New pastors taking over at several parishes

Several Catholic parishes in northeast Phoenix have new leadership after the annual round of priest reassignments was completed.

New pastors will take over at St. Paul in Moon Valley, St. Joseph on 40th Street north of Shea Boulevard, and St. Joan of Arc on Greenway east of the Piestewa Freeway. Another area parish, Most Holy Trinity in Sunnyslope, has had the Rev. Robert Skagen, its pastor, on a personal leave of absence, but it is losing the priest who replaced him.

Three other parishes in the area will receive new assistant priests, called parochial vicars.

Changes are taking place at:

• St. Paul, which will receive the Rev. Michael Straley from Most Holy Trinity. He succeeds the Rev. Eugene O'Carroll, who retired. O'Carroll served the parish since 1982.

• St. Joseph will get a relatively new priest, the Rev. John Greb, to replace the Rev. Frank Fernandez, who served at the parish for 13 years. Greb was ordained in 2006. Greb will receive the title "pastoral administrator," a sort of interim title. Fernandez is moving to St. Theresa in central Phoenix as parochial vicar.

• St. Joan of Arc will be led by the Rev. Don Kline, who since 2002 has led the vocation office for the Diocese of Phoenix, which recruits new priests. Kline also will receive the interim title. He replaces the Rev. Larry Weidner, pastor since 1990. Weidner is taking a leave of absence.

The new assistants are assigned to:

• St. Gabriel in far north Phoenix, where a newly ordained priest, the Rev. Jose Jesus Lopez, will work.

• St. Joan, where the Rev. John Muir will join Kline. Muir was ordained a year ago.

• The Rev. Jude Uche will serve as assistant at St. Bernadette, near 60th Street and Bell Road.

Unlike the members of most religious groups, Catholics have no say on clergy appointments, and rarely does the diocese provide reasons for the changes or for specific assignments.