A cardinal's waning influence

By ( articles ) | Jan 11, 2004

As a rule, an archbishop has a great deal of influence over the appointment of bishops in his metropolitan region. And a cardinal can influence appointments in nearby metropolitan regions as well.

Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles didn't show much influence in the selection of a new bishop for Oakland, California: a prelate who came from Detroit with a reputation for orthodoxy. But Oakland isn't in the LA region.

Cardinal Mahony also wasn't pulling the strings when another orthodox bishop, from Wichita, was appointed in Phoenix-- which is in the LA region.

And now there's a new auxiliary bishop for the LA archdiocese itself: from the Philippines, by way of Louisiana.

It's hard to determine who is the kingmaker here. It's easy to determine who isn't.