[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 129 (Tuesday, September 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING HIS EMINENCE WILLIAM CARDINAL KEELER

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. C. A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 4, 2007

  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Speaker, I rise before you today to honor 
Cardinal William Henry Keeler, Fourteenth Archbishop of Baltimore.
  William Henry Keeler was born March 4, 1931 in San Antonio, Texas, 
the son of Thomas L. Keeler and Margaret T. (Conway) Keeler. He was 
raised in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he attended St. Mary School and 
Lebanon Catholic High School. He received a RA. from St. Charles 
Seminary, Overbrook, Philadelphia, in 1952 and a Licentiate in Sacred 
Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1956.
  Ordained a priest on July 17, 1955 in the Church of the Holy Apostles 
in Rome, Italy by Archbishop Luigi Traglia, the young cleric became 
assistant pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Marysville, 
Pennsylvania and secretary of the Diocesan Tribunal. In 1965, he was 
appointed to serve as Vice Chancellor of the Harrisburg Diocese and 
Chancellor in 1969. He held the position of Vicar General when he was 
named Auxiliary Bishop of Harrisburg and Titular Bishop of Ulcinium by 
Pope John Paul II on July 24, 1979.
  Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Harrisburg on November 10, 
1983, and he was installed as Bishop on January 4, 1984, by His 
Eminence John Cardinal Krol, Archbishop of Philadelphia. He was 
appointed Archbishop of Baltimore by Pope John Paul II and was formally 
installed as 14th Ordinary of the nation's oldest See on May 23, 1989 
in ceremonies at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. An influential 
participant in a wide range of national and international issues, 
Keeler was elected President of the National Conference of Catholic 
Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic, Conference in November, 
1992.
  Cardinal Keeler was appointed to the College of Cardinals by Pope 
John Paul II on November 28, 1994. The Consistory Ceremony took place 
in the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican City State. As part of 
his work with the NCCB, Cardinal Keeler developed a reputation for 
effectively building interfaith bonds. He is particularly noted for his 
work in fostering an effective Catholic-Jewish dialogue and is the 
Episcopal Moderator, Catholic-Jewish Relations of the National 
Conference of Catholic Bishops.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that you join with me today to honor William 
Cardinal Keeler, Fourteenth Archbishop of Baltimore. His lifetime 
devotion to his faith, the Catholic Church and its mission are 
unsurpassed. It is with great pride that I congratulate Cardinal Keeler 
on his stellar and exemplary career in the Roman Catholic Church.

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