On Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Jose Gomez, the current archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, to the position of co-adjutor archbishop for the archdiocese of Los Angeles. This position puts him first in line to succeed the current archbishop, Roger Mahony, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 next February.
Gomez, who became a priest at age 26, previously served in Denver for four years before moving to the San Antonio archdiocese which has 2 million people, about one-third of whom are Catholic. In LA, he will head a church with five times as many residents and a Catholic population of 39%.
His appointment is seen as a nod to the demographics of Los Angeles where Latinos are a large part of the population and majority are Roman Catholics. However, it also comes at a time when the Vatican is facing one of its biggest crises as the Benedict papacy is linked to the scandal of cover-ups surrounding the abuse of minors at the hands of priests across Europe.
The LA archdiocese during Mahony’s tenure, likewise, has faced similar accusations; three years ago, the archbishop agreed to a record $660-million legal settlement with more than 500 alleged victims of clerical abuse. It is currently being investigated by a federal grand jury for its handling of abuse cases.
Mahony said in a statement, “I welcome Archbishop Gomez to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with enthusiasm and personal excitement.”
A welcoming mass for the new co-adjutor bishop is scheduled for May 26.
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