Friday, May 18, 2012

Vatican to move quickly on Cardinal’s successor

A successor bishop to Cardinal Seán Brady as Primate of All-Ireland is very likely to be appointed sooner rather than later.

High level Vatican sources have indicated this week that while Cardinal Brady has not come under pressure from the Vatican to resign, the Holy See is acutely aware that the Church in Ireland needs fresh leadership to bring healing and renewal.

The Vatican source indicated that the papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown has been taking soundings since his arrival in January about a successor in Armagh. This process has intensified as a result of the current controversy and there is a growing realisation that the cardinal may not be able to stay on until he is 75 in late 2014, even though he has indicated he would like to.

“The Holy See knows that despite his mistakes and failings Cardinal Brady is fundamentally a good man,” the Vatican source said.

“There is no desire to see him forced from office. But there is a growing sense that for the good of the Church and for the process of healing, a timetable for his departure as primate will have to emerge sooner rather than later,” he said.

It is understood Archbishop Brown has been in direct communication with the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

Cardinal Ouellet will have a chance to assess the situation first-hand when he arrives in Ireland next month as the Pope’s personal representative to the Eucharistic Congress.

One of the reasons that Archbishop Brown – a former co-worker with Pope Benedict XVI – was appointed to Ireland was so that he could appraise the Pope on the seriousness of the situation here.

Once a coadjutor archbishop is appointed with the right to succeed Cardinal Brady, his resignation would be expected within months.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was installed as coadjutor in Dublin in August 2003 after Cardinal Desmond Connell was badly damaged over his mishandling of abuse allegations. Just seven months later, Rome announced that Cardinal Connell’s resignation had been accepted.

Cardinal Brady’s successor could either be a senior priest or even a bishop who is currently serving in another diocese.

In 2010, in the US for example, Archbishop José Gómez was transferred from leading the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas, to become coadjutor to Cardinal Roger Mahony in Los Angeles, California. 

Just 11 months later Archbishop Gómez took over and Cardinal Mahony’s resignation was announced by the Vatican.