BISHOP BLASE CUPICH TO SUCCEED CARDINAL GEORGE AT CHICAGO ARCHDIOCESE, VATICAN OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES

WLS
September 19, 2014

http://abc7chicago.com/religion/vatican-bishop-blase-cupich-to-succeed-cardinal-george-/316914/

Chicago's Francis Cardinal George introduced Archbishop-Elect Blase Cupich on Saturday. Cupich will succeed George, becoming the 9th archbishop at the Chicago Archdiocese.

Chosen by Pope Francis, the Vatican made the official announcement earlier from Rome . Cupich will be installed as archbishop during a special Mass on November 18. Until then, George remains cardinal, though without administrative power.

This will be the first time in the history of the Chicago Archdiocese that a new leader is appointed while the former is still alive. George, 77, and Cupich, 65, have worked together in the past, and will get a chance to do that again.

"I've been privileged to know the Cardinal upfront from the work I've that I've done from the Catholic Extension Society. He invited me some years ago to be a member of the board. So I could see that he is a man who cares deeply about the church and has the ability to care about the real needs of people," Cupich said in an earlier interview with ABC7 Chicago.

"Often in my first few years here, I thought, did Bernadin know that? What would he have done there? Why would he make that decision? Because it didn't make any sense to me. The context, it had changed. Yet I know it's made for good reason. And so, that could have been helpful," Cardinal George said in an earlier interview with ABC7 Eyewitness News.

Cupich, who served as bishop in Spokane, Wash., is considered a moderate within the Catholic Church. George is considered more conservative.

Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame released a statement Saturday morning.

"Having first met Bishop Blase Cupich when I was an 18-year-old backpacker in Europe and he was a seminarian in Rome, I can say with confidence that, as Archbishop of Chicago, he will be a pastorally dedicated, theologically astute and visionary leader in line with Francis's transformative Papacy. We thank Cardinal George for his dedicated service, and we welcome Bishop Cupich to the great Archdiocese of Chicago," Father Jenkins wrote.

In June at the Vatican, Pope Francis will grant the new Chicago archbishop his pallium, which is the scarf symbolizing his pastoral authority.

Cupich has been bishop of Spokane for four years. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he speaks Spanish and was given the nickname "White Thunder" by Native Americans whle in South Dakota. At one point, he led the U.S. bishops' committee handling the sexual abuse crisis.

"Those who know don't talk, and those who talk don't know," Cupich said in June, when he was asked about Cardinal George's successor. "I wouldn't bet the farm on any given name."

When Bishop Cupich quoted that Roman adage three months ago, little did he know that his name would be what some might call a "long-shot winner."

ABC7's Alan Krashesky spoke personally with Bishop Cupich in June at the U.S. Bishops' Conference in New Orleans about the very possibility that he would be chosen for the job.

"There are always expectations about what a particular diocese needs, and in fact I know that the nuncio does look at the needs of the diocese very carefully. It's not just a matter of identifying the person. Years ago the nuncio said, first of all you have to define the niche, then you have to find what saint goes in the niche," said Bishop Cupich, in June.

The choice was made by Pope Francis, himself, and in the same way that Francis has put a new face on the Catholic Church internationally, the new Chicago archbishop will decide the issues he will focus upon as most important to Catholics here. It's a leadership post with impact down to the pews and the desks in parochial schools.

"This is someone who now immediately is shot into the stratosphere, and becomes a major national and international voice of the church and if 100 years of tradition hold up, will now become a cardinal in short order," said Rocco Palmo, who writes the Vatican insiders' blog "Whispers in the Loggia."

Cardinal George successor search began in May

The search for a new archbishop officially began last May, two months after Francis Cardinal George announced his cancer was showing signs of new activity after it had been in remission for more than a year. Cardinal George had written a letter of resignation when he turned 75, as is protocol.

In 2006, Cardinal George was first diagnosed with bladder cancer. The disease returned in 2012 to his kidney and liver. His third bout of cancer last spring was also in his kidney.

"I think the nuncio was very aware that the Cardinal was laboring under great hardship to continue carrying the responsibility of the archdiocese. And so, I'm sure they did the best they could to expedite the process," said Prof. Graziano Marcheschi, St. Xavier University.

In April, Cardinal George resumed chemotherapy. His treatment forced him to cancel a trip to Rome for the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, who appointed him cardinal.

Last month, it was announced the cardinal would participate in a new clinical research trial at the University of Chicago.

Despite his illness, the cardinal submitted to the Vatican his preferences for a successor. The choice by Pope Francis is his first major U.S. appointment.

"I think he wants someone who understands the people, who's willing to be with the people, and who's not a careerist," said Marcheschi. "The church and the culture are not on the same page on a lot of issues, and I think the Archbishop of Chicago will be a strong leading voice in that dialogue."