O'Brien's opportunity with the Order of the Holy Sepulchre [John Allen]

[Catholic_Press]

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore is known for rarely pulling his punches, whether it’s openly wondering if the Legionaries of Christ are capable of reform in the wake of the scandals surrounding their founder, or pushing Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on gay marriage.

Here’s hoping O'Brien brings the same "tell-it-like-it-is" style to his new job as pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, because the embattled Christians of the Middle East desperately need a real political heavyweight to take up their cause.

The Vatican announced today that O’Brien, 72, will replace Cardinal John Foley as the head of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, a Vatican-sponsored body designed to defend and promote the Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Traditionally, the position has been little more than a sinecure – a quasi-honorary position given to ecclesiastics at the end of their careers, providing them with a route to becoming a cardinal without much real responsibility.

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[Dale_M]

This means that Archbishop O’Brien will be leaving Baltimore.

O’Brien, the spiritual leader of the Baltimore area’s half-million Catholics, will continue to serve as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese until a successor is named, an appointment that could take 18 months.

O’Brien, 72, who has served as archbishop since October 2007, said that “news of this appointment came as a shock to me and I am still adjusting to the reality that effective today, I am no longer the archbishop of Baltimore.”

washingtonpost.com/local/baltimore-archbishop-chosen-to-lead-order-of-knights-in-rome/2011/08/29/gIQA74XfoJ_story.html

Perhaps this will mean opportunity for the people of the Middle East to gain an effective advocate. But it may also entail a loss of leadership on the issue of gay marriage, a topic of which Archbishop O’Brien has been outspoken in recent months in the face of legislative moves to authorize same sex marriage.