Addition by Subtraction?

This was a pretty interesting LA Times article about some of our older bishops in the US and what might happen once they step down. We have a lot of pretty famous guys out there who are reaching mandatory retirement age. Probably the most famous is Cardinal Roger Mahony.

Yes, that Cardinal Mahony.

Granted, these guys are all over the map as far as fame and infamy go. You have some other familiar names like Cardinals George and Rigali, too, for examples.

Still, we're talking high-profile posts that might be a good start for the reform of the American Church. What sort of reform, you might ask. Here's what the article suggests:

Church experts say Benedict's recent appointments suggest that he is concerned more with orthodoxy than ethnicity and with putting a positive public face on the church. His aim, scholars say, is to see the church grow and move beyond the sexual abuse crisis of the last decade.

Of course, there's some negativity associated with this as a large chunk of the article is devoted to mentioning the lack of Latino bishops. That's understandable to a degree, but the lack of such bishops is going to make for a tough order to fill just given the raw numbers of Latino priests who might make for eligible candidates. That's not even considering how many might be real bishop material.