Matthew H. Clark position held Catholic bishop
Bishop of Rochester
On April 23, 1979, Pope John Paul II appointed Clark as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Rochester. He was consecrated in Rome on May 27, 1979, by John Paul II himself, with Archbishop Duraisamy Lourdusamy and Cardinal Eduardo Somalo serving as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's Basilica. Clark selected as his episcopal motto: "God's Love Endures Forever". Clark was installed as bishop at the Rochester War Memorial in Rochester, New York, on June 26, 1979.In 1986, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger ordered Clark to withdraw his imprimatur, or church approval, from a sex education manual written by a priest in his parish. Ratzinger said the manual was "defective" on church teachings. On March 12, 1986, Clark defended one of his priests, the theologian Father Charles Curran, from criticism by Vatican officials for his stands on birth control, abortion rights for women, homosexuality, and divorce.In 2003, Clark was criticized over his $11 million renovation and liturgical re-alignment of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester. Clark received some credit for clamping down on abusive priests. In 2004, the diocese was deemed to be in "full compliance" with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) charter for the protection of children and young people. Clark presided over the unpopular closing of many of Rochester's parochial schools and parishes, pledging to complete the "re-sizing" of the diocese prior to his retirement in 2012.
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