A Tale of Two Bishops, by Carl E. Olson (February 9, 2015)

By Carl E. Olson, Catholic World Report, Sept. 24, 2025

Carl E. Olson is editor of Catholic World Report and Ignatius Insight. He is the author of Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, Will Catholics Be “Left Behind”?, co-editor/contributor to Called To Be the Children of God, co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax (Ignatius), and author of the “Catholicism” and “Priest Prophet King” Study Guides for Bishop Robert Barron/Word on Fire. …

Editor’s note: This CWR editorial was posted originally on February 9, 2015, not long after Blase Cupich was named Archbishop of Chicago after some time spent as bishop of Spokane, WA. It is reposted here in light of the furor over Cardinal Cupich’s decision to honor pro-abortion Illinois Democrat Sen. Richard Durbin.

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It was the best of times…” One bishop was described, in a recent interview with a major network, as “America’s Pope Francis”. A veteran Catholic journalist described him as “humble and open, precisely the sort of pastor who ‘carries the smell of his sheep’ that Francis has said he wants.”

It was the worst of times…” One bishop was strongly criticized, in a just published op-ed in a large newspaper, as “a bishop who, while professing to reflect the new direction set by Pope Francis, does not by his actions truly walk the talk.” The author insinuated that this bishop was not “in sync with the new pope, who acts and speaks with common sense and humanity guiding him.”

Fascinating, I’d say. It is even more fascinating considering that the two bishops are one and the same man: Archbishop Blase Cupich, the recently installed head of the Archdiocese of Chicago, who had previously spent almost five years as bishop of the Diocese of Spokane. …

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