The surprise election of Archbishop Timothy Dolan as new USCCB president over "leading liberal hope" Bishop Gerald Kicanas is "an ecclesial earthquake of monumental proportions" according to one observer. Various Catholics have praised the break with tradition (usually the sitting vice president is elected president), some expressing hope that the results are a sign the U.S. bishops' conference may head in a conservative direction.
Bishop Kicanas, the sitting vice president of the USCCB, had been criticized for ordaining a seminarian who engaged in homosexual activities. The priest would eventually be convicted of multiple counts of abuse, be jailed and defrocked. Bishop Kicanas was also recently endorsed for USCCB president by a homosexualist 'Catholic' group and was criticized for his "cozy relationship with pro-abortion politicians." Some feared his election would be a 'public relations disaster' for the Church.
Archbishop Dolan, on the other hand, has been considered 'a more outspoken defender of Church orthodoxy'. He will begin his three year term as president at the conclusion of this week's USCCB meeting.
Other Fall General Assembly election results include...
* Vice President - Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky
* Treasurer - Bishop Michael Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia
* Committee Chair: Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance - Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Services
* Committee Chair: Committee on Catholic Education - Bishop Joseph McFadden of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
* Committee Chair: Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs - Bishop Denis J. Madden, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore
* Committee Chair: Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis - Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Committee Chair: Committee on Child and Youth Protection - Bishop Daniel Conlon of Steubenville, Ohio
* Committee Chair: Committee on International Justice and Peace - Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore
[11/16]
Posts
