Leibrecht, ending rumor, says it just isn't
so
By PAMELA SCHAEFFER
NCR Staff
Bishop John J. Leibrecht of the Missouri diocese of
Springfield-Cape Girardeau -- rumored for weeks to be the chosen successor to
the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago -- says it just isn't so.
In a brief telephone interview April 1, Leibrecht, 66, said of the
rumor, "It sure seems to have a life, but there just isn't any truth to it.
None at all."
Ironically, Leibrecht himself fed a new round of rumors recently,
even as he intended to squelch them.
At a dinner for his priests the week before Palm Sunday, Leibrecht
referred to rumors linking him to Chicago and followed with a joke. According
to priests who heard it, Leibrecht said something like this:
"I had a call from the Holy Father a few weeks ago asking me if
I'd go to Chicago. I told him I was truly honored to be considered, but I've
been a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals so long -- all my life -- that I couldn't
possibly transfer my loyalty at this stage to the Cubs."
According to reports, Leibrecht, a native of St. Louis, went on to
say he was happy in Springfield and wanted to stay.
Sr. Lorraine Biebel, founder of a social service network in
Springfield known as The Kitchen, said of the bishop's remarks, "He has a
wonderful sense of humor. It was his way of saying, 'Get on with it, folks. I'm
not going to Chicago.' "
For others, though, Leibrecht's phrasing served to confirm their
growing suspicions that he'd been offered Chicago but had turned it down. True,
he wasn't going -- but by his own choice.
Leibrecht said Tuesday that if he had fed yet another rumor by his
joke, it was inadvertent. He has not been asked to take Chicago, he said, and
he had not intended to be coy.
"One of the priests asked me if I would categorically deny having
been asked," he said. "I told him categorically is not a strong enough
word."
Leibrecht, often described as gracious and fair, a good listener
and, like Bernardin, a conciliatory peacemaker, is held in high regard by many
in the church. It's possible, some say, that the strength of the rumors linking
him to Chicago reflect wishful thinking.
"There's hope for the church if a guy like Bishop Leibrecht is
being considered," said Claretian Fr. Joseph Peplansky, who recently moved to
Springfield from Chicago. "I know a lot of priests in Chicago, and John is
right up there with them. I told him, 'You certainly would do well there but
you'd have ulcers in two months.' "
Leibrecht, appointed to Springfield in 1984, earned the respect of
both liberals and conservatives in a recent, highly public role. He served as
chairman of a bishops' committee formed to implement a Vatican document on
higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, in the United States. "I can't say
enough good things about him," said Sr. Alice Gallin, former head of the
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and now in residence at St.
Louis University. "The way he held that committee together" -- a very diverse
committee, she said -- "was extraordinary."
Leibrecht's two immediate predecessors in his 40-year-old diocese
were transferred to prominent sees that assured them red hats. Cardinal William
Baum went from Springfield to Washington and then to Rome. Cardinal Bernard Law
went from Springfield to Boston.
Still, the jump to Chicago from Springfield is huge. As one priest
quipped, "Chicago has more auxiliary bishops than Springfield has priests."
So for the present, the name of the new archbishop of Chicago
remains a tantalizing mystery, and Leibrecht remains in the Missouri Ozarks,
where he regularly drives the highways and byways linking the 39 counties of
his sprawling diocese.
That 25,719-square-mile region is such a Baptist and Pentecostal
mecca that the international headquarters of the Assemblies of God in
Springfield is sometimes dubbed "the Vatican." Catholics are a rare species --
a mere 54,000 compared to Chicago's 2.3 million; 150-some diocesan and
religious priests, compared to Chicago's 1,800 (and six active auxiliary
bishops).
As for the likelihood of a bishop refusing a transfer, Jesuit Fr.
Tom Reese of Washington, an expert in such matters, said it happens, though
rarely.
"I've heard that one in 20 refuse transfers but I think that
number is too high," he said. "There's tremendous pressure to say yes."
Officials "have gone through the long, complicated process to make a choice.
They've generated tons of paper. The nuncio is expected to come back with a
yes.
"The whole mentality and spirituality of a priest is geared toward
hearing the voice of God through his legitimate superior," Reese said. "It's
very hard to say no."
National Catholic Reporter, April 11,
1997
|