Maher, Bishop of S.D. for Two Decades, Dies

Bishop Leo T. Maher, the outspoken leader of the Diocese of San Diego for more than two decades, died Saturday morning at his Mission Hills home at 9:30 a.m. Maher, 75, had undergone two surgeries for brain cancer last year.

Maher ignited storms of controversy with his stands on homosexuality, birth control, pornography, and abortion. Maher had barred then-Assemblywoman Lucy Killea from receiving Communion because of her pro-choice stand on abortion in a special 1989 state Senate campaign--the first sanction ever imposed against an elected American Roman Catholic official.

Many of those who knew him viewed him as a compassionate man who brought together communities in San Diego, initiating an unprecedented dialogue between Catholics and Jews, as well as developing services that catered to blacks, Hispanics, Vietnamese and Filipinos. And Maher--an articulate, opinionated man with a robust laugh--always stood his ground in the face of opposition.

“He was a vigorous, decisive youthful man with a lot of personal charm,” said Archbishop John Quinn of San Francisco, who had worked as an auxiliary bishop under Maher for three years beginning in 1969.

Though weakened by his illness, friends say that Maher’s spirits stayed buoyant. His deep-belly laugh often echoed through his home, where his brother, Father Raymond Maher, stayed with him during recent months. At the time of Maher’s death, his brother was at his side, said Dan Pitre, a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of San Diego.

“He had a beautiful full life, that’s for sure,” said Father Raymond Maher, a retired priest fo the San Jose diocese. Maher died as his brother whispered into his ear his favorite scriptural passage--”Abide by my love”--from St. John’s epistle.

Maher, friends say, seemed to know that his death was near. When Quinn visited Maher last Tuesday, the ailing man told him, “Well, the time may be getting short now.” Even so, he animatedly talked of the book he was working on, entitled “Enrichment: Enriching the Mind, the Heart and the Spirit.”

Others, too, noticed that Maher’s enormous energy seemed to be flagging.

“But he never lost the spark of life--he had this glint in his eye that was always there,” said Father Gerald Coleman, president of St. Patrick’s Seminary in

Menlo Park in San Mateo County, which Maher attended as a young man.

During a recent visit, Maher told Coleman about a meeting he’d had with young American Indian children. The youngsters gave him a headdress and Maher showed off the photograph of himself wearing the elaborate feathered gear. And even the re-telling of his visit with the children made him laugh and laugh--he was so struck with their affection, Coleman said.

Maher served nearly 48 years in the active priesthood, including 28 as a bishop and all but six of those as bishop of the Catholic Diocese in San Diego. He established 19 new parishes to keep pace with the burgeoning populations in San Diego and Imperial counties. When Maher arrived, there were about 300,000 Catholics in the region. Today, the diocese serves more than 450,000.

In 1989, citing Killea’s position on abortion, Maher thrust himself into the center of controversy and denied her Communion. His action drew attention from political leaders on both sides of the abortion controversy. A Times poll, conducted at the time, showed that nearly two-thirds of Southern Californians regarded his actions as inappropriate.

It was not the first time Maher had supported what turned out to be an unpopular stance. Two years earlier, Maher had announced that he would not allow any teaching about the use of condoms to students in the local Catholic elementary or high schools. Saying it was too vague, he also criticized the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops statement on the use of condoms and AIDS education. At that time, the conference supported “morally correct” sex education.

“You always knew where you stood with him--he was decisive,” explained Quinn.

But at other times, Maher’s actions knit communities together. Maher helped establish programs that he believed would better the plight of many in the area. He helped set up the local Catholic Charities, the SHARE food distribution program and the St. Vincent de Paul Center for the homeless.

Rev. George Walker Smith, a leader in the black community, said Maher had boosted the black and Hispanic communities and would be sorely missed. “He was active personally and gave us his full support,” Smith said.

Maher eased the way for a dialogue between the Jewish and Catholic communities--an unprecedented move that warmed relations. In 1989, when the Jewish community became angered by the location of a Carmelite convent near the Auschwitz death camp, Maher made certain that the lines of communication stayed open between the two San Diego communities, said Leslye Winkelman Lyons of the United Jewish Federation.

“Were it not for Bishop Maher’s interest, I doubt that dialogue would have taken place,” said Morris Casuto, director of the San Diego chapter of Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.

Maher also served 20 years as chairman of the board of trustees at the University of San Diego, which honored the bishop by renaming a hall for him last summer. It was common, friends say, to see him strolling the campus, stopping to chat with students.

“Bishop Maher will be remembered as one of the most important architects of the development of the University of San Diego,” said Ernest Hahn, chairman of the board of trustees.

He “will be remembered as a man whose compassion for the poor, the homeless, and the sick was limitless,” Mayor Maureen O’Connor said in a statement. “He will also be remembered as a strong spiritual leader who successfully guided the Catholic Community in San Diego through increased change.”

Bishop Robert H. Brom replaced Maher as head of the two-county diocese last July when he had reached retirement age. Brom said: “I thank God for Bishop Maher’s presence and ministry among us and I entrust him to the Lord for the blessing of eternal life.”

Born in Mount Union, Iowa, Maher was the fifth of nine children. As a young man he attended St. Patrick’s Major Seminary. On Dec. 18, 1943, he was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Thirteen years later, he became chancellor of the diocese. And in 1962, Pope John XXIII appointed him the founding bishop of the Diocese of Santa Rosa.

Before Maher retired in July 1990, he said, “We’re in the land of Junipero Serra and (like Serra) we never look back; we always look forward.” Maher is survived by his siblings: Raymond Maher, Martin Maher, Leonard Maher, Mary Claire Maher, Cecilia Vanersnick, Pauline Maher, and Bernadine Kerr.

A reception for Maher will be held at the Church of Immaculata on the USD campus at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26. Viewing will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. A vigil service will be held at 7:30 p.m. On Feb. 27, a funeral Mass will be held at noon at the church.

Times staff writer Russell Ben-Ali in San Diego contributed to this story.