Time for a bruiser

The churchs new English head is a tougher customer than his predecessor NOT everyone speaks warmly of Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the new head of the Catholic church in England and Wales. That, in fact, may bode well for his ability to fight its corner in the hard discussions about religion and society that loom. For the relative liberals who form the majority among Englands Catholic bishops, their new leader is a bit too conservative (that is, too close to Pope Benedict XVI); some would call him a deserter from liberal causes that he once embraced, such as racial and social equality. And for the clever advocates of old-time religion (many of them young) who abound in cyberspace, the new archbishop of Westminster isnt far enough to the right.