Archbishop Robert Prevost and Archbishop Christophe Pierre were among the 21 named cardinals by Pope Francis on Sunday, July 9, 2023. / Frayjhonattan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons/L’Osservatore Romano
Washington D.C., Jul 10, 2023 / 15:20 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, two of whom, Archbishop Robert Prevost and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, have deep ties to the Church in the United States.
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, responded to the pope’s announcement in a Sunday statement, calling on the faithful to pray for the American Church’s newest cardinals.
“Please join me in praying for Cardinal-designate Prevost and Cardinal-designate Pierre as they continue their lives of service to the universal Church,” Broglio said.
Broglio added that “for the Church in the United States, their ministry has been a true blessing. Our episcopal conference rejoices in this sign of recognition of these distinguished Churchmen.”
Prevost and Pierre will be formally elevated to the rank of cardinal, the highest position in the Church besides the pope, on Sept. 30.
So, who are the two new cardinals with U.S. ties?
Archbishop Robert Prevost
Archbishop Robert Prevost, 67, is the new head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, an influential position responsible for recommending new bishops to the pope.
Born in Chicago, Prevost graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Pennsylvania’s Villanova University in 1977. That same year he joined the Order of St. Augustine, also known as the Augustinians, making his solemn vows in 1981. He earned a master’s of divinity degree from Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union in 1982 and was ordained an Augustinian priest that same year. After being ordained, Prevost earned a doctorate in canon law from Rome’s Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in 1987.
He returned to Chicago for a short time in 1987, serving as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago. Prevost was then sent to Peru, where he served the Augustinians in various capacities including as a regional ecclesiastical judge and teacher of canon law in the diocesan seminary for Trujillo, Peru, for 10 years.
After being elected the head of the Augustinian Province of Chicago, Prevost returned to the U.S. in 1999. He was elected prior general of the Augustinians in 2001 and then reelected in 2007, serving as head of the order until 2013.
Pope Francis appointed Prevost as apostolic administrator of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014, and he was ordained titular bishop of Sufar that same year.
While serving the Church in Peru, Francis made Prevost a member of the Dicastery for the Clergy in 2019 and then a member of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2020. On Jan. 30, Francis made Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a position he took up succeeding Cardinal Marc Ouellet on April 12.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, 77, is the current apostolic nuncio to the United States, a position in which he serves as the Holy See’s representative to America. Pierre has extensive experience in the Church’s diplomatic corps and can speak French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Born in Rennes, in northwestern France, Pierre attended school in Antisirabé, Madagascar, Saint-Malo, France, and Marrakesh, Morocco. He entered the seminary in Rennes in 1963. His time at the seminary was interrupted by two years of service in the French military, 1965-1966. After returning to the seminary, he was ordained a priest in 1970.
Pierre earned a master’s degree in sacred theology from the Catholic University of Paris in 1971 and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University in 1977.
After studying at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, Pierre went on to serve the Church as a diplomatic representative to New Zealand and the islands of the Pacific Ocean (1977–1981), Mozambique (1981), Zimbabwe (1982–1986), Cuba (1986–1989), Brazil (1989–1991), and as the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva (1991–1995).
In 1995, Pierre was ordained a bishop in Saint-Malo, France. Pope John Paul II appointed him as the apostolic nuncio to Haiti, a position he held from 1995 to 1999. He then served as the apostolic nuncio to Uganda (1999–2007) and then to Mexico (2007–2016).
After the retirement of Archbishop Carlo Viganò, Pope Francis appointed Pierre apostolic nuncio to the United States on April 12, 2016.
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Now that he’s been laicized, he’s no longer the institutional Church’s problem. Let the government pursue the charges with him as it would with any other person. But, given how he’s managed to weasel out of any and all criminal complications, nothing will happen.
Francis is never one to abide by canon law, nor does anyone besides Vigano protest when he violates it. What’s to stop him from tossing one of his laicized pals a boatload of money for legal fees. Mercy for evil doers, none for victims.
I recall that James Grein accused both McCarrick, and Bernardin of Chicago, with assaulting him at the lake in Wisconsin.
It seems likely that this may be the same case.
Voilà!
It’s only taken 46 years, but the Catholic Church has finally stumbled upon the way to handle its pervy predatory priest problem:
Turn them over to the civil authorities who will throw their ***es into prison.
Nitpick of the day, it’s Lake Geneva. I don’t see how things that are so obviously wrong can take so long to drag on and on. Wasn’t there supposed to be a report or something?
A sad end to an old man who thus far refuses to repent! Schemes and deception are unsuitable for a man proclaiming Jesus Christ.
Protestant Brian Young:
How do you know that McCarrick has refused to repent? Have you read his mind? What do you know about his confession status and the status of his soul? Did God reveal to you that McCarrick has refused to repent?
Schemes and deceptions are indeed unsuitable for anyone who proclaims Jesus Christ. These include writing things in Catholic comboxes designed to undermine the Catholic Faith and encourage Catholics to give up some of their cherished doctrinal beliefs.
Now what kind of a Christian would ever do such things while also absurdly proclaiming that he offers his deceptive words in a “spirit of godliness and edification”?
Dear dear, how fragile the catholic faith according to your prognostications. Was under the mistaken impression “that the gates of hell would not prevail against it”! Yet, according to you, I am wrong at every step. Why, you seem offended that we breath the same air!
Are you at the door extending your warm, felicitous greetings to one and all? Would the Lord Jesus pass your discerning muster? Yet don’t feel lonely for I encountered others of your ilk.
To the credit of the Catholic Church, I’ve met outstanding men and women of God, people who give fine testimony to what jesus Christ has done in their lives. Hope runs eternal, you are in my prayers.
Pardon me for not responding directly to your point. A recent article at CWR mentioned that “Uncle Ted” said of his accuser. “That is not true”! That is not repentance for the person who brought these charges against him is one of many who have strong cases! However, you are correct in every matter. No need for confession from your esteemed perspective.
Woe is me, poor sinner that I am, a constant struggle and unfailing repentance. The Lord is faithful and knows the predicament of man whatever his besetting sins are.
What is sad is that there are numerous predators in that church and many people who know who they are but are afraid or unwilling to call them out. God knows both groups and will deliver them a just and eternal punishment.
What what are you referencing when you write: “in that church (sic)”?
Is this Brian Young the Protestant or a different Brian altogether attacking “that church”?
In any case, the predator problem continues to sadly afflict all denominations, and the Catholic Church is not by any stretch the leader of the pack in housing and protecting a higher percentage of predators than any other denomination as many anti-Catholics would have everyone believe. As a matter of fact, the Catholic Church is a leader in implementing beneficial reforms to significantly reduce the incidences of abuse and cover-up, though of course more work needs to be done to eradicate the problem altogether.
It has been mentioned before, but for anyone who desires to get a better handle on the past and current status of the sexual abuse crisis, get a copy of Bill Donohue’s “The Truth About Clergy Sexual Abuse: Clarifying the Facts and Causes” (2021).
Also check out the following articles that demonstrate the ongoing lie that the sexual abuse problem is primarily a Catholic Church problem:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/do-the-right-thing/201808/separating-facts-about-clergy-abuse-fiction
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/may-web-only/southern-baptist-abuse-apocalypse-russell-moore.html
https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-10/evangelicals-worse-catholics-sexual-abuse