Archbishop calls on Pope to swiftly fill senior clergy roles

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Monday 30 September 2013

THE Catholic cleric appointed in the wake of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s departure has warned of a “drift” within the Church unless the Vatican moves to address a vacuum within the senior clergy in Scotland.

Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh Leo Cushley said he would be delighted if Pope Francis considered the appointment of new Scottish bishops in the short term to fill a number of vacancies.

Of the eight dioceses in Scotland, currently only four have full-time bishops not waiting to leave – Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Argyll and the Isles.

“There are a couple of good lads out there. I thought one of them would get this job. And hopefully that means one of them is now free to go somewhere else,” Archbishop Cushley said.

“I think we all have a fair idea of who these candidates might be but that’s something done in its own way. It may take a while.

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