UNITED STATES
Religion News Service
David Gibson | Apr 22, 2015
(RNS) This week’s funeral rites for Cardinal Francis George of Chicago marks the passing of a kind though straight-talking prelate who was recalled after his death from cancer as a great intellect and a “lion” of a churchman, especially by his many fans on the Catholic right.
But it also also feels like the end of an era, as a different style of bishop is slowly emerging in the Pope Francis era, one more in synch with the pontiff’s pastoral style — like Archbishop Blase Cupich, the man Francis chose last fall to succeed George, who was 78 when he died.
What may be just as significant, however, in terms of the influence of American Catholicism, is that Cupich does not yet have a “red hat,” so one of the major dioceses of the U.S. church would currently be without a vote if a conclave to elect a new pope were held.
Moreover, Cardinal Justin Rigali, another longtime U.S. churchman — and behind-the-scenes architect of the conservative Catholic renaissance in the U.S. — turned 80 this week, which means he loses his right to vote in a papal election.
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