He was on nobody's short list for the appointment. That "hand-picked" connotation by the Pope has a nice ring to it. I'm telling you, Phoenix just might blossom under his care. He has a core of young and upcoming orthodox Priests scattered throughout several parishes to assist his oversight. The future looks bright, very bright!
We can only continue to pray for our diocese's future!
I hadn't been aware of the pope handpicking the Bishop, but am hopeful this will be the case for our Diocease, where Bishop Burke is leaving.
Met with a priest friend of the family today and he's hoping they also bring in someone from the outside.
The new Bishop will have some work to do that Burke didn't quite tidy up. Can't say more than that, but our diocease could be faced with some hard decisions in the not to distant future.