Edward J. Burns

Edward James Burns (born October 7, 1957) is an American Catholic prelate who serves as bishop of Dallas in Texas. He previously served as bishop of Juneau in Alaska from 2009 to 2017.

Before becoming a bishop, Burns spent nine years working for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). As bishop, he has served as chair of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People and as a member of its Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions. He speaks Spanish and English.

Biography Early life and education Edward James Burns was born on October 7, 1957, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Donald and Geraldine (née Little) Burns. He has a brother, Robert. Edward Burns attended Lincoln High School in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1973.

Ordination and ministry Burns was ordained to the priesthood in Pittsburgh at Saint Paul Cathedral for the Diocese of Pittsburgh by Bishop Vincent Leonard on June 25, 1983. After his 1983 ordination, the diocese assigned Burns as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania and Immaculate Conception Parish in Washington, Pennsylvania. In 1991, Burns was named as vocations director and vice-rector of St. Paul Seminary, becoming its rector in 1996.

Burns served in Washington D.C. as executive director of the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for nine years, beginning in 1999. His office produced a DVD titled Fishers of Men, a documentary on the lives of priests. Burns published a booklet, We Were There, that described the experiences of priests who served at the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In 2002, Burns was named as co-chair of a Vatican-ordered congress on vocations in North America. From 2005 to 2006, he provided support for a Vatican review of all Catholic seminaries in the U.S. Burns received the title of monsignor from the Vatican in 2006. He was installed in Juneau on April 2, 2009.

Bishop of Dallas On December 13, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Burns as the eighth bishop of Dallas, to succeed then bishop Kevin Farrell. His installation was on February 9, 2017, at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas.

On August 18, 2018, Burns informed parishioners at St. Cecilia Parish in Dallas that their pastor, Reverend Edmundo Paredes, had been removed from ministry in 2017 because of verified allegations of child sexual abuse and the theft of parish funds. The diocese had immediately reported Paredes to law enforcement, but he fled the country before he could be arrested.