On October 21, 1967, at the age of 38, Pope Paul VI appointed John Rafael Quinn an auxiliary bishop of San Diego under Bishop Francis J. Furey. The short but handsome Quinn became the youngest bishop in the United States.
It should be noted that Pope Paul VI, himself a homosexual, played a decisive role in the selection and advancement of many homosexual members of the American hierarchy, but Quinn’s appointment, as we shall see, turned out to be among the most egregious and dangerous for the universal Church.