Buffalo's Bishop Michael Fisher sat down with BTPM NPR’s Emyle Watkins after returning from a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. Fisher shared details about their conversation, which included the local Chapter 11 bankruptcy case and the Road to Renewal plan. Here’s part of their conversation, edited for length and clarity.
He was first asked about how he spent his time while at the Vatican.
BISHOP FISHER: Most of the week, last week, was filled with meetings with various dicasteries and offices at the Vatican to, again, talk about the administrative, the pastoral and sacramental life of our diocese and our and our issues and challenges. Then at the very end of the of the week, and sort of to top it all off, I had a meeting with the Holy Father, and in his papal quarters. That was sort of the highlight and a nice way to come home with his blessing and his encouragement, and that was a nice way to end.
EMYLE WATKINS: Tell me more about your visit with the Holy Father. What was your takeaway? What's he like? Everyone's excited about him and excited to get to know him.
BISHOP FISHER: Well, I felt very much at ease talking to him. We took some pictures. I presented him with the jersey from the Buffalo Bills. It said Leo the 14th on it. And, you know, we took a picture, he smiled. I also presented him with a book on the life of Monsignor Nelson Baker and a picture of Father Baker to remind him that we were trying to have Father Baker canonized. So, he was familiar with that and was grateful for that. And then we just sat down. And again, it was a one-on-one conversation. I did a lot of the talking. Telling him about the good people of Buffalo. And I asked him if he had ever been here, and he said a few times, so he's familiar with the diocese. And (I) just explained our Road to Renewal (plan), you know, our Chapter 11 challenges, but in the urgency that we're feeling to work through this. And he was a good listener, very empathetic. He asked me how I'm doing, because I think he's concerned about the stress on a lot of the bishops, but he asked me how I was doing, and then encouraged me to continue to take advantage of working with the different offices there and the dicasteries, but also to continue to move forward with trying to emerge from our Chapter 11.
EMYLE WATKINS: Can you touch on the bankruptcy a bit? Where does it stand right now? Are there any updates? And how close do you feel you are to a resolution?
BISHOP FISHER: Well, again, it's hard to predict that. We do have a plan that we have submitted, that we have come to a provisional settlement with the creditors. The creditors are those survivor victims, moving forward now. Now it's before the court to see how and, of course, the difficulty is meeting the requirements of that settlement and the amount of money, $150 million. So, that's where we all have to be together. We're going to be greatly limited, later, in terms of the resources there. But hopefully we'll have what we need.
