Well it’s been a year and a half now. It just seems to take too long. And you’re probably right with the hurricane and all.Diocese of Baton Rouge here. I don’t think it is too unusual. It was around a year when Bishop Sullivan died here in the 80s before Bishop Ott was appointed and around a year or so when Bishop Ott died before Bishop Hughes was appointed and when Bishop Huges was appointed Abp. of NO, it was about nine mos. or so before Bishop Muench was appointed. I suspect that Rita might figure into the equation as well.
Well hopefully they are doing a good job, and will find a good candidate. And hopefully Benedict will make a good appointment. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, although patience is not necessarily something I’m good at. I’ve been praying for a good holy orthodox Bishop to be appointed. Maybe God will answer my prayers.I heard a bishop once explain the long-winded process of choosing a new bishop for a diocese. The process takes about 8 months, but if the person chosen declines, or another obstacle surfaces at that point, they can’t just go back to whoever came in second at the most recent stage. Instead the whole process must start over. So if you fail to get one after 8 or 9 months, chances are it’ll be at least the sixteenth month before the diocesan administrator can hand over the reins to the new bishop.
Well I was talking to one priest, and he said it was kind of a relief to not have a bishop for some time, so you are probably right. But it has been over a year now, so I expect a new one to be appointed soon.Usually they have appointed an interim leader as something of a placeholder who can handle routine matters. I think there are psychological benefits to this procedure but I am not well versed enough in administrative tactics to fully understand why. I have observed that over the imterim officer is rarely unfavorably compared to whoever has left, and by the time a new appointment is made the group is anxious to get a new leader.