The Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago was admitted to the College of Cardinals by Francis in 2016. In a divided US Synod, Kubich has always sided with the Pope.
Kubich was born on March 19, 1949 in Nebraska. He studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, among others. In 1998 he became Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota. From 2010 he was bishop of Spokane, Washington state, until Francis finally appointed him to the archbishopric see of Chicago in 2014.
The Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the most important dioceses in the United States. The metropolis in the state of Illinois is the third largest city in the United States. Almost a third of the nearly 2.8 million people are Catholics. Since 1924, every archbishop there has been made a cardinal. Francis inducted Kubich into the College of Cardinals in 2016.
In a divided US Synod, Kubich has always sided with the Pope. “History will consider this period as a turning point in the history of the Church, like Pope John XXIII. And the Second Vatican Council,” he said in a recent interview with the Cologne portal “domradio.de”. Francis is leading the Church to “the next chapter in the history of the Church”.
His point about the Pope's critics is equally clear: “I know that there are critical voices, but they are few and far between. They are loud, but there aren't many of them,” Cardinal said.
Kubich doesn't shy away from publicly contradicting some of his office colleagues. When Jose Gomez, then-president of the US Bishops Conference, criticized the election of Catholic Joe Biden as president, Kubich explained that his stance on abortion and gender issues was a “serious threat to the common good.” Los Angeles is a “misconceived statement” . In addition, Gomez acted without consulting other bishops.
In what can be a very difficult matter for a bishop – dealing with and dealing with sexual violence cases – Kubich has so far cut a relatively good figure. Last year, when Illinois Attorney General Guam Raul released a report on sex abuse in the state's Catholic Church, Cupich said the findings were “disgusting.” “The publication of this report will be an opportunity for the Chancellor to mobilize all adults to protect children,” he said. Attorney General Raul hailed the archbishop as “the leader of a new era in dealing with abuse allegations.”
According to canon law, Kubich will resign as archbishop on his 75th birthday. But it is clear that Francis is reluctant to give up his vote. It is unlikely that the Pope will immediately accept his age-related resignation.
(cap-skr)
