Pope Francis has appointed a new archbishop of Chicago, one of the most important sees in the US Church.
Archbishop-designate Blase Cupich, 65, formerly the bishop of Spokane, Washington, will be installed on 18 November.
His appointment to one of the most Catholic states in the US has been interpreted by observers as an indication of Pope Francis’ vision for the American Church.
The Tablet this July identified Cupich as one of the possible successors to Cardinal George. An article by Michael Sean Winters said appointing him would signal a “new day” for the Church. “A native of the Midwest, Cupich is well regarded for handling the sex abuse crisis in Spokane, Washington. Considered one of the brightest bishops, if Pope Francis wants to send the signal that it is a ‘new day’, Cupich is the man,” he wrote.
In an interview with the US-based National Catholic Reporter at the weekend Bishop Cupich said that church leaders “cannot base decisions on a past era where things were different.”
He said he intended to “work with the system” but wanted to look for ways “in which things have to move forwards”.
The bishop is a long-time contributor to the liberal-leaning Jesuit journal America, and has written articles explaining the bishops’ conference’s opposition to the Obama Government’s health-care mandate, and on clerical abuse.
He succeeds Cardinal Francis George, who has been archbishop of Chicago since 1997. Cardinal George, 77, has been battling cancer since 2011.
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