GLASGOW, Scotland, NOV. 11, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Bishop Stephen McGill, the retired bishop of Paisley who died Wednesday, was remembered for his service to the Church during the crucial post-conciliar era.
Bishop McGill, who participated in the Second Vatican Council, died in Glasgow at age 93. He was Scotland’s oldest Catholic bishop.
«Bishop Stephen McGill was a remarkable figure who bridged the gap between the pre-Vatican II era of Catholicism and the post-conciliar Church,» said Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow in a statement to the press.
«As bishop of Paisley he implemented the directives of Vatican II with sensitivity and care. Though some criticized his cautious approach, history will judge him kindly,» said the archbishop of Glasgow.
Archbishop Conti continued: «He succeeded in introducing the changes to Church life with great prudence, avoiding the polemics which erupted in many other places.
«And, at a time of crisis elsewhere in the Catholic world, he managed to guide his diocese to ever greater heights: once more increasing the number of seminarians well above the national average, keeping a close watch on sound finances and establishing seven new parishes, opening 10 new churches and introducing five religious orders to the diocese.»
According to the archbishop of Glasgow, the life of Bishop McGill «is perhaps best summed up in his episcopal motto ‘Per Tuas Semitas’ — along your paths — for it was marked by a constant succession of unexpected changes of direction.»
