Cardinal takes helm of Newark Archdiocese
NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NEWS) - Joseph William Cardinal Tobin was installed Friday as the sixth archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. He is set now to lead more than one million Catholics living in New Jersey.
Pope Francis recently elevated Cardinal Tobin, 64, to this powerful post one that comes with it the responsibility of picking the next pope. Tobin has worked in Rome before under Pope Benedict XVI but was sent back to the U.S. to work in Indianapolis after he sided with nuns during an investigation.
Like Pope Francis, Cardinal Tobin has a humble and personable style. His priorities, like the pope's, will be helping the poor. Newark hasn't had a cardinal lead the archdiocese in all of its 163-year history.
Cardinal Dolan and other cardinals, priests and nuns from all over the country and the world filled the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. Dignitaries included Sen. Robert Menendez and Gov. Chris Christie.
Going forward, Cardinal Tobin faces many problems including a city with a high crime and poverty rate and a church still reeling from a decades long sex abuse scandal. Both Pope Francis and Catholics in Newark are hoping Cardinal Tobin is up to the challenge.