Roberto González Nieves

Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M. (born June 2, 1950) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Juan in Puerto Rico since 1999.

González previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1995, and as bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi in Texas from 1997 to 1999 after two years as coadjutor. He devoted his first decade as a priest to pastoral work in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Biography

Early life and education

Roberto González was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on June 2, 1950, to Puerto Rican parents. He attended Academia Santa Monica in Santurce, a district of San Juan, and then began his priestly formation at St. Joseph Seraphic Minor Seminary in Callicoon, New York. He graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, in 1970.

González was accepted as a candidate for the Franciscans at Christ House in Lafayette, New Jersey, in 1970 and he entered the novitiate of the Order at St. Francis Friary in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1971. González professed his first vows in 1972.

González earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree at the Washington Theological Coalition in Silver Spring, Maryland. He completed his doctorate in sociology at Fordham University and authored ''The Hispanic Catholic in the United States: a Socio-Cultural and Religious Profile''.

Priesthood

On May 8, 1977, González was ordained a priest by Bishop Lorenzo Graziano for the Franciscans. Beginning in 1982, González served at St. Pius V Parish and then from 1986 to 1988 at Holy Cross Parish, also in the Bronx. In 1987, New York City Mayor Ed Koch included González on his list of his six appointees to the New York City Police Review Panel.

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

On July 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed González as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston and titular bishop of Ursona. He was consecrated on October 3, 1988, by Cardinal Bernard Law.

Bishop of Corpus Christi

On May 16, 1995, González was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi by John Paul II. On April 1, 1997, he succeeded as bishop of the diocese.

Archbishop of San Juan

On March 26, 1999, González was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Juan by John Paul II. He was installed as archbishop on May 8, 1999. Attendees included the mayor of San Juan, Sila Calderón and former Governor Carlos Romero Barceló. González' retiring predecessor, Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, observed that the ceremony marked the first time that a Puerto Rican archbishop handed the see over to another Puerto Rican archbishop.

Almost immediately, González raised his profile across the island. In September 1999, he joined Rev. Jesse Jackson at an interfaith prayer service in East Harlem in New York City, where he preached in Spanish on themes of Puerto Rican nationalism and anti-colonialism. He distanced himself from any specific position on the legal status of Puerto Rico, but said he favored institutions that "foster the national identity of the Puerto Rican people". He has articulated outspoken and often controversial views, particularly in defense of the US Navy-Vieques protests and in his denunciation of homosexuality, among other things. His actions in the Vieques protests won him international notoriety, and he has been viewed as a strong Latin-American leader of the Catholic Church.

González has proclaimed his pride in being Puerto Rican, has asked the U.S. Government to work hard to preserve the national identity of Puerto Ricans, and criticized political corruption in Puerto Rico.

During the spring of 2006, along with several Protestant leaders, he was instrumental in persuading Puerto Rican Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Senate President Kenneth McClintock, and House Speaker José Aponte Hernández to resolve Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis, which had sparked a two-week-long government shutdown.

Since 2013, filmmaker Richard Rossi has promoted the cause for sainthood of baseball player Roberto Clemente, a process which needs to begin in the Archdiocese of San Juan where Clemente died. Despite periodic false reports of action on the part of the Vatican or Pope Francis, the archdiocese has not confirmed that the process has begun. Rossi has said that Gonzalez "has been less passionate than Pope Francis" about Clemente's chances, but the ''Washington Post'' was unable as of 2017 to establish that the pope is aware of the case. Gonzalez has not made his views known.

Also in 2013, reports emerged that Gonzalez had resisted repeated requests by the Vatican for him to resign and request another assignment. Gonzalez alleged that the requests were politically motivated, according to a leaked email, and has continued to remain in his position as of July 2022.

See also

* List of Puerto Ricans
* Catholic Church hierarchy
* Catholic Church in the United States
* Historical list of the Catholic bishops of Puerto Rico
* Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
* List of Catholic bishops of the United States
* Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico
(Official Site in Spanish)
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Nieves, Roberto
1950 births
Living people
Religious leaders from Texas
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Puerto Rico
People from San Juan, Puerto Rico
Siena College alumni
Fordham University alumni
Washington Theological Union alumni
American Friars Minor
Puerto Rican sociologists
Franciscan bishops
Roman Catholic archbishops of San Juan de Puerto Rico