the senate in 2006 or in later years.

As chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Pro Life Committee, he remarked during the annual Washington, DC, Pro life rally in January 2007 that: "There are reasons for rejoicing" in the pro life cause: the growing participation by young people and a heightened awareness of the issue's intense and growing moral sensitivity among them, who will eventually have a contribution to make to societal issues." In 2009, Rigali endorsed passage of the Pregnant Women Support Act in Congress. He praised the bill for offering "an authentic common ground" that will provide many kinds of life affirming support for pregnant women and their unborn children. The bill did not pass congress.

In November 2009, Rigali, along with other Catholic prelates and religious leaders from other denominations, signed the Manhattan Declaration. The document reiterated conservative viewpoints on marriage and religious freedom .

In March 2009, Rigali described President Barack Obama's lifting of George W. Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research as "a sad victory of politics over science and ethics."

In April 2009, Rigali denounced the ordination ceremony of two Catholic women in Philadelphia, calling it a "pseudo ordination" that "denigrates the truth entrusted to the Church by Christ himself." He excommunicated the two participants

Rigali has run a weekly series of Lenten discourses on YouTube. In 2010, he established an official Facebook page.

Rigali is an honorary council member of the St. Louis, Missouri–based humanitarian organization Wings of Hope.