The following comes from a November 5 Whispers in the Loggia post:
In a watershed decision signaling a new era after the controversial reign of Archbishop John Myers, on Monday the Pope is prepared to name Cardinal-designate Joseph William Tobin CSSR – the 64 year-old archbishop of Indianapolis whose impending elevation at this month’s consistory stoked widespread shock – as head of New Jersey’s marquee diocese, which has been roiled by years of tumult and low morale following assertions of the Newark church’s lax handling of cases of clerical misconduct, coupled with broad distaste over Myers’ austere, distant management style.
To be sure, the reported nod isn’t merely a blockbuster, but even more historic than the Cubs winning the World Series – never before has an American cardinal been transferred from one diocese to another… and with New York just across the Hudson River, the move portends an ecclesiastical scenario heretofore unseen on these shores nor anywhere else in the Catholic world: two cardinals leading their own local churches not just side-by-side, but within the same media market.
Having reached the retirement age of 75 in July, a quick succession for Myers has long been anticipated, even in the wake of Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s transfer to the Twin Cities earlier this year after 28 months in waiting as a coadjutor who had been kept as looped-out of the governance of the wildly complex archdiocese as he was beloved among its priests and people. Since the younger prelate’s move to an even more beleaguered posting was only made possible due to Myers’ drive to remain in office until the canonical age-limit kicked in, Hebda’s departure brought the frustration and “depression” among wide swaths of Newark’s clergy and laity to a near breaking-point.
In Bernie’s stead, Joe Tobin – who takes the chair of the US bishops’ arm for clergy, religious and vocations later this month – is likewise being sent in with no less of a mandate for healing. If anything, that task has now become all the more high-profile given the appointee’s newfound prominence. Still, considering the former Redemptorist chief’s experience as an inner-city pastor in Detroit and Chicago, a deep history with Hispanics (who comprise almost half the Newark fold) and a more gregarious personality than Francis’ first intended choice for the post, the new cardinal might just make for an even happier and more comfortable fit than Hebda had already well proven to be.
On another front, Tobin’s reputation as a champion of women religious over his two-year stint as #2 of the Vatican’s “Congregation for Religious” makes the significant presence of female orders and motherhouses in the archdiocese the proverbial “icing on the cake”… and, indeed, that Newark’s vast roster of institutions includes one of the few diocesan-owned universities (Seton Hall) as well as two major seminaries and a college-level one serves to underscore the outsize impact its archbishop has not merely on the life of his charge, but with the reach of its entities, even beyond.
As reported at the top, multiple signs point to Newark’s fourth archbishop as the lead architect behind the choice of his second successor. Having maintained an enduring devotion for and among the Jersey church since his transfer to the capital in 2000, McCarrick – who Francis is said to revere as “a hero” of his – made a direct appeal over recent weeks for Tobin to be named to Newark, according to two sources familiar with the cardinal’s thinking.
Beyond the Ted-push, with the Pope ostensibly alerted to the archdiocese’s troubled state, Francis reportedly took the rare step of soliciting impressions on the Newark church from outside the normal bounds of the appointment process at its final stages. In the US, a similar degree of wider consultation is known to have been sought from the Domus in just one other instance – the 2014 selection of Blase Cupich, now likewise a cardinal-designate, for Chicago. Given the more than decade-old bond between the now-pontiff and Tobin, however, this choice can be seen as Papa Bergoglio’s most personal move in the American hierarchy’s top rank to date – as one well-traveled cleric who knows the Redemptorist summed it up, for all intents and purposes, “Tobin is ‘Francis.'”
The Cardinal’s comments at the press conference in Newark was fantastic. He laid out a way to move forward that was grounded in faith in Christ and care for the sheep of his new flock. Worth the read/watch. This is what a Catholic Bishop should be like.
Wrong again as usual Bob One, then again I am not surprised you gush over this liberal cleric who I am positive will do all he can to crush the TLM in many of the parishes now under his care.
Last December, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana asked then-Bp. Tobin not to have Syrian refugees placed through CRS in his state, because abundant evidence from FBI Director Comey indicated there were insufficient means to screen out ISIS/terrorist infiltrators:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3283587/FBI-admits-s-no-way-screen-Syrian-refugees-Obama-administration-plans-accept-US.html
Tobin, an a move that certainly paid off for him, defied Pence, and continued with settlement of at least 150 Syrian “families”. “Families” is a euphemism, because the background and relationships of the Syrians is not really known.
Also, recall that the Boston Marathon bombers, Dzokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and their parents were granted…
..”refugee-asylum” status in 2002 and the brothers entered the country in 2004, when Dzokhar was 7 years old and Tamerlan age 17. So, the much-contrived myth that “families, women and children” are not a threat (cf. Obama) is as much a lie as “If you like your health plan, you can keep it.”
However, now-Card. Tobin and P Francis obviously know more than the governing authorities, and it certainly has paid off handsomely for Tobin’s career. Pretty heady stuff.