Reverend William Byrne, a priest with the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., will be the new bishop of the Springfield, Massachusetts, Roman Catholic diocese. He replaces Mitchell Rozanski, who became the Archbishop of St. Louis in August.
Byrne, 56, is a Washington native, who has spent much of his career working in parishes.
During an introductory press conference, he said he looks forward to reviewing recommendations from an independent panel — which is evaluating how the Springfield Diocese can better deal with clergy abuse claims.
"We need to take it out of our hands and be able to have outside voices," Byrne said. "You can't police yourself, in any way, effectively."
Rozanski, Byrne's predecessor, established the panel prior to his departure.
Rozanski also reached an agreement with area prosecutors on how abuse claims will be handled.
Byrne said he studied the memorandum of understanding, and that "it makes most sense to have complete transparancy."
The formation of the committee came as some abuse victims and advocates had criticized Rozanski for a lack of transparency in dealing with abuse claims.
Rozanski had reached the deal with the Hampden District Attorney's office after the DA also criticzed the former bishop for allegedly not turning over all abuse claims.
As for Byrne, he also had a message for area Catholics regarding clergy abuse:
"Above all, my brothers and sisters, we must never forget the victims — if we are ever to heal at all," he said.
Byrne most recently has served as pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, MD. He also has administrative experience, having worked as Secretary of Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns for the Washington Archdiocese for more than six years. Byrne also had been the chaplain at the University of Maryland in the past.
Byrne said it was his parish work — something he said he kept asking to return to while working in administration — that prepared him to be a bishop.
"I would say the capacity to be a good pastor is first and foremost the ability to listen, and to hear how God is working... I'm indebted to my parish experiences," Byrne said.
There's also a Massachusetts connection for Byrne: he earned his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.
Byrne is scheduled to be installed as Springfield's 10th bishop on December 14. He will take over a diocese that has 79 parishes and seven missions across the four western counties of Massachusetts, serving nearly 165,000 Catholics.