Robert Joseph Baker (born June 4, 1944, in Willard, Ohio) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama from 2007 to 2019 and as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina from 1999 to 2007 Baker became a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) in 2008 and became the state AOH chaplain in Alabama. He has written several books.

Biography

Early life

Robert Baker was born on June 4, 1944, in Willard, Ohio. He entered the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, in 1966. He graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree.

Priesthood

On March 21, 1970, Baker was ordained into the priesthood at Saint Wendelin Church in Fostoria, Ohio, by Bishop Paul Tanner for the Diocese of St. Augustine. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Baker as assistant pastor of St. Paul Parish in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. In 1972, Baker went to Rome to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University, receiving a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in dogmatic theology in 1975. In 1976, after returning to Florida, Baker was appointed director of the Catholic Student Parish at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and assigned as pastor of the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine Parish in St. Augustine. During that time, he founded the St. Francis Ministry in Gainesville to assist individuals discharged from state mental hospitals who were homeless. In 1977, Baker was granted a Doctor of Theology degree. He was appointed in 1981 as instructor of sacramental theology at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. In 1984, Baker was appointed pastor of the Cathedral-Basilica Parish of St. Augustine and in 1997 was transferred to Christ the King Parish in Jacksonville.

Bishop of Charleston

On July 12, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed Baker as bishop of Charleston. He was consecrated on September 28, 1999, by Archbishop John Donoghue at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, South Carolina. During his tenure as bishop, Baker dedicated new or expanded churches, schools, and parish facilities. On January 26, 2007, the diocese reached a $5 million minimum settlement with sexual abuse victims and their family members. Baker said that he deeply regretted their anguish.

Bishop of Birmingham

On August 14, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Baker as the bishop of Birmingham. He was installed as bishop on October 2, 2007. In 2019, Baker opened a eucharistic conference in the diocese.

Retirement and legacy

On March 25, 2020, Pope Francis accepted Baker's resignation as bishop of Birmingham.

Positions

Abortion

Baker was critical in 2009 of the honorary doctorate that Notre Dame University granted to President Barack Obama, since Obama supported abortion rights for women. Baker suggested that Catholics assemble and pray on the Notre Dame commencement day; he discouraged public demonstrations, however.

Sexual abuse among clergy

In a 2020 interview with the Catholic World Report, Baker gave his opinion on the cause of the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church:"I agree with Pope Benedict XVI that the origins of the scandals we’re experiencing are related to the changing sexual mores in society that we really began to see in the 1960s. The 1969 music festival at Woodstock, New York symbolized the change in American culture. Moral values in our country, and in the Western hemisphere, had changed. The drug culture came with it."

Episcopal succession