Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez said yesterday, Monday 28 October that the Roman Catholic Church has many candidates who can replace the present bishops – himself included. He said the church would never lack leaders. He was responding to a question by journalist Angela Pena about the concerns surrounding the need to find replacements for six bishops and archbishops of retirement age. The Cardinal was interviewed at the Santo Domingo Cathedral after saying mass for the 475th anniversary of the foundation of the University of Santo Domingo (UASD).
Pena reported in Hoy that the Apostolic Nunciature was reviewing the selection of candidates and that despite the fact that there were many priests who have taken courses of theology, canonic law and sociology at the Vatican, the task would not be easy.