Los Angeles Getting a New Archbishop (Part 2)

www.TheSacredPage.com ^ | 1/30/10 | Michael Barber

[Mighty_Quinn]

On Saturday Rocco Palmo announced on his blog that he has learned that the terma, the final three names submitted to Pope Benedict for the job of Shepherd of Los Angeles, includes both Hispanic and Anglo candidates. Palmo writes: "again, the demographics of the archdiocese are an immense consideration here, but so is the skill-set of a candidate given the Holy See's assessment of the place" ("Back Page" live discussion, posted at 10:27).

In the last post, I looked at the Hispanic bishops most frequently named in connection with this story. But what if it's not a Hispanic?

Obviously, if, as Rocco suggests, the pope is also considering Anglo candidates, the list of possible names becomes much longer.

One possible way to narrow it down a bit might be to look to bishops of larger dioceses. Obviously, given the enormous size of the LA diocese, it would seem Cardinal Mahony's successor is likely to be someone with experience running a large see.

We also might look at some of Pope Benedict's other appointments to high profile posts. In fact, church-watchers have noted certain trends in Benedict's episcopal placements:

1. Experience in Priestly Formation

One of the most pressing challenges facing many dioceses in the US (and for that matter those throughout the world) is that of an aging presbytery.

[SevenofNine]

Thanks for the update