Biography
Gerald Barnes was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles, where he and his siblings worked at their parents' grocery store. He was ordained to the priesthood, for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, on December 20, 1975.
On January 28, 1992, Barnes was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Bernardino, California and Titular Bishop of Mons Faliscus by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 18 from Bishop Philip Straling, with Archbishop Patrick Flores and Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, serving as co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal motto: "Amar Es Entregarse", meaning, "Love is the total giving of oneself."
Barnes was later named the second Bishop of San Bernardino on December 28, 1995. The focus of his episcopal ministry has been the diocesan Pastoral Planning Process.
Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Barnes currently chairs the Committee on Migration and Refugee Services. In that post, he has described the "current immigration system" as responsible for "family separation, suffering, and even death" and "is morally unacceptable and must be reformed". He formerly chaired the Committee on Hispanic Affairs from 1996 to 1999.
Read more about this topic: Gerald Richard Barnes
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