Adam Exner

Adam Joseph Exner (born December 24, 1928, Killaly, Saskatchewan) was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver from 1991 to 2004.

His Grace, The Most Reverend Adam Joseph Exner
Archbishop Emeritus of Vancouver
Province	British Columbia
See	Vancouver
Appointed	May 25, 1991
Term ended	January 10, 2004
Predecessor	James Francis Carney
Successor	Raymond Roussin
Orders
Ordination	July 7, 1957[1]
Consecration	March 12, 1974[1] by Henri Légaré
Personal details
Birth name	Adam Joseph Exner
Born	December 24, 1928 Killaly, Saskatchewan, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Bishop of Kamloops (1974–1982) Archbishop of Winnipeg (1982–1991)
Alma mater	University of Ottawa Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome, Italy)
Motto	"To Serve As He Served"
Coat of arms

Ordination history of Adam Exner
History Priestly ordination Date July 7, 1957 Place Roviano, Rome, Italy Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Henri Légaré (Grouard–McLennan) Co-consecrators James Carney (Vancouver) Charles Aimé Halpin (Regina) Date March 12, 1974 Place Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Adam Exner as principal consecrator Gerald Wiesner February 22, 1993 David Monroe March 12, 2002
Source(s):[1][2]

Styles of Adam Exner
Reference style	His Grace[3][4] The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Grace Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

Training and early religious life

Adam Exner holds Masters degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and holds a Doctoral degree in theology from the University of Ottawa. He served as professor, rector and superior at St. Charles Scholasticate in Battleford, Saskatchewan, and as professor of moral theology at Newman Theological College in Edmonton, Alberta. He entered the religious institute of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1950 in St. Norbert, Manitoba and was ordained as a priest in 1957. In 1974, Exner was appointed Bishop of Kamloops and in 1982, Archbishop of Winnipeg.

Archbishop of Vancouver

Adam Exner was appointed Archbishop of Vancouver on May 25, 1991. He served in that position until reaching the mandatory retirement for Archbishops in January 2004. That year, the Catholic Civil Rights League created the Archbishop Exner Award for Catholic Excellence in Public Life in honour of the occasion. He resides at St. Peter's Abbey, Muenster, Saskatchewan.

Advocacy and activities

In 1995, Archbishop Exner secured from then-Premier Michael Harcourt, the Denominational Health Association, a legacy of his predecessor, Archbishop James Francis Carney.[5] During his tenure, Exner objected to efforts by the Minister of Health, Colin Hansen, to close St. Mary's Hospital (Vancouver).[5]

While Exner was Archbishop of Vancouver, civil litigation resulting from the Mount Cashel Orphanage sexual and physical abuse scandal threatened assets of the Congregation of Christian Brothers located in British Columbia. These included Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate, which faced closure and liquidation in order to pay the victims.[6] Archbishop Exner was closely involved with the efforts to prevent the closure of those schools.[5][7]

Archbishop Exner assisted Covenant House, a home for runaway street kids, in establishing a branch of its services into Vancouver.[5] Under direction from Archbishop Exner, the Archdiocese of Vancouver sought and obtained intervenor status during litigation involving Trinity Western University relating to its training policies. The litigation involved a dispute between Trinity Western, a Christian university, and the British Columbia College of Teachers, which believed that TWU could not train teachers for public schools because it required students to abstain from homosexual relations. TWU won in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.[5][8]

In 2003, Exner directed four Catholic schools to divest from a school banking program operated by VanCity, in protest of the Archdiocese's position that VanCity was actively promoting homosexuality through its sponsorship of a homosexual film festival and by giving an award to a lesbian bookstore.[9]

Honours

Archbishop Exner was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre as well as Grand Prior of the Lieutenancy of Canada.

Memberships

In his role as Archbishop, Exner became a member of the following:

• Sacred Congregation for Bishops
• Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, with which he was involved in the Theology and Christian Education Commissions and the National Catholic-Lutheran dialogue
• Member of the Social Communications Commission

See also

• Robert Jacobson

References

1. "Archbishop Adam Exner, OMI". RCAV.org. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
2. "Testimonies: Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner, OMI (part 5)". RCAV.org. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
3. Exner, Adam (October 1, 2003). "VanCity Credit Union Affair: Letter from the Archbishop". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
4. "League honours two laypersons". Catholic Civil Rights League. June 7, 2007. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
5. A Fierce Grace, thefreelibrary.com; accessed April 10, 2014.
6. "Sale of Vancouver schools in Toronto court". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. July 23, 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
7. "Sex abuse may close Catholic colleges" Archived October 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Daily Times (Pakistan), May 29, 2002.
8. Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada Archived 2006-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Trinity Western University v. British Columbia College of Teachers, 2001 SCC 31, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 772
9. "VanCity Savings Affair: Letter from the Archbishop", catholiceducation.org, October 1, 2003; accessed April 10, 2014.

External links

• Archdiocese of Vancouver former bishops