Bishops Bishops Bishops

First, allow me to point out that it took less than 24 hours for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to report on Bishop Zubik AND include Steelers reference.

He learned of his appointment July 9, he said, but because it is a papal secret, he didn't tell his father, Stan, who lives with him in Green Bay, until last night.
"My dad has been a die-hard Steelers fan in the heart of Green Bay. He's never been shy about saying it, so I think that says pretty much what he thinks about coming back."
For his first Bishop's Charity Game that the Packers play annually to raise money for Catholic Charities, Bishop Zubik walked onto Lambeau Field wearing a Steelers cap -- though he raised it to reveal a Packers cap underneath.
He managed his loyalties because they were in separate conferences. But when they played each other in Green Bay in 2005 "I had to ... sit on my hands and not root for either team," he said.

The other bit of news which we've all read is that a name has surfaced for Bishop of Beijing. This morning's South China Morning Post described it as "testing waters."

The mainland's official Catholic church has nominated a candidate to lead the Beijing diocese in a move described by an observer as a test of the Vatican's ability to appoint bishops in the nation.

The nomination follows a vote at the capital's diocese on Monday and comes at a sensitive time, just three weeks after Pope Benedict expressed his hope in a letter to mainland Catholics that the Vatican and Beijing could agree on a way to appoint bishops.

Father Joseph Li Shan , 42, from Beijing's St Joseph's Church, was chosen after receiving 74 of 93 votes from a group of priests, nuns and laymen.

Three other priests were also candidates, according to Father Li.

If the nomination is approved by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the China Catholic Bishops College, the bodies overseeing the mainland's government-sanctioned church, the Beijing native will fill the vacancy left by Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, who died of cancer in April.

Father Li would not say yesterday if he wanted his ordination to be blessed by the Holy See.

He said this was because "it would be up to the patriotic association and the Bishops' Conference to approach the Vatican"

It will be interesting to see where this goes.