BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Bishop Richard Malone has announced he will not march in this year's Saint Patrick's Day Parade after calls from the community for him to be removed from the parade.
According to the Buffalo Catholic Diocese, Bishop Malone will not participate in the parade, but will still hold mass in the morning.
The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo issued this statement:
"Bishop Malone will continue the true celebration of the feast day of Saint Patrick with Mass at Saint Joseph's Cathedral on Sunday March 17th at 10:30 AM. This will precede the lining up of the Saint Patrick's Day Parade on Delaware Avenue.
To prevent the Saint Patrick's Day Parade from being used as a platform to address unrelated issues - however important those issues may be - Bishop Malone, with immense regret, has decided not to march in the Parade this year. The Bishop has chosen Father David Richards, Chaplain of the United Irish American Association, to march in his place as a representative of the diocese. The Parade is an event that honors Saint Patrick and the Irish Catholic heritage and celebrates the many contributions of the Irish people and their descendants to Western New York. It is not the proper forum for controversy."
