Report: US bishops choose delegates for 2018 Synod

Baltimore, Md., Nov 15, 2017 / 15:30 pm

Meeting in Baltimore for their annual fall assembly, the U.S. bishops have selected their choices for delegates to next year's Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment, multiple sources have reported to CNA.

According to these sources, the delegates are Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the bishops' conference president; Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, conference vice president and head of the nation's largest diocese; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, who hosted the World Meeting of Families attended by Pope Francis in 2015; and Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles, known for his prominent new media evangelization presence. These names have not been confirmed by the USCCB.

The 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment is a global meeting of bishops to be held next year in Rome. Bishops' conferences vote on delegates to attend the synod. After being elected, delegates' names are sent to the Vatican for approval.

Cardinal DiNardo was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1949. He studied philosophy and theology, and he was ordained a priest in 1977.

He became coadjutor bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, in 1997 and was named coadjutor bishop of Galveston-Houston in January 2004. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in November 2007.

The cardinal was chosen vice president of the U.S. Bishops' Conference in 2013, and president of the conference in 2016, a position that he currently holds.

He previously served as the head of the bishops' pro-life committee, and he has also served as a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and the Pontifical Council for the Economy.

Appointed in 2010 to shepherd the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archbishop Gomez heads the largest U.S. diocese, with more than 4 million Catholics. He is the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the United States.

Born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1951, he holds degrees in accounting, philosophy and theology, and was ordained an Opus Dei priest in 1978. In 2001, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver, and in 2005, he was appointed Archbishop of San Antonio.

Archbishop Gomez has worked extensively in Hispanic ministry and played a key role in creating the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL). In 2005, he was named one of Time Magazine's 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States, and in 2007 he was on a CNN's list of "Notable Hispanics" in a web special celebrating "Hispanic Heritage Month."

In 2008, Archbishop Gomez was appointed as a consultant to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He has served in various roles for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in areas including Cultural Diversity, Doctrine, and Hispanics and the Liturgy.

In 2016, he was elected vice president of the bishops' conference.

Born in 1944 in Concordia, Kansas, Archbishop Chaput was ordained to the priesthood in 1970. He was ordained Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1988, and was appointed Archbishop of Denver by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

While in Denver, Archbishop Chaput launched the local St. John Vianney Seminary, which boasts one of the highest seminary enrollment rates in the country. He was also influential in the success of several Colorado-based organizations, including the nationwide missionary group Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), the international women's group Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women (ENDOW), and the Augustine Institute, a lay Catholic graduate school.

As member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe, Archbishop Chaput is the first Native American archbishop. He has served on several U.S. bishops' committees involving marriage and family, pro-life activities, immigration, and religious freedom. In 2014, Pope Francis appointed him to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

The archbishop was chosen to lead Philadelphia in 2011. He led efforts to organize the 2015 World Meeting of Families, which brought Pope Francis to the United States.

Bishop Barron was appointed auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles in 2015. He is the founder of the Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, as well as the host of the award-winning documentary Catholicism.  

Born in Chicago in 1959, Bishop Barron was ordained a priest in 1986. He taught as Mundelein Seminary, the University of Notre Dame and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Known as a pioneer in new media evangelization, Bishop Barron has a strong social media following. He has published 15 books and is a #1 Amazon bestselling author.