Joseph Vincent Brennan

Joseph Vincent Brennan (born March 20, 1954) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Fresno in California since 2019. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 2015 to 2019.

Biography

Early life Joseph Brennan was born on March 20, 1954, in Van Nuys, California. Deciding to become a priest, he entered Saint John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. Brennan received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1976 and a Bachelor of Theology degree in 1980 from Saint John's.

Priesthood

Brennan was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at the Cathedral of St. Vibiana in Los Angeles by Cardinal Timothy Manning on June 21, 1980. After his 1980 ordination, Brennan served as associate pastor at three parishes in Southern California:

Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Angeles (1980 to 1983) St. Linus in Norwalk (1983 to 1987) Cathedral of St. Vibiana (1987 to 1991)

His participation was viewed by some as "active participation in a non-Catholic ordination ceremony", which is forbidden under the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Pope Leo XIII previously declared Anglican orders "null and void" in Apostolicae curae (1896). No disciplinary action has been publicly taken against Brennan since the incident.

Unions In August 2022, Brennan marched with farm workers in support of the 2022 Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act enacted by the California State Legislature. The bill allowed farm workers to use mail-in ballots for union elections.

Vaccinations In November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brennan urged Catholics not to take the COVID-19 vaccines. He claimed that embryonic stem cells used in the development of these vaccines violated Catholic ethics.