Writing for the Italian newspaper La Stampa’s “Vatican Insider,” reporter Marco Tosatti alleges
that Phoenix’s Bishop Thomas Olmsted will soon be named secretary for the
Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life:
The official
announcement of the appointment of the Bishop of Phoenix (Arizona) Thomas J.
Olmsted, as Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life is
expected any day now. Olmsted should replace fellow American, Tobin, who
occupied this delicate position for a very short period. Tobin heads the
Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Olmsted’s approach in the Congregation is expected
to be far closer to the sensibilities of American bishops with regard to issue
of the LCWR (Leadership Conference of Women Religious)’s rebellious stance
towards Catholic bishops and the Holy See. The number of nuns in the United
States dropped by over two thousand members in just one year, from 57.113 to
55.045.
Olmsted’s arrival will further strengthen the U.S.’s
growing influence within the Catholic Church’s central government, the Assessor
to the Secretariat of State, Peter Brian Wells, being the U.S.’ foremost point
of reference.
The Diocese of Phoenix, however, denies
that its bishop is headed for a Roman appointment any time soon:
The
Diocese of Phoenix is denying a report that the Roman Catholic bishop of
Phoenix is headed to the Vatican.
Rob DeFrancesco told The Associated Press on Sunday
that a report in an Italian newspaper that Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted was going
to Rome for a Vatican post is false.
Bishop Olmsted, who has led the Diocese of Phoenix
since 2003, has made headlines in recent years, particularly for his 2010
decision to
strip
a hospital of its Catholic affiliation after an abortion was performed
there.