Msgr. Stephan Moloney was elected Thursday as the diocesan administrator to shepherd the Diocese of Columbus until a new bishop is installed.
Msgr. Moloney, 65, the vicar general since 1997 and the pastor at Columbus St. Andrew Church since 2013, will oversee the diocese in the interim period while the bishop’s chair is vacant, which is referred to in Latin as Sede Vacante.
The vacancy was created after Bishop Robert Brennan’s appointment on Sept. 29 to shepherd the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. He was installed as bishop on Nov. 30 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph and St. Teresa of Avila in Brooklyn.
Msgr. Moloney was elected at a meeting on Thursday morning of the 10 members of diocese’s College of Consultors. They include Msgr. Moloney, Father Stash Dailey, Father Dan Dury, Father Mark Hammond, Father Michael Hartge, Father William Hahn, Father Michael Lumpe, Father Bob Penhallurick, Father David Schalk and Father David Sizemore.
“I am very humbled by the confidence placed in me today,” Msgr. Moloney said, “and I am deeply grateful for the all support that has been expressed to me so far. Together, all of us will work to assure the smooth and orderly operation of the Diocese of Columbus, turning to the Holy Spirit for constant guidance as we await the appointment and installation of the next shepherd of our beloved diocese.”
A native of Kenton, Msgr. Moloney attended the Pontifical College Josephinum and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He also has a degree in Canon Law from the Angelicum in Rome.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 1982 by Bishop Edward J. Herrmann and has served at a number of parishes and in diocesan administrative roles, including vice chancellor, chancellor and moderator of the curia.
Msgr. Moloney will continue as pastor at St. Andrew and carry out his responsibilities as vicar general. The diocesan administrator retains all the powers that a vicar general possesses plus some additional powers in the temporary role.
“The work of the diocese goes on,” Msgr. Moloney said. “We don’t have a bishop. I think that’s important thing, we don’t have a bishop and so the diocesan administrator is not a substitute for the bishop.
“But the administrative needs of the diocese continue. And there are things that have to be done … things that have to be taken care even while there’s no bishop. The duty of the diocesan administrator is to make sure that there are no innovations. The diocesan administrator has to protect things, keep things going, but not change anything.”
Msgr. Moloney emphasized that the diocesan administrator does not make major decisions, such as naming new pastors.
“Some things will come up,” he said. “There might be a vacancy in one of the diocesan offices or in a parish that you need to approve.”
One of the duties of a bishop is to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation. Until a new bishop is in place, parish priests will have the faculties to perform the confirmation rite.
“As soon as Bishop Brennan found out that he was going to Brooklyn, within a day or so, he delegated all the pastors to do confirmation in their own parish,” Msgr. Moloney said.
Msgr. Moloney has become accustomed to serving in various roles in parishes and in the chancery simultaneously during his priesthood.
“My parishioners (at St. Andrew) are already used to me being gone, and now I’ll probably be gone more,” he said. “I hope they’ll understand. They’ve been very understanding. And I know my staff and the other priests have gotten used to it.
“There are a lot of things I’d like to be present for in the parish. But it’s like having two full-time jobs. So that’s the reality and hopefully it will be short term. I’ve always felt that being in a parish is so important to maintain a sense of why I wanted to be a priest … to be with the people, because I think that’s the most important thing we do.”
The demands will be even greater at least in the immediate future to represent the diocese in various capacities.
“I know that when there are special events in their parish, they want the bishop and I know I’m not the bishop,” Msgr. Moloney said. “As a diocesan administrator, you’re just minding the store. We’re in a holding pattern until we have a new bishop.”
There is no time estimate on when the Vatican will appoint a new bishop.
When Bishop Brennan replaced retiring Bishop Frederick Campbell in 2019, approximately six months went by from the time Bishop Campbell submitted his retirement letter to the Holy See and when the Vatican announced that Bishop Brennan was coming to Columbus.
The current situation is somewhat unique for the diocese. The last time a Columbus bishop was chosen to lead another diocese came in 1968, when then-Bishop John Carberry was chosen as the archbishop of St. Louis.
After Carberry’s departure, Columbus Auxiliary Bishop Edward Hettinger was named the diocesan administrator on March 27, 1968 to serve during the interim period. Bishop Hettinger also had been the diocese’s vicar general since 1945.
On May 29, 1968, Bishop Clarence Elwell, auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Cleveland, was named to succeed Carberry. He was installed as bishop in the Diocese of Columbus on Aug. 22, 1968, at St. Joseph Cathedral.
Bishop Elwell died on Feb. 16, 1973, and the next three successors – Bishop Edward Herrmann (1973-82), Bishop James Griffin (1983-2004) and Bishop Campbell (2005-2019) – stayed on as administrators until a new bishop was in place.