Scottish monk contending for archbishop

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The leadership of the Catholic Church in England and Wales could potentially go to a monk from a remote abbey in Scotland.

The Sunday Times of London said when Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor retires this year, 55-year-old Hugh Gilbert of the Pluscarden Abbey in Scotland could be a surprise contender for the archbishop position.

If Murphy-O'Connor is succeeded by Gilbert, it would mark the first time such an obscure candidate would assume the position in more than 30 years. The last time was 1976 when Basil Hume, a relatively unknown abbot from the British county of Yorkshire, was named Archbishop of Westminster.

One senior official in the Catholic Church said Gilbert could easily accomplish a similar feat given his abbey's success and his personal loyalty to the church.

"I don't think it's out of the question that he could be appointed. He is part of a very successful monastic community which is bursting at the seams," the unidentified official said.

The newspaper said the final decision on the matter is in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI.