Pope Francis on Friday named Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of the Washington archdiocese, as a member of the Catholic Church’s upcoming Synod of Bishops.
Delegates on the Vatican assembly, which begins in October, will contemplate enter from a spread of Catholic dioceses and church thinkers on the way forward for the church. The conferences are consultative and never legislative, church officers mentioned, and the pope is free to just accept or reject any proposals.
Cardinal Gregory is one among seven U.S. clerics tapped by the pope as delegates to attend the Rome conferences, which is able to proceed into 2024, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops mentioned. Cardinals Blase J. Cupich of Chicago; Robert W. McElroy of San Diego; Sean P. O’Malley of Boston and James W. Tobin of Neward, New Jersey, have been appointed, as was Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle and the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest in New York City.
The papal appointments be part of 5 prelates designated by the USCCB to attend: Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York City; Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Military Services archdiocese and present USCCB president; Archbishop William C. Skurla of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana; and Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Doctrine, has been named a “president-delegate” to the Synod, which suggests he can preside over the meeting on behalf of the pope.
Cardinal Tobin was appointed to the “ordinary council” of the Synod.
According to the National Catholic Reporter newspaper, the papal appointments are “a clear sign” Francis desires a delegation that balances the voices of his critics with these of his supporters, together with Father Martin, famous for his LGBTQ advocacy which the pope has lauded.
The papal picks “mark a stark contrast to the members elected by the broader U.S. church hierarchy,” the newspaper mentioned, declaring that some U.S. Catholic leaders have “been at odds” with a extra welcoming stance voiced by Francis.
In April, the Vatican introduced girls and lay members can be included as voting delegates to the Synod, which one cardinal referred to as “not a revolution, but an important change.”
The USCCB mentioned Friday the American voting members can be Cynthia Baily Manns, grownup studying director at Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Community in Minneapolis; Richard Coll, government director of the division of justice, peace and human growth on the USCCB; Rev. Ivan Montelongo, a priest within the Diocese of El Paso, Texas; college students Wyatt Olivas of Wyoming and Julia Osęka of Philadelphia; and Sister Leticia Salazar from the Diocese of San Bernardino, California.
“The moment is a joyful one, as bishop delegates and non-bishop delegates now begin their proximate preparations for the Assembly. This will involve prayer and study, and a deep reading of the Instrumentum Laboris. All the delegates express gratitude to the Holy Father for the invitation to serve together for the good of the Universal Church,” Bishop Flores mentioned in a press release.
The Archdiocese of Washington didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com