Bishop-designate Mark A. Eckman waits at the doors of St. Paul Cathedral at the start of his installation ceremony on Monday, July 14, 2025, in Oakland. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
Amid dwindling participation, Bishop Mark Eckman leads a diocese grappling with how to address social problems.
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On the day of his installation, Bishop Mark A. Eckman climbed the sandstone steps of St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland, clad in white vestments and a miter. He struck the cathedral’s oaken door three times with his wooden crosier, the hooked staff of a shepherd.
The Very Rev. Kris D. Stubna, rector and pastor of the cathedral, opened the 10-foot-tall door, intricately laced with cast-iron hinges. Eckman stepped inside and received a crucifix that he had bought in Germany. Eckman kissed it and blessed himself and those gathered with holy water.
Slideshow: Images from Bishop Mark A. Eckman’s installation at St. Paul Cathedral on July 14 in Oakland. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
This ritualistic welcoming of Eckman as the 13th bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh comes at a time of mounting pressure on the Catholic Church, both internal and external. Nationally, Catholics remain politically divided, and tensions persist between church teachings and political leadership on issues like climate change, immigration, inequality and inclusion of LGBTQ people and women.
Kevin Hayes, board president of the Pittsburgh-based Catholics for Change in Our Church, said Catholics often fall into two camps – those who focus primarily on themselves and those who focus on others. “My hope is that Bishop Mark will be a bridge builder and bring the two groups together,” he said.
Public Source contacted several conservative Catholic voices, all of whom declined or did not respond to requests for comment.
Climate change
Care for Creation, a group with an environmental focus at St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish, has studied the impact of climate change from emissions and the use of fossil fuels in industrial countries.
“But those who are suffering the most from climate change are the people who live in the countries below the Equator,” said Stella Smetanka Mericli, convener of the group. “Those who deny climate change are doing a great disservice because we have to take action.”
She praised Eckman for blessing the solar panels on St. Catherine of Siena Church in Beechview – the first ones installed on diocesan property. She called on him to promote a Vatican-approved liturgy with an environmental bent and to encourage parishes to take action to safeguard the earth.
Eckman sees value in more parishes installing solar panels and said the pastoral center has upgraded all bulbs to efficient LED products and reduced the amount of printed documentation. “So we’re aware and we’re trying as much as we can,” he said.
Immigrant rights
Many groups urged the bishop to take action on behalf of immigrants, a community stricken by arrests and deportations.
“First and foremost, he has to be the champion of the immigrant,” said Jaime Martinez, community defense organizer for Casa San Jose, a Latino community center in Beechview. “At a time when silence is easy, there’s a lot of churchgoing folks who are good people but vote against immigrants. There’s a cognitive dissonance, as a Catholic, I see it all the time.”
Eckman noted that Christ and his family were immigrants when they fled Egypt for their lives. “We don’t want to do anything illegal,” he said, “but at the same time, we want people to be treated with respect.”
Inequality and inclusion
Some Catholic lay leaders say the diocese should do more to welcome and support members of the LGBTQ community.
“There is no parish in this diocese currently where I would feel comfortable recommending to LGBTQ people and their families,” said Victoria Sheridan, founder and coordinator of The Welcome Table LGBTQ Catholic Community. “I would say there are individual clergy I would refer them to. There are individual Catholic persons who are very welcoming. But there’s no one parish where all of that comes together.”
Eckman said he will encourage churches to be more welcoming in general, but not focused on specific communities or identities.
Some local parishioners also want to see a greater role for women in the Church, including ordaining them as deacons and potentially priests.
“There are many, many women who have dedicated their working lives to working for the church,” said Mimi Darragh, coordinator of Pax Christi in Pittsburgh, a peace and justice group.
Eckman noted that he lacks the authority to approve the ordination of women.
Military spending
Other Catholics concerned about social issues criticized the size of U.S. military spending – including $850 billion approved in the current budget and more than $1 trillion sought for 2026. They argue that money saved from less military spending could be used to address social needs.
“Even the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral, and we have them in spades,” said Joyce Rothermel, convener of the Social Justice and Peace Committee of St. Mary Magdalene Parish and co-founder of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Eckman recognized the need for military spending to defend the country but contended a portion of its budget could help feed people and train them for jobs.
He joked that a passel of nickel-squeezing pastors could find a way to trim military spending. “But that’s not going to change,” he said. “I’m not kidding myself on that.”
On listening and rebuilding
Eckman, 66, grew up in Bethel Park and was ordained a priest in 1985. He served as an associate pastor or pastor of eight parishes in the diocese before being consecrated auxiliary bishop in 2022. He also served numerous administrative posts, including a job akin to personnel director of the diocese.
Most observers praised his blend of pastoral and administrative experience – the two previous bishops were heavy on administrative skills – along with his Pittsburgh roots.
The Rev. Louis Vallone, a retired priest from McKees Rocks who consults with other dioceses, welcomed Eckman’s selection. Still, while commending Eckman’s temperament and breadth of experience, Vallone wondered if the diocese needed “a set of fresh eyes” after having bishops with local roots for 52 of the past 56 years.
“Someone from the outside could bring a different perspective,” he explained. You don’t always go to the same restaurant to eat.”
Many of the bishop’s flock recommend that he listen to parishioners before making any decisions. He agrees.
“So the No. 1 concern is really to find out what the No. 1 concern is, and I want that to come from the people,” Eckman said.
He plans to meet first with priests and hear their needs. Next year, he plans to visit one or two parishes a week and learn about them through talks with their councils and advisory committees.
Among the most persistent challenges Eckman inherits is restoring trust in the wake of clergy sexual abuse. In 2019, the diocese paid $19.2 million for 224 claims as part of a compensation program following the Pennsylvania grand jury report. The diocese still faces nine pending lawsuits and two potential claims, but the diocese expects six to be thrown out and the rest settled.
Eckman said the diocese continues to vet all clergy and lay workers who interact with children and displays an abuse hotline to encourage transparency. “We just pray that that won’t happen again, and we’re trying to safeguard [against] it as much as we can,” he said.
As he looks to the future, Eckman plans to formally announce in the coming months the formation of the Catholic Foundation for Greater Pittsburgh.
“So we’re now not trying to close or downsize anymore,” he said. “We’re trying to sustain what we have and build for the future.”
Bill Zlatos is a freelance writer in Ross and can be reached at billzlatos@gmail.com.
This story was fact-checked by Jamie Wiggan.
This article first appeared on Pittsburgh’s Public Source and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.