1. When will Bishop Wuerl get appointed to Philadelphia?
2. How did the Boston Globe get it this wrong? O’Malley wasn’t on their list at all, never mind that it wasn’t Bishop Wuerl after all.
3. As I said yesterday, how will this affect the sex-abuse lawsuits and other controversies like Talking about Touching?
Wuerl is 63, plenty young enough for this Pope to appoint him. It’s no secret that he wouldn’t mind getting Philly and a red hat eventually.
TaT isn’t small potatoes for many parents. That’s just the point. Too often things that are of great concern are dismissed as unimportant by people in power while they attend to “really important” things like garden parties with rich philanthropists.
It is interesting that no appointment was made for Lennon immediately.
Locally, in addition to Worcester, there’s Brooklyn, Hartford, Paterson, NJ, and Scranton, PA. Also Bishop Gerry in Portland reaches 75 in September if they decide to wait that long.
I heard a very Orthodox (at least I think) Charismatic priest PRAISE the appointment of Bishop O’Malley to Archbishop of Boston on his radio show (any guesses as to who it was?).
Just look at the picture of the guy, long beard, welcoming smile. Looks more like a shepherd than a member of a corporate board.
I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
http://www.diocesepb.org/bishop/bishop.htm
The link above will take you to his official biography on the Diocese of Palm Beach website. Notice the PhD in SPANISH and PORTUGUESE literature. This won’t hurt.
Also, take a look at the home page of the Palm Beach Diocese v. the RCAB (http://www.rcab.org). One appears to be a family site, the other a little corporate.
ON GLOBE AND BISHOP WUERL:
Wuerl is handsome, educated, articulate, and media savvy.
Perhaps, just perhaps, the Globe was hoping “if you print it, he will come”.
I think the lesson we’ve learned from the Boston experience is that any rumor more than a day or two before the appointment takes place is unreliable at best. O’Malley himself only found out 48 hours ago.
By the way, I found this comment in that article interesting: “Philadelphia’s archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, turns 80 today. He’s able, and still walks daily on his exercise machine, but invitations to a retirement party for him in mid-July have been sent out.” If they’re planning a retirement party, that could be a significant sign.