[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 166 (Wednesday, December 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           A TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF BISHOP JOHN T. STEINBOCK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM COSTA-

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 15, 2010

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues Mr. 
Radanovich, Mr. Cardoza, and Mr. Nunes to pay tribute to Bishop John T. 
Steinbock who passed away on December 5, 2010 at the age of seventy-
three in Fresno, California. Bishop Steinbock was a key figure in the 
Diocese in Fresno which serves more than one million parishioners in 
eight counties from as far north as Merced County to as far south as 
Kern County.
  Bishop John T. Steinbock was born on July 16, 1937 in Los Angeles, 
California. He was one of three boys born to Leo and Thelma Steinbock. 
As a child, the Bishop learned to read from racing forms at the 
horsetracks and learned to count by playing blackjack. The Bishop's 
decision to turn towards the priesthood came after his two brothers had 
joined the seminary. He attended a rigorous college preparatory high 
school designed for young men considering the priesthood and graduated 
in 1955. After spending the summer of 1958 learning Spanish at a 
boardinghouse in Mexico City, he decided that he wanted to become a 
priest.
  On May 1, 1963, Bishop Steinbock was ordained into the priesthood. 
Upon is ordainment, Bishop Steinbock was assigned to Resurrection 
Parish located in the Hispanic barrio in Los Angeles, California. 
During Bishop Steinbock's time in Resurrection Parish, he developed his 
reputation as a great administrator, a valued skill which would lead 
his promotion within the Catholic Church. In 1973, Bishop Steinbock was 
transferred to St. Vibiana's Catholic Cathedral near Skid Row in Los 
Angeles. During the Bishop's time in East Los Angeles, he ministered to 
the poor and homeless, often dealing with individuals suffering from 
mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, and physical abuse. Bishop 
Steinbock also became a police chaplain for the Los Angeles Police 
Department. When reflecting on his time in East Los Angeles, Bishop 
Steinbock wrote, ``The greatest suffering was the loneliness and 
despair I found in the lives of so many.''
  Bishop Steinbock would have been content to stay a priest; however he 
was informed by the late Cardinal Timothy Manning that the late Pope 
John Paul II had named him to be a Bishop. Bishop Steinbock was 
hesitant to accept the honor, but was convinced by Cardinal Manning's 
message that the Pope was simply acting in accordance with God's will 
for Bishop Steinbock's life. His first assignment as Bishop was in 
Orange County serving from 1984 to 1987. He would later serve in Santa 
Rosa, California until he arrived in Fresno, California in 1991. Bishop 
Steinbock arrived in Fresno to lead a diocese and quickly rose to the 
occasion, solving several inherited challenges such as a $3 million 
deficit. In addition, during the Bishop's first decade in Fresno the 
diocese undertook seventy major building or renovation projects on 
churches, parish halls, offices, and school classrooms.
  Bishop Steinbock's style of ministry was uniquely his own. He sought 
out technology and innovation as a means for communication, 
evangelization, teaching, and formation. The Bishop also recognized the 
need for personal and genuine love and concern for his brother priests 
who were never far from his thoughts and prayers. Bishop Steinbock 
personally celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation for virtually every 
young adult in the Diocese, except in a handful of all the eighty-eight 
diocesan parishes. Bishop Steinbock's pastoral messages, homilies, and 
Masses often addressed immigrants, farm workers, the unemployed, the 
imprisoned, those without health care, restorative justice and love for 
one's neighbor. Despite the Bishop's busy schedule, he made time to 
visit each office in the Pastoral Center to spend time with staff and 
volunteers. On October 23, 2009, Bishop Steinbock celebrated his Silver 
Jubilee as Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Nunes, and I ask our 
colleagues to join us in honoring the life of Bishop John T. Steinbock 
as we offer our condolences to his family and celebrate his memory and 
service to the Diocese of Fresno and California.

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