ROME
National Catholic Reporter

October 16, 2017

By Joshua J. McElwee

Cardinal Blase Cupich is not expected to leave the Archdiocese of Chicago for a new position at the Vatican, several sources close to the prelate say.

A recent rumor that Cupich would replace Cardinal George Pell as the head of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy is “totally without foundation” said one of the sources, who said they had been told as much by the Chicago cardinal.

Cupich has been the archbishop of Chicago since 2014. A rumor about his possible transfer to Rome appears to have been initiated by Chicago Sun-Times gossip columnist Michael Sneed, who cited discussions in “Jesuit circles” in a recent column.

Pope Francis created the Secretariat of the Economy in 2014 to consolidate and oversee the Vatican’s various financial offices. Pell, an Australian who is serving as the secretariat’s prefect, returned to his…