Patrick Joseph McGrath

Infobox bishopstyles
name=Patrick Joseph McGrath
dipstyle=The Most Reverend
offstyle=Your Excellency
relstyle=Monsignor
deathstyle=not applicable |

Patrick Joseph McGrath (b. July 11, 1945) is the second Roman Catholic Bishop of San Jose in California, USA. Known as P.J., McGrath was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

McGrath attended St. John's Seminary in Waterford, where he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1970. He served as the parochial vicar of St. Anne of the Sunset Parish in San Francisco, and in the archdiocesan tribunal. He went to Rome to continue his education and earned a doctorate in Canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University in 1977. He returned to San Francisco and was appointed the Vice-Officalis, then Officialis, of the archdiocesan tribunal and pastor of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.cite press release
title = Pope Accepts Bishop Mcfarland's Resignation, Names Bishop Tod Brown to Orange; Bishop Mcgrath Appointed Coadjutor of San Jose; Msgr. Wester Is Named Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco
publisher = Office of Media Relations, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
date = June 29, 1998
url = http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/1998/98-151.shtml
accessdate = 2008-09-11 ]

McGrath was named auxiliary bishop of San Francisco and titular bishop of Allegheny on December 6, 1988, and consecrated on January 25, 1989 at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption; archbishop John Raphael Quinn served as his principal consecrator. McGrath was named coadjutor bishop of San Jose by Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1998, and became the ordinary of the diocese upon the retirement of bishop Pierre DuMaine on November 27, 1999.

On February 19, 2004, McGrath published an opinion piece in the "San Jose Mercury News" prior to the opening of "The Passion of the Christ", stressing that the Catholic Church does not support anti-Semitism in any form. McGrath received criticism from Traditionalist Catholics for one paragraph in the editorial:

:"While the primary source material of the film is attributed to the four Gospels, these sacred books are not historical accounts of the historical events that they narrate. They are theological reflections upon the events that form the core of Christian faith and belief."

Traditional Catholics take this statement as being contrary to documents from the First Vatican Council. One group stages monthly protests outside the bishop's residence, asking him to retract his comments.

References

* [http://dsj.org/community/bishop.asp Diocese of San Jose biography]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmcgrath.html Catholic-Hierarchy.net data]
* [http://www.stjosephsmen.com/articles/mcgrath/busy_mcgrath A Very Busy Bishop!] from the St. Joseph's Men criticism site