BALTIMORE (MD)
Thomson Reuters Foundation
By Mary Wisniewski
BALTIMORE, Nov 12 (Reuters) – U.S. Catholic bishops on Tuesday elected an archbishop from Kentucky and a Texas cardinal known for his support of immigrants to head their leadership conference in a nod toward Pope Francis’ emphasis on social justice.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, 67, of Louisville, Kentucky and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, 64, of the Galveston-Houston diocese, were elected to three-year terms as president and vice president, respectively of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Their election comes as Catholic bishops worldwide are being given new direction by Pope Francis, who has emphasized greater humility and more concern for the poor. The bishops oversee 69 million U.S. Catholics, or about one-quarter of the country’s population.
“We think these are the leaders who will move the American Church in the direction Pope Francis desires,” said Christopher Hale, senior fellow with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, a progressive group that focuses on social justice issues.
Hale cited Kurtz’s “long pastoral experience” and praised him as a “tireless leader on immigration reform. He knows firsthand the problems of a broken immigration system.” …
Barbara Dorris of the group SNAP, which represents victims of clergy sex abuse, expressed disappointment with Kurtz’s election, saying he had not joined the ranks of 30 U.S. bishops who have posted on their web sites the names of “proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics.” SNAP is short for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Leslie Gevirtz)
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.