AN unprecedented
change of personnel will see three-quarters of Scotland’s Catholic
hierarchy leave their posts or apply for retirement within two years,
with an entire new generation of bishops soon to lead the faith.
And
with only two of the eight current bishops continuing to lead
Scotland’s 850,000 Catholics in the long-term, speculation is mounting
on the direction the church will take when their replacements take
office.
Three of the country’s eight
bishops have applied to retire on age and health grounds, with three
more, including Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the leader of Scotland’s
Catholics, expected to have left by the end of 2013.
Bishops
must apply to retire once they reach 75.
Archbishop of Glasgow Mario
Conti and Aberdeen’s Bishop Peter Moran have had their applications
pending for two years and one year respectively, and are expected to be
the first to go.
Bishop Vincent Logan of
Dunkeld, 69, has asked to go on health grounds, while Bishop of
Galloway, John Cunningham, is due to ask for retirement before he is
officially required to in 2013, largely again due to ill health.
Although
it can take years before a retirement is finally approved by the Pope,
it has been reported that when Cardinal O’Brien applies to hang up his
mitre in 2013, he has asked that this is dealt with urgently, while Joe
Devine, Bishop of Motherwell, is said to expect a quick turnaround on
his retirement when he applies next August.
Many
within the church are speculating that the reopening of St Andrew’s
Cathedral in Glasgow in April will trigger a date for the departure of
Archbishop Conti, with Paisley’s Philip Tartalgia widely tipped to
replace him before being later installed as Cardinal.
The
changes will see a wave of new bishops, many of whom are considerably
more orthodox, with some tensions beneath the surface on what face the
Catholic Church in Scotland will present in years to come.
There have
been reports of a reduction in the number of dioceses to deal with the
changes.
Contenders for the
soon-to-be-vacant posts include Monsignor Gerard Tartalgia, brother of
the Bishop of Paisley, Monsignor Peter Magee, Fr John Keenan and Fr
Patrick Burke, all very broadly seen as more orthodox, intellectual and
closer to the teachings of Pope Benedict.
Others
include Monsignor Peter Smith, Fr Paul Conroy and Fr Gero McLoughlin,
generally seen as more representative of modernist face of the Church.
Key
to any appointments will be the Pope’s ambassador to the UK, Papal
Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Mennini, who will take advice from the head of
the English Language Section in the Vatican, Monsignor Leo Cushley, a
former curate at Motherwell Cathedral.
One
of the new nuncio’s main jobs will be to recommend three bishops for
each diocese to the Vatican.
Although the process is secretive, the
dynamics of particular diocese are said to be factored into the choice.
Hugh
McLoughlin, a contributor to the Scottish Catholic Observer and an
expert on the religion, said: “More or less an entire generation of
bishops will soon depart the scene. Archbishop Conti and Bishop Peter
Moran have already submitted their resignations to the Holy See having
reached the age limit, Bishop Vincent Logan has submitted his for health
reasons and I understand Bishop John Cunningham is likely soon to do
likewise. Bishop Joseph Devine will be 75 next August and Cardinal O’Brien on St Patrick’s Day 2013. Previously
I’d have been quite happy to assure everyone that Bishop Tartaglia of
Paisley would succeed Mario Conti as Archbishop in Glasgow and Keith
Patrick O’Brien as Cardinal in time. Now I am not so sure. I have a
strong fancy that this post might very well go to Mgr Peter Magee.”
James
MacMillan CBE, Scotland’s leading composer and one of the Catholic
world’s most prominent creative artists, believes the hierarchy will
champion non-traditionalists.
He said: “Be assured, there is no paucity of sufficiently able replacements. Our
best priests are in the mould of John Paul II and Ratzinger (Pope
Benedict), while others are hippy-dippy populists who nearly had a heart
attack when Benedict got elected.”
A
Catholic Church spokesman said five of Scotland’s bishops will have
retired or applied to retire by March 2013 and confirmed speculation
another might do so due to ill health.
But
the spokesman added that there can be lengthy timescales between a
bishop’s application to step down and when this eventually happens.