[V]ermont Roman Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne will serve as Pope Francis’ U.S. media aide when the pontiff meets this week with national and world leaders in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.
“I’m more or less a background person,” Coyne said in an interview before the trip, “trying to get others out in front of the camera and into print and radio media.”
Then CNN asked if he’d appear live Wednesday morning when President Barack Obama welcomes the pope to the White House.
“I had planned to just go and be in the background, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen,” Coyne told followers of his vimeo.com video series. “Who knows? They may find another ‘bishop star’ to do this instead of me. That’s fine, I don’t need to be on camera — even though some of you won’t believe that.”
The “some of you” Coyne is referring to are members of the state’s largest religious denomination who know the bishop for his social media presence, which includes more than 10,000 followers on Facebook, Twitter (@bishopcoyne) and his own website, bishopcoyne.org.
Upon his installation as head of Vermont’s 118,000 Catholics in January, the Boston native, whose resume includes stints as a dishwasher, sporting goods salesman, lifeguard, musician and bartender, was described in diocesan publicity as “the Catholic Church’s first blogging priest” and “an internationally cited leader in the Faith’s ‘digital revolution.’”
Coyne gained his experience in the worst of circumstances, having served as the Archdiocese of Boston’s communications secretary and spokesman shortly after the start of its priest sexual abuse scandal in 2002.
“Coyne’s has been a more forthcoming and compassionate voice,” the Boston Globe — which won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the scandal — wrote at the time he replaced a less-transparent lay official, “and, perhaps because he is a priest, his words seem to many to carry greater weight.”
Coyne, who went on to several other assignments, is now the incoming communications chairman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He’s first scheduled to see the pope Wednesday when, after offering television commentary at a White House ceremony at 9:15 a.m., he’ll join his fellow U.S. bishops at a prayer service at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, the mother church for the Archdiocese of Washington.
“I may get a chance to shake the Holy Father’s hand and perhaps receive a blessing from him, but that’s not something that I’m shooting for,” Coyne said in a recent WAMC public radio interview. “My job, hopefully, is to clarify and lead others to report the church’s message honestly and clearly. Oftentimes the pope is viewed in political terms, but the reality is he’s not a politician, he’s the leader of a church.”
Coyne will join the pontiff Thursday at a joint meeting of Congress — a first for a pope — and then travel to New York on Friday for a United Nations General Assembly session and to Philadelphia this weekend for a Catholic World Meeting of Families.
“This is the first pope to address both Congress and the United Nations,” the bishop says. “It’s truly a historic moment.”
Coyne issued that last statement as part of an announcement of a new USA Catholic Church mobile app that will offer live video coverage of the visit.
“We understand many people are looking for more ways to connect with the church and incorporate Catholic living into their busy lives,” Coyne went on to say. “This is the most comprehensive virtual connection to the Catholic faith available.”
But as the schedules note, anything could change at any time. Coyne, for example, woke Sunday at 5:30 a.m. for a Skype appearance an hour later on CNN.
“Put on hold,” he soon posted on Facebook and Twitter. “Finally told I could go on at 7:40 a.m. Not interested.”
Seems the bishop had a higher calling.
“Things to do,” he wrote, “like celebrate Mass.”
Kevin O’Connor, a former staffer of the Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, is a Brattleboro-based writer. Email: kevinoconnorvt@gmail.com