James Peter Sartain (born June 6, 1952), better known as Peter Sartain, is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle in Washington State from 2010 to 2019.
Sartain previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas (2000 to 2006) and as bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois (2006 to 2010).
Biography
Early life
Peter Sartain was born on June 6, 1952, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Joseph Martin ("Pete") and Catherine (née Poole) Sartain.[1] He is the youngest of five children as well as the only boy.[2] His father served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II.[3] Raised in the Whitehaven neighborhood of Memphis, Peter Sartain received his early education at the parochial school of St. Paul the Apostle Parish, and graduated from Bishop Byrne High School in Memphis in 1970.[1]
After returning to Memphis, Sartain was appointed as associate pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, where he remained for two years.[2] He then served as director of vocations, as chancellor, as moderator of the curia, as vicar for clergy, as a high school chaplain, and as a judge with the diocesan marriage tribunal.[4] From 1992 to 2000, he served as pastor of St. Louis Parish in Memphis and vicar general of the diocese.[1] Sartain served as diocesan administrator (1992–93) after Bishop Daniel M. Buechlein was named to head the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.[4]
Due to the increasing Hispanic population in Arkansas, Sartain took a course in Spanish in San Antonio, Texas, in 2001, and established Hispanic ministries throughout the state. He also ordained Arkansas's first Mexican-born priest and deacon.[8] He worked to increase vocations; the diocese had ten seminarians and no ordinations in 2000, but fifteen seminarians and two ordinations in 2005.[2] In 2005, Sartain led more than 5,000 Catholics in a bilingual eucharistic congress. During his tenure, the Catholic population in Arkansas rose from 90,600 to over 107,000.[8]
Sartain faced scrutiny while bishop of Joliet due to his handling of the sexual abuse crisis. During his ordination as archbishop of Seattle, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) organized a protest against Sartain's installation. The protest originated from Sartain's decision as bishop of Joliet to ordain Alejandro Flores in 2009, even though diocesan officials had raised concerns over Flores' viewing of male pornography. Shortly after his ordination, Flores was convicted of sexually abusing a boy and sentenced to four years in prison in 2010. SNAP said that Sartain's decision to ordain Flores and other such individuals showed that should not be entrusted as bishop. In response, Sartain claims that he reported priests such as Flores as soon as he heard about abuse.[10]
Archbishop of Seattle
On September 16, 2010, Sartain was appointed as archbishop of Seattle by Benedict XVI, succeeding Archbishop Alexander Brunett. Sartain was installed on December 1, 2010 in St. James Cathedral in Seattle.[5] On November 15, 2011, Sartain was elected secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); he began a three-year term in November 2012. His position also made him chair of the USCCB Committee on Priorities and Plans.[11]
On April 18, 2012, the Vatican announced the appointment of Sartain to oversee a review of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a prominent umbrella group for nuns in the United States. It involved reviewing and changing the group's laws, programs and practices to correct practices that were allegedly "incompatible with the Catholic faith."[12]
Holy Rosary Church, Tacoma, Washington
On June 7, 2019, Sartain installed Paul D. Etienne, then Archbishop of Anchorage, as coadjutor archbishop for the archdiocese. On August 24, 2019, Sartain ordered the demolition of Holy Rosary Church in Tacoma, Washington,[13][14][15] a building that has been on the City of Tacoma's Register of Tacoma Places since 1975.[16] As of 2023, Holy Rosary Church is still standing.
Retirement and legacy
Pope Francis accepted Sartain's resignation as archbishop of Seattle on September 3, 2019.[17][18] He was reported to be in poor health, which prompted the pope to accept his early retirement.[19]
Viewpoints
In April 2012, Sartain urged parishes in the archdiocese to collect signatures to place Referendum 74 on the November ballot. The referendum sought to repeal the State of Washington's newly enacted same-sex marriage statute. Sartain made this statement:
"The word 'marriage' isn't simply a label that can be attached to different types of relationships, Instead, 'marriage' reflects a deep reality – the reality of the unique, fruitful, lifelong union that is only possible between a man and a woman. There is nothing else like it, and it can't be defined or made into something that it isn't...Marriage can only be between a man and a woman because of its unique ends, purpose and place in society."[20]
In the referendum, the voters rejected the appeal of the statute.[21]
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