Oscar Hugh Lipscomb

Oscar Hugh Lipscomb (September 21, 1931 – July 15, 2020)[1] was an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He served the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, for 28 years. Lipscomb attended high school in Mobile, before studying for the priesthood in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1956 and served in the Archdiocese of Mobile as a parish priest and teacher. He became chancellor of the archdiocese in 1966, and was consecrated as a bishop fourteen years later. He retired as bishop in 2008. He was the first archbishop of Mobile and its eighth bishop.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Oscar Hugh Lipscomb
Archbishop Emeritus of Mobile
ArchdioceseMobile
AppointedJuly 29, 1980
InstalledNovember 16, 1980
Term endedApril 2, 2008
PredecessorJohn Lawrence May
SuccessorThomas John Rodi
Orders
OrdinationJuly 15, 1956
ConsecrationNovember 16, 1980
by John L. May, William Benedict Friend, and Raymond W. Lessard
Personal details
Born(1931-09-21)September 21, 1931
Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
DiedJuly 15, 2020 (aged 88)
Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Previous postChancellor of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile
Styles of
Oscar Hugh Lipscomb
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop

Early life

Lipscomb was born on September 21, 1931, to Oscar H. Lipscomb Sr. and Margaret Antoinette (née Saunders) Lipscomb.[2] He graduated from McGill–Toolen Catholic High School in 1951, then known as McGill Institute,[3] where there is an athletic complex named in his honor.[2][4] After graduating from McGill in 1949, he entered St. Bernard Junior Seminary and College in Cullman, Alabama. He attended seminary at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. On July 15, 1956, Lipscomb was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in Rome.[2] He later acquired an M.A. degree in history, in 1960 and a Ph.D. degree in history from the Catholic University of America (CUA) in 1963.[3]

Ministry

Lipscomb served as a parish priest in Mobile and as an educator at McGill Institute and Spring Hill College. He was appointed chancellor of the Mobile archdiocese in 1966 and served in that capacity until he was appointed Archbishop of Mobile in 1980.[5] He was appointed Archbishop of Mobile on July 29, 1980, and consecrated on November 16, 1980, by his immediate predecessor, Archbishop John May. The Diocese of Mobile was elevated to the Archdiocese of Mobile on the date Lipscomb was appointed its first archbishop.[6]

Lipscomb came into the national spotlight in the United States in the early 1990s due to the controversy involving the Reverend David Trosch, a priest of the archdiocese serving in Magnolia Springs, a community in south Baldwin County southeast of Mobile.[7] Trosch sparked the controversy by his anti-abortion statements advocating the theory of justifiable homicide in the case of killing abortion providers, and his attempt to place an advertisement in the Mobile Press-Register newspaper with his original cartoon showing a man pointing a gun at a doctor who was holding a knife over a pregnant woman.[8] Lipscomb offered Trosch "the alternative of publicly abiding by the [Archbishop's] judgment on this erroneous teaching or relinquishing his public position in the church."[8] Lipscomb removed Trosch from his pastoral assignments in August 1993 and suspended him from pastoral duties in a disciplinary action which was less strict than a censure, allowing Trosch to continue saying Mass but limiting him to having "no public persona in the Church".[7] Trosch maintained a website under the name of a non-profit organization called "Life Enterprises Unlimited" based in Mobile until the time of his death, in which he criticized many people whom he characterized as "hell-bound sinners" including Archbishop Lipscomb.[9]

For many years, Lipscomb was a member of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.[10] His resignation was accepted by the Pope in 2008. Nonetheless, he stayed engaged with the life of the Catholic community in the archdiocese.[2]

Lipscomb died on July 15, 2020, at a home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor in midtown Mobile. He was 88, and had suffered "a lengthy period of physical decline" in the years leading up to his death.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. Lane, Keith (July 15, 2020). "Popular former Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb has passed away". WPMI.
  2. "Archbishop Emeritus Oscar H. Lipscomb dies at age 88". WALA-TV. July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  3. "Board of Trustees, District 1 – Most Reverend Oscar H. Lipscomb, D.D., Ph.D." Alabama Department of Archives and History. Government of Alabama. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. "Athletic Venues". McGill–Toolen Catholic High School. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. Catholic Week, Official Weekly Publication of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Vol 74, June 5, 2009, Special Edition commemorating Archbishop Lipscomb's retirement
  6. Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Vol. XXIV, 2003, p. 7
  7. Sharp, John, "Retired Archbishop Lipscomb recalls anti-abortion priest", Mobile Register, al.com, http://blog.al.com/live/2012/10/retired_archbishop_recalls_ant.html Taken October 21, 2012.
  8. "Priest Is Scolded on Abortion Ad", The New York Times, Published: August 18, 1993, https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/18/us/priest-is-scolded-on-abortion-ad.html Taken October 21, 2012.
  9. Coleman, Frances. "An obscure ending for a notorious priest" (Frances Coleman column) Mobile Register. al.com, http://blog.al.com/press-register-commentary/2012/10/an_obscure_ending_for_a_notori.html Taken October 21, 2012.
  10. "Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops Hold 22nd Meeting; Discuss Future of Kosovo in Light of Negotiations, Other Topics". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. June 28, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  11. Specker, Lawrence (July 15, 2020). "Mobile Catholic Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Lipscomb dies". The Birmingham News. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  12. Lane, Keith (July 15, 2020). "Popular former Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb has passed away". WPMI-TV. Retrieved July 15, 2020.

Episcopal succession
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
John Lawrence May		 Archbishop of Mobile
1980–2008		 Succeeded by
Thomas John Rodi
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