ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester Bishop Salvatore Matano is asking for prayers on behalf of Bishop Emeritus Matthew Clark after confirming that Clark is experiencing declining health.

In a statement dated Wednesday, Bishop Matano said Clark's condition is now "quite serious."

Matano's statement said in part:

"I visited Bishop Clark this afternoon in his room at the Sisters of Saint Joseph Motherhouse, where he lives and receives the necessary nursing care. I ask the priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Rochester to unite in prayer for Bishop Clark. May the Eternal High Priest, Our Savior Jesus Christ, be close to Bishop Clark during these difficult days and may Mary, the Queen of the Clergy, intercede for Bishop Clark before her Son."

The diocese said in Sept. 2019 that Bishop Emeritus Clark had been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's. Despite that, a judge ruled in Feb. 2020 that concerns surrounding Clark's disease were not enough to keep him from testifying in the bankruptcy case against the Diocese of Rochester.