Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver is expected to replace Cardinal Justin Rigali as the leader of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to various sources.
Pope Benedict XVI is expected to accept Cardinal Rigali's resignation as soon as tomorrow (Tuesday.) An announcement about Chaput's appointment is said to be imminent.
Chaput is a strong proponent of traditional Catholic teachings.
He speaks out regularly on controversial issues, and occasionally differs publicly from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Archbishop Chaput has even taken a stance on the issue of whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, contrary to Church teaching, should be denied Communion.Chaput has written that while denying anyone the Eucharist is a "very grave matter" that should be used only in "extraordinary cases of public scandal," those who are "living in serious sin or who deny the teachings of the church" should voluntarily refrain from taking Communion
The New York Times in 2004 reported that Chaput took the position that it was sinful for Catholics to vote for John Kerry. His remarks noted Kerry's pro-choice views, amongst others. According to the Times, he said that those who intended to vote for him were "cooperating in evil" and needed "to go to confession."
Chaput criticized the New York Times' construal of his remarks and the Archdiocese of Denver criticized the Times' article as being "heavily truncated and framed."
He stopped responding to New York Times inquiries for six years in part because of his belief the paper had misrepresented him.
As reported by EWTN, Chaput has criticized what he views as a "spirit of adulation bordering on servility" that exists towards Barack Obama remarking, "in democracies, we elect public servants, not messiahs."
The archbishop said that Obama tries to mask his record on abortion and other issues with "rosy marketing about unity, hope, and change." Chaput also dismissed the notion that Obama was given a broad mandate reasoning he was elected to "fix an economic crisis" and not to "retool American culture on the issues of marriage and the family, sexuality, bioethics, religion in public life, and abortion.
In his book Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life, Chaput exhorts Catholics to take a "more active, vocal, and morally consistent role" in the political process, arguing that private convictions cannot be separated from public actions without diminishing both. Rather than asking citizens to put aside their religious and moral beliefs for the sake of public policy, Chaput believes American democracy depends upon a fully engaged citizenry, including religious believers, to function properly.
According to his official biography, Chaput is as member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe , and the first Native American archbishop.
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