Source: Flickr

With this morning’s announcement, Bishop Joseph McFadden, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, becomes the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg. After graduating from St. Joseph University in 1969 with a degree in Poli Science, Bishop-designate McFadden coached and taught at West Catholic Boys High School. In 1976, McFadden entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, beginning his years in priestly formation. On May 16, 1981, Bishop McFadden was ordained a priest by Cardinal John Krol in the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philly.

Throughout his time as a priest, Bishop McFadden has served the people of Philadelphia in multiple capacities. McFadden has served on the Priests’ Personnel Board, Subcommittee for Clergy Renewal (serving as the Chairman), Diocesan Priests Continuing Formation Committee, and the Episcopal Board of Advisors for the Cause for the Beatification of Archbishop Fulton John Sheen–to name a few. He has also served as the president of a Catholic High School and as a spiritual director for young men discerning a call to priestly ministry at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

Source: Archdiocese of Quebec

Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli is speculating that the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, will name Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. You may recall, in May Tornielli predicted that Australia’s Cardinal George Pell would be named as the prefect for the congregation. However, recent reports have reported that Cardinal Pell was reluctant to accept the new position. The position is important in the church because the congregation is instrumental in the naming of bishops throughout most of the world. The current prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, has been expected to announce his retirement for some time.

Cardinal Ouellet was ordained a priest on May 25, 1968. Throughout his life of ministry, Ouellet has served as Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. On November 15, 2002, Ouellet was named Archbishop of Quebec by Pope John Paul II. On October 21, 2003, Archbishop Ouellet was elevated to Cardinal by John Paul.

Stay tuned!

Sources: (1) Il Blog di Andrea Tornielli; (2) CatholicCulture.org

At this morning’s press conference in Miami (as mentioned in the previous post), Archbishop-designate Wenski gave the following remarks. Most of the remarks were also made in a video presentation that was posted on the website for the Diocese of Orlando earlier this morning.

This morning, upon the acceptance of Archbishop Favalora’s request to retire, Pope Benedict XVI appointed me as the fourth Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Miami.

Jesus once bid Peter “Duc in altum” (Put out into the deep). Now Peter’s successor has asked me to do the same in entrusting to me this new responsibility. I am being called back to this local Church where I was ordained a priest and where I served as a parish priest and auxiliary bishop. Humbled by the Holy Father’s confidence in me and aware of my own limitations and shortcomings, I once again ask the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, that I may worthily fulfill my new duties as the fourth Archbishop of Miami upon my installation on June 1, 2010.

Over the last several weeks, as has been covered here, there have been allegations that Diocesan and Vatican officials have neglected victims of clerical sexual abuse by allowing priests who have been accused of such atrocities to remain in pastoral ministry. Many people have been calling for the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI for his reported handling of such cases when he was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). Earlier today, the Vatican released the following guidelines that are applicable in all cases of allegations of sexual abuse.

Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations

The applicable law is the Motu Proprio “Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela” (MP SST) of 30 April 2001 together with the 1983 Code of Canon Law. This is an introductory guide which may be helpful to lay persons and non-canonists.

A: Preliminary Procedures

The local diocese investigates every allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric.

If the allegation has a semblance of truth the case is referred to the CDF. The local bishop transmits all the necessary information to the CDF and expresses his opinion on the procedures to be followed and the measures to be adopted in the short and long term.

Civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.

In just a few hours, the people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will meet their new Coadjutor-Archbishop, Archbishop Jose Gomez from the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Below is the announcement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop José H. Gomez of San Antonio, 58, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles.

The appointment was made public in Washington, April 6, by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States. As coadjutor bishop, Archbishop Gomez is in line to succeed the current diocesan archbishop, Cardinal Roger Mahony, 74, upon his retirement.

José Horacio Gomez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, December 26, 1951. He attended the National University of Mexico where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. In college he joined Opus Dei, an institution founded by Saint Josemaria Escrivá to help people turn their work and daily activities into occasions for growing closer to God, serving other and improving society. Opus Dei became a personal prelature in 1982. Archbishop Gomez studied theology in Rome and at the University of Navarre in Spain, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in theology and a doctorate in moral theology. He was ordained a priest of Opus Dei, August 15, 1978, in Torreciudad, Spain.

After ordination he pursued pastoral work with college and high school students in Spain and Mexico. In 1987, he was sent to what was then the Diocese of Galveston-Houston to minister for Opus Dei in several capacities in Texas. He became a U.S. citizen in 1995.

As a priest, Father Gomez held positions with several U.S. Catholic organizations. Between 1995-1999, he was president of the National Association of Hispanic Priests (ANSH) and its executive director, 1999-2001. He was treasurer of the National Catholic Council of Hispanic Ministry, 1998-2001.