Archbishop Sartain, who will become USCCB secretary in November 2012 and serve for three years, was elected on a 136-102 vote over Bishop Robert J. Cunningham of Syracuse, N.Y. As secretary, he also will chair the USCCB Committee on Priorities and Plans.
There was a vote yesterday. The American Catholic Bishops voted for leadership positions in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The structure of the conference (USCCB) consists of 16 standing committees (whose members are bishops) and the departments, secretariats, and offices that carry out the work of the committees. The leaders of these departments, secretariats, and offices report to the general secretariat of the conference.
The membership of the USCCB consists of all active and retired Latin-rite Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops (i.e., archbishops, bishops, coadjutor bishops, and auxiliary bishops) of the United States and the Territory of the Virgin Islands, but not the bishops of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York is the President and the Executive Director
The Secretariat is the next level of significance with leadership over four Associates
Associate General Secretary — Pastoral Ministry and Planning
Associate General Secretary and Secretary of Policy and Advocacy
Associate General Secretary and Secretary of Administration
Assistant General Secretary for Planning
The Secretary of the Conference is a huge job. The former Bishop of Joliet, IL and current Archbishop of Seattle, WA is Archbishop J.P. Sartain.
Like Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Sartain is relatively young and orthodox in his ministry. In an interview with a Seattle newspaper Sartain stated,
“My stand on things is with the church. Always has been,” he said, noting that he not only accepts church teachings but has come to understand the wisdom of them. “I don’t see my role in any way as changing church teachings or challenging it.”
He manages by walking around. The Seattle Archdiocese has 600,000 registered Catholics in its rolls, but also ministers to the 1,000,000 folks who consider themselves Catholic. Coming from a very Catholic town, Joliet, Archbishop Sartain will get a great deal of walking around in the vast Pacific Northwest.
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which works for attorney Jeff Anderson in suing the Catholic Church called for Pope Benedict XVI to revoke his appointment to the Seattle Archdiocese. That is to be expected because Jeff Anderson has not had near enough of a pay day in Illinois.
If SNAP were not so heavily funded by the Catholic Church Traget-Specific new breed of ambulance chaser, I would be far less cynical of their motives.
Everyone hates pedophiles, almost as much as they hate soulless opportunists.
The Catholic Church is under attack from the Obama Administration, dedicated to Abortion and pandering to the GLBTQ activists for Homosexual Marriage.
The Catholic Church is under attack in Illinois from Planned Parenthood's Governor Pat Quinn and the Rahm Emanuel Administration in Chicago, which dangles the tax threat every other day - water, utilities, you name it.
Catholic schools remain a threat to the daffy stand-up comics of Public Education - Catholic schools do not fix lisps, they educate through core values with great success.
Interesting to note - Francis Cardinal George was a USCCB heavyweight serving as Vice President and President and came to Chicago from the American Northwest as Bishop of Yakima and Archbishop of Portland.
Could be that USCCB not only elected a Secretary, but may put Cardinal George's successor as Archbishop of Chicago into the limelight.
Hope so, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain knows Illinois, the challenges our Faith face, the threats, and the particular individuals who do not wish well of Catholics or their Church. More so, the guy likes to fish and manages by walking around.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/06/05/1693712/new-archbishop-nurturing-his-flock.html#ixzz1ds6pI4Fk
