Pope Benedict XVI Tuesday named Bishop William Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport as the new Archbishop of Baltimore.
The Baltimore Archdiocese is the oldest in the United States, serving 486,000 Catholics, according to its website. Lori succeeds Edwin Cardinal O'Brien, who served as the Archbishop of Baltimore since 2007, before his elevation to Cardinal in January.
Lori was ordained a priest in 1977, and then a bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1995.
In 2001, Lori was named Bishop of the Bridgeport Archdiocese. He was brought in as the Church dealt with the growing sex abuse allegations against priests within the Bridgeport Diocese.
As a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Sexual Abuse, Lori was a key participant in the drafting of the landmark Charter for the Protection of Children & Young People.
Considered a conservative voice in the Church, Lori has called for the protection of "conscience rights" for health care providers, and has strongly defended the Catholic position of marriage between a man and a woman.
The Vatican has not announced who will succeed Archbishop-designate Lori in Bridgeport.
