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	Signs Point to Naming of Catholic Archbishop Soon By Annysa Johnson Milwaukee Journal Sentinel October 27, 2009 http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/65986822.html Six months after Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan left for New York, speculation is mounting that his successor will be appointed soon. Four names have emerged in recent days as likely candidates - including Gerald F. Kicanas, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - fueled by their mention on a popular Vatican commentator's blog. The Milwaukee Archdiocese said Monday it had no knowledge of a pending announcement and would not speculate on candidates. "That's for the Holy Father to decide," said Jerry Topczewski, a spokesman for the archdiocese. Dolan, who led the 10-county archdiocese's 700,000 Catholics since 2002, was installed as Archbishop of New York in April. Speculation regarding his successor had been dormant until recent weeks when the Vatican began announcing a series of appointments in other dioceses. It picked up over the weekend after blogger and Vatican watcher Rocco Palmo - who called Dolan's New York appointment in the weeks before it was announced - suggested a decision was near and named four likely contenders. Touted as potential candidates, he said, were Bishops Kicanas of Tucson; Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, S.D.; Jerome E. Listecki of La Crosse; and Milwaukee Auxiliary Bishop William P. Callahan. Except for Kicanas, who at 68 skews older and lacks the Roman experience, all of the men fit the profile of Milwaukee's archbishops in recent history: sitting bishops, with ties to the Midwest who have worked or studied in Rome. And all are on the same page theologically, except for minor nuances, said Father Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and author of the book "Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church." "The Pope does exactly what you or I would do if we were picking bishops. He looks for people who reflect his own views about doctrine and church practices," said Reese. "The differences will be not so much in doctrine and substance but in style." Kicanas has the highest profile nationally as the No. 2 man in the U.S. Conference of Bishops, who is expected to be named its next president. A Chicago native who served as an auxiliary bishop there, Kicanas has been bishop in Tucson since 2003, where he settled dozens of clergy sex abuse cases and shepherded the diocese out of bankruptcy. Kicanas, who speaks Spanish, has worked extensively on immigration issues and would be considered an asset in a community such as Milwaukee with a growing Hispanic population, observers said. "He'd be a real coup for Milwaukee," said Reese. But Bill Thorn, chairman of the Department of Communications at Marquette University and an expert on the Catholic Church and media, suggested the Vatican might hang onto Kicanas for a more prominent post. "The question is whether you move him to Milwaukee, or reserve him for Los Angeles or somewhere where he'll automatically become a cardinal," Thorn said. Cupich, a Nebraska native, also is nationally known among bishops for his work on the U.S. Conference's liturgy, sexual abuse and other committees. He has drawn some support from clergy sex abuse victims groups, who endorsed him for president of the bishop's conference in the last election. Of the four, Cupich has the most extensive Vatican connections, having worked in the Papal nunciature, the Vatican's embassy in Washington, for several years, and is the most formal in his interpersonal style, said Thorn. Listecki and Callahan, also Chicago natives, would be most up to speed on the issues facing the church in Wisconsin, observers said. A canon and civil lawyer and moral theologian, Listecki was a former auxiliary bishop in Chicago and succeeded controversial La Crosse Bishop Raymond Burke in 2004. He has been described as friendly and gregarious - "though not in the same way that Dolan" is, said Marquette history professor Father Steven Avella. "He's a great raconteur, a very good storyteller," said Avella. Of the four, Listecki has been the most inclined to engage in political debate, reprimanding Nancy Pelosi for her misrepresentation of Catholic teachings on the beginning of life and criticizing the University of Notre Dame's decision to honor Barack Obama earlier this year. Callahan had been dismissed as a candidate by many early on because the Vatican typically does not promote auxiliary bishops within their own archdioceses. But Thorn said it would be unwise to rule out Callahan, who oversaw the renovation and expansion of the Milwaukee's Basilica of St. Josaphat when he was pastor there; spearheaded the restructuring of the Milwaukee Archdiocese under Dolan and is well-known and well-liked by parishioners and priests. "He's generally considered to be a first-class administrator," said Thorn. Whoever is appointed faces significant challenges, including pending sex abuse lawsuits that could bankrupt the archdiocese, declining enrollment in Catholic schools, liturgical changes, shifting demographics and questions about how best to train seminarians and maintain Catholic institutions and identity. Some raised concerns that Milwaukee could be just a stepping stone to a higher post, given its history of archbishops leaving for Chicago and, now, New York. "I'm really hopeful that whoever comes here stays here, sinks roots in here, loves us and stays with us for the long haul," said Avella. "Milwaukee is a church in its own right that has so many strengths and so many good things about it."
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