New Cardinal Close By, but Still No Red Hat for Philly Archbishop

By Mark Abrams
CBS Philly
November 10, 2016

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/11/09/still-no-red-hat-for-philly-archbishop/

(credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

The appointment of a new leader for the nearby Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey is causing some ripples in church politics as far south as Philadelphia.

Cardinal-designate Joseph Tobin is coming from Indianapolis and he’s the first cardinal to ever lead the Newark Archdiocese – just across the river from New York.

Tobin will be formally elevated to the college of cardinals at the end of November.

But missing from that latest class of cardinals is Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput.

Dr. William Madges, a St. Joseph’s University theologian and Vatican scholar, says Pope Francis didn’t slight Chaput at all as some within the Philadelphia archdiocese suggest.

“He’s not going back to what might be considered the default position, you know, major cities with a Catholic population automatically get a cardinal,” Madges said. “He’s going beyond that saying: ‘Well let’s look at how to get kind of a wider representation in the college of cardinals.'”

Madges says the pope is spreading the “red hats” around the globe – although he did name two other American besides Tobin – to the 17 members of the new class.

The college will pick from among their number the successor to Pope Francis.