The Cause of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century American religious life, has been put on hold, perhaps indefinitely.
The Diocese of Peoria, where Sheen was ordained and is now buried, announced the delay on December 3. Two days later, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported that the Diocese of Rochester, where Sheen had served as bishop for three years in the late 1960s, had requested the delay.
Rochester Bishop Salvatore Matano reportedly sent a letter to the Vatican suggesting that Sheen could be named in a forthcoming New York attorney general’s report on sex abuse by clerics in the state, regarding his handling of an abusive priest, believed to be Gerard Guli. Rochester diocese is currently facing a slew of sex abuse lawsuits and filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
