Frederick Bernard Henry (born April 11, 1943 - Died December 3, 2024) was the seventh Catholic Bishop of the diocese of Calgary, in the province of Alberta, Canada.

Biography

Henry was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1968. He holds an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and a licentiate in theology from Gregorian University in Rome. From 1973-1986 he served as associate professor of Theology and Philosophy at St. Peter's Seminary. In 1986 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of London and titular bishop of Carinola, Italy. In 1995 he was installed as the fifth bishop of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and on March 19, 1998 he was installed as the seventh bishop of Calgary. He was granted early retirement as Bishop of Calgary by Pope Francis on January 4, 2017, due to health concerns. He served as the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese until the installation of his successor, William McGrattan, on February 27, 2017. Pastoral Assignments: Recent Appointments: Henry's staunch positions have made him a polarizing figure in the Calgary community. His support has come from devout Catholics who agree with his traditional faith based views on contemporary issues such as gay marriage. His behavior and command of the Calgary diocese has come with controversy. Two recent examples were the banning schools and students from using casinos to fund-raise (the traditionally most significant source of extra revenue) and suggesting that school boards in the Calgary Catholic School District ban the distribution of the HPV vaccine. He is a noted critic of modern trends in government, whether these be the libertarian policies of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives (Provincial Government), or the tendency of certain Canadian federal politicians to overlook their Catholic identities at election time.

Views

Same-sex marriage

On July 30, 2003, Henry commented on Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's support for the legalization of same-sex marriage: "I pray for the Prime Minister because I think his eternal salvation is in jeopardy. He is making a morally grave error and he's not being accountable to God... He doesn't understand what it means to be a good Catholic."

Abortion

After Joe Clark, former Tory leader and a Catholic, described himself as pro-choice, Henry described his comments as "scandalous".

HPV vaccine and promiscuity

Henry does not allow public health officials to vaccinate students in Catholic schools against human papillomavirus, or HPV. He believes that the HPV vaccine is a partial prophylaxis which is utilized instead of, rather than with, the development of self-discipline and virtue.

Quotes