BishopAccountability.org
	A Look at Bishop Hurley's Road from Detroit to Grand Rapids By Joe LaFurgey Wood [Michigan] June 21, 2005 (Detroit, June 21, 2005, 7:20 p.m.) The Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids has a new bishop . Pope Benedict XVI named Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Walter A. Hurley to succeed the late Bishop Kevin Britt, who died in May 2004. Bishop Hurley spent the last 40 years as a priest in Detroit. Those that know him best describe him as personable, as well as a visionary. Bishop Hurley left his mark as a parish priest at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Farmington. "Once you get to know him is to love him," Sister Christine Mihelcic, the parish administrator of the church, told 24 Hour News 8. Sister Mihelcic says the bishop brought a new vision, a new mentality, to the church. It's a vision that helped attract new members. Three thousand families call Our Lady of Sorrows their home parish. "A lot of that is due to his management, it is really important to him, the welcoming, the hospitality that we can provide to new parishioners as they come in," Sister Mihelcic. Born in Canada, the 68-year-old bishop was ordained a priest in 1965. Our Lady of Sorrows was his last parish. Through his time with the church, he served a number of roles, including his appointment as judicial vicar, the diocese's top cannon lawyer. Father George Miller of the Detroit archdiocese worked closely with the bishop. "He's not authoritarian in any sense. But he also recognizes that if decisions have to be made and it is his responsibility to make them, he won't hesitate to do so," Miller said. In 1998, Cardinal Adam Maida put Bishop Hurley in charge of sexual abuse investigations within the Archdiocese of Detroit. Some victims of that abuse say the diocese and Bishop Hurley haven't done enough to address their concerns. Ned Noon, a metro Detroit resident and a member of SNAP, the survivors network of those abused by priests, told 24 Hour News 8, "We were stonewalled all the way through and did not see any good intentions on the part of the diocese." But Father Miller defends the diocese's actions under Bishop Hurley. "We have to protect the rights of everybody, and that includes the one that's accused." Father Miller also tells us we should expect Bishop Hurley to be a leader that will reach out to other religions for the betterment of the community.