In an interview with Vatican News on Feb 4, Aupetit said Pope Francis "renewed his support for me" and again said he thought the former archbishop of Paris had been a "victim of hypocrisy and clericalism".

"He also wanted to show his confidence by asking me to remain in the Roman Congregation for Bishops, of which, as you know, I am already a member, and where I come every two weeks," Aupetit told the French webpage of the Vatican's news office.

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Ouellet says a deepened understanding of celibacy is preferable to grabbing at quick solutions to resolve the current lack of priests.

He makes the claim in his newly published book "Friends of the Bridegroom: For a Renewed Vision of Priestly Celibacy."

Ouellet says he is "skeptical" of the proposed idea in the Amazon of ordaining to the priesthood "viri probati" - older, married men.

Without naming names, he says he also knows some in higher positions "in the Roman Curia" who have similar doubts.

"I am not against the fact that there is a debate, but I think at this time of history and of the Church there is a need of reflection…" he says.

"And so, my intervention is to substantiate the debate, to give something substantial to aid discernment.

"I remain skeptical out of convictions and knowledge of the Catholic tradition in the Latin rite, so I think this has to be very much taken care of in the debate".

Ouellet says he remains open to what will happen during the synod.

Ouellet also says he knows Francis has mentioned having no intention to change Church practice on priestly celibacy in the Latin rite.

He has not excluded the possibility of an exception, however.

Ouellet has given Francis two copies of his new book and that Francis is happy he is joining in on the viri probati debate.

He says in writing it, he thought it was a good time to contribute his years of "knowledge, wisdom, and experience" to the Church's discussion of priestly celibacy, and in the particular context of this month's Amazon synod, to the debate on "viri probati."

"I think that priestly celibacy, but also religious consecration, is a powerful witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ and to his call to follow him and to leave everything to be with him, and to do what he asks us to do.

The close link between celibacy and the priesthood "is the fact that the priest is in charge of ... proclaiming and giving the definitive and ultimate Word of God to the world," he says.

"The link between celibacy and the priesthood in the Latin Church comes from the apostles and it has been kept through the centuries despite times of decadence, of difficulties, of refusal...

"It's been always difficult, but it remains an extraordinary witness to the divinity of Christ and to the presence of the Risen Lord among us so that we give him an answer, because he is there, calling us to communion."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: America Magazine

The directive not to vote came from the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops, said US Conference of Catholic Bishops president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.

DiNardo said he was told the evening before this week's US bishop's national meeting to delay action until after a Vatican-convened global meeting on sex abuse next February.

"We are not ourselves happy about this," DiNardo said.

"We are working very hard to move to action — and we'll do it. I think people in the church have a right to be skeptical. I think they also have a right to be hopeful."

Another US bishop, Christopher Coyne, said he does not know whether American members of the Congregation for Bishops - Cardinals Blase Cupich and archbishop emeritus Donald Wuerl- played a role in the Vatican directive.

However, a source close to Wuerl doubts he was involved in making the decision.

The proposed new step US bishops were about to vote on were drafted in September by the bishops' Administrative Committee.

They included developing a new code of conduct for themselves and creating a special commission, including lay experts, to review complaints against bishops.

Although they agreed not to vote on them, the bishops planned to proceed with discussing the proposals during their meeting.

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich suggested they might hold a non-binding vote on the proposals at the current conference meeting and then convene a special assembly for a formal vote after considering the results of the global meeting in February.

"I realise that another meeting will create logistical challenges for the conference staff and the bishops' schedules, but there is a grave urgency to this matter and we cannot delay," he said.

While acknowledging their disappointment in the decision from Rome, the bishops affirmed the importance of their own obedience.

DiNardo said they were responsible to be attentive to the Holy Father and his congregations, while Coyne noted bishops are by nature collegial, "so when the Holy See asks us to work in collegiality, that's what we do."

Source

• Fox News Network
• National Catholic Register
• National Catholic Reporter

The Pope has appointed Chicago's Archbishop Blase Cupich to the Congregation for Bishops.

Archbishop Cupich replaces the late Cardinal Francis George on the congregation.

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On Monday, the Vatican announced the removal of Cardinal Raymond L. Burke from the group and replaced him with another American, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C..

Burke is known as an outspoken critic of abortion and gay marriage.

The New York Times reported that "the pope's decision to remove Cardinal Raymond L. Burke from the Congregation for Bishops was taken by church experts to be a signal that Francis is willing to disrupt the Vatican establishment in order to be more inclusive."

"Even so, many saw the move less as an effort to change doctrine on specific social issues than an attempt to bring a stylistic and pastoral consistency to the church's leadership."

Rocco Palmo, who writes the blog "Whispers in the Loggia," called the move a Franciscan "flush."

"For those who enjoy what Italians do best, that Wuerl - already known to be a sought-out figure in Francis' orbit - has replaced Burke, his historic rival and cardinal-classmate, on the Congregation's membership is nothing short of extraordinary," Palmo wrote.

The pope also removed Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, although his removal is not unexpected since he is retired with the title Philadelphia archbishop emeritus.

The Congregation for Bishops shapes the worldwide church by giving the pope a list of three priests for each opening of a bishop's chair. The pope then picks from the three, though he can, and sometimes does, name another man.

Sources

NPR
The New York Times
St Louis Public Radio
Image of Burke: AP/NPR

The Canadian cardinal, whose congregation oversees the selection of bishops, said what the Pope told him "made me think this man knows where he goes and there is a determination.

"We need a man who is really attentive to people but able to make a clear decision. If it is necessary to change personnel, he will do it. I am talking in general. I think he has the temper to reform the governance of the Church."

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