The Vatican announced Wednesday Pope Francis’ appointment of Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, New Mexico to be coadjutor bishop of San Jose, California.
As coadjutor, Cantú will assist Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, 73, in the administration of the Diocese of San Jose, and succeed McGrath upon his retirement or death.
Cantú, 51, has served as bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico since February 2013. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, and French.
Cantú has served as chairman of the United States bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace and is a member of the subcommittees on the Church in Latin America and Hispanic Affairs.
Born in Houston Dec. 5, 1966, he is the fifth of eight children. His parents, Ramiro and Maria de Jesus Cantú, are from small towns near Monterey, Mexico.
“There’s no dichotomy in being a Mexican-American. We love both countries because we have part of ourselves in both countries,” Bishop Cantú told CNA in a February 2016 interview
Ordained to the priesthood May 21, 1994, Cantú was made a bishop in 2008, at the age of 41, when Pope Benedict XVI appointed him auxiliary bishop of San Antonio.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Dallas, and a master’s in divinity and a master’s in theological studies from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He also earned his Doctorate of Sacred Theology in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Full story at Catholic News Agency.
Would be nice to have a non-hyphenated American as bishop in America. Mexican-American, really? How would Mexico react to an American-Mexican bishop leading them? Looks like another immigration politician with a miter courtesy of Pope Francis.
On behalf of the other 99.9% of Catholics, would you mind telling us what happened to you to cause you to think this way?
But I do not mean to imply that there is an acceptable excuse for a Christian to write something like that.
Just musing about how immigration has become the top priority in the Church lately and that Pope Francis participates in identity politics. “E Pluribus Unum” – Out of Many One. No need to hyphenate that motto. The nation and the Church would be well advised to embrace this concept and stop dividing themselves.
Secondly, quite presumptuous of you to assume you are speaking on behalf of 99.9& of Catholics. Really, out of over a billion Catholics in the world, you don’t think a few might disagree with you? Perhaps it’s time to expand your circle and include those of differing political opinion.
You attacked a bishop for his nationality. I do not believe there are many Catholics who would do that. I could be wrong.
You don’t know my political opinions and you never expressed yours.
And I don’t keep a circle. What adult does?
Wrong again Anonymous @12:18pm. The bishop’s nationality was not attacked, just hyphenation and cultural division. Calm down, surely this not the first time someone has disagreed with you. That’s why it’s important to have a circle – yes I said it again – of people around you who do not think as you do. Bottom line, this bishop needs our prayers, maybe you could agree with that.
So Bishop Cantu may be in San Jose for two decades.
Any read on how his theological sails are set?
Someone please make sure he knows he’s being assigned to the most gay-friendly diocese in the U.S. Do I think he’ll clean up the schools, parishes and chancery? Nope. Will he continue in the mold of PJ? Yep. Faithful Catholics in the DSJ, think long and hard about the future. I am.
SJW
The DSJ is about to become the DSJW, if it isn’t already.
Then he is a good Catholic.
I’m a fourth generation US Citizen of Irish [primarily according to Ancestry.com] heritage. Proud to be Irish-American.
“Born in Houston …’ means the good Bishop was a US Citizen from birth.
Why not just call yourself American? Surely your Irish ancestors came from somewhere else before settling on the Emerald Isle, did they call themselves Norse-Irish, or Euro-Irish? Probably not. Four generations is a long time in America, your ancestors would certainly call you “American” by now. Don’t think so? Go to Ireland and ask your cousins who still live there if you are Irish. They will almost certainly call you American. And it’s OK, and not meant with disrespect.
Read Bishop Cantu’s “post-election message” after Donald Trump won the presidency:
https://www.rcdlc.org/news/post-election-message
All the SJW code words and phrases are there, couched in a statement carefully crafted to appear even-handed. The coadjutor bishop is a SJW. Had Hillary won, would he have written a similarly coded, backhanded statement about the country, about the president-elect, and about American separation of powers after the election? No way.
No. Had Hillary won he would have talked about challenging her on life issues and issues of religious freedom. He seems to come from an area of the country where they took the election results hard. I am sure that influenced what he wrote.
As for SJW, what is wrong with being a social justice warrior? Every good Catholic is.
I’m not a SJW. I am a TLMer however.
Not pro-life?
Nancy, I read the post election message, thanks for posting the link. But I don’t understand how anyone could possibly object to anything the Bishop said in that statement. It seemed to me he read the mood of the country perfectly and called a people deeply disturbed by Trump’s unending torrent of insults not to resort to violence. He went above and beyond that by offering prayers for the new President. What could be wrong with any of that?
You miss the point. The statement was carefully crafted precisely so that no one could object to anything it said. What it meant between the lines is a whole nother thing. Read it again, look for the dog whistles for the liberals, the implications that Trump is a tyrant, that democracy might be threatened, that we should pray for Trump to support the common good. All SJW dog whistles.
“YFC”, do remember, or hear for the first time, that many were offended and deeply disturbed by the remarks and actions of Obama! Now the mood of at least half of the country is optimistic and happy. :)
Nancy is correct to read the bishop’s statement as the left leaning piece it was intended to be. Clearly some lack her sophistication in unpacking these kinds of statements.
Good for you Kristin, but I have not heard one person in the last 18 months say the optimistic and happy about the state of affairs in our country. Most people I have heard accept the notion that a new president from a different party will have different policies to push. What they don’t accept is his uncivil approach to other people, his lack of respect for the Office of President, the its-all-about-me approach to international relations and his constant lying to the people and the press. He just called his interview with the Sun fake news, when in fact the released tapes had him saying what he denied. He is not a moral man. He stands for everything the Church is against, except abortion, maybe.
I am optimistic and happy about the state of affairs in our country.
I’m very happy that Trump is the president. You see how frantic the left has become because Trump is proving that liberalism leads to failure while conservatism leads to success.
I am not optimistic about the state of affairs in our country but not because of the President. I think the tendency to try people in the media and for the media to try to influence rather than report news is very dangerous.
President Truman said all kinds of stuff. The media wasn’t so concerned with gossip back then. They treat politics now as if it is celebrity news.
Well Bob One, plenty of people found Bill Clinton’s escapades with a young intern in the Oval Office and then lying about it under oath, most disrespectful to the Office of the Presidency. Maybe Trump the man is not your cup of tea, but be advised that even thoughtful and practicing Catholics are not in lockstep with your views. Open your eyes, there is happiness out there! :)
For those not in the know, what does SJW stand for?
Social Justice Warrior
You say it like its a bad thing! The Church has always fought against injustice in all its forms. Why is this even an issue? Go back several hundred years and read the teachings of the Popes and you will see that the church has a special place for the poor in its practices. St. John Paul II taught that we should take care of those who can’t take care of themselves. That’s why we have St. Vincent de Paul and other similar organizations. That’s why the Knights of Malta run health clinics around the world. That is why we send aid groups to poor countries to help them find and deliver clean drinking water to their villages. And the list goes on. Every Chrisitan denomination does the same thing in one way or another. We need more SJWs, not…
There is no intent, good or bad, in answering mike m’s question. Your negative implication is your interpretation, not mine.
He was elevated to a Bishop under Benedict XVI, so that should mean something. Not much is publicly known about him though. Even PJ joked that everyone was Googling him after the announcement. But if you listen to him in his opening remarks and that PJ even said they differ a lot on things, I truly believe that Bishop Cantu will bring a breath of fresh air into DSJ where many of us have been praying for it. I was impressed by his short speech.
DSJ video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KORRSPoaj0s
If not answered already, SJW appears to stand for Social Justice Warrior.
Thank you for posting this link.
New evanglization, Misssion of the Church, Catholic Education, Poverty, Family, International Justice and Peace, Universal Church, Youth, Secularism and Consumerism not way to happiness,
When PJ leaves, nobody will care the next day that he was ever the bishop.
Cantu is also an alumnus of the Modesto World Meeting of Popular Movements freak show.