Where Is Bishop McConnell’s Signature?

The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette carried the full-page ad shown below on page A-12 of this morning’s newspaper. (Click on the image for a PDF version of the page.) The ad was paid for by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Readers are asked to pledge to end gender violence, specifically to

• Not use violence of any form in my relationships.
• Speak up if another man is abusing his partner or is disrespectful or abusive to women and girls. I will not remain silent.
• Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence.
• Mentor antd teach boys how to be men in ways that don’t involve degrading or abusing girls and women. I will lead by example.

Signatures in the ad include those of Pittsburgh Pirates, the mayor of Pittsburgh and governor of Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh business leaders and leaders of key Pittsburgh institutions. Among the other signers are five college and university presidents, presidents of two Jewish organizations, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Pittsburgh.

Certain signatures one might have expected to see are absent, but I do not know who was asked to sign and who was not. I am sorry, however, that Bishop Dorsey McConnell, Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh, is not represented. Perhaps the Episcopal bishop was not considered important enough to be part of this effort, or perhaps Bishop McConnell did not respond to a request for an endorsement. Pity.