MAINE
The Forecaster
By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling
PORTLAND — The pope has sent Maine’s highest-ranking Catholic, Bishop Richard J. Malone, to the Diocese of Buffalo.
The move will result in an opening that could last for up to a year, officials of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland said Tuesday.
The decision, made by Pope Benedict XVI a week ago, was announced publicly Tuesday morning. Malone said that, in retrospect, he saw a sign from God that presaged the decision.
“Sometimes, subtle indications of God’s plan for us only become apparent in hindsight,” Malone said during a teleconference from Buffalo. “The day before the archbishop called me, I was up in northern Maine celebrating confirmation liturgies. … One of the folks up there advised us to get off the interstate and take a more rural route. … He said, ‘If you’re really lucky, you’ll see a herd of buffalo.’ And there they were, 10 buffaloes grazing in a field.”
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