After months of fevered speculation, during which time just about every one of the Bishops of England & Wales was tipped for the post, the successor to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has finally been announced. During a press conference at Westminster Cathedral today, the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols has been named as the new Archbishop of Westminster.
The news actually leaked out last night, just as I was getting ready for bed, and then Damian Thompson said it had been confirmed, but, after all the rumours, counter-rumours and missed announcements, I was wary of making a fool of myself... I figured that I might as well wait for the Vatican Bollettino... or the Westminster press conference...
Reading between the lines of all the rumours which have been flying around, I think that our Holy Father has possibly had his fingers in this particular pie. If he has, it means that he has taken note of the troubles which have assailed us in England & Wales, and, with fatherly concern, has thought carefully about the kind of man we need to lead the Church forward... and for this we can be truly grateful.
You can find out more about Archbishop Nichols HERE.
Not feeling particularly grateful myself!
ReplyDeleteI like him. He supports Liverpool, but you can't have everything.....
ReplyDeleteif my understanding was correct, the Scottish Bishops actually congratulated him before it was official!!
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