Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: Cardinal Cupich Seems to Be the Vatican’s Choice

COMMENTARY: All popes have their favorites in the US. However, papal favor is not equivalent to wise pastoral leadership.

By Father Raymond J. de Souza, EWTN News, February 5, 2021

Father Raymond J. de Souza Father Raymond J. de Souza is the founding editor of Convivium magazine.

Much was made of Cardinal Blase Cupich’s meeting with Pope Francis, just 10 days after his public criticism of the inauguration day statement of Archbishop José Gomez, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference.

What did the meeting mean? A reliable guide to the thinking of the inner circle of Pope Francis is America magazine’s Gerard O’Connell, a long-time Vatican reporter who has become a most useful court stenographer of the current pontificate, providing annotated press releases when needed to stress what the Holy Father wants stressed.

O’Connell wrote that the point of the publicized meeting was to show that Cardinal Cupich is the Pope’s man in the United States, and that Archbishop Gomez was offside with papal priorities.  …