Mexico-Born, L.A. Archbishop Gomez Makes History

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Nov. 13, 2019, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Mexico-born, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, the highest-ranking Latino in the U.S. Catholic Church, has been elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, marking the first time that a Latino bishop has held the position.

Gomez’s election, which kicked off the second day of the bishops’ fall meeting in Baltimore Tuesday, was regarded by many observers of the Roman Catholic Church as a fait accompli, a historic milestone set in motion in 2016 when he was selected as vice president of the national conference.

One of 10 nominees, Gomez garnered 176 votes cast both by bishops attending the conference and American bishops in Rome. His victory projected on the screen behind him, the prelate stood and thanked his counterparts, who greeted him with a standing ovation.

The bishops also elected Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit as their next vice president. The vice president traditionally becomes the group’s president in three years, at the beginning of the next term.

Gomez, born in Monterrey, Mexico, has in recent years grown into a high-profile and authoritative voice in the American church, advocating for immigration reforms that would include a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally. The soft-spoken 67-year-old will begin his three-year term as president just as his tenure as vice president comes to an end.

Gomez’s ascendance comes amid Latinos’ shifting relationship with the Catholic faith: Latinos in the U.S. are no longer majority-Catholic, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last month. Some 47% describe themselves as Catholic, the survey showed, down from 57% a decade ago. At the same time, 23% of Latinos say they are religiously unaffiliated, up from 15% in 2009.

“This is huge,” Father Thomas J. Reese, a senior analyst at Religion News Service, said of the election. ” Having a Mexican American as the president of the bishops conference sends a real message to Hispanics across the country, showing that not only are they part of the church, they are part of the leadership of the church at the highest level.”