There is speculation among church insiders that Pope Benedict XVI will name a new archbishop in Philadelphia tomorrow. The new archbishop, whomever he is, will have his hands full dealing with the mess left him by outgoing Cardinal Justin Rigali who earlier this year suspended 21 priests over sexual abuse allegations. The suspensions came after Rigali had told Philadelphia Catholics that the Archdiocese had no priest working in ministry who’d been accused of sexually abusing a minor. Of course, that announcement came on the heels of another Philadelphia grand jury report which detailed the recent history of the Archdiocese’s handling of the priest sex abuse scandal. All this bad news will make it very difficult for the next Archbishop.
The rumors have been swirling for some time now but those who know the Philly situation note that three bishops have the inside track-Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, and Pennsylvania native Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville. Both Lori and Gregory have had ample experience dealing with the priest abuse scandal and would be logical choices for the post. However, Whispers in the Loggia scribe Rocco Palmo is hinting that he already knows who it is and from what he’s writing, his money is on Kurtz. We’ll all know tomorrow, probably.