Person:James Hoffman (5)

Area Catholics mourn loss of their bishop James Hoffman is remembered as advocate for lay involvement

(THE BLADE)

Bishop Hoffman: He was diagnosed with cancer in November.

By JUDY TARJANYI BLADE SENIOR WRITER

Bishop James Hoffman, 70, spiritual leader of northwest OH’s 315,000 Rom an Catholics since 1981, died yesterday in the Ursuline Center, where he h ad been staying since he was diagnosed with cancer in November.

The sixth bishop of the Toledo Diocese served longer than any of his prede cessors, surpassing the previous record set by Archbishop Karl Alter, w ho was bishop from 1931 to 1950.

Until a successor is named by Pope John Paul II, the Rev. Michael Billia n, chancellor of the diocese, is expected to handle day-to-day operations.

Born in Fremont, Bishop Hoffman was the son of the late Berneta and Walt er Hoffman, a shoe-store operator, and was reared in St. Ann’s parish ther e. Bishop Hoffman had been chancellor of the diocese for nine years wh en he was tapped by Pope Paul VI to become an auxiliary bishop in 1978.

When he ascended to the leadership of the Toledo Diocese in 1981, he sa id that he would not govern in an authoritarian way, but would emphasize t he shared responsibility of all believers for the church.

He became known for a collaborative leadership style that emphasized conse nsus-building and delegating responsibility. Although his critics wanted h im to lead with more clear-cut authority, his supporters valued his consul tative style.

"He delegated and supported and listened," said Sister Janet Doyle, dioces an school superintendent. "He very much gave you the room you needed witho ut question."

The bishop’s handling of parish staffing in the midst of the current prie st shortage was emblematic of his management style. Rather than closing ch urches, he invited parishionersto propose ways to function with fewer prie sts. In some cases, parishes merged or forged alliances with neighboring p arishes to share resources.

"His motto was ‘All things to all people’ and he really tried to live it ," said the Rev. Robert Wilhelm, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help pari sh, who called the bishop "a great friend and a great bishop" and "my ment or, my model, my example."

In a 2000 interview with The Blade, Bishop Hoffman said that he was not ab out trying to please or make everyone happy. Rather, he saw his responsibi lity as overseeing the unity of the local church.

In recent years, Bishop Hoffman led a diocese that often divided along lib eral-conservative lines as Catholics reacted to the reforms of the la st 40 years following the Second Vatican Council.

But his greatest challenge as bishop no doubt was the last year, during wh ich the church locally and nationally was rocked by a clergy sexual-abu se scandal, the repercussions of which are still being felt.

During an Oct. 31, 2002, interview with The Blade, Bishop Hoffman acknowle dged that the crisis was the most serious he had seen since taking over le adership of the diocese. Because he regarded his fellow priests as brothe rs and was considered a compassionate shepherd by many, the scandal clear ly caused him deep pain.

The sexual-abuse scandal also forced him into the media spotlight, whi ch he eschewed when possible, preferring instead the pastoral duties th at brought him into contact with ordinary Catholics.

An advocate of lay involvement in the church, Bishop Hoffman’s leadersh ip put the Toledo Diocese on the American Catholic map as a place where l ay ministry flourished. He appointed lay people to the top levels of dioce san administration and worked on the national level for lay involveme nt as chairman of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on t he laity.

In 1989, he convened the first diocesan synod since 1941, inviting all t he members of the diocese to shape a vision for the church.

"He did a tremendous job of empowering lay people," said the Rev. James Ba cik, a theologian and pastor of Corpus Christi University parish. "He w as instrumental in helping lay people all over the country to realize the ir responsibility for the church."

(THE BLADE)

Bishops John Donovan and James HOffman served the Toledo Diocese more th an 35 years. ZOOM 1

Bishop Hoffman was seen, too, as advancing the cause of women in a chur ch that does not ordain female priests by naming women to such posts as ch ancellor and superintendent of schools.

"He respected women’s role in the church and tried to find ways to rai se up women. He consciously tried to make that happen," said Sister Jane t, who also was a member of the bishop’s cabinet.

Although as leader of the diocese, Bishop Hoffman held title to millio ns of dollars of church property, his lifestyle was a model of simplicit y. In keeping with his belief that all Christians were invited by the Gosp els to live simply, he drove modest automobiles and downsized the living s pace designated for the bishop.

Four years after becoming head of the diocese, he sold the bishop’s Old We st End mansion, which boasted a third-floor ballroom, and moved to anoth er building that had originally housed diocesan offices and the bishop’s q uarters.

Bishop Hoffman also had an interest in social issues such as capital punis hment, which he opposed, and traveled to Mansfield to visit prisoners on O H’s death row.

Outside the church, he forged strong ecumenical and interfaith ties, parti cularly with mainline Protestant and Jewish clergy.

He once told an audience in a local Lutheran church that as a boy growi ng up in Fremont he could never have imagined setting foot inside a Protes tant church, let alone be preaching in one. But he said he experienc ed an ecumenical awakening in 1966, when he began meeting with a gro up of Lutheran and Catholic pastors to discuss doctrinal issues.

"His death is a real loss for the whole Christian community in the northwe st OH area," said Bishop Marcus Lohrmann, head of the Northwestern OH Syno d, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "He has been a very strong part ner in terms of setting a positive ecumenical relationship in this territo ry."

Bishop Hoffman also enjoyed a close relationship with Rabbi Alan Sokobi n, rabbi emeritus of The Temple-Congregation Shomer Emunim in Sylvani a. In 1992, the two men were honored by the Anti-Defamation League of B’n ai B’rith for improving understanding between their faiths after collabora ting on a project marking the quincentennial of the expulsion of the Je ws from Spain.

Rabbi Sokobin said Bishop Hoffman was instrumental in seeing that stu dy of the Holocaust was incorporated into the diocesan school curriculum.

"He was a quietly active idealist. He was not a thunderer. He was God’s bu sinessman, and he did it very well."

Ordained a priest in 1957, Bishop Hoffman’s parish assignments included S t. Peter in Mansfield, St. Joseph in Marblehead, Blessed Sacrament and Ros ary Cathedral in Toledo, and St. Joseph in Sylvania. He also was a secreta ry to his predecessor, Bishop John Donovan, and a chaplain to the Ursuli ne Sisters.

He served as chairman of the U.S Bishops’ pastoral practices committee a nd was a member of the committee on stewardship as well as the Catholic co llege and university presidents’ committee. Bishop Hoffman also was a memb er of the board of trustees of Mount St. Mary Seminary, Cincinnati, whe re he received a master’s degree.

A graduate of St. Meinrad, Ind, College, the bishop held degrees in can on law from the Catholic University of America, Washington.

At noon today, churches throughout the diocese will toll their bells 22 ti mes in honor of Bishop Hoffman - one for each year of service.

Surviving are his sisters, Paula Militello and Mary Welsh.

Services will be at 4 p.m. Friday in Rosary Cathedral, where a prayer vig il will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday and where visitation will be fr om 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, noon to 9 p.m. Thursday, and noon to 3:30 p.m. F riday. Burial will be private.

The family requests tributes to the diocese’s "One Faith, Many Blessing s" campaign or the Mission of Accompaniment.