A dominant meme has emerged in the media about the appointment of Archbishop-elect Blase Cupich as the next Archbishop of Chicago, succeeding Cardinal Francis George. The meme is that the great liberal +Cupich is replacing mean, conservative Cardinal George. This meme does a disservice to both men and misunderstands the Church and her mission.
First, let me admit my bias. I like Cardinal George and have never found him to be mean. As I have related previously, when he was first appointed, I rushed out and procured both of his doctoral dissertations. The philosophy dissertation was very smart but half of it concerned very particular issues of concern only to professional philosophers and the other half was way over my head. But the theology dissertation on inculturation was profound and quickly became one of those books that never left my desk to make its way back on to the shelf. The quote that had me, right up front in the introduction, was this:
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