Archbishop Chaput leaves the Rocky Mountains for Philly (lots of links)

Te Deum Blogspot ^ | July 19, 2011

[NYer]

Freshly "snipped" from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at 6:00am this morning

Savannah, Georgia wakes up to the news that Franciscan, Rev. Gregory John Hartmayer, OFM will become it's next bishop, and the people of Philadelphia got confirmation that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver will succeed the outgoing Cardinal Justin Rigali.

Archbishop Chaput had been rumored more than once to be headed to a cardinalatial see from his Denver post which he has held since 1997, and it finally happened this morning with his appointment today to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by Pope Benedict XVI.  He will be installed on September 8, 2011 - the day on which we celebrate the Birth of Mary. At the same time, the Holy Father accepted the resignation of Cardinal Justin Rigali who held that post since October of 2003.  The two will be at a 10:00 press conference which can probably be watched live at the diocesan website.

I, like other Catholic bloggers, was watching the rumor mill swell until it finally could not contain itself any more yesterday and the near certainty was winding it's way through Philly papers and the  blogosphere before the embargo which would have been Noon time today in Rome.

The Philly-bound bishop was the second Native American (Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe) to be ordained a bishop in the United States, the first Native American to be archbishop, and God-willing, the first Native American to become a Cardinal.  It is unusual for a bishop to be named Cardinal while his predecessor is still alive, and under 80.   Upon reaching the age of 80, they are no longer considered among the Cardinal Electors who chose the next Pope.  Cardinal Rigali just turned 76 a few months ago.  Archbishop Chaput would be likely be elevated to Cardinal in a consistory at some point after April of 2015 if Philadelphia keeps it's red hat, and depending on other limitations there may be on overall numbers and distribution.

You can read Archbishop Charles J. Chaput's full bio and curriculum vitae at the Archdiocese of Denver website.


"A Conservative Bishop"?

That is a label for Archbishop Chaput you will see in many sources.  But, how would people describe "conservative"?  Is he politically conservative, socially conservative, liturgically conservative? 

In looking around the web this morning, I found an exclusive interview that reporter, John Allen had with Archbishop Chaput about his appointment to Philadelphia.  In that interview they talk about everything from politics, to baseball, and the Latin Mass.

Why, oh why is this respectable reporter still writing for the dissident rag, the National Catholic Reporter. Now, considering that the NC Reporter has writers advocating everything from liberation theology to abortion I recommend looking at the reaction of their readers in the combox to the news of Chaput's appointment.  The dissident wing of the Church is throwing an absolute nutty.  Thomas J. Reese, SJ, of the Woodstock Theological Center [I'm not making that up], had this reaction in Philly.com:

"I think that with Chaput you will see a much more politically active archbishop than we saw with Cardinal Rigali," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, former editor of the Jesuit magazine America and author of numerous books on the Catholic hierarchy.

Reese described Chaput as an "in-your-face" leader who is "going to be a real pain in the neck for the Democratic Party."

It's not the Democratic Party that Archbishop Chaput is confronting; rather it is Catholic Democratic Party politicians and other democrats who exploit their "catholicity" for agendas that are contrary to Catholic teaching which he confronts.


In an article written yesterday by Allen, he had this to say:

Despite the fact that Chaput has been rumored to be in line for virtually every major opening in the American church in recent years, his appointment to Philadelphia nonetheless comes as something of a surprise.

Speaking on background, sources told NCR that Chaput was a highly personal choice by Pope Benedict. Most insiders considered Chaput a long-shot for Philadelphia, regarding Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., a Pennsylvania native and a prelate with a reputation for brokering compromise, as the favorite.

Benedict, however, tapped Chaput, solidifying his profile as a papal favorite.

In recent years, Benedict turned to Chaput to handle two other sensitive assignments: Chaput was part of a team of bishops tasked with conducting a review of the Legionaries of Christ, and he was also entrusted with a visitation of the Toowoomba diocese in Australia under Bishop William Morris.

That latter investigation led to Benedict's decision to sack Morris, in part because Morris suggested openness to women priests in a pastoral letter.

One way to learn about someone is through their writings.  You can find a boatload of them linked at the bottom of this page since Archbishop Chaput is a prolific writer on a number of topics.
More articles and blogposts are below. Some of these were written yesterday or early this morning, before the official announcement, but contain interesting notes and background. 

I am providing a variety of resources here - some seemingly favorable, others not, and others just reporting facts.  Here again, I recommend sampling some of the comments that can be found in the blogs.  I would not recommend paying much attention to comboxes of secular news sources since there are many non-Catholics, mostly secularists, who tend to dominate those discussions. 


THIS LIST WILL BE UPDATED LATER

• Archbishop Chaput to lead Philadelphia Archdiocese (Vatican Radio)
• From the Prairie to the Atlantic Coast. The New Bishops Stateside (Sandro Magister)
• Chaput to Philly (Thomas Pringle)
• Render Unto Chaput -- Sources: Denver's Capuchin = Philadelphia's Revolution (Rocco Palmo)
• Pope accepts Philadelphia archbishop's resignation; Chaput named successor (Allentown Morning Call)
• Archbishop may become Cardinal (the Coloradan)
• Michael Sean Winters (NCR Blog) is throwing a nutty 
• It won't be Rigali, Part 2 (Philly.com)
• Great 2008 Interview with Archbishop Chaput (Regnun Novum)
• Tom Peters, the American Papist will be at the 10:00am Presser, Tweeting (Catholic Vote)
• Chaput to Philly (The Anchoress)
• Philadelphia needs it's new archbishop (Matt Archbold)
• Of course, the New York Times would rely on the "Woodstock Theological Center" for comment

---

[NYer]

The dissident wing of the Church is throwing an absolute nutty.

: - )

[FatherofFive]

I had the pleasure of sharing a bottle of wine with Bishop Chaput at dinner during a Kateri Conference.

He is one of the best we have.

[Salvation]

Chaput will be good for the City of Brotherly Love and the entire archdiocese!!

Think back to the dim convention in Denver and how they all hated Chaput because he spoke out against their platform of abortion.

God bless him!

[netmilsmom]

>>The dissident wing of the Church is throwing an absolute nutty. <<

This makes me happy.

[Salvation]

Read the Links in this:

** It's not the Democratic Party that Archbishop Chaput is confronting; rather it is Catholic Democratic Party politicians and other democrats who exploit their "catholicity" for agendas that are contrary to Catholic teaching which he confronts.**

[sitetest]

I once wrote the archbishop an e-mail of support for some action he’d undertaken. Folks were urged by some website to write such e-mails, and I did, thinking little of it.

I was rather surprised to receive back a reply directly from the archbishop. We exchanged a few e-mails. He was very gracious, very kind.

[rightthinkingwoman]

His book Render Unto Caesar was also very good.

[Claud]

You’ve been to a Kateri Conference? What do you think of them? I’d like to go some day.

[Claud]

I wrote him about a book I wrote on Native American liturgy...boy was I surprised when he responded personally!! I found him gracious as well.

Now I have to send him a copy! ;)

[the invisib1e hand]

Archbishop Chaput leaves the Rocky Mountains for Philly (lots of links)

Well, that would have to be expected if he's going to be the Archbishop there.

Just how detailed is coverage of this journey going to be?

[Tupelo]

A very good man.

Denver’s loss Philadelphia’s gain.
Very unfair trade. Denver got screwed.

[NYer]

I was rather surprised to receive back a reply directly from the archbishop. We exchanged a few e-mails. He was very gracious, very kind.

Wow! I love hearing about bishops that write back. My own bishop, Gregory John Mansour, falls into that group.

Each year I send him a Christmas card with a personal note and every year, he writes back including his own personally hand written note. He is reachable via email and phone, both of which I only use on an emergency basis. He will be visiting our parish this weekend and I am preparing the salad for Saturday lunch. I plan to surprise the bishop with a few bottles of San Pellegrino water and a 6 pack of Orangina, both of which are popular in Italy (Pope Benedict XVI is a big fan of Orangina). Bishop Gregory studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, where he completed his Degree in Spiritual Theology (STL) in 1983.

[mware]

My parish priest had high words for Archbishop Chaput. Said he will clean out the rot.

Unfortunate for Cardinal Rigali having to be the first to address the scandals in Philly. He too is a good man who opened the books for all to see.

Sure wish B16 would assign someone like him to the Camden diocese.

[AnAmericanMother]

Will somebody PLEASE tell this gentleman the difference between "it's" and "its"!

It's quite distracting to see that glaring error.

Its regular appearance in the work of supposed journalists is very annoying.

There. That's out of the way. On to the business at hand.

Archbishop Chaput: Ad multos annos!!!!!!

If the usual suspects (like the Notionally Catholic Reporter a/k/a The Fishwrap) are annoyed, you know he's a good appointment.

[AnAmericanMother]

If I recall correctly, it was Fr. Z over at WDPTRS who suggested that we Email him -- I just can't remember what about. His book? Some controversy? Maybe his statement about the whole Notre Dame flap?

I wrote him too -- and also got an answer back. I originally wrote the Email as if to a staffer or webmaster, thanking him or her for passing my note on to the bishop, and the bishop himself wrote me back!!!! I was impressed and told him so, and that I wasn't sure what use a little old lady convert in Georgia could be to the bishop of Denver, but if I ever could be all he had to do was say the word. He said pray for him, I said I'm on the job.

Praying for him again on this appointment. He's gonna need it.

[Domestic Church]

Les Pretres Spiritus Dei

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2cmd9YCILg&NR=1

[FatherofFive]

You’ve been to a Kateri Conference? What do you think of them? I’d like to go some day.

I was the Chairman of a Catholic Scouting Committee, and we used Kateri as the core of a Camporee one year. A number of our Scouts were interested, and we went to the one in Memphis and in Spokane.

It was fantastic, with a few exceptions. The Mass in incredible. So many bishops con-celebrating. Great experience for the kids. The Scouts were helpers, mainly helping the elderly get around. I would recommend it.

The downside was up in Spokane. The Jesuits at Gonzaga hosted the event. At the big Mass they had levened bread and apple juice instead of wine. I heard the main guy get reamed afterwards "Don't EVER do that again!" It was great when the jesuits were Catholic. I went to the Gonzaga bookstore, and in the theology section they had one called "God - our Mother and our Father"

But that is the only downside - the liberal theology creeping in.