John Stephen Cummins

John Stephen Cummins (March 3, 1928 – December 3, 2024) was an American Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Oakland in California from 1977 to 2003 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento in California from 1974 to 1977.

Biography

Early life and education John Cummins was born on March 3, 1928, in Berkeley, California, to Michael and Mary (née Connolly) Cummins, Irish immigrants. His brother Bernard Cummins was a priest who served as superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Cummins received his primary education at St. Augustine Parish School in Oakland. In 1941, he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Joseph's College Seminary in Mountain View, California, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947

Cummins' first assignment was as a curate at Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco, where he remained for four years. In 1957, Cummins started teaching at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, staying there until 1962, when he became chancellor of the Diocese of Oakland.

Cummins served as chairman of the USCCB Liturgy Committee (1981–84), the Laity Committee (1988–91), and the Migration and Refugee Services Committee (1995–98).

On April 4, 2004, Cummins testified for the plaintiffs in a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Oakland. The plaintiffs were two brothers, Bob and Tom Thatcher, who charged that Reverend Robert Ponciroli, a pastor at St. Ignatius Parish in Antioch, California, molested them when they were minors in the early 1980s. Cummins said that he learned about allegations against Ponciroli in 1995, but did not notify police or try to find the victims. Cummins apologized for his failure to search for the victims. In 2016, Cummins published the book Vatican II, Berkeley and Beyond, a collection of reflections on the Vatican II Council and its effects on the church.

Cummins died in Oakland on December 3, 2024, at the age of 96.