- Andrew Joseph McDonald
infobox bishopstyles
name=Andrew McDonald
dipstyle=The Most Reverend
offstyle=Your Excellency
relstyle=Monsignor
deathstyle=not applicable |Andrew Joseph McDonald (born
October 24 ,1923 ) is an Americanprelate of theRoman Catholic Church . He served as Bishop of Little Rock from 1972 to 2000.Biography
Andrew McDonald was born in Savannah, Georgia, as the eleventh of twelve children of a devout
Irish Catholic family. He was ordained to the priesthood onMay 8 ,1948 , and then served as chancellor andvicar general of the Diocese of Savannah. He obtained a doctorate in canon law from thePontifical Lateran University inRome as well.On
July 4 ,1972 , McDonald was appointed the fifth Bishop of Little Rock,Arkansas , byPope Paul VI . He received his episcopal consecration on the followingSeptember 5 from Archbishop Thomas McDonough, with Archbishop Philip Hannan and Bishop Gerard Frey serving as co-consecrators. He was formally installed as Bishop two days later, onSeptember 7 .Unlike his predecessor, Albert Fletcher, McDonald followed the suggestion of the
Second Vatican Council in instituting permanent deacons in Little Rock, largely because of thediocese 's shortage of priests. Bishop McDonald was opposed to the Supreme Court's 1973 legalization ofabortion in "Roe v. Wade "; he later established apro-life office in the diocesan curia and led the annualMarch for Life each January in Little Rock. In 1982, he invitedMother Teresa to open a home for single mothers in Little Rock.A dedicated ecumenist, McDonald reached out to other denominations in Arkansas throughout his tenure, and once assisted in promoting a
Billy Graham crusade at War Memorial Stadium in 1989. A year later, in 1990, he condemned the legal execution ofJohn Edward Swindler , Arkansas's first execution in more than twenty-five years.He also became known for his affable personality, his involvement with the
laity , and his personal interest in those Catholics under his jurisdiction. After twenty-seven years of service, he retired as Little Rock’sordinary onJanuary 4 ,2000 . Bishop McDonald currently lives outside of Chicago,Illinois , where he serves aschaplain for theLittle Sisters of the Poor .External links
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmcdonald.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
* [http://www.dolr.org/bishop/mcdonald.php Diocese of Little Rock]
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