Murry Leads the Diocese of Youngstown

Feb 11, 10 Photo source: Diocese of Youngstown

Audio story broadcast by WYSU-FM on Dec. 7, 2009.

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By DOUG LIVINGSTON

The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown has seen five Bishops in its 66 year history. Each Bishop has followed a specific type and cast until March 28, 2007 when Pope Benedict appointed the first African American bishop to head the primarily white congregation in Youngstown.

George Murry is a black bishop in a racially segregated community.  He carries with him a hope for the future of the Mahoning Valley and the consequences of every choice he has made along his path to becoming a man of the faith.

Murry remembers family and friends telling him that race would be an issue for a black man entering the priesthood in the Catholic Church. Murry said his years in seminary school did not reflect these assumptions, yet his practice, in some cases, has.

Murry recalled one incident as a young priest where he had attended a wake. Upon entering the room, he said that some people were surprised to see an African American priest. He said that his presence was ultimately accepted on the grounds that he was a priest. “You do run into some people who are just bigoted,” Murry said. “And you just have to deal with that.”

Murry, 61, was born in Camden, NJ. He said the section of the city where he grew up is so similar to the Mahoning Valley that his appointment to the Youngstown Diocese was like coming home.

Both his parents put great emphasis on Murry’s education. He said they sacrificed so that Murry and his brother could attend Catholic elementary and high schools.

They were a standard middle class family, he said, one with dreams and stark realities. In choosing a career, Murry decided he would fulfill one of his father’s dreams, to become a doctor. Murry’s grandfather had died while his father was attending pre-med training, forcing him to withdraw from his studies. “He was the oldest of thirteen children,” Murry recalled, “so he felt an obligation to leave school and get a job and take care of his family.”

Along with his father’s interest in medicine, Murry’s mother was a nurse. After setting out to become a doctor, Murry would encounter priests at both Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill and St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia that changed his life forever.

He was taken by their trust. He found that what the priests did was so interesting that he would become a priest himself. He set aside his father’s dream and began studying for the priesthood in 1972 and was ordained a priest in 1979.

His choice to become a priest came with yet more stark realities. He would eventually commit to a life of service and celibacy. Yet, he had been in love.

“Many times people will ask me, ‘would you like to have gotten married, would you like to have had a family?’ And I would have enjoyed that immensely… I dated when I was in High School and in College,” Murry said. “And I’ve been able to stay friends with many of the women that I have dated that have gone on to get married.”

At this pivotal time in Murry’s college education, he recalls being very close to one particular woman he had dated. “She kept trying to help me figure out what I wanted to do, what God was calling me to do… There was definitely a struggle.”

Murry just found out in June that she had died.

As a bishop, Murry serves on the Catholic Relief Services. The program has taken him all over the world to places of need. Some of these places include Nigeria and Chad in Africa, South Africa and to India after the tsunami of 2004.

Murry said the most tragic event he has experienced happened at the foothills of the Himalayas in Northwestern Pakistan just after the earthquake of October 2006. “The earthquake occurred on a Friday morning,” Murry said. “The children were in school… As the ground began to shake, the building collapsed…When I got there two days after the earthquake, the people in the village were explaining to me that many of their children were trapped inside.”

Some of his challenges are a bit closer to home. Murry said he enjoys life in the Mahoning Valley but does notice many issues as you drive the streets of Youngstown. Murry hopes that the Church will be on the forefront of revitalizing the community.

Murry has attempted to continue what he considers a good relationship between the diverse religions in the area by getting to know local Protestant ministers and Jewish rabbis.

“I keep looking for ways that all of us, Catholics, Protestants and Jews, can work together,” Murry said, “to advance our area.”

As a bishop, Murry has used his position in the church to help those in need. He has also used his public vantage to spark debate on issues that surround society.

His predecessor, Bishop Thomas Tobin has recently made headlines for his attack against Rudy Gulianni and other political figures that are Catholic yet vote against the consensus of the church.

Murry, like Tobin, is not afraid to take a stand on the issues or question politicians who he said claim to take a position contrary to the church that they admit being a part of.

“I don’t understand how Nancy Pelosi can call herself a Catholic and repeatedly vote for various forms and legislation for abortion,” Murry said.

Murry said politicians who claim to oppose abortion often support “a woman’s right to choose.” The bishop said the two are equal. “Many politicians try to erase these equal signs,” Murry explains. “So they can stand up and say I don’t support abortion. Well, they do support abortion.”

Murry highlighted that the Internal Revenue Service prohibits any tax exempt religious institution from endorsing a candidate. The bishop said he uses his position in the church and the community to raise the issues.

Murry said that you have to be unafraid to speak about the issues, but still mindful on where to draw the line between the duties of a bishop and the job of a politician. For instance, he strongly believes that there is a need for healthcare reform in this country. Murry adds that it is up to the politicians to decide how this gets done.

Murry is, however, at the forefront of making decisions for the Youngstown Diocese. His role is to manage the parishes. And, in these hard economic times, that can lead to downsizing.

The Diocese boasts a congregation of 200,000 people in 115 parishes over the five county area. Murry said that there is a lack of priests to facilitate every parish in the area. He even admits having to fill in at mass from time to time to alleviate this problem. He has set a goal for spring to align the number of priests that are available with the many parishes.

But the issue of downsizing is not merely due to personnel; Murry said it is an unfortunate result of the recession. He is considering selling some of the Churches assets to maximize the congregation’s economic stability. One particular asset is the house on Logan Way which held the living quarters for previous bishops and a location for ceremonies and meetings for the Church.

In all, Murry plans to complete his restructuring of the Catholic Diocese by the spring of 2010. “At that time,” Murry said, “I am going to have to ask people to make some sacrifices… If I am going to ask people to make sacrifices, than I am going to have to make sacrifices.”

Murry said he wishes to take the funds from the sale of the Logan Way estate to create an endowment fund that will help educate students in the area that aspire to become priests.

Murry no longer lives on Logan Way. Instead, he has taken up residency at a Diocesan house on gypsy where he occupies two rooms, and bedroom and a study.

Murry said the steel mills have been gone for thirty years, and the community has survived for thirty years. He said the only way that Youngstown will continue to survive is if the community makes plans to build a future. Murry said he approves of the 2010 plan, which he said opens doors and illustrates the fact that there are more opportunities than problems in the area. “I want the Catholic Church to be a part of the rebuilding of Youngstown and the revitalization of Youngstown, not sitting of on the sidelines.”

Murry said he would he would welcome a life in Youngstown for the remainder of his tenure as a bishop. Many decisions have led him here including service to God and service to the community. But as much as he wishes to stay in Youngstown, whether or not he does stay, he said, is up to the pope.