Diocese of Cleveland Bishop-designate Nelson J. Perez made time in his busy schedule on Thursday morning Aug. 31 to meet with reporters from three different local media outlets.
The bishop?s first stop was with Mike McIntyre who hosts the ?Sound of ideas? program on public radio station WCPN 90.3 FM. The bishop fielded a multitude of questions. One caller asked about his support of the DACA program, the government program up for renewal that allows undocumented children to attend universities when they come of age. He supports renewal of the program and cited the story of a brilliant young woman who, prior to DACA, attended LaSalle University where he taught. When it was discovered that she was undocumented, she lost all financial assistance and had to leave school.
In a lengthy interview with Emily Bamforth of cleveland.com, the bishop talked about his early impressions of Cleveland. He said he was able to take some time on Wednesday afternoon Aug. 30 to visit the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and truly enjoyed it. A music lover, especially music of the ?60s and ?70s, the bishop says he will have to go back since there was so much to experience.
Viewers can look for the cleveland.com interview online sometime in the next few days.
In a one-on-one interview with WOIO TV 19?s Paul Orlousky, Bishop Perez was asked about his expectations of the priests in the diocese. He said he would like them to be joyful, compassionate and to meet the people where they are. Asked about the projected shortage of priests in the diocese, Bishop Perez noted that there are some 70 candidates in the diocesan seminary. He said it is important for people to understand how significant that number is, particularly for a diocese the size of Cleveland.
