Michael Francis Burbidge

Early life and education

Michael Burbidge was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Roman Catholic parents, Francis and Shirley Lilley Burbidge. He has a brother, Francis Burbidge. Upon being confirmed, Burbidge chose Francis as his confirmation name. As a teenager he worked at a Sears department store.^[3]

He graduated from Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield in 1975, and then entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, from where he obtained a B.A. in Philosophy and M.A. in Theology.^[4][5]

Ordination and ministry

Burbidge was ordained to the priesthood by John Cardinal Krol on May 19, 1984. He then served as curate at St. Bernard's Church in Philadelphia until 1986, and taught at Cardinal O'Hara High School from 1986 to 1990.

From 1990 to 1991, Burbidge served on the faculty of Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, becoming dean of students at St. Charles Seminary in 1991. He was secretary to Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua from 1992 to 1999, and was raised to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness in 1998. In 1999, he was named rector of St. Charles Seminary.

He also holds a M.A. in Education Administration from Villanova University and a doctorate in education from Immaculata University.^[6]

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

On June 21, 2002, Burbidge was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia and titular bishop of Cluain Iraird by Pope John Paul II.^[6] He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 5 from Cardinal Bevilacqua, with Bishops Edward Cullen and Robert Maginnis serving as co-consecrators.

As an auxiliary, Burbidge worked in the Archdiocesan Office Center to assist the archbishop with administrative duties, including overseeing the office of the Vicar for Clergy, Office of Communications, and The Catholic Standard & Times. He also served as a regional bishop.

In 2004 two men claimed to have been sexually abused as children by Fr. Stephen Perzan, the chaplain at St. Gabriel’s Hall. Burbidge, along with Bishop Joseph Cistone, reviewed the board's findings before Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali approved the Review Board's recommendation to allow Fr. Perzan to remain the parochial vicar at a parish with a school.^[7]

Bishop of Raleigh

Burbidge was named Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh in North Carolina by Pope Benedict XVI on June 8, 2006.^[6] Replacing Bishop Francis Gossman, he was installed on the following August 4 at Raleigh's Sacred Heart Cathedral. Burbidge announced the building of a new cathedral for the Diocese of Raleigh, called the Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus. Building preparations began in 2013.^[8] Ground breaking for the new cathedral occurred in 2014, and it was completed in 2017.^[9]

After the tornado outbreak of April 2011 in which 24 people were killed and over 800 homes were destroyed, Burbidge urged Catholics to include victims and survivors of the storms in their Holy Week prayers.^[10] He directed the Diocese of Raleigh's ninety-five parishes and mission churches to hold a special collection for a disaster relief fund to be used to help survivors.^[11]

In 2012 Burbidge, along with Peter J. Jugis, the Bishop of Charlotte, supported North Carolina Amendment 1, urging North Carolinian Catholics to vote for the amendment and criticizing U.S. President Barack Obama's opposition to the amendment^[12] The Amendment defined civil marriage as between one man and one woman. Those opposed to the amendment argued that it was discriminatory against LGBTQ people. Burbidge argued that the legislation was not discrimination.^[13] Burbidge received criticism for supporting the legislation.^[14] The amendment was found unconstitutional in federal court on October 10, 2014.

In 2013, Burbidge was one of many clerical leaders to show support for the Moral Mondays protests in North Carolina, a movement started by religious progressives encouraging civil disobedience and arguing for reforms to North Carolina laws regarding the environment, racial justice, gender equality, social programs, education, and other issues, by signing A Joint Statement by Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and United Methodist Leaders in North Carolina, although he did not permit Catholic priests to join the protests.^[15][16][17]

On June 26, 2015 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the United States. Burbidge responded to the ruling with an official statement saying, "the true definition of marriage cannot be redefined by courts" and reiterated the Catholic Church's official teachings on marriage. He ended his statement saying that "we are to treat and engage one another in mutual and lasting respect."^[18]

On 6 May 2016 at a media luncheon, Burbidge openly criticized the controversial North Carolina Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, a law which requires individuals to only use restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates and was seen as discriminatory against members of the LGBTQ community. Burbidge proposed that "...another remedy to the unfortunate situation created by the Charlotte Ordinance and HB2 should be considered..."^[19] and hoped that any legislative solution would, "defend human dignity; avoid any form of bigotry; respect religious liberty and the convictions of religious institutions; work for the common good; and be discussed in a peaceful and respectful manner."^[20]

On November 29, 2016 Burbidge celebrated his last public mass as Bishop of Raleigh at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Cary before leaving to be installed as the new Bishop of Arlington of December 6, 2016.^[21]

Bishop of Arlington

Burbidge was appointed Bishop of Arlington, Virginia, by Pope Francis on October 3, 2016^[30] replacing retiring Bishop Paul Loverde. He was officially installed as the fourth Bishop of Arlington on December 6, 2016 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. The mass was attended by over 1,200 Catholics, including Catholic leaders such as Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, Cardinal Donald William Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, Metropolitan Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.^[31]

On October 4, 2016 the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests criticized the Vatican's appointment of Burbidge to the Diocese of Arlington, claiming he has shown no leadership in the church's sex abuse crisis.^[32]

Burbidge released a statement on October 6, 2016 where he vowed to continue the Diocese' outreach for victims of clerical sexual abuse and to personally reach out to victims.^[33] He continued on the outreach program, holding masses for healing for victims of abuse.^[34]

In January 2017, Burbidge spoke out against U.S. President Donald Trump's Executive Order 13769 which barred refugees and immigrants from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days, limited the number of refugee arrivals to the United States to 50,000 for 2017, suspended the United States Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days, and barred Refugees of the Syrian Civil War from entering the United States indefinitely.^[35][36] Burbidge went on to encourage American Catholics to contact their elected officials and voice their opposition to the new policy and to pray for immigration reform, stating that the Diocese of Arlington and other Catholic communities would continue to be hospitable to refugees.^[37][38][39]

On July 26, 2017 Burbidge, accompanied by his successor Luis Rafael Zarama, returned to the Diocese of Raleigh to celebrate the mass and give the homily at the dedication of the Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus.^[40][41]

Following the Unite the Right rally that took place August 11–12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of the Robert Edward Lee Sculpture in Emancipation Park, Burbidge spoke out calling the events that ensued "saddening and disheartening." He went on to condemn violence, racism, bigotry, hatred and "self-proclaimed superiority", denouncing "any form of hatred as a sin."^{[42][43][44][45]}

On August 22, 2017 Fr. William Aitcheson, a priest in the Diocese of Arlington, admitted to having been a member of the Ku Klux Klan while an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland in the 1970s. Upon Aitcheson's announcement that he would be temporarily stepping down from his post at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Fairfax, Burbidge released a statement referring to Aitcheson's past as "sad and deeply troubling" while hoping that his conversion of heart would inspire others.^[46][47]

In September 2017 Burbidge responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by calling on Catholics to keep all people protected by DACA, and all government officials, in their prayers. He referred to Trump's decision as "disheartening" and stated that the United States government has a responsibility to protect those who are in the United States under the protection of DACA.^[48]

On August 3, 2018 Burbidge expressed his anger and sadness regarding the allegations of sexual abuse by former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington.^[49] He stated that bishops must be held accountable for their actions.^[50][51]