Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
January 18, 2010

Up to 24 U.S. bishops, including two cardinals, could retire in 2010. There are 11 active U.S. bishops, including one cardinal, who have already turned 75. Thirteen more will celebrate their 75th birthday in 2010. At age 75 bishops are requested to submit their resignation to the pope. Turning 75 on April 19 this year is Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, where he has served since 2003. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals that same year. Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, has often asked cardinals to stay on the job after age 75. Even when a cardinal retires in his 70s, he remains an active member of the College of Cardinals, eligible to enter a conclave and vote for a new pope, until age 80. Cardinal Bernard F. Law, for example, turned 75 on Nov. 4, 2006 and still serves on the Congregation for Bishops. Cardinal Law was archbishop of Boston from 1984 until his resignation in 2002 because of his handling of cases of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, are seen in a combination of file photographs taken in Chandler, Ariz., Oct. 10, 2024 and Evans, Ga., Oct. 4, 2024. (OSV News photo/Evelyn Hockstein and Octavio Jones, Reuters)
While we are going to continue to advocate for the dignity of the unborn, let’s admit Kamala Harris has Catholic cred on other important issues.
Jeannie GaffiganNovember 01, 2024
Mats Steen was known as Ibelin in the video game World of Warcraft (World of Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment/Netflix)
“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” presents the internet as a place where true connection is possible and limitations can be transcended.
John DoughertyNovember 01, 2024
A Homily for the Solemnity of All Souls, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinNovember 01, 2024
Cardinal McElroy shared his reflections on the synod with America Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell in this wide-ranging interview at the North American College in Rome.
Gerard O’ConnellNovember 01, 2024