There is a wise, knowledgeable peace that envelopes visitors to the office of Utah's Catholic shepherd. It is not the modest decor but the occupant — Bishop George Niederauer — whose leadership the past decade has earned him the respect and admiration not only of his flock but of Utahns who appreciate the depth of his humanity.
Now Pope Benedict XVI has taken notice, too, designating Bishop Niederauer as the new archbishop of San Francisco last week through a spokesman in Washington, D.C. The announcement came more than a week after the bishop was notified by phone "at 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6," he recalls. Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, papal nuncio to the United States, called to tell him of the Holy Father's decision.
"I told him I'll be 70 next year, and he said, 'Well, 70 is not what it used to be.' I thought, but didn't say, 'No, but neither am I.' But when the Holy Father asks, people have asked me, 'Couldn't you have said no?' But if I were to ask a priest to take on an assignment I really needed him to take, I wouldn't welcome a 'no.' "
Though the bishop said he had no idea the appointment was coming, he acknowledges there had been some speculation since the San Francisco post had become vacant when his childhood friend and fellow seminarian — former San Francisco Archbishop William Levada — was called to Rome this past summer as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is a post formerly held by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — now known as Pope Benedict XVI.
"I was one of those being rumored for it, but I was only one. There's a mantra about papal appointments: The people who are talking don't know, and those who do aren't talking. There had been speculation once before about another post, but that didn't happen and you just get on with your life. You can't live in 'what ifs.' "
As with other watershed moments in his life, Bishop Niederauer had no trouble remembering the details of the phone call, similar in many ways, he said, to one he received in November 1994, telling him he would be ordained a bishop to serve the Diocese of Salt Lake City.
His decade-plus here began in January 1995 when, dressed in the trappings of bishop, he completed a ceremony long ago established for the men who would shepherd God's sheep, knocking on the door of the Cathedral of the Madeleine to see if the congregation inside would receive him. From his perspective, they — and the wider Utah community — have done so with open arms. The fact that two-thirds of his Utah flock are Latinos provides a depth of experience and insight into the problems many in his new assignment may also face.
Though his personal hobbies lie in things like classical music, stamp collecting and reading, the bishop hasn't been afraid to get involved with parishioners — including a group of miners in rural Emery County who went on strike for several months a couple of years ago seeking better wages and working conditions. He visited the picket line in a show of support. The church provided food and financial support.
Earlier this year, he wrote a letter to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. opposing what became a state law replacing undocumented immigrants' drivers' licenses with driving privilege cards. He said America needs a national dialogue on the plight of undocumented workers, and he was hopeful there might be national legislation regarding guest-worker status.
His sensitivity to the needs of parishioners goes further. Catholic Mass in Utah is spoken in nine languages at his direction, and the bishop has learned to speak it in Spanish for the ever-growing Hispanic population that continues to fill the pews. During an interview marking his 10th anniversary as bishop of Utah, he said it's a continuing challenge to provide services "and to recognize and respect and celebrate our cultural differences," noting that Vietnamese, Hmong, Filipino, Korean, Polish, Sudanese and Tongan parishioners are also present in the diocese.
He lauded the "dedicated collaboration" of so many within the Utah church to "accept and serve" the growing numbers here. The diocese has grown 50 percent during Bishop Niederauer's term — from 80,000 in 1994 to 120,000 in 2004, and providing physical facilities for the burgeoning population has also been high on his agenda.
In addition to the numbers, Bishop Niederauer said he's pleased with the quality of Catholic life in Utah, including the expanding outreach of Catholic Community Services and a deepened spiritual life within the parishes through the efforts of both clergy and laity.
The wider community has also been beneficiary of his efforts. In addition to supporting numerous local causes, including as longtime chairman of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography, Bishop Niederauer has been active in promoting interfaith harmony through his participation in the local Alliance for Unity.
Though a religious divide wasn't apparent to him when he first arrived in Utah, it did come to light fairly early on. Through working with leaders of other faiths and talking openly in public forums, he's come to believe that "it's a challenge to be a majority in a gracious way, and it's also a challenge to be a minority in a gracious way."
He has often said one test of whether Mormons and Catholics are truly following their faith is the way they talk about each other when each person is among fellow parishioners rather than in mixed company. "We have to live up to the best ideals of our faith." He lauded LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley's efforts to get Latter-day Saints to "honor diversity, to respect the beliefs and opinions of people who are different than you."
Those and similar sentiments from other LDS leaders, including fellow Alliance for Unity member Elder M. Russell Ballard, "have been genuine," he said.
In 2001, when the Vatican ruled that baptism in the LDS Church is not valid as a Christian baptism, he cautioned the move "should not be understood as either judging or measuring a spiritual relationship between Jesus Christ and the LDS Church," pointing out that Latter-day Saints also baptize new converts, no matter what their previous faith tradition.
His experience with interfaith relations and the needs of minority parishioners will be called upon in a larger way in San Francisco, where he'll preside over many churches that are largely Latino and Filipino, as well as a larger than average gay population.
He's not sure how the pope's recent directive on gay priests will affect his duties, though part of his responsibility will be to oversee St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif. "My sense is the principles in the document by the pope are not new, but the application of them must be done very prudently and very faithfully. I'll know a lot more about that when I get there in terms of talking with seminary administrators, faculty and students."
The sexual-abuse scandal that rocked that Catholic Church in recent years will have some residual impact for the bishop, who said he's been told there are from six to 12 cases yet to be resolved with victims, down substantially from 100 or more originally brought to light in the area of his jurisdiction. "What remains even after the settlement is the terribly important factor of outreach to victims and families. That will be ongoing, of course."
He'll oversee some 425,000 Catholics living in multiple time zones, including 10 dioceses in all: several in northern California, two in Nevada and one each in Honolulu and Utah. As such, he will have some input in calling Utah's new bishop, "but no decision-making power." His installation as archbishop is scheduled for Feb. 15 at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco.
The bishop says he's familiar with his new living quarters — kitty-cornered across the street from the cathedral — because he visited former Archbishop Levada there a couple of times a year. The two are boyhood friends who met as freshmen in high school. Their families were very close, he said, and they now own a retirement condo together in their hometown of Long Beach.
"I'm sure he had a lot of input in the Holy Father's decision." He's uneasy when asked which of his personal qualities his friend would have pitched to the pontiff. "I think he believes I relate well with people and can listen to them and interact with them effectively. I think he knows I'm loyal to church teaching and have a love for that and the life of the church."
Many Utahns agree and have said they will miss those very qualities, among others. A farewell Mass has been scheduled at the Cathedral of the Madeleine on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow at a location to be announced.
He wants to thank Utahns "for their friendship and support and encouragement. I take away wonderful memories and encourage them to reach out in that same way to my successor and to each other.
"I tell people it was a real wrench to leave Southern California after nearly 60 years, yet it led to some of the most wonderful years of my life here in Utah. I'm hoping that will be the case there as well. I've made a lot of friends here who have been very kind to me. It's not easy to let go of all that."
In fact, the bishop told the Deseret Morning News earlier this year that he fully expected to retire from the diocese here in five years.
Yet, as he penned in his 2004 book, "Precious as Silver," the bishop believes that "For the faithful disciple, what Jesus values and prefers is what matters most. When we listen with open, humble hearts and minds, he promises to lead us in his way, by his light, to the fullness of his life. Let us listen and follow together, as his disciples."
For Utahns familiar with both Bishop Niederauer and the phrase "I'll go where you want me to go," there was never any question in his mind about turning down a call from God, no matter where it leads.
"I'm not depressed. I see God's will in it, and that's what matters. But it's still humanly hard to leave."
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com