CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
April 27, 2014
There is no public “short list” for who will succeed Cardinal Francis George at the helm of the Chicago Archdiocese, and the process appears to be in the early stages. But here are some possible candidates cited by experts:
New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond
Aymond is the first New Orleans native to lead that archdiocese. In addition to serving on a number of national bishops committees, he once led the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People. “He’s made consistently good impressions as a good pastor and a capable administrator,” said the Rev. Robert Schreiter, a professor at Catholic Theological Union who knew Aymond when he served as rector of the seminary in New Orleans. “He takes the flock into consideration.”
San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller
Born in Mexico and the eldest of 15 children, Garcia-Siller came to the U.S. in 1980 with the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. He became a U.S. citizen in 1998 and, after serving for four years as major superior of his religious order, became an auxiliary bishop in Chicago in 2003. “It would be not unreasonable to wonder whether or not, given the importance of the Latino presence in the Catholic Church in the U.S., it might be the time to see a Latino clergyman put in charge of Chicago,” said Michael Budde, chair of Catholic Studies at DePaul University.
Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory
As bishop of the downstate Belleville diocese and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002, Gregory oversaw the creation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal. Last month he announced he would move out of a recently renovated $2.2 million mansion in Atlanta after parishioners complained it flouted the austerity modeled by Pope Francis. Mark Bosco, a theology professor at Loyola University Chicago, believes Gregory’s public apology for the lapse in judgment bodes well. “I thought it was humbling and actually kind of a positive move … to give up the bishop’s residence,” Bosco said. “It showed he’s very sensitive to what’s going on in the church at this point in time.”
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