Outgoing bishop leaves mixed legacy of unity and division

For Bishop Raymundo J. Peña, his impending departure from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville is still a source of disparate emotions.

“I think it’s more sweetness than bitterness, because I feel comfortable with what we have accomplished together — all of us,” he said Wednesday during the presentation of his successor, Bishop Daniel E. Flores.

His legacy, too, will remain conflicted for many in the Catholic community.

Since his installation in 1995, parishioners and fellow members of the clergy have described his leadership at times as both unifying and divisive.

His unwavering stance in favor of immigration reform and against the border fence earned him the hearts of several Rio Grande Valley groups and attracted attention from congressmen in Washington, D.C.

And his decision to take over management of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle in San Juan in 1997 helped put the shrine on the national map.

But during his tenure, he religiously guarded the diocese’s internal affairs, leading some to question his motives.

In 2004, Peña refused to release the names of seven priests dismissed from local parishes for alleged sexual abuse, drawing criticism from victim advocacy groups that demanded to know how the diocese had doled out the nearly half a million dollars it paid in settlements, legal fees and counseling services since 1978.

A fight over pension benefits in 2002 prompted four lay employees of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in McAllen to seek union representation. Peña refused to sign off on their contract and remained tight-lipped about his decision during a years-long court battle that followed.

More recently, the bishop has drawn criticism for the diocese’s management of the Valley’s lone public television and radio stations, including a 2006 decision to pull a documentary on the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal from the channel’s prime-time lineup.

Throughout, though, Peña has remained an accessible figure to many Catholics. In appearances at religious events and in a weekly column published in local newspapers, he often urged his flock to visit nursing homes, detention centers and their neighbors to share God’s word.

Peña, a Corpus Christi native, said Wednesday he plans to stay in the Valley and continue to serve the Church and God at his successor’s side.

“I am grateful to God for all that we have been able to do to build up His kingdom in the Rio Grande Valley for almost 15 years,” he said. “I will support everything that he does.”

Flores will be formally installed as the new bishop at a ceremony on Feb. 2, 2010.

Canon law required that Peña submit his resignation upon turning 75 earlier this year.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437. Emma Perez-Treviño is reporter for The Brownsville Herald.