Pittsburgh Gets New Auxiliary Bishop

Rev. William Walterseid, a 54 year old priest serving the Diocese of Harrisburg, has been appointed to the position of auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The decision was announced by Archbishop Pietro Sambi the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop-elect Walterseid an Ashland PA native, originally worked in health care field graduating from the Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing in 1983. He was accepted into seminary in 1985 studying at St. John Seminary College in Brighton, Massachusetts and later the Pontifical North American College in Rome. After serving in the Harrisburg priesthood for several years Walterseid moved back to Rome to teach at the Pontifical North American College. He currently serves on the Presbyteral Council, the Priests' Personal Board, the Deacon's Council, the Sister's Council, and as Censor Librorum.

Rev. Walterseid will be ordained as a bishop on Easter Monday in Saint Paul Cathedral, Oakland. He will assist Bishop Zubik who continues to recover from back surgery.

Charity Healthcare Center Nets $500,000

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield gave $500,000 to a free health care center run by the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh yesterday.

Catholic Charities Executive Director Susan Rauscher says the insurance company’s grant is equal to the amount of all other donations the center received. Rauscher says like most charities, the center had been hard-pressed to find donations in a down economy.

“We’re going to continue to need to look for resources and to look for support, but certainly this very generous gift from Highmark just ensures that we’re going to be functioning at capacity for another year,” says Rauscher.

She says the Free Health Care Center treats about 700 people per month for many kinds of dental and medical problems. She says those patients are often those who “fall between the cracks”: their employers do not insure them but they make too much to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

The Free Health Care Center operates at a budget between $800,000 and $900,000 each year, says Rauscher. Only six of the workers are paid staff members; the majority of the medical and dental work is done by volunteers.

Highmark and the Highmark Foundation have given more than $1 million to the center since 2005, including this year’s gift.

Clergy Abuse Victims Want Results of Church Investigation

Three people gathered outside the Pittsburgh Diocese Chancery Office on Wednesday afternoon to deliver a letter to the Pittsburgh Catholic bishop. The letter asked him to publicly disclose the outcome of an investigation against Father David Dzermejko, who was suspended from The Mary Mother of the Church Parish in Charleroi last June because of sex abuse allegations. The results of an investigation have not been made public.

They also asked to post on the diocese website the names and whereabouts of all proven and accused clergy and lay employees. They announced the formation of a support group for clergy sex abuse victims and their loved ones in Pittsburgh. In addition, they urged anyone who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes to come forward.

Those gathered included clergy sex-abuse victims from a Chicago-based support group called SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Father Ronald Lengwin, spokesperson for the Diocese said Father Dzermejko was placed on administrative leave and is a diocese facility with other priests. Lengwin said another victim has come forward and a decision is expected next month.