AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
Rick Feneley
Three names will be proffered to Rome as candidates to replace George Pell as the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney after consultation with Australian bishops, trusted priests and laity.
While speculation has focused on Parramatta’s bishop, the Dominican friar Anthony Fisher, as a front-runner, senior church figures caution against jumping to conclusions.
When pressed to name likely candidates, the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Brian Lucas, replied: “I have a saying when it comes to the appointments of bishops. ‘Those who talk, don’t know; those who know, don’t talk.’ ”
The few who are talking, privately, also suggest the Archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, and the bishop of Newcastle and Maitland, Bill Wright, as contenders.
A local selection process will be led by Australia’s Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, to find the best candidates. Archbishop Gallagher notes that Cardinal Pell is still Sydney’s Archbishop and the position has not yet been declared vacant, but if the Pope makes that move – likely in the coming days or weeks – the Nuncio will start consulting senior church figures.
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