Ronald William Gainer

Ronald William Gainer (born August 24, 1947) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania from 2014 to 2023. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky from 2002 to 2014.

Biography

Early life and education Gainer was born on August 24, 1947, in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, as an only child to parents of Eastern European descent. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1973.

Priesthood Gainer was ordained to the priesthood at Saint Thomas Moore Church in Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania, by Bishop Joseph Mark McShea for the Diocese of Allentown on May 19, 1973. He also served as secretary of the diocesan tribunal, as secretary for Catholic life and evangelization, and as judicial vicar.

Bishop of Harrisburg On January 24, 2014, Gainer was appointed the eleventh bishop of Harrisburg by Pope Francis. He was installed on March 19, 2014, in the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Harrisburg.

On July 1, 2014, Gainer introduced a sports policy prohibiting girls at Catholic schools in the diocese from participating in any wrestling, tackle football, or tackle rugby matches, either on all-girl or coed teams. The policy also required male wrestlers to forfeit any matches against female opponents. However, the policy did not bar tackle football or rugby teams from playing against coed teams. an international charity. He was also president of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the public affairs policy arm of the ten Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

Retirement On April 25, 2023, Pope Francis accepted Gainer's resignation as bishop of Harrisburg as he reached the canonical mandatory retirement age of 75. Pope Francis appointed Bishop Timothy C. Senior to succeed Gainer as the 12th bishop of Harrisburg. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, in 2017 the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Diocese of Greensburg attempted to shut down the grand jury investigation.

On August 1, 2018, Gainer disclosed the names of 71 past and present clergy affiliated with the Diocese of Harrisburg who were credibly accused of sexually abusing children. The majority of persons on the list were deceased, and some were accused only after their deaths. Gainer explained the rationale for releasing this information: "While these men are not a risk to the public, I still felt compelled to release their names in an effort to confirm for those brave survivors... that we have heard their cries and taken them seriously." Gainer also stated that prior to 2002, some lawsuits had been settled using confidentiality clauses, and he was now releasing all victims from such confidentiality agreements. Immediately following the release of the list, Gainer announced the removal of the names of all the bishops of Harrisburg since 1947 from buildings or rooms in diocesan facilities. This was in response to their failures to protect children from sexual abuse.