UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
by John L. Allen Jr. ,Dennis Coday,Joshua J. McElwee | Feb. 26, 2013
Rome
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. may not have the rock star charisma of New York’s Timothy Dolan, or the reputation for simplicity of Boston’s Sean O’Malley, but he’s arguably the most pivotal senior prelate in the United States for two reasons.
First, he’s seen by many observers as the dead center of the bishops’ conference, a pragmatic thinker able to hold people of differing outlooks and temperaments together. Second, he’s viewed as an effective manager who can get things done. Put those two qualities together, and it’s no mystery why he’s become the “go-to” figure among the U.S. bishops on a variety of fronts.
Wuerl is also no stranger to the Vatican, having lived and worked here as priest-secretary to Cardinal John Wright of Pittsburgh from 1969 to 1979, the period when Wright served as prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.
Wuerl clearly enjoys the esteem of Pope Benedict XVI. The apple of Benedict’s eye is the idea of a “New Evangelization”, meaning relighting the missionary fires of the church, especially in the secular cultures of the West. When the Vatican staged a synod of bishops on the subject last fall, Benedict tapped the 72-year-old Wuerl for the all-important role of relator, or general secretary, whose role is crucial in keeping the synod on track and shaping its conclusions.
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