From the Citizen's Voice
Bishop Joseph F. Martino is expected to resign as head of the Diocese of Scranton next week, sources within the diocese confirmed to The Scranton Times-Tribune today.
Speculation about the bishop's future began earlier this week when The Times-Tribune reported that his belongings were being moved from the rectory adjacent to the diocese's mother church, St. Peter's Cathedral, to a retreat in Dalton.
Bishop Martino was installed as head of the 11-county Diocese of Scranton in 2003. A long-time auxiliary bishop in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, Bishop Martino arrived in October 2003, to become the diocese's ninth bishop, replacing Bishop James C. Timlin, who now serves as bishop emeritus.
Tradition dictates that should Bishop Martino step down, the diocese would be directed by Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali of Philadelphia, the metropolitan for this area, until a successor can be appointed by the Vatican.
2 comments:
Very reliable clerical sources indicate that Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York has been chosen by the Pope to succeed Bishop Martino. Sullivan's appointment will be made known next week and he will take possession of the diocese in two months time. Mean while Cardinal Rigali Scranton's metropolitan will administer the diocese. The interesting question is why did the Pope not permit the diocesan consulters to appoint an administrator for the diocese, as is usually the case and given the size of Scranton should have been the normal course of events.
____Scrantonpriest
My Philly-based Jesuit contacts also concur.
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