Cardinal Mahony Out, Archbishop Gomez In.

Okay, well that's not technically correct. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez was coadjutor ("co-assister" in Latin) of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, so he was already 'in'. Still, Cardinal Mahony is no longer in charge of the Archdiocese, and Archbishop Gomez has taken the helm. As of today, Pope Benedict XVI has "accepted the resignation from the archdiocese of Los Angeles, U.S.A., presented by Cardinal Roger M. Mahoney, upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop Jose H. Gomez."


In an earlier post, I wrote about the changing landscape of the prelates in the United States. There are many things that I want to emphasize about that post. First, that Cardinal Mahony is moderate to liberal at best, heterodox at worst. The new cathedral that he built (the old one was damaged by an earthquake)- the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angles- had a non-traditional design and cost around $189.7 million, both of which angered many in the See.

I won't go into the other issues that surround Cardinal Mahony, and I encourage other people to do the same. The past is the past, and there's no benefit in dwelling too long on the subject. Instead, we should look forward as Archbishop Gomez takes complete charge of his new see. So what can we expect from Archbishop Gomez?

First, we should expect change. When he was Archbishop of San Antonio, he earned a reputation as an orthodox leader, reversing many of the left-leaning initiatives in the diocese. Some initiatives that marked Archbishop Gomez as an orthodox shepherd include:

• Disbanding the chancery's Justice and Peace Commission after its members expressed their opposition to a state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex 'marriage'.
• During the 2008 presidential election, he publicly expressed concern when St. Mary's University allowed pro-choice candidate Hillary Clinton to hold a campaign event on campus.
• Voicing his concerns when another Catholic university allowed a high-profile nun, who supported female ordination, to be a keynote speaker at an event.
• Finally, he welcomed Summorum Pontificum which granted greater freedom to the Extraordinary Form, saying it would preserve "the rich heritage and legacy of the Church."

There are other important facts to note: Archbishop Gomez is now the first Hispanic to serve as Archbishop of Los Angeles, and he is the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the United States. Archbishop Gomez now has a large stage as shepherd of the largest diocese in the U.S. (in terms of congregant population). Predictably, Archbishop Gomez will be named a cardinal (the past three bishops have been named Cardinals).

For more information on His Excellency, check out Catholic Hierarchy.