By Troy Kehoe
WSBT
November 13, 2009
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/69996577.html
SOUTH BEND — The Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese is expected to announce the appointment of a new bishop Saturday. Local Catholics and religious experts are already speculating on who will be named as Bishop John D'Arcy's replacement.
The diocese says Bishop D'Arcy will make an "historic announcement" at St. Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend Saturday afternoon, and it will be "something that takes place once in a generation."
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| Bishop John D’Arcy. |
D'Arcy, 77, submitted his resignation as required by the Vatican when he turned 75-years-old. Late Friday afternoon, D'Arcy confirmed to WSBT Radio's Mary Simco that the announcement Saturday will involve the appointment of a new bishop. He also said the new bishop currently serves as a bishop in another diocese.
That news brought mixed emotions from many Catholics, as they prepared to meet a new spiritual leader Saturday. As bells outside St. Matthew's called the faithful to Friday evening mass, inside, many were quietly wondering what the announcement will bring.
Wish lists for the new bishop ran the gamut.
"I would like to see the new bishop really concentrate on Catholic education," said Tracy Libbey, whose children attend St. Matthew's School. "I would like to see him keeping the schools up in good shape and keeping teachers well trained, giving them everything they need so that all of our students attending Catholic schools are getting the best education they can."
"I think just being accessible to people in this area," replied Scott Heimann, whose children also attend St. Matthew's, when asked what he hope the new bishop would bring to the diocese. "Sometimes, I feel [D'Arcy] is permanently in Fort Wayne, so South Bend gets a little slighted."
"You want someone with qualities like Bishop D'Arcy's, it seems to me, because they've worked," said Reverend Monsignor Matthew Heintz of St. Matthew's. "What I would hope for is someone like Bishop D'Arcy who comes here deeply committed to the people he serves, at all places and on all levels."
"He can go to any parish in the diocese and he knows so many people by first name. He know his priests well. He knows his seminarians well. There's a blessing and benefit to that kind of stability and longevity when someone serves," Heintz continued.
So, who might the new bishop be?
Saint Mary's College Catholic Theology Chair and Religious Studies Professor Dr. Joseph Incandela, who also serves on Bishop D'Arcy's lay review board, says the possibilities are wide open.
"I can't even imagine there would be a betting line for anyone. If anyone really has a good indication of who the next person is going to be and ends up being right, I'd want that person to pick lottery numbers for me. Because, there's just really no way to tell," said Incandela.
Still, Incandela says it's very likely the new bishop will have some very distinct traits, particularly because the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese encompasses four major Catholic universities and colleges including Notre Dame, St. Mary's, Holy Cross and St. Francis.
"That's fairly unusual to have that many nationally known Catholic educational institutions. And, for someone to come in with no experience in higher education, I think that would be a fairly significant learning curve," he said.
"Vatican II says a bishop is to be a teacher; someone who is pastoral and who is able to relate to people and understand their needs and wants and sufferings and desires, their hopes and fears for the way the Catholic church will continue to evolve," Incandela continued.
It's there that D'Arcy often took his strongest stands.
D'Arcy was ordained as a priest in Boston in 1957, and received his doctorate in spiritual theology from Angelicum, Rome in 1968. He was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop for Boston in 1975, and appointed Regional Bishop for the Lowell Region of the Archdiocese of Boston in 1981.
He has served as Bishop in the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese since May 1, 1985.
During the course of his career, D'Arcy has not shied away from issues that concern him.
Earlier this year, he refused to attend graduation ceremonies at Notre Dame after the university bestowed an honorary degree on President Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights. In 1992, he also refused to attend Notre Dame's graduation when pro-choice former New York senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was supposed to receive a medal.
D'Arcy also frowned on activities he saw as counter to church teachings, including issues like the performance of the play The Vagina Monologues on Notre Dame's campus in 2007.
But, Incandela says D'Arcy's biggest impact came during the clergy sex abuse scandal. When the scandal first broke in Boston, a letter surfaced that D'Arcy had written while serving in the Boston Archdiocese, warning his superiors about a priest who turned out to be one of the centerpieces in the subsequent investigation.
"He always wanted to deliberate before he acted. But, he was also someone who was not going to go against the core beliefs he had or the laws of the church," Incandela said.
Heintz says it's likely the new bishop will follow that lead.
"[D'Arcy] is a very humble man in many ways, personally. And yet, he has a very high notion of the office of bishop, its importance, and the obligations that are entailed in that role of his work. And, I'm sure great consideration and care has gone into selecting someone who can continue that work that he began here so many years ago," Heintz said.
That work continued this week as D'Arcy prepared to retire.
He signed off on plans for St. Joseph's High School to construct a new building on the current sight of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. The school will need to raise $35 million before any construction can begin.
He also confirmed the Pope's elevation of several priests to the title of Monsignor, including Heintz.
Many potential names for D'Arcy's successor have already surfaced, including Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, who has strong ties to Notre Dame. But, Incandela thinks Jenky may be a long shot.
"At one level, he'd probably be a natural choice and a popular choice to come back. But, I'd be very surprised just on the basis of recent events at Notre Dame and what that's meant to the church in this country, to have someone who has that close tie with Notre Dame coming back into the diocese," Incandela said.
Several auxiliary bishops from the Archdiocese of Chicago have also been suggested as possible successors, including Bishop Thomas Paprocki. Five other auxiliary bishops also currently serve under Chicago's Francis Cardinal George.
As for D'Arcy's future once his successor is named?
Incandela says there are several possible options. He could continue to serve in some role in a parish here in the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, or he could simply retire. A higher position in the church isn't out of the question either.
"Bishop D'Arcy knows Pope Benedict very well. He did even before Pope Benedict was made Pope. So, I think it's quite possible that Pope Benedict may want to reach out to Bishop D'Arcy and see what he most wants to do to serve the church," Incandela said.
Then, pausing, he smiled.
"We'll just have to wait and see," he continued. "I think the rule here is, never say never."
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