Thomas Wenski

On June 24, 1997, Wenski was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and titular bishop of Kearney by Pope John Paul II.[4] He received his episcopal consecration on September 3, 1997, from Archbishop John Favalora, with Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy and Bishop Agustin Roman serving as co-consecrators, at the Miami Arena.[4] Wenski selected as his episcopal motto: "All Things to All Men" (1 Corinthians 9:22).[17] As an auxiliary bishop, he served as episcopal vicar for Broward and Monroe Counties.[8]

In addition to his episcopal duties, Wenski served on numerous boards, including Catholic Hospice, Catholic Charities, Catholic Charities Legal Services, and St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida. He served as chair of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (1998–2001),[18] and of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration (2001–2004).[7][19] He also served on the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust and the Coordinating Council of Broward, and was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Council on Homelessness, in 2001, and the Task Force on Haiti in 2004.[7]

Wenski was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Orlando on July 1, 2003 by John Paul II.[4] His installation took place on August 22 2003.[4] Following the retirement of Bishop Norbert Dorsey, Wenski succeeded him as the fourth bishop of Orlando on November 13, 2004.[4] He was the first Florida-born bishop of Orlando.[20]

Wenski convoked the first synod for the diocese in 2004.[20] He held listening sessions with a diverse group of Catholics to hear about their concerns.[20] He designated 2008 as the "Year of Evangelization," putting a greater emphasis on deepening the faith of all people.[20] At the time of his appointment to Miami in 2010, he was leading the diocese through the early stages of both a $150 million capital campaign and an extensive renovation of St. James Cathedral in Orlando[21]

In October 2007, Wenski was selected to serve on the board of directors of the Florida Specialty Crop Foundation, a non-profit public charity that assists specialty crop producers and their stakeholders.[7] In September 2008, he gave an invocation at the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[22] In March 2009, he joined the conservative Catholic Leadership Institute's national advisory board for their "Good Leaders, Good Shepherds" program.[7] In May of that year, Wenski held a Mass of reparation for the University of Notre Dame's decision to have President Barack Obama deliver its commencement speech and receive an honorary degree, given Obama's views on abortion rights for women.[23] At the Mass, he denounced Obama for his "rather extremist views on abortion" and said that Notre Dame's "actions suggest that, unlike a Carrie Prejean, it lacks the courage of its convictions."[24]

In June 2009, Wenski was elected to a four-year term on the board of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.[7] He chaired the USCCB Committee on International Policy (2004–2008), and currently serves as a consultant to the Committee on Migration and a member of the Secretariat for the church in Latin America,[25] Committee for International Justice and Peace,[26] and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.[7] Wenski is currently the episcopal moderator for Catholic Health Services for the Florida Catholic Conference.[7] [27]

During his tenure, Wenski created six new parishes and two missions.[28] His capital and endowment campaign raised $100 million.[29] He petitioned and was granted that two diocesan churches be raised to the status of minor basilicas.[30] He started the Spanish language radio station, Buena Nueva FM. along with the Spanish language newspaper, El Clarin.[31]

On April 20, 2010, Wenski was appointed the fourth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami by Pope Benedict XVI.[4] Following his appointment, he said he was "humbled by the Holy Father's confidence in me and aware of my own limitations and shortcomings..."[32] He succeeded Archbishop Favalora. He became the first native of the archdiocese to become its archbishop.[21] Wenski was installed at the Cathedral of Saint Mary on June 1, 2010.[2] At the end of June, he received the pallium, a vestment worn by metropolitan bishops, from Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Basilica.[2]

On February 2, 2012, Wenski celebrated a Pontifical High Mass, a solemn form of Tridentine Mass, the first such celebration in the state of Florida in more than 40 years.[33] Wenski has created the annual Archbishop's Motorcycle Ride, in part due to his enjoying of motorcycles, to raise money for St. Luke’s Patient Addiction Recovery Center.[34]

In June 2015, Wenski reacted to the US Supreme Court decision that legalized same sex marriage by comparing it to the Dred Scott decision. That Supreme Court decision in 1857 effectively classified enslaved African-Americans as being property, not people.[35] On August 7, 2016, Wenski and two other Catholic prelates issued a statement condemning Catholic politicians who officiate at same sex weddings. This came a week after then Vice President Joe Biden officiated a wedding for two male White House staff members.[36]