See Omaha Denomination Roman Catholic Predecessor Daniel E. Sheehan Installed June 25, 1993 Motto That We May All Be One Ordination May 24, 1958 | Term ended June 3, 2009 Name Elden Curtiss Consecration April 28, 1976 Nationality American Successor George Joseph Lucas Appointed May 4, 1993 | |
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Born June 16, 1932 (age 91) Baker City, Oregon ( 1932-06-16 ) Education Fordham University, Saint Edward Seminary | ||
Elden Francis Curtiss (born June 16, 1932) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Helena from 1976 to 1993, and Archbishop of Omaha from 1993 to 2009.
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Early life and career
Elden Curtiss was born in Baker City, Oregon, the eldest of four sons of Elden and Mary (née Neiger) Curtiss. He studied at St. Edward Seminary in Kenmore, Washington, and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Francis P. Leipzig on May 24, 1958. He was assigned to parishes in Lakeview, La Grande, and Jordan Valley, Oregon, and served as a hospital chaplain.
Curtiss furthered his studies at Fordham University, at the University of Portland, and at the University of Notre Dame, acquiring a master of divinity degree and a master of arts degree in education administration. He served as director of information and as superintendent of schools in the Diocese of Baker. In 1970, he joined the faculty of Mount Angel Seminary; in 1972, he was appointed president-rector of the seminary.
Bishop of Helena
On March 4, 1976, Curtiss was appointed the seventh Bishop of Helena, Montana, by Pope Paul VI. He was ordained as a bishop on April 28, 1976, by Archbishop Cornelius Power of Portland, Oregon. He selected as his episcopal motto: "That We May All Be One" (John 17:21).
Archbishop of Omaha
Curtiss was later named the fourth Archbishop of Omaha, Nebraska, by Pope John Paul II on May 4, 1993. Succeeding the retiring Daniel Sheehan, he was formally installed on June 25 of that year.
Upon reaching his 75th birthday in 2007, Curtiss submitted his resignation, as required by church law. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation and named George J. Lucas as his successor.
Response to sexual abuse claims
During his tenure as the Bishop of Helena, Curtiss chose to reassign a priest who had been accused of pedophilia in 1959, later admitting that he had not properly examined the church's personnel file on the individual concerned. Curtis faced similar criticism in 2001 in regard to a priest accused of accessing child pornography. Curtis, it was alleged, had failed to bring the case to the attention of the authorities, and had chosen to send the priest for counseling and to reassign the priest, removing him from his high-school teaching position but reassigning him to a middle-school.
In 2009, Curtiss stated that the bishops had "learned the hard way", but that the church was better now that it had gone through the process of responding to the sexual abuse issues.