Head of the English-language section of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State named as new Scottish archbishop

[lizardley]

Pope Francis has appointed Mgr Leo Cushley, 52, a senior Vatican diplomat from the diocese of Motherwell, as the new Archbishop of St Andrew’s and Edinburgh.

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow, who has been serving as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator since Cardinal Keith O’Brien stepped down in March over his conduct, introduced the Archbishop-elect this morning at the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh.

Mgr Cushley is a priest of Motherwell Diocese who has been serving as head of the English-language section of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. The Archbishop-elect said he was ‘humbled that our Holy Father Pope Francis has nominated me for such an important task here in our ancient capital.’

Full report: sconews.co.uk/news/30000/pope-names-vatican-diplomat-as-new-archbishop-of-st-andrews-and-edinburgh/

 

[Aelred_Minor]

I’m happy this position has been filled.

I am a little surprised that it would be announced while the Pope is away at World Youth Day and presumably not working on such things, but I suppose the decision was probably made some time ago and the final thing that had to happen was Mgr. Cushley accepting the appointment. I understand that such acceptance is by no means a given and that priests declining appointment to the episcopacy has probably been part of the reason for the current backlog.