Week in Review : COUNTY : Pope Names New Bishop to Head Orange Diocese

Pope John Paul II last week named the Most Rev. Norman F. McFarland, bishop of Reno-Las Vegas, as the new Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Orange, which consists of all of Orange County.

The Pope’s appointment was to fill the vacancy created by the death of William R. Johnson on July 27. Johnson was the first bishop of the diocese.

McFarland, 64, is a native of Martinez, Calif., and friends and associates called him “a devoted pastor and excellent administrator.” He will be installed on Feb. 24 during services at Holy Family Cathedral in the City of Orange.

The bishop-designate is 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, and one observer described him as “a big bear of a man with a full head of silver white hair and with a more than passing resemblance to former House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill.”

In an interview in Reno, McFarland told The Times: “I’m not a marcher; I’m not a poster man. That’s not my style. I wouldn’t get myself arrested. . . .”

But McFarland can be outspoken. In 1976, he was a vocal opponent of the proposed equal rights amendment to the U. S. Constitution. In 1984, McFarland criticized Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro, then the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential candidate, for her position on abortion. Ferraro had said she opposed abortion but would not want to impose her beliefs on others.

On the subject of wealth, McFarland said that a person should not be embarrassed about material success. The bishop-designate added, however: “He should be embarrassed if he doesn’t use them for the assistance of others.”