By James McGinnis
Philly Burbs
July 19, 2011
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/report-vatican-to-replace-rigali/article_ec5306b8-dc14-5fda-9624-5b5ffd57258a.html
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| Carl Kosola/Staff Photographer |
Cardinal Justin Rigali is expected to step down as the leader of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to media reports.
Rigali will hold a 10?a.m. press conference today to make an “important announcement,” according to a statement issued by the archdiocese Monday night.
The 76-year-old Rigali is under pressure for his handling of a long-running priest sex-abuse scandal.
The Vatican has selected a replacement for Rigali, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
The independent newspaper, citing unnamed sources, says Pope Benedict XVI will name Archbishop Charles Chaput (sha-PEW) of Denver to succeed him.
The archdiocese, which serves nearly 1.5 million Roman Catholics, is not commenting other than to announce the press conference.
Canon Law requires that diocesan bishops submit a letter of resignation to the pope at age 75, and Rigali, 76, submitted his letter to Pope Benedict on April 19, 2010. At that time, the cardinal said he had received no signals from the Vatican that he would be replaced anytime soon.
Fifteen months later, his archdiocese is besieged by declining school enrollments and allegations of a widespread coverup involving predatory priests.
In December, Rigali appointed a blue ribbon panel to tackle declining parochial school enrollments. In Bucks, enrollment has fallen about 35 percent since 2001, according to the church. More than a dozen archdiocesan schools have closed since last year.
In addition, four priests were arrested in February, following the release of a grand jury report that alleged still more questionable activity involving children by members of the clergy. The grand jury report said the questionable activity by as many as 37 priests warranted further investigation by the archdiocese. Twenty-one priests were suspended by the church in March.
The National Catholic Reporter said the Vatican had considered four men for Rigali’s replacement: Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver; Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta; Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Kentucky; and Bishop William Lori of Connecticut.
As members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse in 2002, Lori helped draft the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
Kurtz is a Pennsylvania native. He grew up in Schuylkill County, attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained a priest by the Diocese of Allentown.
Gregory is in line to become the first African-American cardinal.
Chaput is a descendant of the Prairie Bank Potawatomi tribe and is the only Native American ever ordained as a bishop.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said it had already reviewed that list of candidates and wasn’t pleased with any of the four.
“None of the men who are alleged to be candidates to fill Rigali’s role in Philadelphia are much better on abuse and coverups,” said Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP.
Regional SNAP Director Karen Polesir of Ambler said she worries that many will see Rigali’s exit as an end to the problem of alleged child sex abuse by archdiocesan priests.
“Some people will just assume that a new guy is appointed and all the problems go away,” Polesir said. “People may feel safer, and perhaps they should feel safer. But this abuse scandal is much bigger than one man.”
Rigali was appointed archbishop of Philadelphia in 2003 after working for three decades at the Vatican. As director of the English language section of the Vatican Secretariat of State, Rigali traveled often with the late Pope John Paul II and served as his translator. According to his official church biography, Rigali is also a member of the Order of the Knights of Malta, which began during the Crusades.
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