Early life Harry Flynn was born in
Schenectady, New York, on May 3, 1933, to William and Margaret Mahoney Flynn. Orphaned when he was age 12, he was primarily raised primarily by two aunts. Flynn attended from
Siena College in Loudonville, New York, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in English. He then attended
Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland,
Priesthood Flynn was
ordained to the priesthood in
Albany, New York, by Bishop
William Scully on May 18, 1960, for the
Diocese of Albany. After returned to Albany in 1979, he was appointed director of clergy continuing education and as pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in
Latham, New York. Flynn later remarked "If I had 100 lives, I'd live every one of them as a priest - and none as a bishop!"
Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana Pope John Paul II appointed Flynn as
coadjutor bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana on April 19, 1986.
Howard Hubbard consecrated Flynn on June 24, 1986. Flynn succeeded
Gerard Frey, who resigned on May 12, 1989. Following the recommendation of
Thomas P. Doyle, Flynn served under Frey for three years before taking over the position due to the fallout from the
Gilbert Gauthe child sexual abuse scandal. However, upon arriving in Lafayette, Doyle referred Flynn to local lawyer
Ray Mouton, an expert in the Gauthe case, to discuss the scandal and explore ways to support victims. Mouton later claimed that Flynn never contacted him. Another local lawyer, Anthony Fontana, reached out to Flynn regarding a different priest accused of sexual abuse, Reverend Gilbert Dutel. Flynn responded by saying that Dutel had been "cured" and that he needed to keep him due to a priest shortage. Flynn recruited Sister Bartholomew DeRouen to speak with the parents of the children abused by Gauthe. He later testified that he felt uncomfortable meeting with the families himself and believed that a woman could communicate more effectively. However, Flynn did not provide DeRouen with the names of the victims, so she had to find them on her own. Additionally, Flynn reportedly told a parent of a child molested by Gauthe that the diocese was wrong to keep Gauthe in ministry and that it had mishandled the situation, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis On February 22, 1994, Flynn was appointed by John Paul II as the
coadjutor archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. He became archbishop on September 8, 1995, upon the resignation of Archbishop
John Robert Roach. Although Scheffler won the case, it was overturned on appeal. Flynn only removed Kapoun from the ministry after the court case had started, and the archdiocese subsequently sent Scheffler a bill for its legal costs. In 2002, Flynn led the committee at the
US Conference of Catholic Bishops that wrote the "
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" and the "Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons". These two documents would set policy in the United States for dealing with sexual abuse allegations against priests, deacons and other clergy, with the notable exception of bishops. In May 2005, Flynn publicly criticized
Minnesota Governor
Tim Pawlenty in the
Star Tribune for what he perceived as irresponsible tax policies. Flynn was an outspoken opponent of the
war in Iraq. After serving as archbishop for 12 years, Flynn requested that the pope assign him a coadjutor archbishop. On April 24, 2007,
Pope Benedict XVI appointed
John Nienstedt as Flynn's coadjutor. In January 2008, Flynn, citing a Vatican instruction from 2004, ordered an end to the practice of
lay preaching at mass. He said:"There has to be that kind of training and theological background that even a person with a master's degree in theology would not have. The church does not want people just standing up there and giving opinions or even things they've read in books."
Retirement On May 5, 2008, Benedict XVI accepted Flynn's resignation as archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and Nienstedt succeeded him as archbishop. He resigned from the board of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul on October 14, 2013. Harry Flynn died on September 22, 2019, from
bone cancer in
Saint Paul, Minnesota at the age of 86. He was buried at
Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. ==Appointments==