The Mail reports an amazing rumour - and it is only a rumour at this stage - that Dom Hugh Gilbert, Abbot of Pluscarden in Scotland, has turned down the Pope's invitation to become Archbishop of Westminster because he is worried that his community will break up without him.According to Simon Caldwell, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor is "furious" with Abbot Hugh, a 55 year-old English convert from Anglicanism, for backing out shortly before the Vatican was due to announce his appointment tomorrow.There is more to this story than meets the eye. I know that it emanates from a source close to the Cardinal, which makes me suspicious. Here are some thoughts.
1. If Hugh Gilbert has turned down the job, he may be persuaded to think again; it happens quite often. (The late Cardinal Lustiger didn't want go to Paris, for example.) Is someone trying to make sure he doesn't change his mind?
2. If +Cormac is furious, what is he furious about? The abbot's decision, apparently prompted by a scandal that has damaged morale in his community? Or the Pope's wish to offer Westminster to a complete outsider, thereby signifying his low opinion of the English and Welsh hierarchy, most of whom reflect the Cardinal's view of the world?
3. The offer to Hugh Gilbert (which I am assuming was indeed made) means that any other Archbishop of Westminster will be the Pope's second choice. Significantly, he will take office knowing that Benedict XVI wants a break with the past. Even if he comes from the Magic Circle, he will be expected to dismantle its politically correct, back-slapping machine politics.
4. Keep in mind the name of Cardinal George Pell of Sydney - not for Westminster (that's just silly) but as a prime mover in this affair.
We've known for a long time that Cardinal Pell is an admirer of the self-effacing but rigorously orthodox Abbot Gilbert - and also regards the current Bishops of England and Wales as second-raters.
Which indeed most of them are.
Anyway, even if the chosen man has declined the Pope's offer - and what a pity if he has - we can't rule out an announcement tomorrow.
One way or another, the era of the Magic Circle is drawing to a close.
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(Source: TTUK)