By some estimates, 40 to 45 percent of Catholics in the United States are Latino, including more than 60 percent of Catholics under the age of 18. How many U.S. cardinals are Latino? Zero.
Some U.S. Catholics are calling that disparity to mind after Pope Francis named 13 new cardinals on Sunday. Among those named is Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., who will become the first Black cardinal in U.S. history.
“It is so good that the pope will have this close advisor who knows the Black Catholic experience,” said Hosffman Ospino, an associate professor of Hispanic ministry and religious education at Boston College. He said the church should be celebrating someone who comes from the margins. Archbishop Gregory, Mr. Ospino added, has also developed a profound relationship with the Latinos he has served, especially in Atlanta.
Now, with Archbishop Gregory, Pope Francis has elevated four U.S. cardinals: including Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago; Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the prefect of the dicastery for Laity, Family and Life; and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J.
Still, while not wanting to take anything away from the gift of these cardinals, why are we still waiting for the first Latin American pope to name a Latino cardinal in the United States?
There are 27 active Latino bishops in the United States.
| Last year, John Allen wrote at Crux that naming Archbishop Gomez a cardinal could be seen as “a nod to the burgeoning Hispanic wing of the U.S. Church, as well as a way of putting an exclamation point on Gomez’s passionate advocacy for immigrant rights….” It is impossible to list all of the Latino bishops in the United States and their accomplishments, but Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia is certainly one that comes to mind. The son of Cuban exiles leads an archdiocese that, until 2011, was led by a cardinal. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio, Tex., is another national leader who, like Archbishop Pérez, played a role in the V Encuentro. He spoke out forcefully against the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy. Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, who led the California Catholic Conference for six years, is yet another Latino leader. |
Full story at America Magazine.
That’s a very interesting question. Why didn’t the Pope make Archbishop Gomez, a fellow Latin American, a cardinal (especially since he’s from a see that usually has a cardinal)?
(That last parenthetical remark applies to Archbishops Chaput and Vigneron as well.)
Archbishop Gomez and the Pope seem to have similar views on the border and other social justice issues as well.
Yet, the Archbishop seems clearer on issues of life, marriage and Catholic doctrine.
Might that be a factor?
Pope Francis is from Argentina. Archbishop Gomez was born in Mexico and is a US citizen. Please do not lump them into “Latin American” as if that is some monolithic group.
They are, of course, not monolithic. That said, both Mexico and Argentina are considered part of Latin America. The Catholic Church uses that term. The Latin American Episcopal Council, better known as CELAM, is a council of the Roman Catholic bishops of Latin America, created in 1955. Feel free to take that up with the bishops of Latin America, if you’d like.
Curious, they may meet together but Mexico is part of North America.
Of course it is, but it’s still part of Latin America (the English didn’t colonize it and Spanish is its official language).
Carlos Aguiar Retes is a Mexican cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who serves as the Archbishop of Mexico City. He has served as an officer of the Mexican Episcopal Conference and the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) and been president of both.
And, check any dictionary. Here’s from one: Latin America – the part of the American continents south of the United States in which Spanish, Portuguese, or French is officially spoken.
Like I said, you’re free to try to get the Mexican bishops kicked out, if you think that’s appropriate. And, what about the bishops from Guatemala, just south of Mexico, and other Latin American countries that are technically in North America?
My point is about why Archbishop Gomez, born in Mexico, a part of Latin America, was not made a cardinal. Why are there no Hispanic (also not a monolithic group!) cardinals, given the nature of the Catholic Church in the U.S.? That’s my point.
The Archdioceses of Los Angeles and Philadelphia have traditionally always had Cardinal Archbishops in charge. This has nothing to do with current secular political beliefs. The Los Angeles Archdiocese, with five million Catholics in three California counties– is the largest one in the country! It needs a religious leader with a “red hat!” The Cardinal of the largest Archdiocese in the U.S. should be a big leader for U.S. Catholics, and should be a big participant in the affairs of the Vatican– and should be in the College of Cardinals, eligible to help elect a Pope! The Pope’s favored Cardinals of the “peripheries” are fine, too– but do not represent the large majority of Catholics in the world.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia– a major Metropolitan See– is likewise a huge, leading American Archdiocese, with close to five million Catholics! Its spiritual leader should also have a “red hat,” and be a member of the College of Cardinals, in the Vatican, taking part in Vatican affairs, eligible to help elect Popes! Cardinals assist the Pope in running the Vatican.
Uber liberal America Magazine wants affirmative action for cardinals, race based promotion through the clerical ranks. Ridiculous! A cardinal’s charge is to help souls, which have no race or color, attain heaven. Thankfully, no real Catholics read that rag of a magazine.
I am no fan of Gomez to put it mildly but in my opinion he is not one of Begoglio’s henchmen as is Wilton Gregory.
Cardinal-elect Gregory, along with Cardinals Tobin and Cupich, seems to have been part of ex-Cardinal McCarrick’s good old boys network. It seems none of the Hispanic bishops were invited into the club. (Or, if invited, they declined.)
BTW, when is the McCarrick report going to be released by the Vatican?
This is nit picking, but he is not Cardinal-elect, but Cardinal designate.
The Vatican news itself has a story about Cardinal-elect Cantalamessa, who, by the way, was an excellent choice. It’s too bad he’s too old to vote in a papal conclave.
Here’s the story:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-10/raniero-cantalamessa-interview-creation-cardinal.html
But, if the Vatican is wrong about this, it wouldn’t be their first mistake.
Thank you for nit-picking. In this day of rapid dis-information and widespread error, unless people who know better correct others, we are all doomed to be dumb.
I pray that the Holy Spirit help guide the Pope to choose the best candidates, not just prelates that fit a certain category.
Because gay or gay friendly scores higher on the diversity scale.
Is the Pope above the law or subject to canon law like all other Catholics?
Pope Francis has named 13 clergymen to be appointed to the college of cardinals, nine of whom are eligible to vote in upcoming papal conclaves. This brings the number of cardinal electors appointed by Francis to 57 percent of total electors, increasing the likelihood that the next elected pope will share Francis’ vision for the Church.
Jesuit Father Thomas Reese, writing for Religion News Service, noted that when the appointees “officially become cardinals, there will be 128 cardinal electors, eight more than the canonical limit.”
I believe Abp Gomes is [or was] a member of Opus Dei. Perhaps this fits into the mix.
Mexico was a member of the North America Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA] {Tratado Libre Comercial] from the beginning in 1994. They continue as a member of the United States Mexico Canada trade agreement, sometimes referred to as NAFTA 2.
The Archdioceses of Los Angeles and Philadelphia are leading Archdioceses of the Catholic Church in America– their spiritual leaders should have “red hats,” and be recognized as prominent leaders of U.S. Catholics, and be members of the College of Cardinals in the Vatican, strongly participating in Vatican affairs, eligible to elect a Pope! The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with five million Catholics in three California counties, is the largest Catholic Archdiocese in the whole country! The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a major Metropolitan See– is likewise, with nearly five million Catholics! The spiritual leaders of these Archdioceses most certainly should be Cardinal Archbishops! The Pope favors recognizing archbishops of “the peripheries” and giving them “red hats”– but they are not usually spiritual leaders of the main, important archdioceses of millions of Catholics in the world! This Pope is “nuts,” he follows his own ideas– not the ancient, timeless beliefs, ideas, and traditions of the Catholic Church!
Gomez won’t be made a Cardinal until Mahony dies. Unwritten rule about dioceses only having one cardinal at a time.
Your theory is soundly refuted by the fact that Donald Wuerl is still alive. Washington D.C. will have two cardinals after Gregory is elevated. So there.
And, the fact that this Pope has broken many precedents about cardinals, among other things. Cardinal Tobin was elevated to that position when he was archbishop of Indianapolis and then went to Newark, New Jersey (right across the river from New York City and never before a cardinalate see).
That is my understanding also.
The unwritten rule is more that a diocese wouldn’t have more than one voting cardinal. Once an archbishop emeritus hits 80, he’s ineligible to vote in conclave, and that’s when you’d expect his successor to be considered for the college.
I think AB Gomez should have the red hat because of the size of his diocese. But if you look at the world with a world view, from outside the US, you are aware that LA is really a rather small city. There isn’t one city in the US in the list of 10 largest cities in the world. New York is small compared to the larger cities. On the other hand, about 49% of Catholics live in North and South America. If the Pope is trying to go to the peripheries, then not many US large cities will get the nod. This time the Pope elevated the AB of Kinshasa, a city of 14+ million people, on the peripheries.
Is Our Holy Father “packing the court” for the next Pontiff?
So glad, I trust Jesus. I am not asleep. I am filling my lamp with oil. (Reconciliation & Holy Eucharist).
My neighborhood is expecting damage after the election, so it’s good to know my priorities are straight. God’s will, loving and serving Jesus 1st; others 2nd; material and bodily comforts 3rd. Happy All-Saints. Love this feast day. Saints are cheering and interceding for us as we run our race. Rev 8:3-4, Phil 3:14, 2 Tim 4:7, 1 Cor 9:24-25,Gal 5:7 and Heb 12:1-2 for inspiration.
Most Latinos don’t know the Faith anyhow. It’s mostly a cultural/social part of life among Spanish speakers.
Notta, that is quite a generalization. Are there other races that don’t know the faith anyhow? I’m guessing that only English speaking people from Northern European countries really know the faith?
The US has almost 30 active Latino bishops among about 250 bishops or about 10% of the US episcopacy. The majority of Latino bishops in the US are Mexican-born or second-gen Mexicans-Americans. Mexico, home to several million Americans and numerous central Americans, has among its Cardinals, Archbishops and bishops, drum roll please….zero American-born (Gringo or Mexican heritage) bishops and zero bishops from other foreign countries…(okay, that’s a lie, one bishop has a Central American mother). Mexico is one of the most nationalistic and xenophobic places on earth and the Mexican Church is about the same for leadership. Not a Mexican citizen? You can’t vote, become a pilot, run for office, buy property near the ocean, serve in the military, set up a business or become a naturalized citizen. With very few exceptions, if you are a young Catholic man, you can’t join a Mexican diocese as a seminarian or priest, unless you are a member of a congregation serving as a missionary in some far-flung place no Mexican priest would dare venture. Mexican bishops are from wealthy and connected Mexican families with ONLY solid Mexican heritage. The same is true of France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and most other traditionally Roman Catholic countries with sizable foreign-born Catholic populations: in these countries, you become a bishop through family and educational connections and a patrimony.
Put bluntly, can you imagine an American priest from Nebraska becoming the Cardinal archbishop of Mexico City? Neither can the Mexican Church…