Spokane Bishop Blase Cupich To Succeed Cardinal Francis George

Chicagoist
September 20, 2014

http://chicagoist.com/2014/09/20/spokane_bishop_blase_cupich_to_succ.php

Archbishop-elect Blase Cupich will be installed as the new leader of the Archdiocese of Chicago Nov. 18.

When the Archdiocese of Chicago sent out a notice to media late Friday announcing a new conference Saturday morning, we suspected a major announcement was in the works.

And this is huge news. Blase Cupich, the current bishop of Spokane, Washington, has been elected to succeed Cardinal Francis George as Archbishop of Chicago's Catholic Church. It's the first time in the history of the archdiocese a successor has been named while the current archbishop is currently living.

George, 77, actively pressured the Vatican to find his successor since his cancer returned in August 2012. George has a history of battling cancer; he previously underwent radical surgery in 2006 to have a cancerous bladder and prostate removed. His current treatments, which include taking part in a trial program at the University of Chicago, forced him to cancel a trip to Rome for the canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. He succeeded the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin as Chicago's archbishop in 1998.

Cupich, 61, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, holds degrees from Pontifical Gregorian University and The Catholic University of America.

Prior to his current position in Spokane, he was the bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota. Cupich has been described as a moderate, but that doesn't mean he's going to go against the grain with church dogma. He opposes marriage equality, takes a conservative stance on women's reproductive rights, and opposes the narrow religious exemption for contraception in the Affordable Care Act. Like George, Cupich is fluent in Spanish, which will help the archdiocese's ministry toward Hispanic Catholics.

Cupich has called for a "return to civility" regarding discussions religious liberty and modern society, which will be a refreshing change of pace over George. George is well-respected among the conservative wing of the Catholic Church for his stances on abortion and same-sex marriage—but the rhetoric he sometimes employed has courted controversy.

George has said "society would be worse" with the legalization of same-sex marriage and actively campaigned to oppose the marriage equality movement in Illinois. He compared organizers of the Chicago Pride Parade to the Ku Klux Klan, but later apologized.

Most recently, he penned a column in Catholic New World claiming that Catholics being forced to live under a pro-gay, pro-choice "state religion" is comparable to being "governed by Sharia law."

In a news conference at the Archbishop Quigley Center, Cupich displayed a quick wit and humility as he worked to establish his bona fides with local media. Cupich said his election as archbishop was like "hearing the archangel Gabriel sing" and assured that every Catholic in Chicago would be treated equally, regardless of race, orientation, or ethnicity. He called for comprehensive immigration reform and said the nation should move on it immediately.

Cupich will be officially installed as Chicago's new archbishop Nov. 18. Cupich said his immediate agenda is to"get to know each and every one" of his new flock. "I currently look over 100,000 people," he said. "This is quite an upgrade."

George said it was important to meet his successor. "If you can profit from meeting your successor, that is beneficial," he said. "I will be available to answer anything (Cupich) wants."