Pope names new cardinal for Philly

PHILADELPHIA, July 19 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI accepted Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali's resignation, naming Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput to succeed him, the Vatican said Tuesday.

Chaput, 66, will be installed in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Sept. 8, the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The pope appointed Rigali as apostolic administrator with all of the responsibilities of archbishop until Chaput's installation. Under Canon law, Rigali, archbishop since October 2003, resigned when he turned 75 in April 2010. It is customary for a bishop to serve until the pope names a successor.

Chaput, who becomes Philadelphia's 13th bishop and ninth archbishop, was ordained in 1970. He was bishop of Rapid City, S.D., before becoming archbishop of Denver in 1997.

Chaput, a Franciscan priest of the Capuchin order, was the first American Indian to be elevated to archbishop, the Inquirer said. His mother's family were members of the Potawatomi tribe, and he was made a member as a boy.

Rigali, whose retirement was expected this year, has been struggling since February when a Philadelphia grand jury report criticized the archdiocese for harboring sexually abusive priests.

While the scandal might have had little influence on the timing of Rigali's departure, it may have played a role in Chaput's appointment, the Inquirer said.

The conservative Chaput is credited with responding quickly when Denver priests were accused of sexually abusing children, said Matthew Schmalz, an associate professor of religious studies at Holy Cross College in Massachusetts who studies the sexual abuse crisis in the United States.

Chaput "took a hard, traditionalist stand," Schmalz said.